Liew says re-tabling of amend­ment to Ar­ti­cle 1(2) of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion re­opens door for Sarawak, Sabah to re­gain rights

Liew says re-tabling of amend­ment to Ar­ti­cle 1(2) of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion re­opens door for Sarawak, Sabah to re­gain rights

• 18 Dec 2019

KUCHING: Sarawak and Sabah will have a sec­ond chance at hav­ing their sta­tus as equal part­ners with Penin­su­lar Malaysia re­stored dur­ing the Par­lia­ment si ing early next year.

         Min­is­ter in the Prime Min­is­ter’s De­part­ment Datuk Liew Vui Keong an­nounced yes­ter­day that the pro­posed amend­ment to Ar­ti­cle 1(2) of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion would be re-tabled in the De­wan Rakyat in March, a Ber­nama re­port said.

The de-facto law min­is­ter said this was agreed be­tween Prime Min­is­ter Tun Dr Ma­hathir Mo­hamad, Sabah Chief Min­is­ter Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Ap­dal and Sarawak Chief Min­is­ter Datuk Pat­inggi Abang Jo­hari Tun Openg dur­ing a meet­ing at the Prime Min­is­ter’s of­fice on Tues­day.
      “I call on all mem­bers of Par­lia­ment to give bi­par­ti­san sup­port to the amend­ment as it is im­por­tant with re­gard to the po­si­tion of Sabah and Sarawak in the Fed­er­a­tion, and the ma er is close to the heart of ev­ery Saba­han and Sarawakian,” Liew said.
         Liew pointed out that the main agenda of the meet­ing on Tues­day was the Malaysia Agree­ment 1963 (MA63) and that it had helped in reach­ing a con­sen­sus on the re­main­ing four of 21 main is­sues iden­ti­fied by the Spe­cial Cab­i­net Commi ee to Re­view the im­ple­men­ta­tion MA63.        

         The pro­posed amend­ment to Ar­ti­cle 1(2) of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion was tabled at the De­wan Rakyat in April this year by Dr Ma­hathir.
         It sought to re­store the sta­tus of Sabah and Sarawak as equal part­ners with Penin­su­lar Malaysia, but the con­tent and word­ing of the amend­ment bill were dis­puted in Par­lia­ment.
         It then failed to se­cure the re­quired num­ber of votes to be passed in Par­lia­ment as
         Gabun­gan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Barisan Na­sional (BN) and Parti Is­lam SeMalaysia (PAS) MPs had ab­stained from vot­ing.
         GPS was slammed by Pakatan Hara­pan (PH) lead­ers for sup­pos­edly fail­ing the peo­ple of Sarawak a er the pro­posed amend­ment was dropped.        

         Liew him­self had re­port­edly claimed that Sabah and Sarawak had lost a ‘ golden op­por­tu­nity’ to re­gain their po­si­tion as equal part­ners in Malaysia.

         How­ever, Abang Jo­hari would ex­plain later that the Cab­i­net Commitee meet­ing on the MA63 never dis­cussed the ac­tual con­tents and word­ings of the amend­ment with the state gov­ern­ment.
         He added that any de­ci­sion made on such an im­por­tant matter would re­quire him to ob­tain the man­date of the Con­sul­ta­tive Commitee es­tab­lished by the Sarawak State Leg­isla­tive As­sem­bly.
         Abang Jo­hari stressed that any amend­ment to the fed­eral con­sti­tu­tion or any law that sought to re­store the rights of Sarawak as in­tended by the par­ties to the Malaysia Agree­ment must be sub­stan­tive in na­ture and not merely in form.

        He had felt that the pro­posed amend­ment on Ar­ti­cle 1 (2) alone did not fully ad­dress the as­pi­ra­tion of the peo­ple of Sarawak and a ref­er­ence to MA63 should also be made via an amend­ment to the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion.

        I call on all mem­bers of Par­lia­ment to give bi­par­ti­san sup­port to the amend­ment as it is im­por­tant with re­gard to the po­si­tion of Sabah and Sarawak in the Fed­er­a­tion.

Datuk Liew Vui Keong

The Borneo Post

18 Dec 2019

My comments:

        MA63 is a fraud from the very beginning.  It is said that 600 amendments have been done on it.  It has been so mutilated beyond recognition to talk about amendments.  It is ridiculous to talk about amendment on the mutilated MA63 with the Malaya government.  Abang Johari and Shafie Apdal should stop making fools of themselves.   Sarawakians and Sabahans are really angry over their folly behaviours.  To settle MA63, they should bring it to the International Court of Justice, not among the three in the secret talk. These two idiots are only concerned about their self-interests.   Only traitors are eager for amendments with Mahathir.  Only traitors think that amend one article to correct all the 600 amendments done on MA63.

Floods

theborneopost.com

Station Civil Defence teams in flood prone villages — PKR Baram chief | Borneo Post Online

A Bomba personnel brings a child from Long Panai Baram to safety and higher ground.

MIRI: The Civil Defence Force is urged to set up teams in all flood prone villages in Baram to ensure affected villagers can move out early for evacuation.
Besides that, the federal government should initiate a thorough study on the cause and effect of flood in Baram, PKR Baram chairman Roland Engan urged.
     “Floods will continues to occur in many villages if the government does not study further and take short term planning to dispatch Civil Defence staff at strategic locations,” Roland said when commenting on the frequent reoccurrence of floods at Long Panai and Long Bemang in Baram.
        According to Roland, a team of emergency response team comprising Civil Defence personnel must be stationed at strategic longhouses including in Long Panai and Long Bemang to evacuate villagers to higher ground on time.

Bomba personnel conducting an evacuation for villagers at Long Panai.

       He stressed that every time there was flooding, villagers had to move their belongings to higher ground themselves which sometimes took time, and this could  be made easier if Civil Defence personnel were stationed at these villages.
     “The federal government should take a bold move to study the flood prone areas in Baram for the short term and not just give away aid because the floods occur every year,” he added.
       According to Roland, as a long term measure, the federal government should relocate the longhouses in low lying areas to higher ground to ensure they are not affected by floods anymore.
       Meanwhile, he called on all corporate bodies including timber companies in Baram to participate in providing relief like daily needs to the flood victims.

My comments:
        What is the long term measure to mitigate floods in Long Panai and Long Bemang?   There is no ending wait if the victims in the said areas to rely on the so-called federal government or the Malayan government.  Be prepared for Sarawak Independence when we have all the resources to be kept in Sarawak for proper development.  I hope that all the Sarawakians can understand what it means by our intrinsic rights for all holistic development and mitigation of floods.  Only Independent Sarawak is able to provide.  Other than that, there is vain talk only.  We cannot rely on the BN-GPS Sarawak government.  We cannot rely on PH Malayan government to be fair to us.  There is no such thing to expect.  Please be wise to avoid being treated as fools.  Give your vote tickets to Parti Bumi Keyalang/PBK which is in quest of Sarawak independence.
         The amount the Malayan government gave to Sarawak for development 2020 is RM4.5 billion, for Tabung Haji is RM3.7 billion, for Mara institute is 3.7 billion....... What is Sarawak to the Malayan government?

16/12/2019 如何逼马来亚Mahathir首相交棒？

16/12/2019    如何逼马来亚Mahathir首相交棒？

            要如何逼宫Mahathir把首相这职位交给Anwar？ 这个人太过自我自大，天下也是以自己为尊和准。 马来亚国会无能为力。行动党完全被上锁得动弹不得。公正党已变成‘公争党’自顾不了。诚信党根本没有诚信可言。现在，只剩下人民这一环，马来亚人民要赶快启动第三势力。民间组织准备好围攻Mahathir 逼他明年509首相交棒给Anwar.  一分钟都不许他延迟。 只有人民的实力和势力，他才会怕。其实，他只不过是只纸老虎，极像那些中东落败的Libya领袖像Muammar Gaddfi。 Mahathir心狠手辣，贪得无厌的邪魔，很懂得用心理战术，其实他是不堪一击的。

                   2003年，他冲忙御任交棒给AdullahBadawi。是心不甘情不愿的。你说他

        PutraJaya官邸建来是给别人住吗？ 当时，他看到印尼人民有如排山倒海的反

        Suharto，马来亚人民反风也吹起了。他是吓得半死。这一点，我看得很清楚。 

        AdullahBadawi当大概6年首相，他像阴魂不散的鬼魔缠绕这A。Badawi。做[侧旁首

        相]。（like side-driver）

                   AbdullahBadawi2008年所谓的国选惨败后，被逼宫。2009年无任何挣扎下，

       交棒給Najib。Najib顺利当上首相后，就跌入贪污舞弊滥权腐败更深的坑里，而埋葬了

       自己。官事缠身一辈子。

                   在种种莫名其妙的情况下，这当上22年多的首相Mahathir， 又来了，还是老

       样子，贪得无厌。这一回，他可没有想当年（1981-2003）那么自由了，虽然，他还是

       想走独裁的路。人民已经醒觉到，他随时会被轰下台的。

                   所以，马来亚人民真的要团结一致逼宫他交棒下场。只有人民这一环才能救马

       来亚国。让他和PH领袖们知道什么叫[民主]？ 人民真的要好好发挥人民集体的力量纠

       正偏离民主轨道的政府。 要建设更美好的马来亚，就制服这个邪恶的人吧。 所谓的[国会]完全失效。 人民站起来吧！

Floods

• Sunday, 15 Dec 2019
  12:57 PM MYT
  By STEPHEN THEN

image: https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2019/12/15/439034.jpg

Floods wrecking havoc in Kpg Kuala Tutoh and dozens of other settlements in interior northern Sarawak. - Pic by villager Michael Ding

MIRI: The floods in remote parts of Sarawak have left victims unable to cook as cooking gas cylinders have gone empty and the alternative – firewood – is wet from the deluge /ˈdeljuːdʒ/.
       Flood victims are sending out messages highlighting their predicament as they are cut off from the outside world and cannot travel to towns to buy more gas.
       The Star on Sunday (Dec 15) received a message from Kampung Kuala Tutoh, where a 72-door longhouse has been inundated by 0.7m of water.
Kampung Kuala Tutoh, in the upper reaches of the Marudi district, is around six hours away by boat from Miri.

        There are about 500 people from the minority Lakiput ethnic group living there.
The village's Lakiput Association senior member Michael Ding said cooking is a daily dilemma now.
        "We in Kampung Kuala Tutoh have run out of cooking gas.
"We cannot refill gas cylinders as we cannot go to the town as floods have cut off all the roads.
        "Travelling by boat is also dangerous as the rivers have swelled and are raging.
"Without cooking gas, we had to rely on firewood – but due to the bad weather since more than two weeks ago, the firewood is all wet.
        "We cannot cook anymore," he told The Star when contacted.
Ding said welfare authorities have sent packages of dry food to the flooded settlement.
        "Dry food like biscuits and canned food come in handy but we urgently need cooking gas," he said.
        Ding said the settlement has been under about 0.7m of water for more than a week and the first floor of the two-storey building is flooded.
The village is one of several dozen populated settlements severely hit by floods caused by the relentless landas season.
The landas in Sarawak is as ferocious as the monsoon on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Tags / Keywords: Flood , Landas , Sarawak , Kampung Kuala Tutoh , Cooking gas , Firewood , Monsoon

My comments:  

        The water is 'teh-tarik' in colour and so it must be the water from the overflowing banks.   It is understood that Kpg Kuala Tutoh is quite near  the Baram river.  I wonder how much forest area has been logged for timber and for the construction of the Baram dam which was only axed off in 2018.  The bare land upstream will speed up the flow of water downstream.  So the said kampung is plagued by the deluge upstream.  I wonder if the Bakun dam and the Murum dam have also affected the said areas in Miri, Bintulu, Limbang, Lawas and Kapit.  I wonder, wonder, wonder, ........ how i wish i could get first-hand knowledge and information from the victims in the affected areas.
        I hope that these Sarawakians will wake up and rise up to vote GPS government out and support Parti Bumi Keyalang for good and a new Sarawak with little or no floods at all.  Only independent Sarawak with the resources and new leaders, we can fully develop Sarawak.  Sarawak is for Sarawakians. 

   

雨天路滑冲落沟．水淹货卡 司机逃生 砂拉越

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2019-12-12 17:02:37 

雨天路滑冲落沟．水淹货卡 司机逃生

砂拉越

货卡失控撞落沟，司机成功逃生，不过货卡泡在沟里。

（诗巫12日讯）货卡雨夜行驶失控冲落沟，司机第一时间逃生，不过货卡泡在沟里。
昨晚8时，货卡途经沙廉/实打胞路一带时，因下雨失控打滑，继而冲向沟渠。
司机在沟水进入货卡车厢前及时逃出，并爬上路边，全身湿透，没有受伤。
诗巫中央消拯局接到民众投报后火速派员到场协助时，货卡司机已逃出生天。货卡过后由吊车罗里吊往车厂维修。

文章来源 ： 星洲日报 2019-12-12 

 

Mycomments：

从今年10月20日追踪起，这是第12宗 。

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Floods

theborneopost.com Posted on December 10, 2019, Tuesday at 12:02 AM

Be ready to evacuate if flooding occurs, folk in low-lying areas told | Borneo Post Online

The flood situation at Rumah Mokeng.

MIRI: Folks living in flood-prone areas in Bekenu have been reminded to maintain constant alert during the current monsoon season and be prepared to evacuate in the event of flooding, Assistant Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development said.
        She said the meteorological department has predicted the current weather pattern to last until the end of the year, with a rough sea warning also issued to fishermen and those operating small boats.
     “Villagers must be extra prepared to face the monsoon season and I urge the JKKKs (village security and development committees) to ensure that those living in low-lying areas can move to higher ground if the water level rises.
      “We don’t want any untoward incident or loss of lives and properties during the monsoon, so residents must be on full alert,” Rosey, who is Bekenu assemblywoman, told The Borneo Post after visiting the flood-prone Kampung Pitisan and Kampung Tunah in Tiris, Bekenu yesterday.

(From right) Rosey, Jalil and a villager during the visit to Kampung Pintasan Tiris in Bekenu to observe the flood situation there.

      Accompanying her on the visits was Penghulu Jalil Karim.
She said an emergency response team under Miri Resident’s Office had been activated and is on standby to evacuate potential flood victims.
Meanwhile, torrential rain over the past few days triggered flooding in a few villages in Niah and Bekenu, according to Sibuti MP Lukanisman Awang Sauni.
He told The Borneo Post yesterday that he had received reports from affected villagers about the situation at their respective longhouses.
     “At Rumah Mokeng, villagers with saloon cars cannot drive up to their longhouse as the road leading there has been flooded due to heavy rain on Sunday.
     “Residents in Kampung Lajong also complained of a similar situation – that there was no access to their village as the road has been flooded,” he said.
Other villages hit by flooding were Rumah Patrik Libay, Rumah Edward Ekau, Kampung Bulau and Kampung Tiris.
     “I also received a report that soil erosion had occurred at Rumah Philips, Sungai Kara caused by the continuous heavy rain,” Lukanisman said.

My comments:
       Whenever i see floods here and there, it is just natural for me to curse the government for not doing enough to prevent flooding.  Floods can be managed and controlled.  But the Sarawak government has no holistic plan to deal with excess water.
      Do you see that there are two different colours of water?  One is "teh-tarik" in colour and the other one is "kopi-O" colour.  As  responsible residents in the area, you should find out the reasons why.
     In Sibu, when I see the water 'teh-tarik' in colour, i know that it is the overflowing water from the Rejang river.  On the other hand, if the flood  is 'Kopi-O' colour, I know that it is the rain water from the local area.
      The Sarawak government is as helpless as a baby as far as floods are concerned.
      When it is flooding, these YB will come to see it.  When the flood is gone, they forget about it until the next flood.
       The most they can do is to evacuate the flood victims and nothing more than that.

Floods

theborneopost.com   Posted on December 10, 2019, Tuesday at 12:02 AM

More heavy rain in northern Sarawak | Borneo Post Online

        LIMBANG: Low-lying areas in Limbang and Lawas were flooded again yesterday following heavy rain on Sunday afternoon which caused water level to rise.
State Disaster Management Committee spokesman Major (Rtd) Ismail Mahedin said SK RC Kubong was under 0.4 metres of water as water level started rising at 8am.
      “Intermittent heavy rain over several hours, particularly during the afternoon, has caused SK RC Kubong compound to be flooded as water overflowed from the nearby river,” he said.
       A warning was issued by the Drainage and Irrigation Department yesterday after the Ukong Monitoring Station recorded a rise in water level to 5.93 metres at 7am.
        In Lawas, the village where the townhouse of Minister of Works Baru Bian is situated has been hit again by flood when water overflowed to the road and compound of the villages since 3pm.  State Disaster Management Committee said the situation was under control, but urged the villagers to be on the alert and take precautions and report to the authorities if the water level continued to rise.
The agency is monitoring closely the situation and the water level at Trusan river.

The flood situation at SK RC Kubong.

My comments:
Yes, you may blame the heavy rain for the cause of floods in low-lying areas in Limbang and Lawas.  But I see something more than that.  The water is 'teh-tarik' in colour meaning that most water is from the overflowing river.  This means that water gushing down from upstream overflows the banks and floods the area.  The local rain only aggravates the situation.

How far are  Limbang and Lawas from Bakun dam and Murum dam?  I wonder if there was a deluge of water from these two dams.  Water flows in all directions fast.  I wonder how well-conserved and preserved is the land in the upstream.

Proper drainage system in the low-lying areas is important.  But the deluge of water from the dams upstream needs to be channelled properly is even more important.