Where life and death hang in the balance

THE disturbing reports of the death of Ross Boyert (in montage) and the pollution of the Rajang River have sent ripples through the placid pool of Sarawak life.

Ross Boyert, 60, was a business partner of Sulaiman Taib, son of Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. He became chief executive officer in Sakti International, the property empire Taib started in the United States. Boyert was found dead with a plastic bag tied around his head, in a motel room in Los Angeles last week.

Earlier this year, Boyert told journalists from the Sarawak Report website that he had written to Taib in 2006 to ask to keep his job. Boyert had been sacked by Sakti’s new president, Taib’s son-in-law, Sean Murray. Boyert had then sued Sakti for a share of profits he claimed Sulaiman had promised him.

According to Sarawak Report, Boyert’s court documents proved Taib had started the enormous Sakti property fortune, now worth at least US$80 million (RM240 million). This caused a “furious reaction”, Boyert said, and a “relentless, well-funded campaign” to destroy him financially.

Sakti’s lawyer firm, Howard Rice, hired a private investigator to approach Boyert’s business associates, asking them about unsubstantiated claims of embezzlement against Boyert. Boyert said he and his family had been followed and harassed by hostile men. Boyert became unemployed, went bankrupt and eventually lost his home.

“I was incredibly naive. I should have realised by showing all I knew about Taib’s involvement in the company I would pose a threat in his eyes and invoke his revenge. We never reporrealised Taib’s wealth was illegitimate,” Boyert told Sarawak Report.

The Taib family are unlikely to shed many tears over the death of their former property manager. There may even be a sense of relief he is gone. But the damage has already been done.

Sarawak Report has published documented evidence, supplied by Boyert, showing that Taib himself had set up Sakti. Boyert had apparently provided Sarawak Report with inside information on the Taib family’s business dealings. Scoops included photos of the Taib family, hanging inside a mansion in Seattle handed over to the family by timber conglomerate Samling, at a reported cost of US$1.

Sarawak Report has also followed up leads and exposed property owned by Taib’s family throughout north America and Britain. News of Taib’s obscene wealth has spread to every corner of Sarawak.

A pressing question is now, will Taib sue Sarawak Report? With Boyert gone, any defamation action would not have to deal with the well-informed insider as a witness for the defence. But given the wealth of documentary evidence Sarawak Report appears to have, it seems unlikely Taib will take the risk of even more adverse publicity.

The fact that Taib has remained silent about these allegations, so far, implies he lacks confidence to win any suit or obtain a court injunction against the allegations of his family’s property fortune.

Boyert’s death may have been suicide. This remains to be established by the California authorities. But even if Boyert took his own life, the “relentless” campaign to destroy him must have taken its toll on him, even if Boyert’s pursuers did not tie the plastic bag around his neck themselves.

Boyert was receiving medication for depression, so Taib’s supporters will dismiss Boyert as a lunatic. But ordinary Sarawakians will smell a rat. This death is a blow to Taib at a time when he is gearing up for state elections.

Worse still for Taib, it comes immediately after the horrific sight of tonnes of logs clogging up the Rajang river. The logs and debris left destruction, dead marine life and pollution in their wake. Sarawakians are already incensed with Taib, and they will continue to blame him during every subsequent flood in every town along the Rajang, from Sibu to Kapit.

Sarawakians living along the entire length of the Rajang will have seen this ecological vandalism with their own eyes. They do not need illustrated reports from green NGOs to understand the terrible destruction caused by uncontrolled logging along the upper reaches of the Rajang.

They will blame the logging companies, and most Sarawakians already understand the cosy relationship between Taib and the timber tycoons. Many Sarawakians are also aware of the links between the vast fortunes made from the devastated forests and the property empire in rich western countries.

We must remember that many other lives have been lost, thanks to the damage visited by logging and corruption on Sarawak.

There have been reports of rural villagers dying at blockades against logging companies because of tear-gas and violence, used by police in support of the timber tycoons and their political masters. A Penan girl of 12 was raped at a logging blockade by uniformed men carrying live ammunition, according to the girl and her family, and many other Penan girls have reported sexual abuse at the hands of loggers.

Penan chief Kelesau Naan was found dead under mysterious circumstances after leading a campaign for a decade against Samling. Kelesau had been waging a legal battle against the loggers and the state government. Penan advocate Bruno Manser disappeared 10 years ago in Sarawak’s forests and is presumed dead.

Taib’s government and logging companies had made Manser a target of hate.

Every day, poor people die all over Sarawak, because they receive substandard medical care, or drive on dangerous roads, or suffer ill health simply because they are poor. The wealth of Sarawak has been stolen from these people, ripped away and deposited overseas.

How much lower would our childhood mortality rate be, if we had good nutrition for all rural children, adequate education for all their mothers, and easy access to decent medical care for all their families?

When we vote in the upcoming state election – and in following elections – we must realise we are voting for our lives, and the lives of other Sarawakians. Voting in Sarawak is a matter of life and death. — Hornbill Unleashed

* The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysian Mirror and/or its associates.

Sangkaan buruk adalah satu 'Tuduhan Bohong'

MARANG - Bukan semua sangkaan itu dilarang didalam Islam tetapi banyak daripada sangkaan yang mendatangkan dosa kerana ia akan menyebabkan orang lain mengalami kesusahan dengan sangkaan tersebut.

Presiden PAS, Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang berkata perbezaan antara undang-undang Islam dengan undang-undang Barat adalah undang-undang Islam memiliki roh dan perhitungan dunia dan akhirat

Oleh itu menurutnya, orang-orang Islam dilarang membuat sangkaan (mengesakki) berlebih-lebihan sehingga melakukan penyiasatan dan pengintipan keterlaluan.

"Kita kena sedar, Undang-undang Islam ada roh dan ada perhitungan dunia dan akhirat, bukan macam undang-undang barat, dengan sebab itu kita tidak digalakkan menyangka sampai dalam-dalam sangat, sampai intip dalam-dalam sangat, itu amalan negara komunis,"jelasnya ketika menyampaikan kuliah mingguannya di Masjid Rusila, disini, Jumaat 15 Oktober.

Katanya, apa yang diamalkan oleh negara kapitalis, memberikan kebebasan sehingga keterlaluan juga tidak dibolehkan dalam Islam, yang menggalakkan kesederhaan.

Menurut Ustaz Abdul Hadi, sekiranya seseorang melihat satu perbuatan mungkar, ia wajib memberikan nasihat kepada orang yang mengerjakan perbuatan mungkar itu dan dilarangkan memberitahu kepada orang lain.

"Kalau kita tengok seseorang (melakukan mungkar) tetap tidak ada saksi (lain yang melihat) kita tidak boleh menyebar kan kepada orang (lain), (beri) nasihat kepada orang yang buat dosa itu tinggalkan maksiat, haram dari segi hukum syarak (memberitahu kepada orang lain),"terangnya.

Beiau berkata, hikmah supaya tidak menyangka buruk, mengintip secara mendalam dan menyebarkan berita tanpa saksi adalah untuk menjaga hubungan sesama manusia.

Katanya, nabi (Muhammad) SAW meletakkan sangkaan buruk terhadap seseorang itu adalah sebagai satu tuduhan bohong berdasarkan hadis yang diriwayat oleh Abu Hurairairah yang bermaksud;

"Jauhi kamu dari sangkaan buruk sesungguhnya sangkaan buruk itu sebruk-buruk percakapan,"

BO

Ku Li tolak jadi calon Galas

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah menolak cadangan Umno bahagian Gua Musang - yang mengadakan mesyuarat khas petang semalam - supaya bertanding sebagai calon BN dalam pilihan raya kecil DUN Galas 4 November ini.

Cadangan tersebut dikemukakan oleh ADUN Nenggiri, Mat Yusoff Ghani dan disokong oleh ahli jawatankuasa bahagian yang menghadiri mesyuarat khas itu di pejabat Umno bahagian selama kira-kira dua jam mulai 5 petang.

Ketika dihubungi Malaysiakini, Mat Yusoff mengesahkan beliau membuat cadangan tersebut dan mendapat sokongan para AJK bahagian.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, Tengku Razaleigh yang juga ahli parlimen Gua Musang dan ketua bahagian berkenaan, meminta mereka memilih calon lain daripada beliau dan dua ADUN dalam Parlimen Gua Musang - Nenggiri dan Paloh.

Mat Yusoff berkata, mesyuarat khas itu turut meneliti senarai calon yang dicadangkan oleh kalangan AJK bahagian, yang turut mengandungi nama Tengku Razaleigh.

Katanya, turut dijemput menghadiri mesyuarat khas petang semalam termasuk di kalangan wakil kerajaan, pegawai lantikan politik, penggawa di bahagian berkenaan.

"Tengku Razaleigh telah memberi kebebasan kepada AJK bahagian untuk menentukan calon BN di Galas.

"Dan calon pilihan mereka itu akan diserahkan kepada pihak pusat untuk diputuskan.

"Beliau kata walaupun perdana menteri mahu beliau (Tengku Razaleigh) sendiri yang memilih calon, tetapi beliau mahu perdana menteri yang memutuskannya," katanya.

Menurut Mat Yusoff lagi, senarai calon tersebut turut diedarkan kepada mereka yang menghadiri mesyuarat khas semalam untuk mencadangkan calon yang sesuai.

"Dua tiga hari lagi kita tahulah keputusannya," tambah beliau.

Galas adalah antara tiga DUN dalam parlimen Gua Musang. Kerusi tersebut kosong selepas kematian ADUN dari PAS, Che Hashim Sulaima, 46, pada 27 September, kerana barah usus.

Che Hashim memenangi kerusi tersebut dalam pilihan raya umum 2008 dengan mengalahkan Mohd Saufi Deraman dari BN, dengan majoriti 646 undi.

Mkini

Batu Sapi by-election set for Nov 4 as well

Pilihan raya kecil Batu Sapi serentak DUN Galas

PRK Serentak bukti SPR dibawah telunjuk BN,Pakatan Sedia Bertempur

TERKINI @ 01:31:27 PM 15-10-2010October 15, 2010

PUTRAJAYA, 15 Okt — Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) menetapkan 4 November sebagai hari pengundian bagi pilihan raya kecil Parlimen Batu Sapi, Sabah manakala 26 Oktober sebagai hari penamaan calon.

Dengan keputusan itu, pilihan raya kecil kerusi DUN Galas di Kelantan dan Parlimen Batu Sapi, Sabah akan diadakan serentak sebagaimana diamalkan awal tahun lalu membabitkan tiga kawasan.

Pada minggu lalu, SPR menetapkan pilihan raya kecil kerusi Galas akan diadakan 4 November.

Tarikh pilihan raya kecil yang ke-13 ini diumumkan oleh Pengerusi SPR Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof selepas mesyuarat khas hari ini.

Mengenai pilihan raya serentak, Aziz berkata keputusan itu berdasarkan faktor undang-undang tidak melarang berbuat demikian dan pengalaman SPR sebelum ini yang mengadakan pilihan raya kecil secara serentak di tiga tempat iaitu di Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau dan Batang Ai tahun lalu.

Beliau berkata jika dijalankan serentak, tempoh untuk mengadakan pilihan raya kecil itu menjadi pendek berbanding secara berasingan, sekali gus menjimatkan masa, perbelanjaan SPR dan mengurangkan ketegangan.

Katanya selain itu, SPR melihat tarikh berkenaan sebagai yang terbaik memandangkan faktor ruang yang terhad berikutan banyak peristiwa berlaku menjelang hujung tahun seperti sambutan perayaan Deepavali, Hari Raya Aidiladha, sidang DUN Sabah, awal Muharram, peperiksaan SPM.

“Dan yang paling penting, Sabah telah menyatakan kesediaannya untuk menghadapi pilihan raya kecil,” katanya selepas mengadakan mesyuarat khas berhubung pilihan raya kecil itu di sini.

Kerusi Batu Sapi kosong ekoran kematian penyandangnya, Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah pada Sabtu lalu.

Chong yang juga Bendahari Agung PBS meninggal dunia selepas motosikal berkuasa tinggi yang ditungganginya terlibat dalam nahas jalan raya dengan sebuah kereta di Jalan Coastal, Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu.

Parlimen Batu Sapi mempunyai dua DUN iaitu Sekong diwakili Datuk Samsudin Yahya daripada BN dan DUN Karamunting oleh Timbalan Ketua Menteri Datuk Peter Pang En Yin yang kini wakil rakyat Bebas menyokong BN selepas keluar daripada Parti Liberal Demokratik bulan lepas.

Pada pilihan raya umum 2008, Chong memenangi kerusi tersebut setelah menewaskan calon Bebas Chung Kwong Wing dengan majoriti 3,708. Mendiang memperoleh 9,479 undi manakala Chung meraih 5,771 undi.

MENYUSUL LAGI

Sarawak MPs see November state polls

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Speculation is rife among Sarawak MPs that the state assembly will be dissolved in November to pave way for state elections in which Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to retain power while ceding ground to Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The 2011 Budget announcement tomorrow is also expected to give added emphasis to the East Malaysian state to provide the catalyst for a dissolution of the state assembly early next month.

While BN is in no danger of losing the state government, winning by a two-thirds majority in the 71-seat chamber seems unlikely if the PR coalition of DAP, PKR and PAS perform as predicted.

DAP is expected to win most of the 17 Chinese-majority seats in Sarawak, but not without a hard fight as was seen in the recent Sibu by-election, which has a 76 per cent Chinese majority but was won marginally by DAP.

The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), in trouble with Chinese voters since 2006, is being told that BN will be able to form the next state government without a single contribution from it.

This is the message going out to the party from Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud, who must call state polls by June next year.

Chinese majority seats were traditionally contested by the Chinese-based SUPP, which, like the MCA and Gerakan in Peninsular Malaysia, has lost the support of the community’s urban voters for its perceived deference to the Bumiputera-based Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).

Taib has convinced Putrajaya it could not afford to go into battle without him � file pic.

PBB president Taib will be leading the state BN into battle and is expected to sweep the non-Chinese seats together with the smaller Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

Despite pressure from Kuala Lumpur to retire and put a new face in charge to win both urban and rural support, Taib, despite continued allegations of corruption, has convinced the federal government that it risked losing the entire state if he was not in place — a blow they can ill-afford with the country seen to be on the cusp of a general election.

“The thinking is that while Barisan is set to lose the urban Chinese vote, without Taib they might also lose the rural Iban vote and lose the government as well,” a Sarawak Barisan leader said.

“We are set on the lesser of the two evils, lose Chinese votes and still win the government or lose Taib and lose everything.”

“This argument has won the day because all the corruption allegations are only an issue with urban voters in Sarawak and elsewhere in Malaysia. It is not an issue in rural Sarawak where development is the main and only issue,” he added.

Another BN leader believed Taib could still deliver a needed victory for the coalition, “Here Taib is still strong and can pull the votes for one final time.”

However, BN’s ability to dominate the state assembly will be in doubt if the PKR and PAS also do as well as the DAP is expected to.

But observers say PKR in Sarawak was in disarray and heavily splintered along ethnic and religious lines, even with Baru Bian — a lawyer, anti-corruption champion and defender of native land rights — leading.

It was further alleged that “operatives” have infiltrated the state PKR and were likely to spark splinter groups, further weakening the party.

Such breakaways are a phenomenon in Sarawak politics that has traditionally been employed to weaken the opposition while burnishing the image of the ruling coalition.

PAS, on the other hand, has yet to make inroads into Sarawak politics because Islam is not a political force in the state as it was in Kelantan or Terengganu.

This is the case even in Muslim majority areas, and if PAS is to win, it will need help from DAP and, to a lesser extent, PKR.

“It might win one seat,” said a DAP leader, “if we agree to give up a marginal Chinese seat to them.”

DAP’s weakness is that although it is a nominally a multi-racial party, it prefers to contest only in Chinese majority areas where it has formed branches and established a network.

“We left organisational work in Malay/Muslim/Iban areas in the interior to PKR,” said the DAP leader. “Problem is they (PKR) are weak and fractured and have not organised anything.”

“So you can guess the results (election outcome),” he said.

TMI

Galas : PAS lancar gerak kerja 19 Oktober

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Okt : PAS Kelantan akan melancarkan gerak kerja bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dun Galas pada 19 Oktober ini bertempat di bandar Gua Musang.

Ketua Penerangan PAS Kelantan, Dr Muhammad Fadzli Hassan berkata, senarai nama calon sudah ada di pengetahuan PAS Pusat dan Kelantan akur dengan keputusan itu.

Beliau yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Penerangan, Pembangunan Maklumat, Sains dan Teknologi negeri berkata demikian ketika ditemui di Rumah Sri Kelantan, di sini ketika menghadiri Mesyuarat Exco Kerajaan Negeri, malam tadi.

“Bagi kita di dalam PAS, senarai nama yang dihantar tersebut adalah semuanya berkelayakan, namun ia terpaksa dibuat pilihan oleh Majlis Syura dan kita harap semua pihak akan menerima sesiapa sahaja yang akan menjadi calon PAS di Galas nanti,” katanya.

Menyentuh jentera parti, Muhammad Fadzli berkata, PAS sudah mempunyai banyak pengalaman dan selepas PRU ke-12 hingga kini sudah memasuki 12 PRK dan kesemuanya PAS melibatkan diri,walaupun sebagai pembantu kepada parti gabungan dalam Pakatan Rakyat.

“Kita juga yakin jentera PAS dari seluruh negeri akan turun sebaik mungkin dan ini member kekuatan semangat kepada PAS Kelantan dalam PRK Galas ini,” ujarnya lagi.

Ketika ditanya tindakan masyarakat Orang Asli yang ingin menggunakan jentera mereka sendiri dalam membantu PAS dalam PRK nanti, beliau berkata ini menggambarkan mereka sudah memahami dasar yang dibawa oleh parti dan kerajaan Kelantan.

Katanya, mereka kini sudah tidak boleh lagi dipergunakan oleh pihak tertentu dalam menentukan calon yang mereka sukai.

“Amat bagus saranan dari ketua masyarakat Orang Asli di Gua Musang tersebut dan di pihak kerajaan, tugas memberi penerangan dan menyebarkan maklumat perlu diteruskan sepanjang masa dan ia tidak hanya dalam musim pilihanraya saja,” ujar beliau lagi.

Tambahnya, tanggapan orang ramai terhadap masyarakat Orang Asli yang masih tidak mempunyai pendidikan dan lemah, kini sudah tidak tepat lagi.

“Mereka kini sudahpun mempunyai pengetahuan terhadap dasar yang dibawa oleh kerajaan Kelantan.

“Ini terbukti dengan usaha pihak kerajaan yang telah melantik wakil mereka dalam Majlis Daerah Gua Musang dan wakil mereka ini sering memberi pandangan yang agak bernas dan boleh diterima pakai,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, tanggungjawab kerajaan memberi penerangan mengenai pelbagai maklumat kepada masyarakat Orang Asli tidak dipinggirkan.

Harakahdaily

Tumpahan bahan kimia merbahaya, air Sungai Rejang tidak selamat diminum?

SIBU 14 Okt - Fenomena kebanjiran lebih 300,000 meter padu sisa kayu dan balak yang menyekat laluan air di Sungai Rejang sejak 7 Oktober lalu sudah berakhir namun persoalan paling penting yang tidak dijawab oleh kerajaan negeri Barisan Nasional Sarawak ialah samada air sungai tersebut selamat diminum.

Menurut sumber industri pembalakan di Putai, ratusan ribu penduduk yang tinggal disepanjang Sungai Rejang kini terdedah dengan bahaya keracunan dan pencemaran disebabkan bahan kimia yang hanyut bersama himpunan kayu kayan yang hanyut di dalam sungai tersebut.

Suara Keadilan difahamkan akibat banjir besar yang menjadi punca berlakunya himpunan kayu kayan tersebut, bahan kimia merbahaya seperti perawat kulat (fungicide), glue dan diesel dipercayai telah di bawa oleh arus banjir ke dalam sungai.

"Pembalak selalunya akan membina 'log pond' untuk menyimpan balak yang telah ditebang sebelum diangkut oleh jentera berat ke dalam 'tug boat' melalui jalan air. Tersimpan di dalam 'log pond' ini juga beratus-ratus tong yang menyimpan perawat kulat.

"Terdapat juga kilang-kilang papan lapis yang menggunakan bahan perekat dalam proses pembuatan dan bahan ini juga dipercayai turut memasukki sistem ekologi Sungai Rejang dalam banjir itu," kata sumber tersebut.

Sungai Rejang yang merupa sungai terpanjang di Malaysia dengan jarak 350 kilometer menjadi nadi kehidupan kepada beberapa bandar utama dan lebih 1,000 kampung dan desa yang menampung ratusan ribu penduduk negeri Sarawak.

Antara bandar penting yang mendapat bekalan air secara terus dari Sungai Rejang termasuk Pelabuhan Tanjung Manis, Sarikei (50,000 penduduk), Bintangor (30,755), Sibu (126,000), Kanowit (28,000), Ngemah (dalam Kanowit), Song (22,200) dan Kapit (100,000).

Air yang sedut dari bandar-bandar ini kemudiannya di salurkan ke Salim di Sibu untuk dirawat.

Sebarang pencemaran air di Sungai Rejang dikatakan akan menjejaskan bukan sahaja sumber air minuman di Sarawak malah memberi kesan kepada industri perikanan di kawasan itu.

"Kerajaan negeri mesti mengambil langkah segera untuk membuat kajian di makmal bagi memastikan air minuman dari sumber Sungai Rejang selamat diminum dan juga ikan yang dimakan tidak mengandungi bahan kimia merbahaya," kata sumber itu lagi.

Terdapat dakwaan sisa kayu kayan yang sudah terkumpul di Putai itu hasil pembalakan haram di kawasan pendalaman sarawak yang bersempadan dengan Kalimantan sejak 10 tahun dahulu.

"Banyak aktiviti pembalakan haram berlaku di kawasan pendalaman Sarawak tapi malangnya tidak ada pemantauan satu usaha untuk membanteras gejala ini.

"Kerosakan yang berlaku disebabkan himpunan kayu itu malah lebih besar berbanding statistik rasmi yang dilaporkan," ujar sumber itu.

Menurut Timbalan Ketua Menteri, Tan Sri Dr George Chan dua jambatan Bailey serta lima terjeti rosak dalam kejadian itu mengakibatkan kerugian bernilai RM2.7 juta sahaja.

SK

Dewan Pemuda PAS cabar BN

IPOH - Dewan Pemuda Pas Negeri mencabar Kerajaan Negeri mendedahkan senarai syarikat pembalakan semasa pemerintahan Pakatan Rakyat (PR) dengan melakukan perkara sama semasa pemerintahan Barisan Nasional (BN) dahulu dan kini.

Ketuanya, Zawawi Hassan berkata, pihaknya tidak gentar berkenaan surat layang yang mendakwa mempunyai senarai syarikat pembalakan itu.

“Kita sedia menyahut kesediaan Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir yang bersetuju mendedahkan senarai syarikat sekiranya diminta oleh rakyat.

“Dewan Pemuda yakin Datuk Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin bersedia disiasat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) sekiranya benar dakwaan BN terhadap PR,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian, semalam.

Zawawi berkata, Dewan Pemuda juga sedia mengadakan pentas debat antara Zambry dan Nizar untuk mendedahkan penyelewengan yang dibangkitkan itu.

“Ini bagi membuktikan siapa sebenarnya telus dalam mengurus kewangan negeri untuk rakyat.

“Dr Zambry juga perlu berani mendedahkan syarikat yang dikuasai BN dalam mendapatkan konsesi balak,” katanya.

Terdahulu, Zambry mengakui berkenaan surat layang yang dipercayai tersebar luas dalam kalangan pemimpin DAP berhubung rasuah membabitkan konsesi balak sebanyak RM21.5 juta.

Dalam pada itu, Setiausaha Dewan Pemuda, Dr Raja Ahmad Al- Hiss kecewa sikap tidak profesional pihak SPRM menjadikan laporan media sebagai asas untuk menyiasat pemerintahan PR selama 11 bulan.

“SPRM sepatutnya tidak berpihak dalam memastikan pandangan rakyat terhadap keadilan dan ketelusan sebenar mereka,” katanya.

Katanya, SPRM perlu menyiasat perkara sama semasa pemerintahan BN dulu dan kini.

PAS berjuang perpaduan sudah lama : Ammar

SH

Sarawak's Demokorupsi

COMMENT The desecration of the huge Rejang (also known as Rajang) river by wasted logs and driftwood has raised the alarm, throughout Malaysia, about the environmental degradation that has been taking place throughout Sarawak during chief minister Taib Mahmud’s three decades in power.

Even though TV3 and RTM have tried to suppress the news of this ecological and economic disaster, photos and eyewitness accounts have drawn an enormous audience. Shocking photos posted on Hornbill Unleashed drew more than 10,000 views, and many angry comments, over a couple of days.

Yet many rural Sarawakians have already known, for many years, the hardship caused by industrial scale logging. Photos still hang in upriver longhouses of young men standing waist deep in rivers, proudly showing off their catch of huge semah fish caught in clear waters, a decade or two ago. But the murky, polluted rivers no longer provide for them.

Once logging tracks cut into the forests, hunters follow in four-wheel-drive vehicles, using shotguns and searchlights at night. They shoot every animal in sight, for profit or for sport. Forest dwellers need to hunt these animals to survive, but their wild game is being driven beyond their reach. Food security is a thing of the past for many communities.

Sarawak’s celebrated environmental protection laws have never been more than window dressing, because no political will exists to uphold the laws.

Official regulators co-operate with loggers and other polluters, out of fear of their political masters, or because the officials are also on the take.

State forestry and environmental agencies fall under Taib’s direct control as minister of planning and natural resources. Federal authorities ignore the rampant environmental vandalism in Sarawak’s hydro-electric dams, logging concessions and plantations, as long as Taib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) continues to deliver around 30 parliamentary seats in every general election.

The reason for our public officials’ inertia over the environmental destruction in our state is simple. Corruption has taken over the day-to-day running of our state. Politicians and government officials make fortunes from logging companies, dam builders and plantations.

The government tells us the rotting wood floated down the Rejang from the Baleh, upstream. This is because the polluters in the upper reaches of the Baleh and Rejang – loggers and dam-builders – are immune to the law. These businessmen pull strings, and their puppets in the government, such as James Masing and Len Talif Salleh, wave their hands and talk.

It is revealing that Taib, the minister responsible for natural resources, logging, the construction of the enormous dams, Sarawak Forestry and the NREB, claims to have no idea about the logjam catastrophe. Perhaps he does not care, or perhaps he is incompetent: either way, the minister has an obligation to resign for failing at his job.

There is speculation that Sarawak Hidro may have contributed to the logjam. Sarawak Hidro, owner of the ill-fated Bakun Dam, has been urging Taib to allow it to start filling the dam, since its monstrous losses are piling up by the day. Meanwhile, Taib is stalling until both Sarawak Hidro and the federal government agree to his price and terms for buying the Bakun white elephant. - Hornbill Unleashed

* The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysian Mirror and/or its associates.

Pakatan Rakyat umum calon PAS 22 Oktober

KUALA LUMPUR - Pakatan Rakyat (PR) akan mengumumkan calon Pas yang bertanding di Pilihan Raya Kecil Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Galas pada 22 Oktober depan.

Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, kesemua pimpinan parti seperti Presiden Pas, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dan Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang akan hadir di majlis tersebut.

Menurutnya, kesemua jentera PR termasuk jentera Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) dan DAP telah bersiap sedia bagi membantu calon Pas mengekalkan kerusi berkenaan.

“Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang, Kit Siang dan saya bersama Tuan Guru (Datuk) Nik (Abdul) Aziz (Nik Mat) akan hadir dalam majlis pengumuman tersebut,” katanya dalam sidang akhbar di bangunan Parlimen, semalam.

Sementara itu, Hadi yang juga Ahli Parlimen Marang memberitahu, senarai calon telah diserahkan oleh Jawatankuasa Pas Pusat kepada Dewan Harian Pas yang bermesyuarat malam tadi.

“Malam ini (malam tadi) parti akan putuskan siapa calon Pas yang akan bertanding, dan kita akan umum pada 22 Oktober nanti.

“Calon yang kita akan pilih bukan sahaja mempunyai ketokohan, malah juga sesuai dengan keperluan lapangan,” katanya ketika ditemui di lobi parlimen.

Dalam perkembangan lain, Anwar berkata, calon PR bagi pilihan raya kecil Parlimen Batu Sapi akan ditentukan kepada Majlis pimpinan PR Sabah yang kan bermesyuarat selepas mengetahui tarikh pilihan raya tersebut.

“Kita telah mendapat penjelasan dari PR Sabah mengenai Batu Sapi, dan mereka akan bermesyuarat setelah Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) umum tarikh,” katanya.

Beliau turut memberitahu bahawa satu Persidangan Menteri Besar dan Ketua Menteri yang akan di adakan di Shah Alam pada 29 November ini.

SH

DUN Galas : PAS putus calonnya malam ini

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 Okt — PAS akan memutuskan calon yang bakal mewakili parti Islam itu dan Pakatan Rakyat pada pilihan raya kecil kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri Galas di sini, malam ini.

Naib Presiden PAS Salahuddin Ayub memberitahu, kepimpinan parti itu akan mengadakan mesyuarat khas malam ini untuk memutuskan perkara tersebut.

“Kami akan bertemu di ibu pejabat parti hari ini untuk menentukan calon kami,” kata beliau kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Terdahulu seorang lagi Naib Presiden Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man juga mengesahkan perkara itu.

“Ia akan diputuskan malam ini, mesyuarat kami selepas mesyuarat kepimpinan Pakatan Rakyat petang ini,” kata beliau ketika dihubungi di Pahang.

Tarikh pengisytiharan nama calon juga akan ditetapkan malam ini, kata beliau.

Laporan kelmarin menyebut PAS akan mengumumkan calonnya 24 Oktober manakala laporan terbaru hari ini menyebut ia akan diketahui 22 Oktober.

MENYUSUL LAGI

Pakatan Rakyat mahu isu balak di Sungai Rejang dibahas esok

KUALA LUMPUR 13 Okt - Ahli Parlimen Sibu, Wong Ho Leng telah mengemukakan usul kepada Speaker Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia bagi membincangkan isu himpunan sampah sarap berupa batang dan sisa-sisa kayu terhanyut di Sungai Rejang yang berlaku sejak 7 Oktober lalu.

Dalam surat beliau kepada Speaker, Ho Leng berkata usul tersebut di buat di bawah Peraturan Mesyuarat 18(2) bagi membincangkan isu tersebut yang disifatkan sebagai berkenaan kepentingan orang ramai.

Usul tersebut berbunyi:

“Bahawa Dewan ini mengizinkan YB Wong Ho Leng, Ahli Parlimen Sibu, untuk menangguhkan Dewan mengikut Peraturan Mesyuarat 18(1) untuk merundingkan perkara tertentu berkenaan kepentingan orang ramai yang berkehendaki disegerakan, iaitu krisis himpunan sampah sarap berupa batang dan sisa-sisa kayu terhanyut (logjam) di Sungai Rejang

“Selama dua hari pada 7hb dan 8hb Oktober 2010, lebih kurang 300,000 metrik ton sampah sarap berupa batang dan sisa-sisa kayu hanyut telah terapung dan mengalir dari hulu Sungai Rejang ke Sibu, menggendalakan sistem pengangkutan air serta menyebabkan kerosakan alam sekitar yang serius sepanjang sungai berkenaan.

“Batang-batang kayu menyekat perjalanan air sepanjang Sungai Rejang, khasnya di pekan Kapit.

“Sampai hari ini, kerajaan belum memberitahu rakyat apakah yang mencetuskan krisis ini.

“Kesesakan berikutan dengan hanyutan kayu-kayu batang dan sisa-sisanya ini telah memgakibatkan kerosakan alam sekitar serta malapetaka ekologi yang belum pernah berlaku di besen Rajang.

“Kerajaan negeri membiarkan batang-batang dan sisa-sisa kayu berkenaan mengalir ke Laut Cina Selatan tanpa mengambil sebarang tindakan.

“Banyak dari batang-batang kayu dan sisa-sisa ini terselerak sepanjang tebing Sungai Rejang dan Sungai Igan. Paras air yang menaik menghanyutkan mereka ke dalam sungai, mengakibatkan lebih banyak masalah sumpat dan laluan sungai tergendala.

“Sisa-sisa kayu yang menyumbat aliran sungai telah membunuh banyak ikan dan kehidupan air dalam sungai.

“Pembalakan haram dan berlebihan adalah masalah yang serius di Sarawak. Para menteri dan kuncu-kuncu mereka bersubahat dalam kegiatan berkenaan. Malah dalam Laporan Ketua Audit Negara tahun 2008, masalah pembalakan tanpa kawalan ini telah dibangkitkan, tetapi kerajaan negeri enggan mengambil sebarang tindakan untuk menghentikan kegiatan haram ini.

“Ini merupakan malapetaka alam sekitar yang amat serius. Mengapakah kerajaan tidak mengambil sebarang tindakan terhadap pesalah yang terlibat serta menyelamatkan alam sekitar kita? Adakah perkara ini akan berulang di masa depan?

“Dewan yang mulia ini harus membahas perkara-perkara tersebut.”

Usul tersebut dijangka akan dibahaskan di dalam Parlimen esok sekiranya Pandikar Amin meluluskannya.

SK

Video : Rejang River clogged by sea of logs and debris [07.10.2010]

Niat Nik Aziz ke Makkah termakbul tahun ini

SHAH ALAM 13 Okt - Menteri Besar Kelantan, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat dijangka bakal menunaikan rukun Islam kelima tahun ini selepas hasrat beliau terhalang akibat angkara fitnah Umno-Barisan Nasional yang mempolitikkan rancangannya berangkat ke Makkah tahun lepas.

Menurut sumber, beliau akan berangkat ke Tanah Suci bersama-sama Sultan Kelantan, Tuanku Muhammad Faris Petra yang akan turut sama menunaikan fardhu haji pada tahun ini.

Nik Abdul Aziz dijangka akan berangkat ke Makkah awal bulan depan di mana tarikhnya masih belum ditetapkan.

Menurut maklumat yang diterima dari Kuala Lumpur, jadual penerbangan beliau sedang diuruskan oleh pihak Tabung Haji.

Salah seorang kakitangan Tabung Haji memberitahu tarikh pemergian itu adalah sekitar 9 atau 10 November.

Ini bermakna, beliau akan berangkat ke Tanah Suci itu selepas selesainya Pilihan Raya Kecil N45 Galas pada 4 November depan.

SK

Sultan Kelantan lucutkan gelaran 'Datuk' Ibrahim Ali

Bekas pembantu Taib Mahmud ditemui mati di AS

KUALA LUMPUR 13 OKT : Bekas pembantu Ketua Menteri Sarawak, Tan Sri Taib Mahmud di Amerika Syarikat ditemui mati dalam bilik di sebuah hotel di Los Angeles minggu lalu.

Blog portal Sarawak Report melaporkan Ross Boyert, 60 tahun, bekas pembantu Taib ditemui mati dengan dengan beg diikat dikepalanya dan spekulasi timbul kemungkinan beliau membunuh diri.

Bagaimanapun, koroner di bandaraya berkenaan enggan mengesahkan punca kematiannya itu dan sedang menjalankan siasatan punca kematiannya.

Beliau meninggalkan seorang isteri seorang anak perempuan. Ross telah berkhidmat hampir 12 tahun sebagai pengurus kepada hartanah merangkumi blok pejabat dan perumahan milik keluarga Taib di San Francisco, California dan Seattle.

Hartanah milik keluarga yang diurusnya termasuk kompleks berkeselamatan tinggi Biro Penyiasatan Persekutuan (FBI) yang terletak di Bangunan Abraham Lincoln di Seattle di mana beliau diberikan pelepasan keselamatan peribadi maksimum untuk bebas keluar masuk bangunan tersebut.

Laporan Sarawak Report baru-baru ini mendedahkan bahawa Taib secara rahsia menjadi pemegang saham terbesar dalam syarikat Sakti International yang memiliki kebanyakan bangunan hartanah yang diuruskan oleh Ross Boyert.

Bagaimanapun senarai dafrtar rasmi pemegang saham syarikat berkenaan secara rasminya menamakan ahli keluarga Taib yang terdiri daripada Rahman, Mahmud dan Jamilah Taib bersama bapa saudaranya Arip dan Onn Mahmud.

Tugas Ross termasuk membaikpulih dan menyewakan hartanah milik Taib, terutamanya blok yang menempatkan ruang pejabat di 260 California Street yang terletak di tengah-tengah bandaraya San Francisco.

Beliau mula berkhidmat menggantikan Rahman Taib yang dikatakan gagal menguruskan dengan baik bangunan tersebut sehingga menanggung kerugian dan berjaya memajukan perniagaan hartanah milik Taib sehingga mencatatkan keuntungan sehinggan USD80 juta sehingalah beliau meninggalkan syarikat berkenaan pada 2006 lalu.

Posted by RAKYAT MARHAEN

Taib’s Former US Aide Found Dead

Smiling through hard times, the Boyerts in June

Sarawak Report is deeply saddened to inform of the tragic and untimely death of Taib Mahmud’s former aide in the United States. It is speculated that he may have taken his own life, but the Coroner is withholding judgement pending further investigations.

Ross Boyert, aged 60, was found with a bag tied around his head in a Los Angeles hotel room last week. He leaves a wife and daughter. He had worked for over 12 years as the sole manager of a number of the office blocks and residences owned by the Taib family in San Francisco, California and Seattle, Washington State. This included the FBI’s top security facility, the Abraham Lincoln Building in Seattle, for which Boyert had been given a maximum personal security clearance to enter.

Taib’s US property interests

Outside the flagship 260 California Street

As Sarawak Report has revealed in a series of recent exposes, Taib Mahmud himself is secretly the majority shareholder of the company Sakti International, which owned much of the real estate managed by Ross Boyert. Officially however, the shareholders were listed as Rahman, Mahmud and Jamilah Taib (his children), along with their uncles Arip and Onn Mahmud, the Chief Minister’s brothers. The sole Director of the Company was first Rahman (Sulaiman) Taib (Taib’s son), and then Sean Murray (his son in law).

Ross worked on a major programme of refurbishing and letting out the Taib properties, particularly a flagship office block at 260 California Street, in the centre of San Francisco’s financial district. When Boyert first came to the company it was failing under the management of youthful Rahman Taib (then still a student) and was facing serious debts. Ross was able to turn fortunes round, leaving Sakti with a net worth of US $80 million at the time of his departure in 2006.

Fall out with the Taibs led to Boyert’s destruction

The old boss - Rahman and a family mansion acquired from Samling

Ross Boyert, who was known to be an ‘upbeat, sociable guy’, liked and respected by his staff, apparently saw the destruction of his dreams after falling foul of rivalries between Taib family members. Details of what happened to him are publicly laid out in a suit and counter-suit lodged in the records of the California Superior Court. These records provided some of the information behind Sarawak Report’s original exposes of Taib’s US property interests.

Sarawak Report has now also come into possession of an extraordinary, 188 page letter sent by Boyert to the Chief Minister himself in November 2006, begging Taib to intercede on his behalf, given his role as the real person in charge of the company.

The letter, addressed to ‘Chief Minister Datuk Padinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud’ and FedExed to his residence in Singapore, begins:

“For 12 years I have endeavoured to fulfil my responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer at Sakti International Corporation in a loyal, confidential manner under the most trying of circumstances. During my tenure Sakti and its affiliates have profited greatly… I estimate the value of the holdings of the Group at US $80 million”

The letter goes on to explain in detail how, relying on an relationship based on close trust with Rahman, Boyert had gone to extreme personal financial risk and effort to rescue the failing business. In return Rahman had offered him a 50% stake in the profits, by then worth several million US dollars.

New boss - son-in-law Sean Murray sacked Ross and shelved deal based on trust

However, Boyert then explains his dismay when the Taib family reneged on the deal, once the company was secure. In 2006 Rahman was replaced as sole Director by Taib’s Canadian son-in-law Sean Murray, who then proceeded to sack Boyert without compensation.

Boyert brought a case for unfair dismissal and asked for his promised share of the profits. But, far from gaining Taib’s help and sympathy, Ross later said that the letter provoked a furious reaction against him.

“I was incredibly naive” Boyert told Sarawak Report, “I should have realised that by showing all that I knew about Taib’s involvement in the company I would present a threat in his eyes and invoke his revenge. We never realised that Taib’s wealth was illegitimate, we didn’t have Google in those days. We just assumed that, as the FBI had checked out the company and rented a maximum security facility from the Taibs, everything must be above board”.

‘Campaign to destroy the Boyerts’

Firebombed - the Boyert's car

After bringing the case against Sakti, thereby revealing the Taib family business interests in the States, the Boyerts claimed they then faced a relentless, well-funded campaign to undermine their reputation and to destroy them financially. Other victims of the Taibs’ business methods in Sarawak have testified that this is a regular strategy against former associates, particularly those ‘in the know’.

However, the Boyerts say they were innocent of the danger of taking the Taibs to a US court. The lawyers acting for the Taibs, a high-profile California firm, Howard Rice, warned the Boyerts in writing that if they took any action they would be treated ‘harshly’, but the couple say they failed to understand the implications.

Executive Vice President to Rahman's President

“We thought it was a plain vanilla employment dispute and they would eventually give us some money to go away”, Ross explained. ”Instead they unleashed the forces of hell on us”.

Over the ensuing years the Boyerts lodged several complaints of personal harassment against them with their local Atherton Police Station in San Francisco. They alleged that intimidation practiced against them included numerous incidents of tyre slashing, the destruction of their burglar alarm and CCTV surveillance systems and a series of break-ins to their home in which damage was inflicted, but little taken. On two occasions passports and birth certificates were burgled from their papers.

Previously, in 2001, the Boyerts has also suffered the firebombing of their car in their driveway. They put this down to neighbours who disapproved of their employers. They said this social ostracism had added to their problems.

Evicted - the Boyert's old house has been neglected

Once the legal case had started the Boyerts also alleged they felt they were being followed. Despite frequent changes of mobile phone they would receive bizarre texts and on one occasion the phone rang out the tune by the group The Police, “I am watching you”. The Boyerts claimed their mobiles were also used as trackers by the people trying to intimidate them. When Sarawak Report journalists visited them in June this year they witnessed how the phone, after being switched off, repeatedly turned itself back on, which is a sign of so-called ‘cloning’ and a form of surveillance.

The Boyerts by that time were convinced that the purpose of these incidents had been to frighten and discredit them as fantasists. They ceased to report the incidents and in 2008 they said they agreed to drop their case in return for a commitment that there would be no further incidents of intimidation. However they claimed that the harassment had continued and produced photographs of men they believed were following them, saying the same faces would turn up in different places.

The Boyerts believed that this was intimidation sanctioned by the Taibs, however the police failed to be convinced by their ‘bizarre’ allegations. Other incidents they reported were sinister noises at night, occasions when Ross and later his teenage daughter were driven into the side of the road by aggressive drivers and one frightening incident when Ross’s wife was approached by a man in a restaurant who allegedly tampered with her drink, causing her to pass out on her daughter who had been accompanying her.

Defamation

Follower? The Boyerts say they kept seeing the same people

Sarawak Report has been able to establish that while the above incidents are unproven, the lawyers Howard Rice did hire a Private Detective Agency in California named Bruce Haskett and Associates, who approached many of Boyert’s key business associates. In the process of requiring information about suspected embezzlement and dishonesty on Ross’s part they succeeded in destroying his reputation for honesty among his business network.

One of Ross’s key referees has told Sarawak Report that the visit and surrounding rumours unnerved him and it diminished his willingness to provide a positive reference.

“When Ross asked me for a reference after that” explained Tom Williamson of the respected company Hathaway Dinwiddie “I would always keep it as brief as possible. He had always been completely honest in his dealings with our projects, but I felt uncomfortable about recommending him”

Williamson has acknowledged that his reticence would have undermined Ross’s later attempts to find work. He later withdrew as a referee. Another contact allegedly told Ross “You should hear what these guys are saying about you”. On a separate occasion the Prudential Insurance Company threatened to renege on a loan commitment to Sakti, because they said they had reason to understand that Ross would embezzle the money.

Short-lived. Sean Murray sacked Ross soon after taking charge

From plum job to desperate circumstances

Homeless

By the time Sarawak Report came to interview the Boyerts in the summer of 2010, they were no longer eligible for social security payments after 2 years out of work. They had spent thousands on the court case and in the midst of the recession they could not sell their home to cover the costs.

In June 2010 the Boyerts’ multi-million dollar Atherton home was taken as part of a foreclosure agreement and sold to an anonymous buyer for a rock-bottom price. The Boyerts were bankrupted and forced to move into their daughter’s apartment in Costa Mesa, Southern California, where the rent was due to expire in one month.

Ross told Sarawak Report at that time that he felt he had “reached the end of the road” yet the couple still feared they were being harassed. A few days later their pet puppy died under what they believed was mysterious circumstances after being left alone at their flat.

A way out?

Ross's smashed car

One month later, when the rent ran out, Ross Boyert made a first suicide attempt by driving into a tree near his old home. He claimed he had also been beaten up before the incident, but this was written off as a delusional memory caused by sleeping pills. The police were unresponsive to pleas for support. Friends of Sarawak Report have attempted to assist the Boyerts with their troubles in the ensuing weeks, but it is believed his depression had gone too far.

No state support in California

It is likely that the lack of any support from the California state agencies contributed to the pressures on Ross Boyert in the period before his death. He was denied welfare payments, but aged 60 in a recession could not find work. Moreover, Stanford hospital who had treated the first suicide attempt refused to continue to supply anti-depressants or counselling because of his inability to pay.

Despite this the hospital’s fee department constantly rang the family to demand payment of a $70,000 bill that they claimed Boyert had run up while involuntarily held at the hospital for 5 days following the car accident. The last of these calls were made to Ross two days before he died on Sunday of last week. His body was found in a motel room the next day.

When asked by Sarawak Report how he had been affected by the Taibs, Ross had earlier replied:

“They did to us what they did to the Borneo Rainforest, decimation, destruction, rape, plunder, betrayal. Ruination for ruination’s sake. I don’t see a future and that is absolutely what they wanted.”

Sarawak Report

Ku Nan : Umno tiada rancangan ke Sarawak

Taib tiada beri bayangan pilihan raya Sarawak lagi

Walaupun tarikh sebenar pilihan raya negeri Sarawak masih menjadi perhatian, namun ucapan perasmian majlis 'Lan Berambeh' anak negeri Sarawak 2010 oleh Ketua Menteri Sarawak Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud di Kuala Lumpur, malam semalam tidak sedikit pun menyentuh isu tersebut.

Beliau yang dijangka akan membangkitkan isu tersebut di hadapan hampir 3,000 anak negeri Sarawak yang hadir pada majlis itu, sebaliknya lebih banyak menyentuh tentang soal pembangunan dan transformasi untuk negeri Sarawak seperti yang terkandung dalam Rancangan Malaysia Ke-10 (RMK-10).

Taib turut meminta seluruh rakyat Sarawak supaya bersatu padu tanpa mengira kaum dan agama kerana dengan cara itu sahaja ekonomi Sarawak dapat melalui proses transformasi.

Hampir 3,000 anak Sarawak daripada pelbagai golongan, termasuk pelajar hadir di majlis anjuran Persatuan Anak Sarawak Semenanjung di Malaysian Technology Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (MTDC) Technology Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Taib berkata lebih banyak peluang pekerjaan berpendapatan tinggi akan dicipta di Sarawak terutama melalui pembangunan Koridor Sarawak, justeru beliau mahu setiap pelajar memilih kursus yang betul dalam merebut peluang itu.

"Saya rasa bila saya bersara nanti, saya boleh lihat lebih ramai generasi muda Sarawak menerajui ekonomi Sarawak nanti," katanya.

- Bernama

Mkini

Ku Nan : Umno tiada rancangan ke Sarawak

Bekas pembantu Taib meninggal dunia di AS

Bencana Sungai Rejang Akibat Ketamakan Pemimpin BN Sarawak

BINTULU 12 Okt - Ratusan ribu padu balak dan sisa kayu yang kini memenuhi sepanjang 50 kilometer Sungai Rejang di Sarawak adalah akibat ketamakan pimpinan Barisan Nasional yang secara sistematik merompak hasil perhutanan di negeri itu sejak hampir 50 tahun.

Lebih menyedihkan punca bencana alam ini dipercayai disebabkan oleh pembalakan secara besar-besaran di kawasan seluas Singapura bagi projek hidrolektrik Bakun oleh syarikat pembalakan yang menjadi kroni dan mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan pimpinan BN Sarawak di bawah Ketua Menteri, Tan Sri Taib Mahmud.

Menurut seorang penulis blog, Calvin Jemarang yang mengendali blog www.bintulu.org tragedi dahsyat yang menimpa sistem ekologi sungai serta alam sekitar di sungai terpanjang dan terbesar di Sarawak itu berlaku bagi kali ketiga.

"Saya pertikaikan kenyataan Ketua Menteri yang mengatakan kejadian ini adalah yang pertama kali berlaku di Sarawak. Bagaimanapun Menteri Pembangunan Tanah, Datuk Seri Dr James Masing dilaporkan dalam media sebagai berkata kejadian ini adalah kali ketiga berlaku. Pertama adalah pada tahun 2008 di Nangga (Kuala) Sg Gat dan Tutoh Apoh pada tahun lepas.

"Kejadian di Sungai Rejang ini adalah yang terburuk dan membuktikan dengan jelas kegagalan pengurusan hutan di Sarawak yang dikaitkan dengan ketamakan seorang pemimpin itu Tan Sri Taib Mahmud," kata Calvin kepada Suara Keadilan.

Calvin berkata timbunan sampah kayu dan balak yang menyekat laluan pengangkutan di sungai seluas satu kilometer itu telah memberi kesan amat mendalam ke atas ratusan ribu rakyat negeri itu yang bergantung hidup kepada Sungai Rejang.

"Kehidupan penduduk disepanjang sungai ini terganggu kerana aktiviti harian mencari rezeki, perniagaan dan pengangkutan terhenti sama sekali. Bot-bot ekspres tidak langsung boleh melalui jalan air menyebabkan ribuan penduduk terkandas dan anak-anak tidak boleh ke sekolah. Bekalan makanan dan penghantaran barangan dan logistik juga tidak beroperasi sama sekali.

"Ratusan ribu ikan yang berharga seperti empurau, kelah dan patin juga musnah disebabkan kemusnahan habitat mereka hasil penurunan tahap oksigen di dalam air," jelas beliau lagi.

Kematian ribuan ikan empurau yang mencapai harga sehingga RM800 sekilo telah menjejaskan pendapatan nelayan tempatan.

Menurut Ahli Majlis Pimpinan Parti Keadilan Rakyat Pusat, Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, Ketua Menteri Sarawak perlu mengambil tanggungjawab penuh terhadap malapetaka yang menimpa Sungai Rejang.

"Beliau pergi ke Universiti Oxford beberapa bulan lalu dan diberi gelaran 'Bapa Alam Sekitar Sarawak' tetapi lihat apa yang berlaku di bawah pentadbirannya.

"Keadaan ini amat menyedihkan dan saya menyeru rakyat Sarawak supaya berfikir secara mendalam apa yang sedang berlaku demi masa depan anak-anak. Buatlah keputusan yang terbaik bagi Sarawak pada pilihan raya negeri akan datang," tegas Dr Tan yang juga bekas Timbalan Menteri Tanah dan Pembangunan Koperasi.

SK

Video : Rejang River clogged by sea of logs and debris [07.10.2010]

PAS, Pakatan mesyuarat esok tentukan umum calon

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Okt : PAS akan bermesyuarat dengan pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat malam esok bagi menetapkan tarikh pengumuman calon yang akan bertanding pada pilihan raya kecil Dewan Undangan Negeri (Dun) Galas nanti.

Pengarah Pilihan Raya PAS Pusat, Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman berkata, setakat ini PAS mempunyai dua pilihan tarikh untuk mengumumkan calon iaitu pada 22 atau 24 Oktober bagi memastikan semua pemimpin utama Pakatan Rakyat dapat hadir ke majlis pengumuman tersebut.

"Kita nak pastikan Tuan Guru Datuk Nik (Abdul) Aziz, (Datuk Seri) Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi, (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim dan Lim Kit Siang ada pada masa pengumuman tersebut. Kita ambil kira kehadiran mereka, jadi kita kena bincang dahulu dengan mereka malam esok," kata beliau ketika ditemui di lobi Parlimen hari ini.

Beliau juga memberitahu, Dewan Harian PAS dijangka bermesyuarat Rabu depan untuk membincangkan senarai pendek calon yang telah diserahkan kepada Majlis Syura.

"Kita sudah ada senarai pendek tetapi akan ditentukan dalam mesyuarat nantilah," katanya.

Semalam, Pengarah Pilihan Raya PAS Kelantan, Abdul Fatah Harun dilaporkan berkata, mengikut kebiasaannya selepas mengumpul senarai nama calon berkenaan, anggota pimpinan PAS Pusat akan membuat kaji selidik dan semakan secara terperinci latar belakang calon terbabit sebelum membuat keputusan.

Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) menetapkan 4 November depan sebagai hari membuang undi manakala penamaan calon pada 24 Oktober ini.

Harakahdaily

Galas by-election : PAS to name candidate on Oct 24

PASIR MAS - PAS will announce its candidate for the Galas state by-election on Oct 24, the same day Barisan Nasional is expected to name its candidate.

Kelantan PAS election director Abdul Fatah Harun told Bernama the party was now scrutinising the list of candidates.

"We plan to announce the candidate on the same day with the BN to provide a level playing field for all," he said.

PAS vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Mat indicated Monday that an Orang Asli was among the candidates proposed to the party's leadership.

Meanwhile, Abdul Fatah said PAS Spiritual Leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat would be launching PAS election campaign on Oct 19.

The by-election is called following the death of incumbent assemblyman Chek Hashim Che Sulaima of PAS on Sept 27.

The nomination day is on Oct 26 while polling is on Nov 4. - Bernama

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