"Malaysia Zero-burning policy." Peter Chin on 15th August 2006

Above are some of the photos taken yesterday by us and NGO to show the effect of open-burning.

"For years, fires ignited by palm oil plantation workers in Indonesia to get rid of oil palm wastes had contributed to the spread of cross-boundary haze. Malaysia, a few years ago, banned these burnings in its plantations."
15 August 2006

Peter Chin-Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities

Sibu peoples have every right to be angry that the Natural Resources and Environment Board had issued permits for the open-burning in Sibu in defiance of the ban imposed by the federal government. The air quality must has reached a hazardous level yesterday as the photos above show.

We have had a press conference today urging the state government to immediately put a ban on any open-burning for the plantation industry. There simply isn't any "acceptable" standard when it comes to open burning, it causes health hazards as well as environmental destruction that is far beyond the extra cost of using other methods of handling the plantation waste.

Look at the open-burning in Sibu Yesterday by some plantations and we will get a feel of the truthfulness of the above statement by the government. Unless of course Peter Chin can come out to clarify that Sarawak is exempted from the above "Zero open-burning" policy and that the SUPP is in support of the open-burning policy.

David Wong

04-04-2009

Batang Ai, no surprise at all

DAP Sarawak leaders were in Batang Ai yesterday to show our support for the PKR on polling day. We went day before dawn in order to reach Batang Ai early. Sibu team reached there earlier , at around 9:40 am and we went straight to one of the polling station which was a few kilometer from Lubok Antu town. We saw long queue waiting outside the polling centre which was quite abnormal. We talked to a few voters who told us that they have voted already and when asked which party did they choose, they answer without hesitation "memang BN".

We then asked them "ada duit kah?". Some turned away while one woman told me "ngadai duit" but her companion gave her away saying "sepulu aja untuk belanja". I told them that that can not be true because money seems to flow freely in this by election but they kept their mouth shut then.

I told Law Hui Ung, the special assistance to Wong Ho Leng, that the majority would at least be 1000 and above which he agrees readily. He told me that the people gathered there were very suspicious of our group of outsiders and some of them were taking our photos as well.

Our state chairman, who lined up with the other voters jokingly told us he wanted to vote as well. But he and 2 other guys presence were immediately been noticed by some of the voters there and told them " Are you guys making a mistake? You guys are not suppose to vote here." Ho Leng then told me "David, your rocket t-shit is selling our identity away." But I knew that the BN's guys there already notice us before we enter the compound and they do know the outsiders from the locals.

Anyway, we did meet up with our Kuching comrades who were led by our state secretary in Lubok Antu town and we proceed to visit a few other polling centres around Lubok Antu town. At SMK Batang Ai, we were told that 70% of the voters had voted although it was only 12:45pm. That reinforced my believe that the BN 3M (machinery, man power and money) are running smoothly and that the margin of BN's victory would further be increased.

Something note mentioning here is that a few PKR's MPs were at Lubok Antu and joined us in our ride to the polling centres. But not many Batang Ai folks even recognise them at all and they presence were most obviously been ignored by the BN campaigners. But they were the darling of the local media though who surrounded them for their views about the by election in Batang Ai. They were quick to respond that the circumstances and political landscape here is totally different from the peninsular Malaysia.

We then went back to the sleepy town of Lubok Antu at around 1:30pm as the heat, thirst and hunger were catching up on us. There we met James Masing, the chairman of Party Rakyat Malaysia, whose gang of around 12-15 were at the same food stall which we intended to visit. James Masing seen relax and they were still there after we left which shows that they were in no hurry and must be confidence of a victory.

The outcomes of the Batang Ai election did not surprise us at all. Like i said in my last posting here, the results are expected and the people have made their decision. It is their chioce (under any undue influence?) and that was what matter in Batang Ai. The rest of Sarawakians have to come to their sense that "money does matter" and it is money that makes the BN in Sarawak.

Great Expectations by Batang Ai folks?

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens must be quite fitting a play to account for the lives of the people living in the sleepy border town of Batang Ai. Many might not have really cared for the Great Expectations as the plot is not only complicated and winding but down to earth boring. Although those well articulated in the English language might be able to find the moral themes of affection, loyalty, self-improvement and ambition.

Batang Ai the modern replica of the Great Expectation? Many would say “You must be out of your mind.” But if one is to go to Batang Ai and look at the living conditions of the folks there one would really feel that the “class” differences between the people there and those living in the modern era. 90% of the people in Batang Ai do not have the basic infrastructures such as piped water, electricity, medical facilities, fire station and sewage system just to mentioned a few. They have been deprived of the developments and they have always been the forgotten ones except during this by election. But because of their simple and innocent nature, they are yet ready to fight for what are rightfully theirs.

So, what are the expectations of the people in Batang Ai? Do they have the same expectations of the people living in KL or Kuching or Penang? The answer to the questions would tell us the results of the 407 by election, no more and no less!

Many Sarawakians (not the local folks) have a lot of expectation for the Batang Ai by election. Many who met me in Sibu would ask questions such as How id Batang Ai? Are you going there? Why are you not there?

They are sending us a very clear message that they want change and they are hanging their hopes on the voters of Batang Ai. Many would regard the 407 by election as a referendum on “Change” and hoping that the Dayak community in Batang Ai would take the lead in Sarawak. They all know that if Sarawak is to change, we can not do it without the participation of the Dayak communities.

Many cynics would say “Do you really think that the rural folks are ready for change? How many voters can resist the temptation of money politics? The natives can not be trusted as they are cheaper to buy than Belacan (shrimp paste). These are insults to the natives here as they deserve better than the BN government and we are all responsible to the state of their affairs. They need our guidance and counseling as how they may empower themselves to be the agent for change and they can make a difference for themselves.

Do we all not have our great expectations? We all have our own dream, dream for better things in lives such as self improvement and ambition to achieve success, demanding good governance and justice for all. The problem is the conflict of our short term needs with our dream. Sometimes although we are know that we must do something for our future but our present circumstances demand that we have to do certain things in conflict with our long term goals. That is the problem faced by our fellow Sarawakians in Batang Ai, they have a lot of frustration and disappointment with the BN government but they simply have to accept the fact that the BN is the keeper of the resources that they are so in need that they can’t afford to offend.

On this note, I am to condemn the BN for the state of backwardness of Batang Ai as they are fully responsible as the only state government since we are part of Malaysia. They have the thick cheeks to come to Batang Ai and tell the folks that only the BN can bring development to them when the area is as developed as the undeveloped African nation.

If you ask me “Who is going to win in Batang Ai?”, then the above should give a good indication of the outcomes of the election tomorrow. Let the Batang Ai folks prove me wrong tomorrow.

In any event, the by election and the strong opposition challenge have made the poor folks in Batang Ai the real winners as the area has not seen such development candies for the past 45 years. But democracy and the dream of good governance would take the back seat if the voters are willing to trade long term prosperity with election candies. May be Charles Dickens would will able to write another great play out of the Batang Ai if he is alive today.

David Wong
6-4-2009