Impian Sabah & Sarawak: A Malaysian Dream - The Book!

Shipping Location

West Malaysia (Courier) RM90.00 MYR  East Malaysia (Courier) RM95.00 MYR  ASEAN (Normal) RM100.00 MYR  Australia / NZ (Normal Mail) RM120.00 MYR  USA / Europe (Normal Mail) RM140.00 MYR

 

Impian Sabah & Sarawak: A Malaysian Dream is a commemorative book that celebrates the milestones achieved since 2013. We have completed scores of projects, involved hundreds of volunteers, assisted thousands of marginalized rural villagers and have been generously supported by tens of thousands of ordinary Malaysians.

Despite not being part of the state or federal governments, we have shown the East Malaysians that much can be achieved even with very limited budgets.   

Impian Sabah and Sarawak have become the game-changer for these rural folks.  There is now real competition to win the hearts and minds of these voters who were previously taken for granted.  

We firmly believe that continued Impian Sabah and Sarawak programmes are crucial in bringing about the twin change of upgraded quality of life and longer term political change. Sarawak needs to elect a government that not only cares for the man on the street, but also one that will fight tooth and nail against corruption.

 The book records not only the projects but the story behind each one of them; accounts of lives touched and perspectives of volunteers who participated in the many projects, all captured in the many photographs featured in this book.

All profits from the sale of this beautiful hardcover, full-colour 180-page book will go towards future Impian Sabah & Sarawak projects, benefitting the rural marginalised poor in East Malaysia. Get your copy today!

Shipping Location

West Malaysia (Courier) RM90.00 MYR East Malaysia (Courier) RM95.00 MYR ASEAN (Normal) RM100.00 MYR Australia / NZ (Normal) RM120.00 MYR USA / Europe (Normal) RM140.00 MYR

And for those who prefers to pay via Maybank2U or other internet banking channels, cash deposit, special requests, bulk quantities etc., feel free to email me at tonypua@yahoo.com. Please include your shipping address and contact number.

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DAP Sarawak Election Fund-Raising Dinner @ Petaling Jaya 2012

Help us spread the event by sharing our Facebook Event Page!

Dear friends & supporters,

As the 13th General Election approaches, widely speculated to be held in May 2012, expectations are high among many people in urban constituencies for Pakatan Rakyat to take over the Federal Government.

However, for Pakatan Rakyat to succeed, we must succeed in making major inroads in East Malaysia, particularly in Sarawak. To have a realistic chance of victory, Pakatan Rakyat needs to win 18 parliamentary seats in Sabah & Sarawak, with possibly 12 coming from the Land of Hornbills.

The DAP will be contesting and campaigning hard in many of Sarawak's rural and remote constituencies which require heavy logistical expenses. These rural seats are often poor and the candidates are not able to generate sufficient funding from local sources to launch a serious campaign.

Hence DAP Sarawak is holding a fund-raising campaign dinner in the Klang Valley to give our candidates in these difficult seats a fighting chance to defeat Barisan Nasional.

Theme: "One Big Step for Sarawak, One Giant Step for Malaysia"
Venue: MBPJ Civic Centre (Banquet Hall)
Date: 10 April 2012 (Tuesday)
Time: 7.30pm

The speakers will include:

• Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader 
• Richard Wong Ho Leng, MP Sibu
• Chong Chieng Jen, MP Bandar Kuching
• Dr John Anthony Brian, Dayak Consultative Council Chairman
• Leon Jimat Donald, DAP Sarawak Asst Publicity Secretary
• Mordi Bimol, Special Asst to MP Bandar Kuching

The primary language for this dinner will be English and Bahasa Malaysia. Halal or vegetarian food is available upon request.

The cost of the dinner will be RM60 per pax or RM600 per Silver table. Gold sponsorship tables are available for RM1,500 table.

For reservations, please email to dapsarawak@rocketmail.com or to me directly with your name, contact number and number of seats or tables (Gold or Silver) required.

For those who are not able to make the dinner, donations are also very much welcome ;-). Cheques should be written to "DAP Sarawak".

If you have any more questions, you can call Rebecca Choong at +6014 9251527

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you!

p.s., tables are limited to 100 only, so reserve your seats today! Help us spread the event by sharing our Facebook Event Page!

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MCA should dissolve itself

DAP dares MCA to dissolve and call for Najib’s resignation
By Clara Chooi April 21, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The DAP challenged MCA leaders today to dissolve their party or call on the prime minister to resign should he lose Chinese community support in the coming general election.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang charged that the MCA was being hypocritical in calling for Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s resignation due to his failure to deliver the Chinese vote last week, pointing out that the MCA itself had performed no better in Election 2008.

In the Sarawak state polls last Saturday, Barisan Nasional (BN) lost 16 seats to the opposition, most of them Chinese-majority urban seats.

In Election 2008, MCA suffered its worst ever electoral defeat when it saw its parliamentary representation cut by more than half from 31 to just 15 seats.

“Now they are asking Taib to resign on grounds that he lost the Chinese vote. Will they apply the same standard to PM (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak)?

“And why is MCA still in the Cabinet? Why was MCA’s president (Datuk Seri Dr) Chua Soi Lek so keen on securing his son (Chua Tee Yong) a deputy minister’s post?” Lim asked.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua, who led the party’s campaign in Sarawak, agreed, saying that the MCA should “dissolve” itself for having failed in its purpose of representing the Chinese community.

“If you are talking about support based on race, the MCA has failed to represent the Chinese. So their organisation is completely irrelevant. They should dissolve themselves,” he said.

Lim and Pua were responding to a statement by MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu yesterday calling for Taib’s resignation due to the outcome of Saturday’s polls.

The DAP leaders also berated MCA’s Loh Seng Kok for “insulting the intelligence of Sarawak voters” when he claimed the Chinese community had been duped into voting for the opposition for racial reasons.

“They are insulting their intelligence because Sarawak voters, all those who supported DAP, were voting for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR). They were voting for new politics which surpasses racial boundaries,” said Lim.


Pua said it was the SUPP which had played the race card.
He pointed out that the outcome of the Sarawak polls had not only shown an increase in Chinese community support towards the DAP but an improvement in support from all communities towards PR as a pact.
This, he said, was mirrored in how the opposition had managed to increase its popular vote from 37 per cent in 2006 to 45.5 per cent or 300, 288 votes while BN managed to secure 54.5 per cent or 372, 379 votes.

“MCA and Gerakan leaders are feeling so aggrieved that they were treated with utter contempt in Sarawak that they are making these nonsensical statements.

“It is their way to vent their anger. They should know their days are numbered unless they change and rise above racial politics,” said Lim.

Pua also pointed out that it was the MCA’s parallel, the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), that had played the race card in the polls in order to convince people to reject the opposition.

In its campaign, the SUPP had warned Sarawakians that they would lose Chinese representation in the state Cabinet if they voted for the DAP.

On April 16, however, the DAP scored an electoral upset by winning 12 of the 15 seats it contested, most of them Chinese-majority urban seats.

The SUPP was nearly wiped out when the party, which claims to represent the Chinese, won in just six of the 19 seats it contested, only two of which were Chinese majority while the rest were Dayak seats.

“I want to challenge MCA to point out when and where in our entire campaign in Sarawak were we racist? Go back to school and learn what racism is.

“Fighting corruption, abuse of power and nepotism is not racism. These issues cut across the races and if MCA thinks they are racist, they should evaluate their own party constitution which prohibits other races from taking part in their organisation,” said Pua.

Lim agreed, pointing out that the MCA and Gerakan were largely to blame for the SUPP’s fall in Sarawak as leaders for both the peninsula-based BN partners had joined in the election campaign.

“The real reason why SUPP did so badly was because of the assistance rendered by MCA and Gerakan leaders who have only served to highlight the need for the country to rise above race and go for new politics. Since peninsula voters have rejected Gerakan and MCA, the Sarawak voters are doing the same.

“Nobody cared about them in Sarawak. Not just that, they were treated like garbage and with utter contempt,” he said.

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Kuching Finale!

Our Pakatan Rakyat Kuching Candidates

Electric rock concert atmosphere @ Pakatan Rakyat Kuching Grand Finale
(Picture by Malaysiakini)

Sceaming fans in red @ Pakatan Rakyat Kuching Grand Finale
(Picture by MerdekaReview.com)

30,000 people throng to Pakatan Rakyat Kuching Grand Finale 

(Picture by MerdekaReview)





People stayed on despite a momentary shower
(Picture by Ooi Leng Hang)

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Sarawak Campaign Snippets

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Sarawak Must Change

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Ubah Ubah Ubah!

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Sarawak, Here We Come!

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Contribute to DAP Sarawak Election Campaign!

Dear fellow Malaysians,

The Sarawak general elections will be held soon on 16 April 2011.  NOW is the time for the brave people of Sarawak to make their voices heard. NOW is the time for the people of Sarawak to send a loud and clear message to the incompetent and corrupt BN state government. NOW is the time for the people of Sarawak to send a clear signal to the entire nation in preparation of the upcoming 13th Malaysia general election.

The DAP will be playing a major role to fight the Barisan Nasional hegemony in Sarawak, specially the end the autocratic rule of Malaysia's longest serving Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The DAP offers the promise of change to Sarawak by fighting the rampant abuse of power, cronysim and corruption by the BN leaders, who have enriched themselves at the expense of the rakyat, especially the poor and the marginalized, during their 50 years in power.

However, we need your help to make change happen. We need your financial contribution to print
leaflets, hold campaign rallies, run operating centres and access remote regions of Sarawak. We call upon you to donate generously to help our cause.

You can donate using credit card, internet-banking, MEPS @ Sarawak4Change.com

Or you can also bank funds directly with TT, cash or cheque, details here.

All the monies donated now till the end of elections will be used for the Sarawak campaign.

For those who are keen to volunteer time for the campaign, please email us at sarawak4change@rocketmail.com.

On behalf of the people of Sarawak, thank you so much for your support to make change possible.

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Ubah v Taib

The campaign for Sarawak has begun! Ubah!

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Budget 2011: Sabah & Sarawak Marginalised

With a whole series of multi-billion ringgit mega projects headlining Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's Budget 2011 which seeks to be an integral step in “transformation towards a developed and high-income nation”, it has become clear as day that Sabah and Sarawak which became part of Malaysia on 16 September 2010 continues to remain marginalised and will be hard-pressed to significantly benefit from the Federal Government plans.

Purely by reviewing the budget speech by the Prime Minister last Friday and tabulating all the projects which have been listed, West Malaysia is the by far the biggest beneficiary, with our comrades in Sabah and Sarawak the biggest losers.

The value of all the projects cited which are specifically located in West Malaysia amounted to a massive RM109.74 billion and this will include some of the headline projects such as the RM40 billion MRT system for the Klang Valley, the RM26 billion KL International Financial District (KLIFD), an estimated RM10 billion worth of new highways, a RM10 billion mixed property development in Sg Buloh by EPF as well as the RM5 billion controversial 100-storey Warisan Merdeka.

In contrast, projects which are specifically for Sabah and Sarawak amounted to a meagre RM9.55 billion only or only 8.0% of the total value of these projects cited in the latest budget.

Is this continued marginalisation justifiable in the country's pursuit to become a high-income nation when it is Sabah and Sarawak who have contributed among the most to the Federal Government coffers, but who are ironically also at the same time most in need of funding to raise the standards of living of its people.

Over the past 6 years, the Federal Government has been heavily dependent on the income contributed from the oil and gas sector, especially from Petronas which finances the government in the form of income taxes, dividends, export duties as well as royalty payments. These contributions have formed an average of 40% or more than RM60 billion annually of the Federal Government's total income over the past few years. Based on 2007 data, both Sabah and Sarawak contributed 44.5% in terms of crude oil as well as 64.1% of natural gas production in the country, demonstrating the immense contribution from these states to the Federal Government.

At the same time, based on the 9th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review, Sabah and Sarawak remains among the poorest in the country. According to the report in 2007, the incidence of poverty in Peninsular Malaysia is 2.3%, while that in Sarawak is nearly double at 4.3%, and in Sabah its nearly 7 times higher at 16%.

Even these figures are highly suspicious and reeks of under-reporting as the state of basic infrastructure development in Sabah and Sarawak is drastically below that of Peninsular Malaysia. Based on 2009 data from the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, 41% of both East Malaysian states are without rural water coverage, while the figure is only 10% in Peninsular Malaysia. The gap is even bigger for rural electricity coverage, when 23% is not covered in Sabah, 33% not covered in Sarawak but only 0.5% not covered in Peninsular Malaysia.

It is hence nearly impossible that poverty levels in Sabah and Sarawak as only 16% and 4.3% when 41% are without rural water while 23% and 33% are without electricity respectively. It's hard to imagine that it was only in 1970 when Sabah was the 2nd richest state in Malaysia after Selangor (which included Kuala Lumpur then) and today, it is by far the poorest.

What's more, despite constituting more than 60% of the land mass in the country, Sabah and Sarawak combined has only 6,390 km of paved roads while the Peninsula has more than 3 times the length at 21,589 km.

The vast contributions by the 2 East Malaysian states led by BN state governments to the BN-led Federal Government when contrasted against the meagre returns to the people of Sabah and Sarawak. It is not hence completely not surprising that the people of Sabah and Sarawak believe that they have been royally screwed and we have a Commonwealth Games gold medalist who chose to don Sabah colours and not that of Malaysia.

Table: Projects Listed In The Prime Minister's Budget 2011 Speech

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"I help you, you help me"

In case, you actually haven't heard it with your own ears, here's the clip on Najib's attempt to bribe the voters of Rajang Park, Sibu where the government's role of mitigating the area's flood is tied to them voting for Barisan Nasional.

The above video on YouTube has been viewed 75,000 times, and add the 22,000 views on Malaysiakini.TV, Datuk Seri Najib's disgraceful attempt would have been seen nearly 100,000 times.

Make your own judgement.

Listen also to the later part of the speech, Najib said "I don't have to come here, but I come to Rajang Park. Why?  This is not a place for the Prime Minister to come".

By the way, DAP/Pakatan Rakyat secured an increase of 9.4% of votes in Rajang Park polling district from 58.3% to 67.7%, and turnout increaesed 11%.

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GST on Sarawak

The Deputy Finance Minister informed the Senate yesterday that the Government will proceed with the implementation of the unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST) after the expected passing of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act in Parliament.

Datuk Seri Awang Adek Hussin argued that “there is a lot to be gained by the government and the country with the implementation of GST, among them, a new source of revenue.”

We agree that there is indeed a lot to be gained by the government as they will increase the amount of tax collected from the people, but what will be gained by the people who has to bear the burden of paying more taxes?

Sarawakians will be among the worst hit with the implementation of GST as the state is the fourth poorest in the whole Malaysia, only ahead of Sabah, Kelantan and Terengganu. Currently there are less than 8% of the working population in Sarawak who are paying income taxes. The remainder of the population just do not earn enough money to pay any taxes.

Once GST is implemented, everyone, regardless of whether you are unemployed, low income, a single mother, an elderly or disabled, you will have to pay GST for practically all purchases. As many Sarawakians are still living in poverty or at near poverty levels, the GST will badly affect their livelihood.

The Barisan Nasional government have insisted that basic necessities such as rice, flour, salt, sugar, meats and certain seafood items will be exempted from taxation, and the poorest in Malaysia will even save RM14.52 per annum with its implementation.

The Government's model is competely flawed because it assumes that the poor will only spend all their monies on GST-exempted basic goods. The poor will still have to pay GST when buying shampoo, clothes, shoes, cutlery, furniture, soap and other household items.

Even for tax exempted goods, the price is likely to increase despite the tax exempt, because the cost of production of items such as rice, flour etc. will increase due to GST.

While the Government may pass Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Acts, and promise enforcement, we all know that such enforcement will have very limited practical impact. The government cannot even enforce controls over taxi drivers who refuses to use meters in the cities, can we expect more from a nationwide enforcement of all shops? Furthermore, how is the Government going to penalise say a petty hawker, for charging RM0.10 more for his cup of teh tarik or RM0.20 more for his plate of noodles?

In the interest of many states which are still engulfed in poverty or near poverty, including hundreds of thousands of Sarawakians, we call upon the government to withdraw the proposal to implement GST.

To resolve the budget deficit and debt issues faced by the Government, the BN Government must first take concrete steps to reduce massive corruption, inefficiencies and wastages for all procurement and privatisation programmes and completely eliminate the entrenched system of rent-seeking and patronage, instead of taking the easy way out by shifting the burden to the rakyat at large.

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Sibu To Kick Off Good Governance in Sarawak

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan said yesterday that Pakatan Rakyat is “merely an occupant of the BN development, whether it is in Kedah, Kelantan, Penang or Selangor... the opposition cannot do anything for them and only the BN has the power, voice, capability, allocation and planning to develop the state.”

Barisan Nasional (BN) has over the past 50 years used the “politics of development” to trick voters into voting for BN. However, the trust of the rakyat has been abused to enrich the select few who are entrenched in power. As a result, Malaysia has the largest income disparity ratio in Southeast Asia, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

Sarawak has become the 4th poorest state in Malaysia despite being the richest in terms of natural resources. In 2009, the Sarawak state revenue was RM3.7 billion, the highest in entire Malaysia. Even with only 5% royalty for oil revenue, Sarawak has received RM4.8 billion in oil royalties between 2004 and 2007.

Yet, more than 70 percent of longhouses in Sarawak do not have access to electricity and many do not even have treated pipe water. Until today there are no roads to many Sarawak villages. Many Ibans who work in plantations at an unacceptable day wage rate of RM12 still have to compete with illegal Indonesian workers who work for RM8 per day. This proves that the wealth of Sarawak, Malaysia's richest state is highly concentrated in the hands of Barisan Nasional leaders, pilfered by cronies through patronage and corruption.

Pakatan Rakyat, despite having only governed in several states for 2 years have shown remarkable changes in administration.

Both the Penang and Selangor state governments led by Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng and Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim respectively have performed outstandingly, being the only states which earned praise by the Auditor-General's Report 2008.

In Penang, its cost-cutting measures and prudent ways have resulted in the state's consolidated funds increasing 21.1% (RM178.45 million) from RM847.45 million in 2007 to RM1.02 billion in 2008. The report says the state's expenditure was reduced by RM35.41 million or by 11.1% due to its cost-cutting measures and priority being given to spending on the people or for people-centric programmes.

In fact, the Penang state government has been able to turn a projected deficit of RM 35 million in 2008 budget by BN to a record surplus of RM 88 million. Similarly in 2009, we achieved a surplus of RM 77 million. This was achieved through a competent, accountable and transparent (CAT) government, where open tenders are practised for all government contracts to ensure the lowest prices for the best quality goods and services.

What's more, the Pakatan Rakyat government in Penang was able to completely eradicate hardcore poverty in the state, something which the Barisan Nasional government has never been able to do for the past 50 years.

From all the savings that the state gained as a result of competent and good governance, as well as the eradication of corruption and cronyism, we have returned the monies to the rakyat. The Penang state government has given RM100 to every citizen in the state above the age of 60, while the Selangor state government is able to allocate RM120 million annual to provide free water to the rakyat.

We have even institutionalised tens of millions of annual government allocations to missionary, independent, chinese, tamil and religious schools to ensure justice in education for all Malaysians.

In Perak under Pakatan Rakyat, before the state government was forcefully taken over by the BN, we have awarded land titles to all qualified Malaysians regardless of race, a right which they have been denied under BN rule.

The above successes in such a short period of time proves beyond doubt that not only is Pakatan Rakyat able to govern, we are able to manage the state much better than the Barisan Nasional governments. BN accuses us of being “inexperienced” in government, but the only inexperience we have proven is that we have absolutely no experience with corruption and cronyism.

Pakatan Rakyat wants to bring our system of good governance to Sarawak to ensure all Sarawakians will prosper, especially those who are poor and marginalised, and the movement must start with Sibu.

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Sarawak: The Next Beach Head

Sarawak started the tsunami wave in 2006 by electing 8 opposition state assemblymen and women, a vast increase from the original 1 sole representative. By 2010/2011, Malaysia will once again focus its attention on Sarawak as it'll once again hold its state elections. DAP will certainly put its best foot forward to carry on the wave of change by winning more seats than the 6 we currently have.

DAP Sarawak is also actively setting up branches with higher bumiputera membership, in part to extend our reach into the rural areas of Sarawak. The following is a recent blog post by our DAP Sarawak state chairman and state assemblyman for Bukit Assek, Sdr Wong Ho Leng on its efforts.

In November 2008, DAP approved the formation of two (2) predominantly Iban branches at Sibu Jaya and Sungai Merah, both in Sibu (Another predominantly Iban branch approved was Bintangor Scheme B).

This morning, members from these 2 branches gathered at the Sibu DAP office to hold their first Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elect the first office bearers.

The small DAP premises was filled to the full by these members. Every chair was occupied. Some members even had to stand throughout the meeting.

More branches will be formed in rural areas in the next few months. The formation of these branches will bear testimony that we are not content to work in the Chinese areas alone and shout for the rural constituencies from outside. We are determined to go rural, and to see improvement in the lives of all races, in particular, the economically besieged and poor Dayaks. These rural areas should have DAP Iban leaders serve them. They should go for change.

Several Iban leaders spoke at the meeting before the election of office bearers. They had one common theme in their speeches – the BN Government has neglected them despite promising the skies. They felt that their leaders have always resorted to threats and intimidation, dissuading them to join Opposition parties. They urged their members not to fear, because their community leaders are paid by the BN to speak for the BN Government. Often, their plights have not been relayed to the Government. Their voices were not heard. Needless to day, their speech were laced with the desire to see change.

Several SUPP and Dayak leaders used to tell me that the political sky-change in Sarawak will take place if the Ibans wake from their bondage to their leaders. These people are poor, and that is an asset to the BN. They hold them by the thread of poverty. They would promise them the sky but will not deliver.

I can see the desire to see change in the mindset of the Ibans. It looks like the end of BN Government in Sarawak is at hand.

In my speech, I said that the Ibans comprise 30% of the population in Sarawak. Though the biggest race, they are the poorest in Sarawak. They face problems not only in their land but also with earning a living in Sarawak. Many of the Iban youths have to leave Sarawak to work in the factories in Johore, Selangor and Penang. It is said that there are 40,000 Ibans working in Johore alone. They are also employed in the factories in Singapore.

Why can't they seek employment in the state of their birth? Why have they to look for greener pastures outside Sarawak?

I said from the bottom of my heart that the Ibans are poor because the BN Government has not looked after them well. With so many years in the Dewan Undangan Negeri, I know that their elected wakil rakyat are happy with the BN Government. As a result not much has changed in the lives and welfare of the Iban communities.

I said that during my time in the Dewan Undangan Negeri, I have not heard the Iban elected wakil rakyat of the BN fighting earnestly for the community, especially in solving the problems concerning the NCR land.

Over the years, we see NCR land taken from the Ibans. Yet, despite their so called involvement in the New Concept of NCR Development, many Ibans have complained that they have not been given their just rewards and dividends.

The Ibans should help themselves by booting out the BN Government in the next state election.

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