Is there no salve Sarawak can apply to Sabah's scars? By Justin Calderon

LIKELY AID: Photo shows a view of Kuching city’s waterfront. Sarawak can act as a third-party to slave the rising tensions in Sabah.

The Sabah incident has instigated an unfortunate wave of ground-up acrimony in two prominent Asean nations – unfortunately because it whittles down at the foundation of an already intrinsically disparate group that is a central clog in global growth; evidently acrimonious because of the parading caskets of the fallen and scores of other preventable deaths.

The claims exhumed by -styled Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III over Sabah serve as a vivid reminder that the 10-nation Asean bloc has disturbingly potent skeletons in the closet that can ebb away at the economic credibility of the US$2.3 trillion powerhouse.

For all its economic prowess, the factious nature of Southeast Asian politics – both visible through infighting and international conflicts – has the ability to offset intra-trade, bilateral communication and tourism, ultimately fraying the fabric of the Asean dream.
Directly in Sarawak’s backyard of eastern Borneo, tensions are at times equally as palpable as if the incident had occurred within the state, namely because of the showering attention the bloodiest of the conflict had gotten in national and local media.
As an observer, Sarawak can act as a third-party to salve the rising tensions, but in order to do this Sarawakians must not succumb to the kind of myopic tendencies that have now geared the Philippines to take a more defined stance.
It is important for Sarawak to act as a mediator in this sense, kneading the bruises of the situation through clear-headed discussions that inform people of just how crucial maintaining healthy bilateral sentiment is.
Resulting bias against Filipino visitors, both on the tourism and business level, would bring back hopes of sound integration a notch. Treating the incident as isolated while maintaining a business outlook that promotes trade in the face of ongoing political dialogue is how Sarawak can act as a leader on Borneo.
There are doubtless challenges to mount in achieving this goal. Despite the incident being far-flung from Kuala Lumpur and Manila, ground-up parochialism has engendered jingoist sentiment, prodding governments to make political gestures to appeal to their respective electorates – especially crucial during the precarious election year in both Malaysia and the Philippines.

EASING TENSION: Photo shows scenic view of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It is crucial for the tension in Sabah to be settled in a rational manner.

Stepping into a cab in Manila one week ago, my Catholic taxi driver, who was born in the capital told me, “Sabah belongs to the Philippines. It is ours.”
While this is a sentiment not carried by the upper-middle class in Makati, Manila’s financial district, it is apparently an interpretation of some Filipinos that has caused enough noise to give the central government headaches.

Acting on cue, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs recently called on all government agencies of the nation to no longer refer to Sabah as part of Malaysia due to the Royal Sultan of Sulu’s pre-existing claims.

Pointing to a 2008 memorandum, Foreign Affairs Spokesman Raul Hernandez said that the request was an ‘existing regulation’ and must be complied with by all government departments, agencies, and instrumentalities.

On an insidious note, unconfirmed rumours – and specifically just that – abound that Aquino’s opposition armed the Sulu rebels with the intent of spurring chaos in the lead up to mid-term elections on May 13.

In response to the ongoing events, President Benigno Aquino III announced that he would spend his Holy Week vacation to “draw up a peaceful (solution) to Sabah claim” instead of on retreat in Baguio City now that his administration had taken its new position.

Indeed, any gestures made to mitigate further damage are not to be overlooked, whilst the region find itself in an every deepening schism. Observers need only look to other examples of deteriorating bilateral relations in Asean to see the damage at the cross hair – as well as the solutions that have been found.

Thailand and Cambodia have had a rollercoaster history, underscored by their on-again, off-again bickering claims over a clutch of temples on Cambodia’s northern border.

Yet the two nations have witnessed increased bilateral trade and investment, with Thailand business associations promoting investment deals in their eastern neighbour as a destination where manufacturing is cost-effective and cultural norms similar – all this in spite of the festering temple incident.

Here is how Sarawak can guide Sabah forward by example. If Malaysian states continue to promote trade with the Philippines through their respective associations, then Asean will stick to what it does best while leaving the politics to those locked away on weekends.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/31/is-there-no-salve-sarawak-can-apply-to-sabahs-scars/#ixzz2P51ggrxG

Orangutan at Semenggoh Wildlife

KUCHING: Semenggoh Wildlife Centre is abuzz with sightings of Minah’s newborn baby orangutan.
The 25-year-old female Pongo pygmeaus was first seen with her baby on Feb 23, the centre revealed in a press statement issued yesterday.
“The baby orangutan is named ‘Jubilee’ meaning celebration and this is in commemoration of Sarawak’s golden jubilee celebration this year.
“In fact, his birth this year also coincides with Sarawak Forestry Corporation’s 10th anniversary of its establishment,” said Datu Ali Yusop, the controller of wild life.
Jubilee is the fourth child of Minah, who was surrendered in 1993 from Lubok Antu, Sri Aman.
The birth of ‘Jubilee’ means that there are now a total of 27 orangutans in Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.
Orangutan offspring are dependent on their mothers till they are at least five years old but the adult male will have no contact with infants. Orangutans are totally protected in Sarawak and hence may not be kept as pets, hunted, captured, killed, sold, imported or exported, or disturbed in any way; nor may anyone possess any recognisable part of these animals.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/15/25-year-old-captive-orangutan-gives-birth-to-4th-offspring/#ixzz2OylYx9rf

Tuesday March 26, 2013 GE13: BN out to prove a point in Sarawak . The Star

Barisan has always counted on Sarawak to ensure victory in the past, but will this election be different?

SARAWAK'S reputation as Barisan Nasional's stronghold will be tested in the coming general election by a more confident Pakatan Rakyat.

The state Barisan coalition now holds 29 of the 31 parliamentary seats but there has been talk that the Opposition could win up to six seats.

Buoyed by their success in the state election of 2011 when they bagged 15 of the 71 seats contested, the Opposition parties seem confident that the sentiments of the people would still be in their favour.

In recent weeks, however, some Barisan leaders believe there has been a swing in support back to the ruling coalition. However, it remains to be seen whether the support is enough to stop the Opposition.

Unlike the 2008 polls when the state Barisan managed to win five seats Tanjong Manis, Igan, Kanowit, Selangau and Kapit uncontested, the coming election is expected to be a crowded affair. It's quite likely that there will be no uncontested wins.

In the hot seat

SUPP, the state's oldest party, is likely to be the party most Sarawakians will be watching with interest. After its failure in the last state election where it lost nearly all its Chinese-majority seats, there are those who believe SUPP will be struggling in the coming polls.

Among the casualties in the state election was its then party president Tan Sri Dr George Chan in Piasau. He consequently quit his party post and stepped down as a Deputy Chief Minister. It was a huge blow to the party because in the following state Cabinet reshuffle, the Deputy Chief Minister's post was not returned to the party.

SUPP's poor performance caused a split in the party when Sibu SUPP chief Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, a contender for the president's post, and a group of elected representatives boycotted the triennial delegates conference at the end of 2011, citing irregularities during branch meetings and their elections.

As a result of the boycott, Datuk Seri Peter Chin won the president's post uncontested. Until today, Wong and his group refused to recognise Chin, the Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, as the party president although they appeared to have reached a ceasefire and understanding on who gets to call the shots during the polls.

Unlike the seats in Kuching or Sibu, Dr Chan's defeat in Piasau is indeed a breakthrough for DAP which is hoping to repeat its success in the Miri parliamentary constituency. Piasau is one of two state seats in Miri.

Although Chin, a four-term Miri MP, had announced he wanted to step down, he has said recently that he could still contest.


In the meantime, SUPP has nominated Chin's political secretary Datuk Sebastian Ting as its candidate for Miri while DAP has named its Senadin chief Lim Su Kien as the candidate, much to the dissatisfaction of party members in Miri, who want state DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen, the Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman.

State DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng has decided to take a back seat and will not be defending Sibu after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. So, Chong is now running the show.

SUPP is contesting in seven parliamentary seats this elections but it is said to have only one safe seat in Serian. Despite the gloomy outlook, the party is expected to wrest Sibu back from DAP through its prominent community leader, Temenggong Datuk Vincent Lau.

He is expected to face Ho Leng's special assistant Oscar Ling.

Familiar foes

The bumiputra seats are very likely to stay as Barisan's fixed deposits.

PBB, for one, is expected to deliver a clean sweep of all its 14 contested seats. The party is expected to see at least one new face joining the fray since Kota Samarahan incumbent Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib will not be defending his seat. It has been speculated that a female senior government official could be the candidate.

Barisan, however, could face tough fights in the native seats of Mas Gading, Lubok Antu, Hulu Rajang and Baram. Mas Gading and Baram will be contested by SPDP, while PRS will defend Lubok Antu and Hulu Rajang.

The Mas Gading incumbent is Dr Tiki Lafe, who left SPDP last year with five other elected representatives after a fallout with party president Tan Sri William Mawan. Although Dr Tiki is now partyless, he is still very much a Barisan man and has insisted on defending his seat.

SPDP has nominated Anthony Nogeh, a deputy general manager of a state agency, but it is believed that Dr Tiki could still be fielded as a direct Barisan candidate.

PRS, meanwhile, has to contend with the Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) which is led by Larry Sng. Sng was sacked from PRS by party president Tan Sri Dr James Masing for insu-bordination, and has made it SWP's mission to wipe out PRS in the state.

Of PRS' six seats, Sng is expected to contest in Lubok Antu which is currently represented by Willliam Nyallau Badak.

In Hulu Rajang, Masing has found himself in quite a pickle. He decided to drop MP Datuk Billy Abit Joo but like Dr Tiki, Abit is also insisting on defending his seat.

Palm oil declines as export tax seen curbing demand

Palm oil dropped on speculation that stockpiles in Malaysia will hold near a record as an export tax curbs demand and on concern that a levy on Cyprus’s bank deposits may throw Europe back into crisis.

The contract for May delivery, with the most open interest, declined as much as 0.8 percent to 2,395 ringgit ($765) a metric ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, and ended the morning session at 2,399 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur. The June contract, with the highest volume, fell 0.7 percent to 2,399 ringgit.
Commodities measured by the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index fell as much as 1 percent today after Euro finance ministers agreed to force depositors in Cypriot banks to share the cost of a bailout. While Cyprus accounts for less than half a percent of the euro economy, the concern is that the one-time tax may trigger bank runs across Europe.

“Prices are likely to show weakness on Cyprus fears,” Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte., said today by phone from Singapore. “Crude palm oil prices are likely to track the overall market at least for this coming week.”

Malaysia’s exports may be unchanged in March after the government retained a 4.5 percent tax for a second month in April, Ker said. Shipments fell 14 percent to 1.4 million tons in February, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. While inventories dropped to 2.44 million tons, they were near an all- time high of 2.63 million tons reached in December.
Soybean oil for May delivery lost 0.7 percent to 49.58 cents a pound on the Chicago Board of Trade, while soybeans declined 0.9 percent to $14.1275 a bushel. Refined palm oil for September fell 1 percent to 6,300 yuan ($1,013) a ton on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. Soybean oil retreated 1 percent to 8,054 yuan a ton.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Kuala Lumpur at rpakiam@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

Esscom: Learning from Sarawak's experience

By Edward; SIBU: In early 1972, the communist threat in Sarawak, especially in its central regions (Sibu, Kapit, Sarikei, Mukah and Bintulu), was fast approaching breaking point.
The estimated 500 militant communist terrorists from the Northern Kalimantan People’s Party (Party Rakyat Kalimanatan Utara or Paraku) not only laid ambushes on the security forces but were intimIdating, harassing and killing innocent civilians at will. Curfews which at times were round the clock, were the order then.
The worsening situation forced the government under the leadership of the then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein to declare the central region a ‘Special Security Area’ which happened on March 25, 1972.
This was to allow its machinery to be fully geared and mobilised with the imperative aim of maintaining public security and safety.
A day later Rascom or the Rajang Security Command was formed.
“It was a bold experiment. For the first time in Sarawak and in the country, a joint Civil, Police and Military establishment was formed. It was to allow policising and decisions to be made and executed fast and efficiently, particularly where their coordinated services were necessary,” wrote one of its chief executive officers, the late Ignatius Angking.
Rascom was then administered by the then Sarawak chief minister as its director of operations.
He co-ordinated and controlled the functions and activities of the security forces and all civilian departments in the Rascom areas and was assisted by a joint Civil, Military and Police Command headquarters.
In the words of Tun Abdul Razak, he said:” Under the new set-up, the machinery of the government would be streamlined from district to divisional level.
“The civil administration, police and military will work as a team. This will ensure that whatever measures the government intends to take to counteract the CT (communist terrorist) activities would be taken by all.”
Datuk Patinggi Abdul Rahman Yaakub, the then chief minister, said it was “now an established fact that in the type of war that we are fighting aganist the communist terrorists, guns alone are not enough.”
“It is a battle for the hearts and minds. It is a battle that is fought not only by the soldiers, but by all. It is a war in which no matter what they are and where they are in Sarawak, all must play their part,” said Abdul Rahman Yaakub, before he became Rascom’s first director of operations.
Immediately, new strategies and tactics to fight the CTs were formulated in parallel with civil counter-measures in an all out war.
Among the very first major measure was the resettling of folks living in longhouses scattered deep in the interiors into regrouping and resettlement schemes.
This was to stop them from being harrassed by the terrorists who would come to them looking for food, logistics and recruits.
Altogether, five regrouping and resettlement schemes were formed. The major ones are the Nanga Ngungun with 23 longhouses and over 3,000 people, Nanga Tada (16 with 2,000 people) and Nanga Jagau(also 24 with 3,000 ) all in the Kanowit district and Nanga Sekuau (also 24 and over 6,000) in the Selangau District.
The other two are minor ones, at Nanga Dap(five with about 480) and Rantau Panjang (three and more than 300).
Bascially, while the Police Special Branch and Military Intelligence Unit hunted for intelligence, the military/border scouts/police field force would hunt down the terrorists or persuade them to surrender.
The civillian component would provide medical, adult education and other social services to the settlers beside organising
civic assemblies and security briefings to warn the people on the dangers of supporting the communists.
They were also engaged in monitoring people movement and food denial excercises to restrict the flow of food, medicine and other essential items to the CTs within the Rascom areas.
Rascom soon proved itself to be a most effective strategy in the fight aganist the terrorists. Its turning point came on March 4, 1974.
Under a move known as ‘Operation Sri Aman’, some 585 terrorists in the whole state decided to come out of their jungle hideouts and surrendered, leaving some 100 hardcore remnants behind.
And on March 3,1990, about 50 of them finally chose to follow suit which finally closed the state communist insurgency problem of more than three decades.
From then on, Sarawak begun to enjoy peace and security and with federal government support focused on pursuing economic and infrastructure development progress. Without Rascom, which was eventually disbanded on April 6, 1995, the state would not be what it is now.
Now 41 years later, on March 7, 2013 and by sheer coincidence, the son of the man who had announced the formation of Rascom also announced the formation of a “Special Security Area (SSA)” for Sabah’s east coast.
It was later named Esscom or the Eastern Sabah Security Command covering a coastline of 1,400 kilometres from Kudat to Tawau.
Esscom came about due to the intrusion on February 12 of some 150-odd armed Sulu terrorists from the southern Philippines, who had landed in stages in traditional barter trade boats in Silabukan and Sungai Merah, close to Kampung Tanduo in Felda Sahabat 17, about 110 kilometres from Lahad Datu.
In a month since they intruded into the area, 56 of of the terrorists have been killed in gunfights.
Malaysia lost nine men, eight policemen and a soldier in the skirmishes. Another soldier died when his truck overturned while ferrying supplies to the troops.
Esscom will protect more than 1.4 million Sabahans via land and sea with the deployment of not less than five batallions from the armed forces and police’s General Operations Force (GOF).
Its headquarters will be based in Lahad Datu.
“There is much Esscom can learn from the Rascom exprience. Esscom is a step in the right direction,” said Brig-Gen Datuk Stephen Mundaw, the commanding officer of the Ninth Infantry Brigade here. The brigade replaced Rascom.
Mundaw had served in Rascom for several years, as a young military officer where among his fellow officers is the current armed forces chief, General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin.
Speaking to Bernama here, he said he personally believed “Esscom is a very excellent move and very timely as well in the light of what had happened in Sabah’s east coast.”
“It is in the same vein as Rascom which was a very successful model in the fight against the communist terrrorist insurgency in Sarawak.
“I am sure there is much that Esscom can learn from Rascom’s approach and exprience since both are, firstly, security areas. Esscom’s structure may be slightly different but many of its objectives and elements may reflect what Rascom was all about,”he said.
“Secondly, it will be about inter-agencies co-operation and operations. It is commanded by a civilian while the military and police will do the enforcement duties. The civilian component, to include the local authorities and the relevant state and federal agencies, can be tasked with the non-combatant but equally important community development services and the area’s growth and prosperity,” he added.
“What we all want is peace and stability so that development and progress can come in uninterupted. Again, above all the country’s sovereinty must be upheld at all times.
“I also personally believe in Sarawak, particularly in the Ninth Infantry Brigade areas covering all the state’s central region and Miri division areas, we must not neglect its long porous border and coast which we must manage very well like in eastern Sabah. People can come in and go out anytime. The Lahad Datu incident like what our prime minister had said, is a wake-up call,” he said. — Bernama


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/18/esscom-learning-from-sarawaks-experiences/#ixzz2NtwOGHkt

Sarawak eyeing six million tourists during VMY 2014

KUCHING: The Ministry of Tourism is targeting six million tourist arrivals to Sarawak during Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014.
Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said yesterday that VMY 2014 promotions and campaigns would be rolled out after the impending 13th general election.
Tourist arrivals in Sarawak surpassed the four million mark last year.
“The state and federal governments will pick up momentum along the way by developing more unique and authentic tourism products to cater for foreign tourists,” he said at a `VMY 2014 Briefing and Dialogue with State Tourism Industry Players’ here.
“We will implement effective strategies to entice tourists to stay in the country longer.”
To ensure the success of VMY 2014, Dawos hoped that all stakeholders, including members of the public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) would give a helping hand.
“Contribute innovative and creative ideas so that we can achieve our objectives.
“We need everyone to be committed and take their roles seriously. We must not forget there’s competition from other Asean countries.”
Dawos said Malaysia was currently ranked number nine on the World Tourism Organisation’s list of most visited countries by international tourist arrivals.
He thus urged all players to work closely together and share their resources to help push the tourism industry higher.
Using the recent `Chap Goh Mei’ cultural parade at Siniawan, Bau, as an example, Dawos said the crew of China’s broadcasting station (CCTV) was shooting a video there and this was the kind of thing which would benefit the country.
“We are also targeting China as a potential market.”
The Visit Malaysia Year programme had been hosted for three times thus far. The first was in 1990 themed ‘Fascinating Malaysia, Year of Festivals’ which recorded 7.4 million arrivals and yielded RM4.5 billion in receipts.
The second was in 1994 themed ‘Fascinating Malaysia, Naturally More’ which recording 7.2 million arrivals and receipts climbed to RM8.3 billion.
The third was in 2007 to commemorate 50 years of nationhood. Tourist arrivals soared to 20.9 million and receipts totalled RM46.1 billion.
Dawos said the growth in tourist arrivals was in line with the target of the Malaysian Tourism Plan 2020 to achieve 36 million tourist arrivals and a tourism revenue of RM168 billion by year 2020.
Last year, a total of 25,032,708 foreign tourists visited Malaysia, surpassing the figure of 24,714,324 arrivals in 2011.
The total arrivals yielded RM60.6 billion on revenue in 2012, compared to RM58.3 billion in 2011.
The national target for this year is 26 million tourists.
Also present at the event were Ministry of Tourism Malaysia secretary-general Dato Dr Ong Hong Peng and the ministry’s deputy director-general (Marketing) Chong Yoke Har.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/09/sarawak-eyeing-six-million-tourists-during-vmy-2014-dawos/#ixzz2MznwL7kk

Natural ingredient from the jungle

NATURAL INGREDIENT
David Senan, 70, a vendor at the Kota Sentosa wet market, said the soft stems of the tepus were traditionally used as an ingredient for delicacies prepared by the Dayak community.
“They can also be eaten raw as salad — just dip them in prawn paste sauce – or cooked with chicken or other meat in bamboo,” he told thesundaypost.
Cooking soft tepus stems with fresh water snails (tekuyung) is David’s favourite method of using the ginger plant in his cooking.
“It gives out a special aroma – very appealing and appetising,” he said.
The stems can also be used as an ingredient for steaming freshwater fish.
“For me, this goes really well with freshwater catfish. It helps eliminate that strong raw fishy smell as well,” he added.
David’s favourite dish is sayur rebus or bamboo shoot soup, using dried ikan bilis (dried anchovies) as a substitute for the traditional dried or smoked fish or meat, often consumed by the natives in the old days.
He said before cooking, the bamboo shoots had to be sliced and boiled until the water turned brownish (like tea), and then placed in a sieve to drain the water.
Tepus is still plentiful in his kampung along Borneo Highland Road, growing mostly at the foothills of the village.
“The plant can be found at cooler spots, especially under a canopy of trees,” he noted.

SAVOURY: Tepus, boiled-bamboo shoot and sawi Dayak fried with dried anchovies and slices of red onion and garlic with soya sauce.
According to David, the soft tepus stems are well liked by the Dayak community who also use them for other dishes.
“It’s really up to individual choice,” he added.
David believes in the goodness of naturally grown jungle plants, saying they are free from pesticides or chemicals.
“They have their own nutritional and maybe even medicinal values,” he reckoned.
“For me, I naturally like the soft tepus stems as they can be used in all Dayak dishes and cooking. If you want to make them tastier, you can always add other ingredients.”
Revealing another recipe, he said one could fry bamboo shoots with soft tepus stems and anchovies, and add soya sauce to the mix for a fusion of traditional and current tastes.
“I believe this recipe is nicer to many people, especially the younger generation,” he said, referring to his children and grandchildren who prefer dishes that are different from his.
David said there were many types of jungle produce now being sold by the villagers.
He understood more and more eateries were being opened in the city that included wild jungle plants in their menu, especially limindin (ferns), a much sought after leafy vegetable.
“If these places can lure customers with a taste for edible wild plants, it would be good for vegetable sellers like us.”
Apart from tepus, David also sells other jungle produce such as bamboo and fern shoots which are plentiful in his village.
Out of curiosity, I cooked a dish, using a recipe, shared by David, and discovered that the soup of tepus I prepared with boiled bamboo shoots, sawi
Dayak and dried anchovies reeked of the ginger plant – not unlike the bitter smell expelled by some insects.
However, there is a slight difference with bamboo shoots prepared with tepus and sawi Dayak, fried with dried anchovies, or slices of red onions and garlics with soya sauce. It is more savoury and smells less of tepus.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/03/natural-ingredient-from-the-jungle/#ixzz2MRsJtsKK