Karim: Bina velodrom di Sarawak

November 8, 2010

Pembinaan penting demi perkembangan sukan berbasikal di negeri ini

MEMBURU KEJUARAAN: Para pelumba bagi kategori terbuka wanita memulakan cabaran masing-masing di Kuching semalam.

KUCHING: Persatuan Berbasikal Sarawak (PBS) mencadangkan kepada kerajaan negeri agar membina sebuah velodrom basikal sebagai persiapan menghadapi temasya Sukan Malaysia (Sukma VVII) di sini pada 2014.

Presidennya, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah berkata velodrom itu sememangnya amat penting bagi negeri ini sebagai arena kejohanan basikal peringkat kebangsaan mahupun antarabangsa.

“Kita akan mencadangkan kepada kerajaan negeri untuk membina sebuah velodrom di sini bagi meningkatkan mutu sukan berbasikal di samping sebagai persediaan kita menjadi tuan rumah Sukma 2014 nanti,” katanya.

Bercakap kepada pemberita di sini semalam, Abdul Karim berkata pembinaan velodrom itu sememangnya menelan kos yang besar tetapi Sarawak perlu mempunyai kemudahan itu demi meningkatkan mutu sukan basikal di negeri ini.

Menurut Abdul Karim, velodrom itu mungkin dibina di kawasan Kompleks Sukan Petra Jaya yang menempatkan arena sukan seperti stadium bola sepak, sepak takraw, boling padang, gimnastik, paintball, memanah dan sebagainya.

“Kita percaya impian untuk mempunyai sebuah velodrom yang lengkap dengan kemudahan sukan berbasikal akan tercapai suatu hari nanti,” katanya ditemui pada kejohanan Lumba Basikal Sirkit Kebangsaan di sini semalam.

Mengenai hasrat Le Tour de Langkawi untuk menjelajah Sarawak tahun depan, Abdul Karim berkata perkara itu perlu dibincangkan bersama dengan kerajaan negeri dan pelbagai pihak yang terbabit.

Le Tour de Langkawi in Borneo?

November 8, 2010

KUCHING: State and local riders have to improve themselves threefold to justify the need for a major international cycling event to be hosted in Sarawak.

WOMEN POWER: Participants of the Women Open of the Malaysia National Cycling Grand Prix 2010 (Road Race) warming up before the race yesterday.

“There is no point in having a race here if our local riders are not up to the mark,” said Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, president of the Sarawak Cycling Association.

Karim was commenting on the suggestion made by Mohamad Salleh, CEO of the La Tour de Langkawi to bring the international event here.

“We however sincerely hope that one day, an event of such magnitude can be held here. This can be a reality as Sarawak is more or less already linked by roads,” said Karim who have yet to identify the race routes proper.

Early suggestion includes that the event take on major and challenging routes from Kuching to Miri and pass through Brunei Darussalam to the finishing line at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

“Presently, if we organise such events here, there is a lot of angles to be looked into such as logistics and accommodation. This will take a lot of extra costs as compared to holding it in Semenanjung Malaysia,” he added.

This is also true at the end of the spectrum for Sarawakians who travels to Semenanjung Malaysia for races.

Proposed White Paper not meant to curtail media freedom

November 07, 2010

The proposed White Paper should not be seen as a regulation or guideline that was confined only to opposition parties but applied to all, irrespective of their political beliefs. -Tuan Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

MIRI, (Nov 6, 2010) : Media organisations should not worry about the White Paper proposed by the Sarawak Government to curb unhealthy political practices that could disrupt racial harmony or cause religious tension, said Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan today.

He said the proposed White Paper was not intended to curtail the freedom of the media in carrying out their duties.

Speaking to reporters after a presentation ceremony of education bursaries by the Miri Chinese Charitable Trust Board here today, he said the paper aimed to curb actions by any parties that could be detrimental to the state.

"It is okay for you (the media) to say this is not right or that is not right but you don't have to have a campaign to make somebody to hate some others so much," he added.

The Sarawak state assembly passed a motion on Tuesday for the state government to prepare and publish the white paper which covered individuals organisations and media to prevent the escalation of dangerous politics employed by outsiders, especially politicians.

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (BN-Asajaya) when tabling the motion said the proposed White Paper should not be seen as a regulation or guideline that was confined only to opposition parties but applied to all, irrespective of their political beliefs.

White paper to keep unhealthy peninsula-style politics at bay

November 3, 2010

KUCHING: A white paper detailing the activities and actions undertaken by various people, organisa-tions and media from outside Sarawak as well as the appropriate actions to be taken against them should they endanger the racial stability and security of the state will be prepared and published by the state government.

This followed the passing of a motion moved by Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (BN-Asajaya) at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday.

Pantai Damai assembly-man Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, who is among those in favour of the motion, said this white paper was very necessary as a warning to those from outside the state who have perverse ambition or ill intention to cause havoc here.

He was specifically referring to the actions of the opposition parties in their political approach.

“The most obvious example is their campaign tactics during the Sibu by-election last May. Their debates were aimed at arousing the people’s dissatisfaction with the government.

“The DAP, PKR and PAS leaders from Peninsular Malaysia came with words that belittled the development in the state.

“DAP’s approach is very much focused on straining the ties of our multiracial society by trying to differentiate this race and that race and saying that certain races get more assistance from the government while some are forgotten.

Sarawak wants "White Paper" for healthy politics

November 02, 2010

KUCHING, Nov 2 (Bernama) — Sarawak is expected to become the first state in the country to come up with its own set of regulations or guidelines to curb unhealthy political practices that may disrupt racial harmony or cause religious tension.

The Sarawak state assembly today passed a motion for the state government to prepare and publish a “White Paper”. 

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (BN-Asajaya) during his winding-up speech after tabling the motion said the proposed “White Paper” should be formulated by the state government as unhealthy trends in politics that was confined to Peninsula Malaysia has crept into the local political scene, based on experience in Batang Ai and Sibu by-elections. 

“What we are debating today is not creating new laws but proposing to come up with the “White Paper”, he said.

Quoting a definition from online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Abdul Karim said “White Paper” is an authoritative report or guide often oriented towards a particular issue or problem and used to educate readers and help the people make decisions, and often requested and used in politics, policy, business and technical fields.

Abdul Karim said the proposed “White Paper” should not be seen as a regulation or guideline that confined only to opposition party but applied to all, irrespective of their political belief.

When replying to a question from Wong Ho Leng (DAP-Bukit Assek), he said it was a normal phenomena for the federal or state government to announce new or ongoing projects that were requested by the people, during election campaigns.