Jangan sampai negeri, negara berpecah: disebabkan tarikh Julai 22

June 29, 2015

Motif gerakan Sarawak for Sarawakians anjur perarakan memperingati kemerdekaan Sarawak diragui

KUCHING: Menteri Muda Pembangunan Belia (Bandar) Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah meragui motif rancangan gerakan Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) untuk menganjurkan perarakan bagi memperingati kemerdekaan negeri ini pada 22 Julai depan.

Karim yang dihubungi semalam berkata, meskipun beliau bersetuju bahawa kita tidak seharusnya melupakan tarikh penting ini namun pada masa yang sama kita harus memastikan bahawa negeri dan negara ini tidak berpecah belah disebabkan tarikh ini.

“Kita di Sarawak ini telah mengambil 16 September sebagai tarikh kemerdekaan kita dalam Malaysia dan tarikh ini harus diberi keutamaan.

“Malah di Amerika Syarikat (AS), tidak semua 52 atau 53 negerinya mendapat kemerdekaan serentak tetapi satu tarikh umum telah dikenal pasti sebagai tarikh rasmi bagi hari kemerdekaan AS,” katanya.

Tambah Karim yang juga Menteri Muda Perumahan, gerakan S4S dan aktivis Peter John Jaban selaku pengerusi penganjur seharusnya tidak bersikap terlalu emosional terhadap tarikh 22 Julai melainkan mereka ada motif tersembunyi yang lain.

“Saya berharap tiada motif terselindung di sebalik rancangan S4S dan Peter John untuk menganjurkan perarakan ini pada 22 Julai nanti.

“Nasihat saya, demi kepentingan perpaduan kita seharusnya hanya menyambut 16 September sebagai tarikah kemerdekaan kita dalam Malaysia,” ujarnya.

DAP candidate for Katibas likely to turn heads

June 27, 2015

SIBU: DAP’s likely candidate for Katibas for the coming state election has certainly caught the attention of political observers, if not for his political wits at least his good look.

He is Paren Nyawi, who won the Mr Borneo Hornbill Festival 2011 title.

This native of Rumah Jarop, Song was introduced to the public as a likely candidate for DAP by party state chairman Chong Chieng Jen last Sunday at a function in Rajang Park here.

Putting Paren in the limelight has made him a talking point among political watchers, some of whom believe he could draw big support from the younger group.

The opposition believe he could pose a stiff challenge to Barisan Nasional.

Responding to the development, PBB Supreme Council member Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said Malaysia was a democratic country and any citizen could contest in the election.

Question of winning or losing is another matter, he added.

Abdul Karim: Ministry’s decision on target

June 23, 2015

SIBU: Allowing purchasers of completed housing units to apply for utility connections before the issuance of Occupation Permit (OP) is a development that Assistant Housing Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is happy with.

Previously, he said, utilities could only be applied after the OP was issued.

“I am glad to hear that the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development agree in principle to allow purchasers of new completed houses to apply for connection of utilities to these houses before the issuance of Occupation Permits or OP.

“I believe this can help reduce the time for the release of new houses to the purchases,” Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman, told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Sheda) had also lauded this decision by the ministry.

Sheda president Joseph Wong Kee Liong reportedly said in a statement recently that the leeway given by the ministry was valid, provided that the affected developers furnish a letter of undertaking to the relevant local councils.

Rural folk want devt — Abdul Karim

June 22, 2015

SIBU: Rural folk want development, stability, prosperity and a government that cares for their well-being, says Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

“It’s all there in BN party…unlike PKR which was set up purely to release Datuk Seri Annuar Ibrahim from prison.

“We have many elections held since Independence and we can see that the rural folk have made their decision which party they want to form the government. The reason is that they want development, stability, prosperity and a government that can look after them,” Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman, told The Borneo Post yesterday.

PKR Kanowit secretary George Chen claimed at a press conference on Thursday that rural folk often received warnings from BN representatives that projects would be cancelled, services of tuai rumah (headmen) terminated, scholarships withdrawn and so on if they did not support the government of the day.

Chen further claimed that such tactic did not work these days as the rural folk were more politically mature and knew how to judge for themselves.

Abdul Karim, who is PBB Supreme Council member, said: “PKR and the opposition must be thinking that rural folk are so stupid…that they would easily be cowed to threat and intimidation…and would vote for BN blindly just because they fear development projects would be withheld, tuai rumah services terminated or scholarship withdrawn if they refused to support the government of the day.

“This only exists in the mind of PKR and opposition leaders who feel that the non support of the people for them is because the BN government is playing dirty and using threats to hold on to power.”

Salam Ramadhan