Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud hopes to hold on to the BN’s two-thirds majority in the state assembly in elections on 16 April. But as he observes his 30th anniversary as chief minister today, his political future has never looked so uncertain.
A piece that appears in Asia Times today:
Bellwether poll for Malaysia
By Anil Netto
Taib Mahmud, the flamboyant chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak in north Borneo, marked 30 consecutive years in power on Monday. But any celebrations were subdued by a demanding electoral test on April 16, when close to one million Sarawak voters are eligible to vote in hotly contested state polls.
We can mention Chernobyl in the same breath now.
Green Action, Japan reports that a new analysis prepared for Greenpeace Germany by nuclear safety expert Dr Helmut Hirsch shows that by 23 March 2011, Japan’s nuclear crisis “has already released enough radioactivity to be ranked at Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)”.
One of the biggest issues in the forthcoming Sarawak election is the level of income distribution, inequality and poverty in the state, or more specifically how many people have been left behind or totally left out in this resource-rich state.
BN propaganda inevitably touches on how the official poverty rate in Sarawak has purportedly plunged during the Taib years to only around 5 per cent now. Take for example this piece in the BN’s SarawakReports.org:
In the mid-1980s, Chief Minister Taib faced a Sarawak where nearly 32% of its population lived in poverty, a shocking statistic to anyone living in the Western world. In three decades of democratic leadership, Taib has helped pull his citizens out of the depths of destitution. Now only 5.3% of Sarawakians live in poverty. For comparison, that is less then half the amount of Americans who live below the poverty line, a startling feat.
Less than half the US poverty rate? Betulkah? That is indeed startling! This assertion is repeated over and over again in sarawakreports.org. But then, what about that inconvenient truth – all those natives living without proper water and electricity supply and latrine facilities?
“What do I do?” an apparently perplexed Taib asks as sycophants chuckle during a ‘fruitful’ (see the plates on the table) interview.
After all, if the chief minister is to believed, it is his daughter and son-in-law’s amazing business acumen that has expanded their property empire.
In a third round of demolitions, more than 10 old buildings near Komtar were demolished over the last week – even before we have seen the George Town Local Plan and before the Special Area Plan for the George Town Unesco heritage zone can be put on public display.Photo credit: Kwong Wah
The Penang Development Corporation is undertaking an urban renewal project involving the Komtar Phase 5 area which also includes the Prangin Canal, what’s left of it.
Police moved in to stop Anwar from addressing a ceramah outside Azmin Ali’s service centre in Gombak last night.
This ceramah, which aimed to highlight the latest developments in his case among othere recent events, began at 9.00pm.
A crowd of a few thousand turned up to listen to the various speakers. When it was Anwar’s turn at around 11.30pm, the cops moved in after a few minutes to prevent him from speaking.
When it is dangerous for infants in Tokyo to drink tap water, you know you have serious problems.
If only they had heeded earlier warnings to evacuate a larger zone.
Elected reps from Parti Sosialis Malaysia yesterday disclosed their assets to the public. PSM elected reps declare their assets
It is time for elected reps from other parties to follow their example.
President Obama has had to face up to memories of the US-backed repression in Central America during a visit that coincided with the anniversary of the assassination of the legendary Archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero, on 24 March 1980.
Protesters in El Salvador also demanded that Obama rework or scrap the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which has crippled agriculture in the country.
Hornbills are usually associated with Sarawak. But these majestic creatures have all but disappeared from their natural sanctuary in the Temenggor area in the southern part of Belum. View Larger Map
The number of hornbills has reportedly plunged from 3000 in 2008 to 50 in 2009 and none was spotted last year in studies carried out by the Malaysian Nature Society.
Now that ‘Datuk T’ has been revealed to be a trio of familiar and not-so-familiar characters, people should focus on the real issues and the Sarawak polls.
The ‘Datuk T’ group’s ‘sex video screening’ has provoked much mirth and outrage (is it possible to feel both at the same time?) from many people I know. Their antics appear to be have had the exact opposite effect of what they had intended. Completely backfired on them.
The moment of truth is nearing. The Sarawak polls will be held on 16 April, with nomination day on 6 April.
It’s time to vote for a clean government, a government that truly has the interests of the long-suffering people at heart.
The judge in the Anwar trial has reversed his own trial-within-a-trial ruling and has now allowed three disputed items to be tendered as evidence after deciding that Anwar’s arrest was lawful.
He had earlier disallowed DNA samples from a towel, a mineral water bottle and a toothbrush as they were unfairly obtained.
It is still not clear who will take over Penang port despite an earlier media report suggesting a decision had already been made.
Two local parties and two foreign groups are reported to be interested the country’s third largest port after Port Klang (Northport and Westports) and Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor.
Then there’s the proposal by the Penang state government.
Najib has just tweeted that the police were not involved in the recording of the sex video that supposedly involved a top opposition politician.
‘I would like to confirm what Dtk Hishamuddin said that the police is not involved in the recording of the alleged sex video,” said a tweet from Najib’s twitter account.
So who was responsible for the filming? And would the government like to clarify for us lay people the law pertaining to the screening of explicit videos in hotels?
Right on cue with the dissolution of the Sarawak state assembly, a sex video has surfaced involving a top opposition leader.
And according to Tian Chua in a tweet: “Our response to the fake video is definite & unequivocal: NO, AnwarIbrahim was not involved. This is nothing but another smear!” Later Chua added, “The smear video was a good job but not free from vital flaws. People told me the character in video looked similar except a big tummy.”
What I found most peculiar was that journalists who were invited to view the tape had to surrender all electronic gadgets such as handphones and cameras as well as their pens and notebooks. Why bother calling journalists then?
By now, most of you are aware of Sarawak Report, which has exposed an array of misdeeds and abuse of power under the Taib administration.
The Sarawak Report website can be found at sarawakreport.org
Speaking of creating confusion, another website has surfaced, sarawakreports.org This is obviously a pro-BN website. Go take a look.
Good to see folks in Penang doing something concrete for the disaster victims in Japan.
This event is genuine: I am told the organisers had a press conference with the Penang Chief Minister and the Japanese Consulate General today.
Hello friends,
We’re all devastated by the tragedy that is unfolding in Japan now, and 5 days after the event.