Malaysia is the world’s second most expensive country to buy cars

Sucks to be a Malaysian car buyer? Think again

Due to the unique structure on how cars in Malaysia is priced, there no doubt that Malaysians fork a lot of money and a longer loan duration in order to purchase a car. Many people thought Malaysia is the most expensive country on this planet to buy a car, and worse, we need cars to travel around since the public transport is still at abysmal state.

Well believe or not, we are at the top three on the list. Based on Jalopnik’s Answer of the Day thread, they asked readers which country has the most expensive to buy a car, before they proceed to compile a top ten list. Interestingly the top three consist of nations on the South East Asia, and best of all they are geographically located nearby.

Settling for bronze is Indonesia. One of the most populous country in the world and have substantial investment from Japanese manufacturers to produce MPVs and yet the cars over there is not cheap. Malaysia meanwhile didn’t win and settled for silver. You may guess it right, the most expensive country and perhaps the suckiest place to be a petrol head in the world, is our neighbours, Singapore. The rich island nation needs a mechanism to control their citizens from car ownership, hence the existence of COE to price their cars high needs no introduction.

The priciest Toyota 86 in the world can be found in Singapore

The comment on below from a Malaysian commenting in Jalopnik is an interesting reflection that there is a price to pay to be a petrol head here.

I would like to nominate Malaysia. Where in Malaysia, the Toyobaru twins cost around $75,000 new while Mercedes SLS AMG cost around $600,000 brand new . This is where a beige mobile such as the Accord and Camry are consider as a luxury car. Plus, Many Malaysian spec car lacks in many safety features but still sold at a higher price. Due to high excise tax and Protection policy for our Local car maker Proton, Many people here only can dream owning a BRZ or a Miata

There are a few surprises on the top ten list, which as below:

10. Cuba
9. North Korea
8.St. Kitts and Nevi
7. UK
6. Brazil
5. China
4. Nicaragua
3. Indonesia
2. Malaysia
1. Singapore

hanzoautobuzz 

 

For more stories, go to jalopnic and the edge Malaysia..

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Budget 2014 a huge disappointment

KOTA KINABALU - “The Budget 2014 must have been a huge disappointment to Tan Sri Pairin, PBS and many others in Sabah and clearly demonstrates the continuing mindset of the Prime Minister and his federal government” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief in commenting on the Budget announcement.

The PM himself had whipped up expectations of Sabahans especially the PBS delegates at their general assembly by asking Sabahans to wait for Friday’s Budget announcement.

On a national level, the PM cum Finance Minister missed the opportunity to put the national economy on a stronger footing by announcing a balanced Budget or a reduction of the operating expenditure of RM217.7 billion while only RM46.5 billion was for development or to put in place concrete plans to boost the disposable incomes of the lower income groups.

All three proposals would have brought about a better international credit rating and at the same time increase the well-being of the people especially the lower income groups.

Giving of handouts is not the right approach and there is no need to fish for votes for election season is over. Such handouts will only lead to bigger expectations and eventually greater dependency, especially among the rural poor. The government should have invested more money in boosting up the income earning capacity of the poor.

Giving of RM75 million in water tanks is no way to treat the rural voters who voted to retain the Umno/BN federal government. If not for the 25 BN MPs in Sarawak, the Budget would have been presented by a different Finance Minister.

It would have been better to spend RM500 million on 20 water treatment plants of RM25 million each to provide clean piped water in rural Sarawak given the many big dams there.

Instead, some of the items will bring about an instantaneous price increase including withdrawal of sugar subsidies. What was more laughable was the reason bordering on absurdity that the subsidy cut was required to reduce diabetes in Malaysians. It is an undisputed medical fact that diabetes is not caused by sugar alone and a lower sugar intake alone does not reduce the diabetic rate.

Back to Sabah, stop-gap measures is not going to resolve the systemic problems of higher costs of living and high unemployment.

An announcement of the much called for and much awaited abolishment of cabotage policy would have created a bigger impact in reduction of costs compared to the RM331 million to continue the price uniformity programme and subsidies including transport cost and RM30 million for an additional 60 Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) to help reduce the prices of daily necessities.

Both the federal and Sabah governments should undertake a study on the impact of the KRIM in Sabah as there are complaints that the KRIM has affected the small sundry and provision shops in Sabah and many will eventually close down.

An allocation of RM2 to RM3 billion development expenditure for Sabah and Sarawak is a slap on the status of the equal partnership of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.

Part of this allocation, RM500 million is for upgrading of the Pan Borneo Highway. This is a disgrace and totally unacceptable. For the record, RM400 million was announced for the 33km. Sibu-Kapit road. How far can RM500 million do for the Pan Borneo Highway?

Recently, the Sabah JKR Director lamented that due to the backlog or disregard of Sabah’s requests, RM2 billion was needed for urgent road repairs in Sabah and another RM700 million was needed to urgently repair and upgrade 65 bridges in Sabah. Yet, there is not even a mention of any allocation in Budget 2014 and not the right way to treat Sabah which contributed 22 out of 25 MPs that help kept the Umno/BN federal government in power.

As for the GST, both the federal and Sabah governments need to re-assess the imposition of GST in Sabah. If the federal government can have implement 1-country 2-laws on the “Allah” issue which indirectly is a recognition of the 1-Country 2-System, the federal government can exempt Sabah and Sarawak from the GST scheduled in 2015, at least for 3-5 years

Whilst the PM continue to disregard the importance of Sabah and Sarawak and committing political hara-kiri in the process, it is high time for the Sabah and Sarawak governments to re-assess their support of the Umno/BN federal government.

Perhaps, a withdrawal of support and change of the federal government may bring about a better 2015 Budget for Sabah and Sarawak and a shot in the arm for both local economies and a better outlook and way of life for Sabahans and Sarawakians.

Wikisabah

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NRD: Many security firms hire foreigners with fake ICs

The National Registration Department has detected several security firms hiring foreigners with fake identity cards.

NRD investigations and enforcement director Wan Zakaria Wan Awang said he was not surprised that foreigners having fake identity cards were found working in security units of banks.

"I believe there are many security personnel with fake identity cards employed in various sensitive sectors," Wan Zakaria is quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying.

"We even caught one Filipino working as an arms storekeeper with a security firm," he revealed.

The report follows the RM450,000 Ambank robbery and murder of its operational officer Norazita Abu Talib, 37, in Subang Jaya.

It was discovered that the security guard who shot her was a foreigner with a fake IC.

Wan Zakaria said he was uncertain where the foreigners obtained the fake identity cards, as those arrested were caught in various states.

"The largest number of arrests were made in Perak and the Klang Valley. NRD believes the foreigners pay RM500 to get the fake ICs to gain employment here."

He also proposed that security firms verify identity cards by checking fingerprints on them with the NRD.

Banks can also inform the NRD if they suspect the security personnel employed are foreigners, Wan Zakaria added

Wikisabah

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Budget 2014 is bad news for business and consumers in Sabah

By Victor Ma

KOTA KINABALU - There’s no good news for Sabah in the 2014 Budget and in fact, it is bad news for businesses and consumers in Sabah, said Datuk Yong Teck Lee (photo), president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

The former chief minister of Sabah also opined that the “good news” for Sabah is way below the expectations generated by the Prime Minister during his visit to Sabah last week.

“The budget for the Kimanis gas project, the Sipitang SAMUR (Ammonia Urea Project) and the Lahad Datu regasification project are all recycled news. Even the Sandakan airport upgrading was first announced in 2010. There is no good news for Sabah in the budget. This is the price that Sabahans and other Malaysians pay for voting this BN government,” he said.

Yong said the people will suffer from the inevitable rise in prices of food and beverage caused by the hike in sugar prices.

Sugar prices had gone up four times before today; with 20 sen per kilo in January 2010, 25 sen in July 2010, another 20 sen in December 2010 and 20 sen in May 2011.

“Compounded by rising fuel prices and the sudden hike of 34 sen in sugar prices, the much dreaded GST will send the prices of goods and services into another round of spiralling inflation. This will hurt the economy, weaken the Ringgit and dampen consumer demand,” he said.

Yong also claimed that the reason behind the decision to impose the Goods and Services Tax (GST) at such a high rate of 6% and the rise in fuel and sugar prices is because the government is close to bankruptcy.

“The government is turning businesses into tax collection agents for the government via the GST. In fact, the only commodity that is keeping the federal government afloat is the oil and gas from Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

Wikisabah

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Nothing special in 2014 Budget for Sabah

By Victor Ma

KOTA KINABALU: STAR Sabah Chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has proposed that Sabah and Sarawak be exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheduled in 2015, at least for 3-5 years.

“If the federal government can have implement 1-country 2-laws on the “Allah” issue which indirectly is a recognition of the 1-Country 2-System, the federal government can exempt Sabah and Sarawak from the GST scheduled in 2015, at least for 3-5 years,” he said.

Commenting on the National Budget 2014, he contended that abolishment of the Cabotage policy would have created a bigger impact for Sabah, as compared to the allocation of RM331 million to continue the price uniformity programme and subsidies including transport cost and RM30 million for an additional 60 Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) to help reduce the prices of daily necessities, said Jeffrey (photo).

He opined that the stop-gap measures adopted by the government are not going to resolve the systemic problems of higher costs of living and high unemployment.

“Both the federal and Sabah governments should undertake a study on the impact of the KRIM in Sabah as there are complaints that the KRIM has affected the small sundry and provision shops in Sabah and many will eventually close down,” he said.

He went on to note that the allocation of RM2 to RM3 billion development expenditure for Sabah and Sarawak is a slap on the status of the equal partnership of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.

He also described the allocation of RM500 million for upgrading of the Pan Borneo Highway as a disgrace and totally unacceptable.

“For the record, RM400 million was announced for the 33km Sibu-Kapit road. How far can RM500 million do for the Pan Borneo Highway?” he asked.

He reminded that recently, the State Public Works Department (PWD) Director had revealed that due to the backlog or disregard of Sabah’s requests, RM2 billion was needed for urgent road repairs in Sabah and another RM700 million was needed to urgently repair and upgrade 65 bridges in Sabah.

“Yet, there is not even a mention of any allocation in Budget 2014 and not the right way to treat Sabah which contributed 22 out of 25 MPs that help kept the Umno/BN federal government in power,” he lamented.

The Bingkor Assemblyman thus said the Budget 2014 is not just a huge disappointment to the people of Sabah, but also to such senior state leader like president of PBS Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan Pairin.

“The PM himself had whipped up expectations of Sabahans especially the PBS delegates at their general assembly by asking Sabahans to wait for Friday’s Budget announcement,” he said.

On national level, Dr Jeffrey said the PM cum Finance Minister missed the opportunity to put the national economy on a stronger footing by announcing a balanced Budget or a reduction of the operating expenditure of RM217.7 billion while only RM46.5 billion was for development or to put in place concrete plans to boost the disposable incomes of the lower income groups.

“All three proposals would have brought about a better international credit rating and at the same time increase the well-being of the people especially the lower income groups,” he contended.

He also opined that giving of handouts is not the right approach as it will only lead to bigger expectations and eventually greater dependency, especially among the rural poor.

“And there is no need to fish for votes for election season is over. The government should have invested more money in boosting up the income earning capacity of the poor.

“Giving of RM75 million in water tanks is no way to treat the rural voters who voted to retain the Umno/BN federal government. If not for the 25 BN MPs in Sarawak, the Budget would have been presented by a different Finance Minister.

“It would have been better to spend RM500 million on 20 water treatment plants of RM25 million each to provide clean piped water in rural Sarawak given the many big dams there,” he stressed.

He also warned that some of the items in the National budget 2014 like withdrawal of sugar subsidies will bring about an instantaneous price increase.

“What was more laughable was the reason bordering on absurdity that the subsidy cut was required to reduce diabetes in Malaysians. It is an undisputed medical fact that diabetes is not caused by sugar alone and a lower sugar intake alone does not reduce the diabetic rate,” he said.

Borneo Insider

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Pembunuh Pegawai Ambank Guna Kad Pengenalan Palsu

Credit: Suara Sabah

SHAH ALAM 25 Okt. - Polis menahan dua pengawal keselamatan dan seorang wanita yang dipercayai bersubahat dan mempunyai kaitan dengan suspek yang menembak mati seorang pegawai operasi Ambank di Jalan USJ Sentral 2, Subang Jaya dekat sini kelmarin.

Dua pengawal keselamatan terbabit merupakan saudara suspek sementara wanita itu pula dipercayai isterinya berusia 20-an hingga 30-an.

Kesemua suspek yang merupakan rakyat negara jiran tetapi dipercayai menggunakan kad pengenalan palsu ditahan dalam serbuan di sebuah rumah di Bukit Kemuning, Klang pada malam hari kejadian.

Susulan penahanan ketiga-tiga mereka, polis turut menemui wang tunai RM20,000 yang dipercayai sebahagian daripada RM450,000 hasil rompakan suspek dari peti besi Ambank cawangan berkenaan.

Ketua Polis Selangor, Datuk Mohd. Shukri Dahlan berkata, siasatan awal percaya selepas melarikan diri dari Ambank, suspek telah mengagih-agihkan sebahagian kecil hasil rompakan termasuk kepada tiga yang ditahan.

Beliau berkata, wang tunai RM20,000 itu disembunyikan mereka di sebuah pusat membeli-belah di Subang Jaya dekat sini yang merupakan tempat kerja dua pengawal keselamatan yang ditahan.

"Kita masih memburu suspek yang dipercayai masih berada di negara ini bersama hasil rompakan dan selaras pump gun yang digunakan untuk menembak mati mangsa.

"Siasatan kita juga percaya suspek yang dikenali sebagai Ardi Hamza, 37, bukan berasal dari Sabah tetapi dari negara jiran dan dipercayai menggunakan kad pengenalan palsu.

"Kini kita sedang menyiasat bagaimana suspek memperolehi kad pengenalan, serta dibenarkan menggunakan senjata api," kata beliau kepada pemberita di Pusat Media Polis Selangor di sini hari ini.

Difahamkan, suspek yang diburu berasal dari Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Utusan

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Mengapa kedudukan IPTA di Malaysia merosot?

Kedudukan 800 universiti teratas di seluruh dunia bagi 2013 yang dilaporkan oleh QS World University Rankings sewajarnya menjadi isu utama negara mutakhir ini, selain dari isu kenaikan harga minyak kerana kedua-duanya mempunyai kesan besar kepada kebajikan rakyat.

Laporan tersebut menunjukkan bahawa enam dari tujuh universiti awam negara yang tersenarai di dalam 800 universiti teratas telah mengalami kemorosotan seperti berikut:

Hanya UTM yang menokok sedikit kedudukannya dari tangga 358 (2012) kepada 355= (2013).

• Kedudukan ini dibuat berdasarkan kriteria-kriteria berikut:
• Reputasi pencapaian akademik (40%)
• Kemampuan mendapatkan pekerjaan dan pandangan majikan (10%)
• Nisbah siswa kepada tenaga pengajar fakulti (20%)
• Rujukan penyelidikan (citation) mengikut fakulti (20%)
• Keantarabangsaan pelajar (5%)
• Keantarabangsaan tenaga pengajar fakulti (5%)

Malaysiakini

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Saddi denies Bung’s claim he was a sponsored candidate

KOTA KINABALU: Former deputy Umno Kinabatangan chief, Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman has denied allegations that he had been ‘sponsored’ in the division’s election last Saturday.

Sadd said he found it strange that Umno Kinabatangan chief Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin raised the issue as the latter had won the post.

Why did he also have to threaten to resign from the post, the Sukau assemblyman questioned.

“If it is true that I was sponsored, Bung Mokhtar would surely have lost the divisional election. But he won and he should be thankful to God for that.

“Maybe he was feeling the pressure because no one had challenged him for the divisional chief post for 20 years,” Saddi said, in response to Bung Mokhtar’s statement claiming of outside interference by sponsoring his opponents in the Umno Kinabatangan divisional election.

According to Saddi, his decision to challenge Bung Mokhtar for the division’s top post was made after party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak introduced transformation within Umno.

“I accept the decision of the delegates who did not choose me and Bung Mokhtar should be thankful that no one had challenged him in the past 20 years,” he remarked and added that he welcomed Bung Mokhtar’s offer to resign as Umno Kinabatangan chief.

“But my question is, why do it only after the divisional election? Is it a ploy to pave the way for someone to be a candidate in the 14th general election?

“Why not resign before the divisional election and make way for me and the deputy divisional chief to go for the top post? Is this a form of cronyism practice to ensure that he continues to lead Umno Kinabatangan?

“It is my hope that Bung Mokhtar is really serious about resigning so that transformation can take place and all that he said is not just rhetoric,” Saddi stressed.

The Borneo Post

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The roots of poverty in Sabah, Sarawak in Malaysia exposed

Non-compliance raises the question of whether a compliance mechanism must be set up or whether both Sabah and Sarawak should appeal to the international community and the United Nations to facilitate the departure of the two states from the Malaysian Federation. Singapore has been a precedent.

By Daniel John Jambun, Chairman of the UK-based Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIM)

I will delve immediately into the subject proper of my Paper in conjunction with the forthcoming National Budget 2014 which will be unveiled by the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak who is also the Finance Minister. Please bear with me. I will keep my address as brief as possible so that we may all ponder on the essential points that I am trying to make and which must be taken into consideration by the Federal Government.

I have nine major aspects to put before you as Food for Thought in view of the forthcoming National Budget 2014 and you may want to deliberate on them and post your comments below.

As many people know, the World Bank confirmed in Dec 2010 in Kota Kinabalu that Sabah and Sarawak had achieved the dubious distinction of bring the poorest and second poorest states in Malaysia. This is a figure derived at by using the figures of the Economic Planning Units of the Sabah and Sarawak Governments and the Economic Planning Unit in Putrajaya.

Forty per cent of Malaysia’s poor, according to the World Bank, are in Sabah. This means that almost half of the poor people in Malaysia are in Sabah.

The poverty figures should come as no surprise since both Sabah and Sarawak are actually colonies of Malaya. More on that shortly.

Just contrast the economic development of Sabah and Sarawak with the status of neighbouring Brunei which stayed out from the Malaysian Federation at the last minute in 1963 and Singapore which left after two years in 1965.

By the end of 2010, the Singapore economy at US$ 210 billion GDP was bigger than the entire Malaysian economy by US$ 5 billion. This is indeed a shameful state of affairs and one that calls for the leadership in Putrajaya to admit that they are an incompetent and corrupt lot and beyond any redemption.

It would no longer do for Putrajaya to continue in a state of denial. Most of the much smaller Malaysian economy vis-à-vis Singapore is concentrated in Malaya.

Did Sabah and Sarawak federate, willingly or unwillingly, with Malaya and Singapore in 1963 to end up at the bottom of the dung heap along with the marginalized and disenfranchised elements of the Third Force in Malaya?

Patently, it’s clear that something went seriously wrong for Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysian Federation somewhere between 1963 and 2013, the 50th year in Malaysia. Most of the damage to the interests of the two Malaysian Borneo states in fact took place in the early years of independence.

The population of Sabah and Sarawak may be much smaller than that of Malaysia but the fact remains that this is compensated by the larger territorial area of Malaysian Borneo comparatively, its huge economic resources including vast acres of fertile land and consequently much bigger economic potential.

This is not however reflected in the Malaysian Parliament where the number of seats allotted to Malaysian Borneo at presents stands at 57 including the one held by the Federal Territory of Labuan. Malaya meanwhile has 165 seats in Parliament i.e. more than two-thirds – 148 seats is two-thirds -- and thereby depriving Sabah and Sarawak of veto power in legislation. It is clear that 19 of the seats held by Malaya in fact belong to Sabah and Sarawak. That would have left Malaya with 146 seats i.e. short of the two-thirds majority and thereby give Sabah, Sarawak veto power in Parliament, as envisaged by the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63), on any amendment to the Federal Constitution. Veto power is part of the Basic Features Doctrine implied by MA63 in the Federal Constitution.

The rot set in when Singapore’s exit from Malaysia saw Peninsular Malaysia taking half the 15 seats held by the island in Parliament. This altered the previous balance in Parliament between Malaya on the one hand and, on the other hand, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in the collective.

Malayan politicians like to make much of the issue that their much larger population must be reflected in the number of seats held in Parliament. If that’s the case, why is it that Sabah with a much larger population of 3.2 million to Sarawak’s 2.5 million has to make do with 25 seats in Parliament compared with the latter’s 31 seats. If Sarawak’s much larger territory vis-à-vis Sabah’s and the latter’s much larger population vis-à-vis the former’s are both taken into consideration, both states should have the same number of seats in Parliament.

In any case, there’s no dispute between Sabah and Sarawak on the allocation of seats in Parliament. It’s immaterial whether Sabah or Sarawak, in comparison with each other, has a much larger number of parliamentary seats. The pertinent point is that Sabah and Sarawak, collectively, must have at least one seat more than one-third in Parliament.

The veto power of Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysian Parliament must be restored.
Malayan politicians routinely also claim that rural seats must be given a certain weightage to compensate for their relative under-development vis-à-vis urban seats. This is supposed to account for rural seats having a smaller number of voters compared to those in the urban areas.

If that’s the case, why is this formula not being applied in Sabah and Sarawak, which are largely rural, along the same lines as in Malaya?

The gross under-representation of Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysian Parliament, and the deprival of their veto power in the process, has a direct co-relation to the grinding poverty levels in Malaysian Parliament.

It is recommended that no new Parliamentary seats be allocated to Malaya in future increases. If a moratorium is placed on their current 165 seats – to be taken as two-thirds minus one in a new equation or 34 per cent – some semblance of balance can be restored in the Malaysian Parliament.

Sabah and Sarawak’s collective 57 seats, including Labuan, must be increased to 85 seats or 34 per cent for a Parliament of 250 seats. If the present 57 seats are deducted from the new proposed total, this gives us additional and new seats totaling 28 which can be shared equally between Sabah and Sarawak.

This will be reflected in the Malaysian Parliament as follows: Sabah 26 + 14 for 40 seats; Sarawak 31 + 14 for 45 seats; and Malaya still 165 seats. Grand Total: 250 seats in Parliament.

The composition of seats in the Malaysian Parliament must be considered together with the question of revenue sharing between the federal and state governments in general and in particular with the autonomous status of Sabah and Sarawak.

At present, the federal government takes all revenue from Sabah and Sarawak, leaving little for the states and leaving them with very little, if at all, revenue-raising powers. In return, very little of the federal revenue from Sabah and Sarawak comes back to the two states. This is the second major reason for the grinding poverty in Malaysia Borneo apart from unfair representation in the Parliament i.e. the first major reason.

The third major reason for our poverty is the fact that the federal government through Petronas gives only 5 per cent of the oil and gas revenue from the inner waters to Sabah and Sarawak and none from the water outers. Contrast this with the 70 per cent that the provinces are allowed to keep in neighbouring Indonesia. The central government in Jakarta takes only 30 per cent.

The fourth major reason for poverty is the fact that there’s very little oil and gas infrastructure in Sabah and Sarawak. No attempts have been made to diversify the oil and gas sector through downstream activities and as well facilitate backward-and-forward integration.

The fifth major reason is that Borneonisation of the federal service in Sabah and Sarawak have been a non-starter and where implemented, non-Muslim natives and the Chinese and others have been deliberately left out in line with the vile racist master race policy of ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy and dominance).

The sixth major reason for the grinding poverty levels in Sabah and Sarawak has been the refusal of the federal government and their stooge governments in Sabah and Sarawak to respect the Adat.

Among others, this has seen the wholesale confiscation – with the active connivance of the police and Land Office -- of native customary rights (NCR) land and their alienation to the respective state government (by way of extension of forest reserves and the like), to state agencies, Government linked corporations (GLCs), federal agencies and private companies run by cronies of the ruling party. The phenomenon has been well-documented in numerous cases in court and in thousands of complaints lodged with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and at the respective Land Offices in Sabah and Sarawak.

This is a deliberate and systematic attempt to reduce the native communities of Sabah and Sarawak to the same pathetic situation of the Orang Asli in Malaya and the Indian underclass in Malaya displaced and dispossessed by the fragmentation of the estates and or their conversion for the purposes of urban development.

Stranded in urban shanty-towns with no personal documents, little marketable skills, often only a rudimentary education in Tamil, poor command of English and Bahasa Malaysia and without any social safety network, suicide is the only option for the Indian underclass given the reality of no upward social mobility. These are the people represented by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, the NGO. These are the people taking to the streets ever so often these days and engaged in running battles with the police and authorities as they walk the path of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorism.

Likewise, the future of the natives companies in Sabah and Sarawak will indeed be very bleak without the social safety network afforded by NCR land. Therein lies the seeds of a bloody revolution in Borneo especially when our people start committing suicide, like the Indian underclass in Peninsular Malaysia, to opt out of a hopeless situation.

The native communities in Sabah and Sarawak are being pushed in the same direction as the Indian underclass in Malaya which is a whole lot worse than that of the Orang Asli who still has a little land with them. But for the Orang Asli, how much more time do they still have before they too start committing suicide on the scale of the Indian underclass. Poverty, as Mahatma Gandhi once observed, is the worst form of violence against a people.

The seventh major reason for the grinding poverty in Borneo is the fact that Sabah and Sarawak are being treated as two of the states in Malaysia. This certainly should not be the case if one reads the Malaysia Agreement carefully, the 20/18 Points and other relevant documents including declassified ones available in the United Kingdom.

Sabah and Sarawak were brought together by the British with Singapore and Malaya in 1963 to form the Federation of Malaysia as equal partners. This means that Malaysia is a two-tier federation i.e. a federation of states in Malaya which are part of a greater federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

Hence, the federal government of Malaysia should be shared equally between Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak i.e. leaving out Singapore which has since quit the federation.

The departure of Singapore from Malaysia begs the question of whether the original federation in 1963 still exists or whether Sabah and Sarawak have been quietly incorporated as two of the states in the 1957 Federation of Malaya (now masquerading as Malaysia). This appears to be the case and must be considered seriously by our legal fraternity, the governments of Sabah, Sarawak, the federal government, the government of the United Kingdom and the United Nations.

Moving forward, it must be clear by now that after nearly 50 years of Malaysia, it cannot continue to be business as usual in Sabah and Sarawak.

Already, the federal government has been in non-compliance with the Malaysia Agreement.

Non-compliance raises the question of whether a compliance mechanism must be set up or whether both Sabah and Sarawak should appeal to the international community and the United Nations to facilitate the departure of the two states from the Malaysian Federation. Singapore has been a precedent.

It’s unlikely that the Umno federal Government, obsessed with ketuanan Melayu, will ever consider any compliance mechanism for the Malaysia Agreement or give justice, belated as it may be, to Sabah and Sarawak. This must be borne in mind by those who are currently flogging the Borneo Agenda with the hope that the federal government will come to its senses. It may be a case of too little, too late.

The departure of the British colonialists in 1963 in fact saw the handover of our two nations to new colonialists in Malaya i.e. those who believe in the vile and racist master race policy of ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy and dominance).

The ketuanan Melayu policy in Sabah and Sarawak is kept going by local proxies of the ruling elite in Putrajaya and their stooges and rogue elements. These lackeys of Putrajaya are traitors who have participated in the colonial divide-and-rule policy of keeping the Chinese and majority non-Muslim natives out of the political mainstream and from the leverages of power.

To add insult to injury, they have willingly participated in the marginalization and disenfranchisement of their fellow countrymen through the placement of illegal immigrants on the local electoral rolls and the grant of MyKads through the backdoor by Putrajaya. What happened to the security promised us by Federation in 1963? This is the eighth major reason for the grinding poverty levels in Sabah and Sarawak.

Even more than the Chinese and non-Muslim natives communities, it’s now the local Muslim native communities that are feeling the brunt of marginalization and disenfranchisement. They see their already small stake under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution being shared with the instant natives created from among the illegal immigrants.

In Sabah, local proxies of Putrajaya have now been dispensed with and Umno itself has struck roots to take half the seats in the state assembly and half the Sabah parliamentary seats. To mask their true intention, they invited MCA, MIC, Gerakan and the PPP from Malaya along for company and recently came up with the so-called 1Malaysia policy. This further ensures the continued enslavement of Sabah.

In Sarawak, Umno is poised to enter the state in the manner that they have done in Sabah. This is to ensure that the majority Dayak community will never be able to rule their own state.

On the final score, there is no Bumiputera in the Constitution or law, only the Orang Asal in Malaya (Orang Asli), Sabah (Dusunic and Murutic Groupings) and Sarawak (Dayak including the Sarawak Malay who are Dayak converts to Islam).

Malay -- Bugis, Javanese, Minang, Aceh, other Muslims -- in Malaya are not Orang Asal.

The ninth major reason, but certainly not the last, for the grinding poverty levels in Sabah and Sarawak is that first Malaysian prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman created the political term Bumiputera to include the Malay in the same category as the Orang Asal by the backdoor and thereby facilitate the ruling elite running up the National Debt Burden to plunder the National Treasury to feather their own nests (to live it up and/or accumulate capital) under the guise of Bumiputeraism and bringing so-called development to the people.

It’s time for the international community and the United Nations to enter the picture and rescue Sabah and Sarawak from the gross violations of human rights taking place and restore our sovereignty and territorial integrity and guarantee our security. There’s no longer any hope for us in Sabah and Sarawak. Something must be done, and done quickly, before the situation further degenerates into an even greater vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance, disease and violence.

Daniel John Jambun is a Political activist and formerly the Political Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Environmental Development during the Party Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Government.

Wikisabah

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Question on review of Malaysia Agreement rejected by Parliament

Parliament will not discuss any review of the rights of Sabah and Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement as this is "frivolous" and a "non-issue," the government told a Sabah MP today.

PKR MP Dorrel Leiking was told to end his quest for a review of the 20-point Agreement for Sabah and 18-point Agreement for Sarawak, which are meant to ensure that the two Borneo states are equal partners with the peninsula.

Under the agreements, a review is provided for but it has not been carried out.

The issue of the review was first raised last month by veteran Umno politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, even though 40 years have passed with the review still not done.

"Very clearly, the federal government will find ways to avoid the Sabah and Sarawak Partnership - my question following Tengku Razalegh's revelation and the 20 & 18 Points issue & the Malaysia Agreement have been rejected," Leiking wrote on his Facebook page.

Leiking, who is the Penampang MP, received a written reply letter from the Parliament secretary saying he had raised a matter that would "confuse, alienate and break hearts for the sake of explaining something that is superficial and frivolous".

It was also unreasonable to raise a non-issue "just to get opinions and feedback when the governing laws were not in question," the reply states.

Under the safeguards for Sabah and Sarawak to join Malaysia, there was supposed to be a review 10 years after the formation of Malaysia but they were forgotten following the untimely deaths of the prime minister and deputy prime minister at that time.

Opposition leaders in Sabah and Sarawak have been accusing the federal government of not only failing to fulfil the agreements, but also treating Sabah and Sarawak as states rather than as equal partners of Malaya.

Wikisabah

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New water tariff to offer ideal rates for all

KOTA KINABALU: The Ministry of Infrastructure Development is currently finalizing a proposal on a new water tariff for Sabah, said its minister, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

He said final details were being ironed out to ensure that the new rates would be fair to all different consumer groups.

“We are taking into account the public interest and considering various factors involved so that we can have the most ideal rates for domestic, commercial and industry users,” he said to reporters here yesterday.

Pairin noted that the current flat-rate system used in Sabah was not only outdated and impractical but also unfair to normal consumers who have to pay the same price as heavy users in commercial and industry sectors.

He said the ministry recognized that a review was long overdue but it must carefully consider all aspects involved before it could decide on a new rate system.

He said Sabah would also look at the different rates imposed in other states across the country as an additional guideline.

“We are almost at the last stage in making all the necessary considerations. Once it has been finalized and submitted to the Cabinet, only then we will make the announcement,” he said, declining to give any time frame as to when the new rate could be introduced.

He also reserved his comment when asked if domestic consumers could expect a lower rate as compared to the existing one should the the prices for industry and consumer users be increased.

“We will take that into consideration too. I think staggered rate system is the way to do it, where a certain volume of water should be charged a certain rate and if the consumption is more than that, a different rate would be applied. We also welcome any ideas and suggestions on this,” he said.

It was announced in March that a consultant had been appointed to conduct a holistic and comprehensive study on the State’s water tariff, which has remained unchanged for more than 30 years.

With the Water Department under pressure for unprofitable operations, mainly due to huge losses caused by water theft and poor maintenance of the distribution system, the move was said to be a vital component towards improving the water supply system.

The flat rate of RM0.90 per cubic metre makes the commercial tariff in Sabah one of the lowest in the country, but the opposition argued the same rate also translates to the highest domestic rate in the nation.

DAP Kota Kinabalu member of parliament Jimmy Wong had repeatedly criticised the Barisan Nasional government for the expensive domestic rate, pointing out that ordinary Sabahans were paying 50 per cent more for water than their counterparts in neighbouring Sarawak.

The Borneo Post

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100 names missing in Kalabakan delegates list – Ghapur

KOTA KINABALU: The absence of nearly 100 members in the Kalabakan Umno delegates list has puzzled division chief Datuk Ghapur Salleh puzzlement.

Ghapur said there should be no names missing from the delegates list issued by the Umno headquarters as all party branches had held their meetings in accordance to the constitution.

“The headquarters has to explain why were so many names missing from the delegates list. Were they declared bankrupt or other reasons which disqualify them from becoming delegates?” he said after the Kalabakan Umno meeting here.

He said the Umno election process needed improvements, noting that the ballot papers for all posts were the same and thus could lead to confusion, especially for delegates who were illiterate or had eyesight problems.

Last week 14 of the 15 newly elected Kalabakan Umno Wanita committee members quit their posts to protest what they claimed were the wing’s questionable elections on Oct 12.

The polls saw the defeat of incumbent Kalabakan Umno Wanita chief Datuk Hamisa Samad to Cahaya Sulaiman while the vice chief’s post was won by Noraini Abdul Ghapur.

Hamisa’s faction, however, lodged a complaint over the polls outcome claiming that there was an excess of 47 ballots.

They claimed that Hamisa obtained 384 votes compared to the 417 ballots obtained by Cahaya while there were 10 spoilt votes.

Hamisa’s faction claimed that while 825 Wanita delegates were entitled to vote, only 764 attended the Oct 12 meeting.

Apart from Suriyani other Kalabakan Umno Wanita executive members who quit were Hindun Abu Bakar Titingan, Masnah Lama, Astika Tahir, Nurida Abu Bakar, Zainab @ Jainab Ali, Shaniah Sampar, Norizan Omar, Juo Amin, Fatimah Abdullah, Sofiah Daud, Asiah Indobeche and Muliati Engkeng.

The Borneo Post

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Pairin slams Perkasa’s call to ban Malay Bibles

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan has slammed Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali for calling on the Najib administration to disallow the use of Malay Bibles in Malaysia.

The Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president said Ibrahim should re-examine his approach in expressing his views on a sensitive religious issue.

“I hope he will reconsider his way of thinking and only issue statements that would bring good, peace and harmony to all Malaysians who have been living in unity in this country,” he said when met after a media luncheon here yesterday.

Ibrahim on Thursday said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should ban the al-Kitab from Malaysia in retaliation for the Christian community’s “ingratitude”.

“We have been compromising, we have given them leeway. They wanted the Malay Bible, we allowed them to have it… they were still not satisfied.

“It is better that we urge the government and the prime minister to rescind their decision to allow Malay Bibles in Malaysia,” he said during the Perkasa Selangor Conference 2013, in response to the Catholic Church’s recent announcement that it would not give up its struggle for the rights to use the Arabic word ‘Allah’ in its weekly publication, The Herald.

Pairin, when asked to comment, described the call as “full of malicious intention” and aimed at undermining the strong racial unity that has long existed in Malaysia.

“It is full with bad intention… that do not want to see Malaysia continue progressing in peace and harmony, and its people always using moderation,” he said.

Previously, Pairin had also rebuked Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman for urging those who did not agree with the ban on the word ‘Allah’ in The Herald to leave Malaysia.

Such remarks were provocative, he said, and should never have been uttered in a multi-religious country like Malaysia, whose people have always been tolerant and appreciative of their differences.

Pairin also called on Christians in Malaysia, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, to remain calm and not to be swayed by certain rhetoric on the matter.

Meanwhile, in his address at the function earlier, Pairin expressed hope that PBS would have closer ties and a stronger working relationship with the media in the state.

“We do not usually organise functions for our media friends but I hope there will be more events like this from now on.

“Don’t be surprised if we call for another luncheon soon. I hope this will be a new starting point for us to build a stronger relationship, for our mutual benefit and the betterment of the state, country and people,” he said.

Pairin also stressed on the importance of promoting unity and strengthening racial integration, and the vital role political parties and the media could play in those regards.

He said Malaysians, especially those in Sabah and Sarawak, are like budding flowers of many different species.

“A single flower is beautiful by itself but a bouquet of colourful flowers is always better. That’s how we Malaysians are. Let’s not allow the family spirit we have among us to be eroded by anything,” Pairin said.

The Borneo Post

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Tourist robbed, Minister do nothing

Kota Kinabalu: A female Chinese tourist was robbed of her passport, cash and credit card behind CIMB bank just a block away from the Sabah Tourism Board head office at 4am Friday.

"It's exactly the same back street spot where another robbery took place five months ago," according the to General Manager of the hotel where the victim is staying.

Staff of the hotel brought her to lodge a report and later took taxi to the Chinese Consulate on passport and other issues.

"I am sure she is very upset about over the traumatic experience ," the GM said.

The tourist checked into the hotel of after arriving from China on Thursday.

"Chinese tourists now account for more than 50pc of our occupancy and every step should be taken to protect the property and safety of Sabah's tourists from crime, " the GM said.

***Apa menteri pelancongan Sabah buat? Makan gaji buta? Setiap tahun umumkan peningkatan jumlah ketibaan pelancong, tapi peningkatan jumlah kes jenayah terhadap pelancong tidak pula dia ambil kisah.

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Sultan Sulu Jamalul Kiram III meninggal dunia

Sultan Sulu Jamalul Kiram III (gambar) yang dikaitkan dengan pencerobohan di Lahad Datu, Sabah dikatakan meninggal dunia awal pagi tadi.

The Star melaporkan Jamalul Kiram, 75, yang mendakwa dirinya pewaris kepada kesultanan Sulu dikatakan meninggal dunia akibat kegagalan organ.

Pada Februari lalu, pengikut Jamalul Kiram menceroboh perairan Lahad Datu, di Sabah dan mengakibatkan pertempuran dengan pasukan keselamatan negara. - 20 Oktober, 2013.

“Ayah saya Sultan Jamalul Kiram III telah kembali kepada penciptanya kira-kira jam 4.00 pagi ini 20 Oktober, 2013," tulis anak perempuannya, Puteri Jacel Kiram-Hasan melalui Facebook.

Jurucakap Kesultanan Sulu Abraham Idjirani berkata, menjelang kematiannya, Kiram telah mengarahkan dua adik beradiknya agar bersatu.

Kiram telah bercakap dengan Bantilan Sultan Esmail Kiram dan Raja Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram melalui telefon, kata Idjirani.

“Dia meminta kedua-dua adik beradiknya itu agar berusaha untuk mengembalikan Sabah kepada orang Filipina," kata Idjirani melalui telefon, lapor Yahoo News.

Kiram telah menjadi berita utama media Februari lalu apabila pengikutnya menyeberang ke Lahad Datu, Sabah dan akhirnya bertembung dengan pasukan keselamatan Malaysia yang berakhir dengan ramai yang terkorban dari kedua-dua belah pihak.

Ketua dan beberapa ahli kumpulannya telah didakwa di mahkamah. Kerajaan Malaysia juga sedang memburu adiknya, Raja Agbimuddin Kiram.

Idjirani juga dilaporkan berkata, pihaknya sedia berunding dengan kerajaan Malaysia dengan syarat ada penyertaan masyarakat antarabangsa.

"Kami percaya kepada Islam di mana kami sentiasa perlu patuh kepada pencipta kami iaitu Allah," katanya kepada Yahoo Asia Tenggara.

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Angry reactions to 'Allah' ruling

In reacting angrily to the Court of Appeal ruling against the use of ‘Allah’, Sarawakians have crossed political and spiritual lines to display rare unity in the defence of religious freedom.

Hundreds of comments have appeared in newspapers, news portals and blogs, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Some expressed regret that Sarawak had been betrayed into joining Malaya, Sabah and Singapore into forming the Federation of Malaysia, while others called for a ban on leaders of Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, Perkasa and religious fanatics from entering the state.

Yet others told Christian Dayaks and Malaysian Chinese to quit the BN as a mark of protest. Christians account for more than 70 percent of the population of 2.6 million in the state.

Other comments include:

Jeffrey Kitingan, State Reform Party chairperson

It is not the Court of Appeal ruling but the non-action and continued policies of the Umno/BN ruling regime that will cause the ultimate demise and break-up of Malaysia unless (the prime minister) and Umno/BN show a genuine and sincere all-encompassing transformation of government and politics of inclusiveness and reconciliation.

azlanThe PM and his federal government need to be reminded that the issue started with the then home minister in banning the reference to ‘Allah’, arising from discretionary powers under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. It was an unequivocal act of the ruling (federal) government.

From there, the downward spiral of race relations quickened with Umno’s political strategy to play the ‘race and religion’ card to regain its Malay heartlands. It shook the very foundation of the official ‘Malaysia - Truly Asia’ and the PM’s own ‘1Malaysia’ rhetoric and hollow slogans.

There is no other possibility, other than a most probable break-up of Malaysia if the race and religion division is allowed to continue.

The federal government has forgotten that it is the government for all Malaysians and not only the Malays or only in the peninsula.

It has forgotten that it is not the Federation of Malaya that they are ruling but the Federation of Malaysia where the founding fathers of Sabah and Sarawak were promised religious freedom.

Religious freedom is so important that the natives in the interiors of Sabah erected a Stone Monument, known today as the Batu Sumpah, in Keningau, to etch into perpetuity such freedom.

If not for these promises, there is no Malaysia today.

azlanThe use of 'Allah' in the Borneo states, or even in neighbouring countries, pre-date the formation of the Federation of Malaya and the Federation of Malaysia. There has been no turmoil or any threat of racial disruption.

On the contrary, in Sabah and Sarawak, there has been tranquillity of racial and religious harmony without the rhetoric of ‘1Malaysia’.

There is no need for a Muslim-Malay NGO to declare that ‘Christians are our brothers and sisters’ because in true life in Sabah and Sarawak, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives are Christians and Muslims and of other religions ...

... Lest it be forgotten, no Christian Malaysian is questioning or challenging that Islam is the official religion of the federation. It is the treatment of the minority faiths and the actions and policies of the ruling government that is the root cause of marginalisation and disenfranchisement.

If the PM accepts the reasoning of the Muslim NGO, it is time to start disengagement talks and allow Sabah and Sarawak to depart Malaysia and the peninsula can revert back to Persekutuan Tanah Melayu by itself.

There is no point in retaining Sabah and Sarawak within the federation when the ultra-Malays in Malaya keep trying to break it up and without any appropriate response or with the silent acquiescence from the federal government.

James Masing, Parti Rakyat Sarawak president

james masingThe judges of the Court of Appeal have made two faulty judgments based on ignorance of Sarawak and Sabah socio-religious conditions - the Bisi Jinggot native customary rights land case and the ban on the use of ‘Allah’ in the space of two months.

We cannot afford to have members of the judiciary, the interpreters of our legal system, to be ignorant of aspects of the case in which they are tasked to make judgments. Political masters must take this matter seriously.

John Brian Anthony, DAP central committee member

There is no more religious freedom in Malaysia and our forefathers’ concerns over religious freedom during the formation of Malaysia 50 years ago have now come true.

Ultra Muslims think this land is entirely theirs, and as such they do not respect the rights of Christians to practise their religion.

All Dayak political leaders who are Christians should resign from the BN in order to send a clear message that to the ultra Muslims that this country does not only belong to them.

It is sad day for Malaysia when the prime minister is so weak that he cannot hold Malaysia together after this.

Daron Tan, Sarawak Ministers’ Fellowship chairperson

The court decision was erroneous and in breach of the constitutional guarantee of freedom to bumiputera Christians to practise, preach and propagate faith in accordance with the biblical mandate.

They will be deemed to be law breakers, and the offence they would be committing by merely addressing God in their own language, a practice they had have adhered to for hundreds of years.

Rev Eu Hong Seng, Christian Federation of Malaysia
This is yet another erosion and infringement of the constitutional protection to the freedom of religious communities to profess and practise their faith and to manage their own affairs.

The decision might encourage and fuel further misunderstanding and mistrust between the Muslim and Christian communities which will further undermine the unity of Malaysians.

Assistant Bishop Aeries Sumping Jingan, Kuching Anglican diocese

Our Muslim brothers here have no problem at all with using the word ‘Allah’ in our worship and prayers. (We have been doing so) freely for the last 165 years and suddenly we are told that we can’t use it in case we might confuse our Muslim friends.

If this is not an infringement of the constitutional rights of the Christians, I don’t know what is.

Archbishop Bolly Lapok, Association of Churches Sarawak chairperson

For an outsider to say that the use of ‘Allah’ is not integral to the Christian faith is excessive, utterly irresponsible and grossly demeaning, to say the least.

The Church does not need an apologist from outside to decree what is integral or not regarding Her faith.

By Dukau Papau

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BOPIM repeats call for Secession

KOTA KINABALU - In response to the court decision to disallow the use of the name "Allah" the Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIM) had repeated its call for the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

In a stern statement here, BOPIM's President, Daniel John Jambun, said that there are countless reasons why such a step is now justified and the Christians of the Borneo states are now regretting joining Malaysia because they are now having their rights to religious freedom trampled on by the Malays who they now see as the colonialists.

"The call by Malay supremacist, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman for Christians to leave Malaysia if they cannot accept the supremacy of Islam in the country is a clear challenge to use to secede," Jambun said. "All this while we had been complaining abut the economic injustices of the federal government, robbing Sabah of its wealth but Abdullah Zaik may have just accelerated the great social disintegration in Malaysia.

"This arrogance is revolting to say the least and marks the true attitude of the Malay supremacists who believe a large chunk of the Malaysian population simply cannot ask for their human rights. Abdullah Zaik must be totally ignorant about what human rights are, why the Suhakam was formed, what the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights is and what Malaysia is all about," Jambun added. "And because of this ignorance and his abominable supremacist attitude, he is also blind to the provisions in the Federal Constitution guaranteeing us our humans rights as Malaysians. For instance, Article 12 provides that 'there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth'."

Jambun said that Adbullah Zaik must now wake up to the reality that the strident call for secession from the federation is everywhere in the Borneo states, and those making the call are not interested to migrate but to pack up and leave the federation for good.

He pointed out that the federal leaders must also now be aware of the hilarious irony of the 20 Points, in which Point 1 says "While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo" while Point 7 says "There should be no right to secede from the Federation."

"Do they realize that if they say Point 1 cannot be applied because the 20 Point is no longer valid, thy are also saying Point 7 is also no longer valid, hence we now have the right to secede?" Jambun stressed. "So now the federal leaders from the Peninsular has to decide whether the 20 Point is valid or not, in which case we either can reject an official religion in Sabah, or we can leave the federation. They just can't have it both ways and use either of the two points anytime according to the convenience of the moment. I challenge the Prime Minister to state the BN government's firm and clear stance on this thorny issue.

"It is also extremely disappointing that the Prime Minister is again playing dumb on another very critical issue which is threatening to tear the nation apart. He cannot just continue being ambivalent or speak his pro-Islamist bents just because of the forthcoming Umno general assembly. He needs to show that he is the Prime Minister of all Malaysians and not just of the Malaysia at this critical time," he said.

Jambun said that all this while the non-Malays had accepted the Malay's position in the governance of Malaysia, but that doesn't mean they can trample on our rights and dignity of Christians as and when they like as if Christians have no contributions to Malaysia.

"Keep in mind that without Sabah and Sarawak there would have been no Malaysia and the Peninsular wouldn't have enjoyed great infrastructural developments without our taxes and natural resources," he said. "This is why the call by Nasharuddin Mat Isa for an end to the 'special' privileges granted to Christians in Sabah and Sarawak a totally laughable presumptuousness which betrays his utter ignorance of our incalculable contributions to the wealth and development of the Malays.

"Anyway, I wonder what special privileges have we been having other than the right to practice our religion as guaranteed by the federal constitution. Is he saying that we should be forbidden from worshipping from now on?" Jambun asked.

He said the Malay supremacists must top raising controversies using the issue to prop up their names in politics and instead take heed the warning by Bolly Lapok, the Anglican archbishop for Southeast Asia, that, "Proscribing the use of the word ‘Allah' would instantly turn these native Bumiputeras into law breakers in the very land of which they are sons of the soil. This is not only abhorrent but wholly unacceptable."

He said that also important to consider is the warning by James Masing, a BN leader, that the Appeals Court's decision will have a negative impact on non-Muslims beyond Sabah and Sarawak. Opposition politician Baru Bian, the head of PKR Sarawak, had expressed shock at the ruling, saying, “I am stunned by the decision. We have produced very clear facts that we were promised a guarantee by our forefathers when Sabah and Sarawak helped form Malaysia. The ruling appears to go against the fundamental rights that were promised," he had said, calling it repugnant and oppressive.

Jambun said the challenge for the federal government now is how it is going to implement the prohibition of the use of "Allah" which had been going on for over a century because the Christians in the Borneo states have decided to defy it and will continue to use the term regardless of the ruling.

"Are they going to send observers and spies into each and every Christian worship service from now on? Are they going to confiscate all Alkitabs containing the term and other Malay Christian publications? And is the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka an institution to promote the Malay language only for Malays or all Malaysians? Why are Christians prohibited from using 32 words of the language? Is the Malay language now an instrument of the Malaysian government to oppress its own people? Note also that this court decision had instantly raise the ire, and ignited hatred of non-Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak against the federal government. So there goes 1Malaysia!"

Jambun also said that even Muslims are clearly against it, including PAS whose central committee member Khalid Samad who had said "The government should educate Muslims regarding all the verses of the Quran which mentions non-Muslims discussing about Allah with the Prophet Muhammad, and using the word freely without any hindrance whatsoever.” The Shah Alam MP said the government seems to be very proud that "we are the only Muslim nation that practices this ban – that we are going beyond even what the Prophet Muhammad had done. Islam allows non-Muslims to use the word in the first place," Khalid said.

"As far as BOPIM is concerned, the real issue now is not 'Allah' but secession. In fact we don't even have to call for such a move because it is already in the minds of a lot of Sabahans. If the government doesn't believe this I challenge it to undertake a referendum in Sabah and Sarawak immediately."

--Wikisabah

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