Let justice flow like a mighty river
Now this is alarming: not only is the 18km tolled Penang Outer Ring Road back on the cards again, the concessionaire is reportedly seeking to reclaim 61ha of land off Gurney Drive and 142ha at Middle Bank, close to the Weld Quay jetties.
When it comes to taking a stand on Porr, is there much to separate the BN from the Pakatan state government?
Rakyat@work reports on the launch of the Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative in KL while over in Penang, a smaller group met up to express solidarity:
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The launch in KL – Photos by Rakyat@work
The Penang solidary gathering at a nasi kandar restaurant – Photo by Lucia Lai
Just last month, we celebrated Merdeka Day and yesterday we had Malaysia day. Really, it was by far the most subdued and lifeless ‘celebration’ I have ever experienced. Other than uncertainty in our economic challenges, we have also inherited a degenerative political disease which inflicts daily insults and threats to the rakyat. A sense of ‘hopelessness’ is slowly creeping inside our immune system. It is like getting worse day by day. Everything seems to be going backwards.
So, what’s new? Fortunately, a small flame was flickering in the darkness: the launch of a new Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative.
The Penang Municipal Council has strongly denied that approval was given to Nusmetro to block access to Jalan Kaki Bukit, the road that passes through Kampung Buah Pala. The Council refuted the claim by the firm’s director, reported in The Star, that approval had been given.
Said the council in a statement today:
The road that was closed is a public thoroughfare and any application to close it has to be referred to the Public Works Department and the Land Office for approval.
1547: 15 activists and indigenous people were arrested in Kuching at 2.30pm as they tried to submit a memorandum to Sarawak state government leaders at Wisma Bapa Malaysia.
The group included Penan, Iban, Kenyah and Kayan representatives of indigenous communities that will be displaced by the Murum and Baram dam projects.
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu made some claims about the Penan while lashing out at NGOs. He said the NGOs were taking advantage of the plight of the less than three per cent of the Penan population who were still nomadic. This excerpt from the Borneo Post:
“They (negative NGOs) are living off the misery of the few, and manufactured lies. This is what we must fight.
“I have known the Penan community for more than 40 years. They are striving for advancement. Only less than three per cent are still nomadic.
“And it is this three per cent that the negative NGOs speak up for. Is this a fair representation when we have another 97 per cent of Penans who have settled down?” he asked.
He said most of the Penans were successful people after they had followed government programmes to get them out of poverty.
He said the role model for the Penans was entrepreneur Datuk Hasan Sui while the role model for the Penan villages was the one at Suai in Ulu Niah where most of its residents were driving twin-cab 4WDs.
“As the Penans are members of the Dayak community, I do not want to see them being exploited,” he said.
And now the reality, which I learnt from a reliable source:
KEEP IN TOUCH