Baru Bian – Taib debate.Soon,very soon?

PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Issued by: Baru Bian, PKR State Liaison Chief, Sarawak
Date: Monday, 28 February, 2011

____________________________________________________________________

On Saturday, 26th February, PKR Chief Baru Bian issued a challenge to the Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud for a public debate on the NCR issue which had been claimed by Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management and Minister of Public Utilities, as being “an old issue.”

On Monday, 28th February, the Chief Minister, as reported in the Borneo Post, accepted the challenge but imposed the condition that evidence be submitted.

“We thank the Chief Minister for accepting our challenge to debate. We hope the truth will finally be made known to the public through such a debate,” said Bian.

“As for the Chief Minister’s request for proof and evidence, we would like to inform him that our evidence is ready. The evidence cannot be revealed now or else there would not be a need for a debate. However, we are happy to draw his attention to the over-whelming mountain of evidence already submitted in court for over 200 NCR cases still pending to-date which the Attorney-General is fully aware of. We will also be bringing additional supplementary evidence on top of the evidence already submitted in court to the debate to further support our case about natives’ loss of NCR lands and that this is not an old issue,” said Bian.

“We hope the Chief Minister is not pretending to be ignorant of the evidence as an excuse to avoid or evade the debate,” said Bian.

“Since the Chief Minister has accepted our challenge, we propose the following dates: Saturday 5th March, Sunday 6th March or Thursday 10th March. Time and place to be determined by him. Chief Minister, please choose one,” said Bian.

“We suggest that UNIMAS’ Social Science academics who are informed of NCR issues be appointed to chair the debate. We further suggest it would be appropriate to have the public debate in a large venue like the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching or the Stadium Perpaduan at Petrajaya so that the public can have free access to listen to the views to be expressed by the Chief Minister and myself,” said Bian.

The Chief Minister is also quoted as saying that “Kita akan akur dengan sebarang keputusan mahkamah walaupun tidak memihak kepada kerajaan” (we will concur with any court decision even if it does not favour the government) at the SPDP AGM on Sunday 27th February in Bintulu as reported at online news portal Sarawak Update (Jumpa Saya Atau Ke Mahkamah).

“Our response is loud and clear; withdraw all Government appeals against NCR cases won by the natives immediately. The courts have decided in favour of NCR landowners but the government still insists on appealing against these cases. Will the Chief Minister direct the Attorney-General to withdraw these appeals immediately and keep his word or was the statement at the SPDP AGM mere rhetoric and lip service to deceive the rakyat yet again?” asked Bian.

 

Yeah Taib!!! You rocks man!!

CM accepts Baru’s challenge

BINTULU: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said he is ready for a public debate with state Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) liaison chief Baru Bian if the latter can come out with strong evidence to support his allegation that the government had seized Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.

TO A STRONG SPDP: Taib gets ready to beat the gong to declare open the 8th annual general assembly of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) in Bintulu.

Taib said it was better for him (Baru) to submit proof before throwing the challenge to debate on NCR land issue.

“That allegation is without foundation and intentionally inflicted. He (Baru) just wants to argue and if he wants, he has to prove it (allegation is true),” he told reporters at the opening of the 8th annual general assembly of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) here yesterday.

He was commenting on Baru’s challenge for a debate with him on NCR land issue which the government said was an ‘old issue’.

Taib said as the state government had never seized land titles, claims on seizure of NCR land must be accompanied by evidence.

He cited a case whereby folk of Rh Chang in Miri were given back their land in early 1980s after he found a letter containing their claim.

“If I had bad intention when I saw the letter at the Miri Land and Survey office, I would certainly hide it.Read more here

But wait,how Taib going to explain all this 200 over cases ?

Bakun Hydroelectric Project Case in the Federal Court tomorrow

From my inbox

We wish to inform you that the following cases will be heard in the Federal Court in Putrajaya at 8.30 am on Tuesday, March 1, 2011.

Bato Bagi & Others v State Government of Sarawak;

and

Jalang Ak Paran & Another v State Government of Sarawak & Another.

On March 1, 2011, the Bato Bagi civil legal action, which was filed by five Bakun Hydroelectric Project-affected communities, will be heard together at the Federal Court with another Sarawak civil case, Jalang Anak Paran, due to the similar thread that runs through both cases.

For the first time at the Federal Court, the lawyers for these cases, Tuan Haji Sulaiman Abdullah and Mr. Baru Bian, will argue that native customary rights is akin to right to life under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution.

The Court will also hear arguments on other fundamental rights under the Federal Constitution and the constitution of the State of Sarawak and on the issue of adequate compensation.

Essentially, both cases are challenging the authorities regarding the extinguishment of their native customary rights for the construction of the Bakun dam and a pulpmill factory within their customary land, respectively.

Representatives from the five Bakun-affected communities comprising Uma Balui Lebue, Uma Ukit, Uma Lesong, Uma Kulit and Uma Bakah will be present in court as with the representative from the Jalang Anak Paran case.

If you can be in Putrajaya on the morning of Tuesday, March 1, 2011, please come to court to show your support for the communities. We hope to get as many people in court as possible. Interested media organisations and bloggers are also welcome to speak to the community representatives.

For further information, please call +604-8299511.

How to know Taib better

This is the correct words actually :

“What I want is the best CORRUPTED BRAIN from each constituency to become MY LAP DOG,So WE could plan the best way to ROB the CONSTITUENCY”

Payhin Sri Abdul Taik Mahmud,
Chief Monster @ Thief Minister and state BN (Barisan Nipu) Chairman 

Ps:We need to master the so called Reverse Physchology in order to understand Taib better

Miracle Harvest Yields Miracle Profits for Raziah & Robert!

 

From Sarawak Report

The company Miracle Harvest Sdn Bhd, belonging to Raziah Mahmud, the sister of the Chief Minister, and her husband Robert Geneid, has certainly yielded some miraculous profits.  They are particularly miraculous because the company has not yet started officially operating, according to Malaysia’s Register of Companies!

Like so many of Razia’s land companies, Miracle Harvest, incorporated 15th June 2005, uses the business address of Kumpulan Parabena Sdn Bhd.  Kumpulan Parabena is run by the Geneids and we have revealed that the Chief Minister also holds a substantial stake through the holding company Mesti Bersatu.   According to our researches the land titles which have been recently awarded to list of different companies based at this address amount to an area greater than Singapore!

Company Records

Miracle Harvest’s details in the Register of Companies. The address is the same as Kumpulan Parabena’s offices in Jalan Sungai, Padungan. It has yet to “commence operations”, but the State of Sarawak has already handed it 12,000 hectares!

In the case of Miracle Harvest, the approval had already been given by the Land Regsitry for an award to the company of 12,000 hectares for the purpose of oil palm plantation (OPL) three weeks before its actual incorporation date!  Land titles handed out to a company before it even comes into existence!  A case of ’Miraculous Pre-conception’?

So, can one detect the Hand of God behind such amazing developments, or perhaps just that of Abdul Taib Mahmud, who doubles up as the Head of the Land Custody and Development Agency?  The LCDA has been taking Native Customary Lands in the name of the State Government and then handing it to close Taib family members like his sister Raziah and son Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib and several others in a pattern that has been escalating in recent years.

Land Registry Records

Robert Geneid is the person registered as the representative of Miracle Harvest in the Land Registry. His office at Kumpulan Parabena is the contact address

From stall-holder’s son to millionaire – Geneid made it big after marrying Raziah!

We can see that in the case of Miracle Harvest Raziah’s husband Robert Geneid is clearly marked as the contact for the Land Title in the Land Registry.  He also lists his office and phone number as that of the Kumpulan Parabena HQ in Kuching, thus directly implicating the Chief Minister in the deal, who has a major stake in Kumpulan Parabena.

Cheap premiums mean the state loses revenue

Our research indicates that the land given to Miracle Harvest was indeed handed out very cheap indeed and now commands a far higher market price. A total of 11 lots were handed to Miracle Havest along with a sister company also owned by the Geneids, Green Ace Resources, on just one day 25.5.2005.  They amounted to 20,000 hectares for an over all price of just RM 15 million.  The stated purpose for the hand out is”OPL”, meaning Oil Plantation.

Elia Abas Geneid, Raziah’s daughter (left with champagne bottle) has also benefitted from huge hand outs of land from her Uncle Taib’s government department

This low premium marked a very poor return for the taxpayer and a vast potential profit for the Mahmuds.  Worse, such premiums are generally not demanded up front of Taib family members in deals like these.  The payments are allowed to be deferred and delayed or paid in installments – usually (according to insiders) until the land has been sold on at a healthy profit!

Kwantas’s Annual Report of 2008, shows the acquisition of 70% of Miracle Harvest and Green Ace Resources was made after the granting of the Land Titles

However, the ownership quickly moved on from the Mahmuds of course.  In 2006 the publicly-listed palm oil plantation company Kwantas announced that it had acquired 70% of the shares of Miracle Harvest (MHSB), along 70% of the sister company Green Ace Resources, which is also registered under the Kumpulan Parabena address.  It can only be as part of the same set of deals that Green Ace Resources (GARSB) was handed a huge area of 7,000 hectares in Mukah in the region of the Sungai Narub Reserve Forest on the very same day in 2005 that Miracle Harvest gained its own land titles.

Kwantas announced it had payed around RM 17million for the 70% purchase of these two companies, whereas the original premium for the entire amount charged earlier from Parabena was circa RM 15 million.

Sarawak Report would therefore like to ask who Kwantas paid for the acquisition which was made several months after Miracle Harvest/Green Ace acquired the Land Titles? Was it Miracle Harvest, which was still not yet officially operating, according to the Company Register?  We also ask why it is that, although Kwantas had acquired most of the shares of the company, Miracle Harvest continues to be based at the Parabena Office and is represented by Robert Geneid? 

Sister companies. MHSB handed 12 thousand of hectares on 25.5.2005 via Robert Geneid, now 70% owned by Kwantas

Sister companies. Green Ace Resources handed 7,000 hectares via Robert Geneid 25.05.2005. Later 70% acquired by Kwantas – Now up for sale!

Up for sale!

We can now reveal that Kwantas has just started to dispose of its shareholdings in these land titles, giving us a good view of the genuine current market price!  The State of Sarawak originally received just RM 5 million for the 7,000 hectares of land awarded to Green Ace Resources, yet last month Kwantas announced an agreement to sell its 70%  stake for a whopping  RM 32.4 million!  This means that the 30% of the shares still held by the Geneids are worth roughly half that amount – the same that was charged for the entire 20,000 hectares property portfolio handed to them by Raziah’s brother and business partner, Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, in 2005.

Sell-off, subject to conditions, is underway to Golden Agri Resources, part of Indonesia’s vast Sinar Mas timber company

The real miracle would be if Raziah and Robert failed to cash in on their back-breaking efforts!

NCR Land?

Selling on land with just a provisional lease? Tricky now that the Native Land Rights cases are starting to do so well in court!

Of equal concern is the status of this land which is being sold on.  The Kwantas statement makes clear that the land  lease is still provisional.  This means that officially some further agreement is needed before oil palm clearances can begin.

In practice the ‘provisional’ aspect of such licences are frequently and disgracefully brushed aside in Sarawak, as plantation companies simply ignore the existence of Native Customary Rights of the communities whose land they take.

Given they have paid so much money to the Head of Government’s relatives to get it their attitude is perhaps understandable?  Certainly, in a recent court case the judge laid the blame for a similar situation on the state government for handing out NCR land rather than on the company that had bought the titles.  It is likely that as the number of native land rights succeeding in the courts increase that platation companies will be less willing to buy such plots from Taib’s many relatives!

Is this land suitable for oil palm? The lease is only ‘provisional’

So what is the problem with Lot 1 Block 194 Oya-Dalat Land District at Sungai Narub, Mukah?  Is it disputed Native Customary Rights Land?  is it part of the Sungai Narub Reserve Forest?  Or could it be both?

Greenwash peril?

The company to whom this land is being sold is the massive Golden Agri Resources Sdn Bhd, which is the Indonesian Oil Palm arm of the notorious timber giant Sinar Mas.

Golden Agri made a major ‘Green PR’ gesture earlier this month, Feb 9th, when it announced to the world that it will in future stop all further deforestation in Indonesia.  Can we be reassured that Raziah and Robert’s miracle Company will miraculously manage to fulfil the new-found green and ethical credentials of their new buyer as this sale proceeds?

Friday, March 4 – MoCS date at MACC Kuching

Dear MoCS fellows and friends,

I will lead a MoCS delegation to the MACC office in Kuching at 11am on March 4 (Friday).

We will submit a full list of the allegations of Taib’s corrupt practices to MACC and put on record our demand that the anti-corruption agency launches a full-scale investigation immediately into all the reports of corruption and blatant abuse of power against him as contained in the Sarawak Report.

Several MoCS Fellows will accompany me including our Legal Advisor, See Chee How. Others on this list are welcomed to join me. Please assemble at the foyer of the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar by 10.30 am. (Friday, March 4). Please be on time.We will enter the MACC office at 11 am sharp.

As a show of unity and force, DAP, PKR, SNAP and PAS representatives will also be present. Other NGOs are also invited to come.

After submitting the report to the MACC, I will announce to the media that an event will take place on 13.13.13. (i.e. March 13, 13.13 hr) – a date and time which the termite has NO excuse NOT  to remember.

MoCS Fellows who wish to attend, please wear the movement’s T-shirt. If you don’t have one yet, let Mark Chin know.Members of Pakatan Rakyat parties on this list, it would be ideal if you can come in your party’s uniform.

Other NGO groups can do likewise.

For more information on this event, please contact MoCS Kuching coordinator Mark Chin at 012-8839245.

CHANGE WE CAN,

~Francis Siah~

 Therefore, until the day I die, I am going to do what I can, regardless of the cost to me, to try to stop this awful corruption that is destroying our beloved democracy. – John Jay Hooker

Sarawak for Change – Taib Must Go

To assist to campaign to ensure Taib steps down, campaign volunteers is needed. If you have the time and is base in Sarawak, please sign up if you want to see change!

Are you with more than 19,000 Sarawakians at Taib Must Go

Anti-corruption blog founder Clare returns fire at M’sian authories

Clare Rewcastle Brown, the founder of Radio Free Sarawak and the author of the Sarawak Report blog, has returned fire at Malaysian authorities who said her radio broadcasts were illegal and accused her to trying to stir up trouble in their country.

RFS and Sarawak Report are dedicated to exposing the alleged corruption of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and removing him from power. The fabulously wealthy Taib has ruled Sarawak with a fist of iron for four decades and is due to call for state-wide polls by July this year.

“This has been the favourite weapon that politicians of his ilk have tried to use to deliberately intimidate people who disagree with them politically or even people who want to exercise their right to vote for the opposition in the upcoming election,” Clare told Malaysia Chronicle.

She was referring to Sarawak BN Backbenchers Club chairman Abdul Karim Hamzah who called on the relevant agencies to act against the station because “RFS incited Sarawakians to go against the state government in the next state election and breed inter-racial hatred”.

“Hamzah is a lawyer, so he knows full well that criticising corruption and failures by his political party, BN, is not the same as ‘going against the government’,” Clare said.

“In his remarks he implies that it is somehow illegal to encourage people to vote for the opposition!!  How can it be illegal – Isn’t that the whole point of a democracy?  Or does Mr Hamzah admit that he is part of a dictatorship in all but name?”

Malaysia to block RFS broadcast

It might seen incredulous to some especially those used to a more advanced system of democracy, but Hamzah was not alone in calling for action against Clare and her team.

According to the Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Joseph Salang, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission should act against RFS as it was an illegal and unlicensed radio station.

“I have heard about its existence. I have also been made to understand it is based in Malacca and not in London as believed. If there are reports against it, the MCMC will investigate. If the contents contravene the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, it can block its broadcast,” Joseph had said.

But the deputy minister may have made another blunder. RFS is really based in London and just four months ago, Malaysia Chronicle along with other media was invited to a sneak preview of its operations room and introduced to its staff.

Clare also pointed out that Sarawak Report focussed on exposing corruption, not on adopting any political stance.

“Mr Hamzah also clearly implies in his remarks that it is somehow wrong or illegal to expose the wrong-doings of people in power. Does he therefore think it is the right thing to do to cover up corruption and wrong-doing by people in power and that people who refuse are ‘going against the state?” she asked.

“As a lawyer, he knows perfectly well that people should be allowed to speak up against corruption.  He just wants to keep BN’s position of power so that he and his friends can keep on abusing it to make even more money out of the people of Sarawak.”

“As he put it in a recent interview, he thinks it is ‘only fair’ that politicians like his boss Taib should be able to ‘take the opportunities’ that come their way in political office – in Sarawak Report we have been laying out just what those ‘opportunites’ are and how Taib and his cronies have profited.”

Hypocrisy of Malaysian authorities

Hamzah had also criticised her outspokeness and questioned her motives. Clare, a British citizen, was born in Sarawak. After a recent visit to the East Malaysian state, she had decided to take up the cudgels for the poor and downtrodden tribes that live in the state’s interior regions.

Environmentalists the world over have condemned Taib and the Malaysian government for allowing Sarawak’s unique rain forests to be logged without apparent control.

“It is strange that people would want to do things that are harmful to their own country. If anything, people with the right kind of mind will want to improve the situation in their own country and not destroy it,” Hamzah said.

Clare also denied that RFS had “stirred racial or religious hatred”.

“What we have shown is that there is a unity between all the tribes of Sarawak in how they have been swindled out of their lands and neglected and abused over the past years.  From the Ibans in Serian, to the Melanau in Pulau Bruit to the Chinese in Sibu, Bidayuh in Bengoh, Penan in the Baram region and every other racial group including Malays, they have all suffered from the land grabs,” she said.

“We have also pointed out some cases of disunifying discrimination in education and jobs on the part of the government and we have pointed to hypocrisy where YBs say one thing about their religion to their constituents while doing another thing to advance themselves in the discrimatory system set up by BN.”

Not a whimper from Taib, MACC or Putrajaya

The 51-year old sister-in-law of former British premier Gordon Brown said that widespread corruption and illegitimate political practices reported Sarawak Report were a matter of public record.

Yet, neither she nor RFS had heard from Taib, despite issuing several invitations to him to reply to their accusations.

Clare also took to task the Malaysian police and the MACC who despite the accusations on her blog, have “not shown the slightest interest” to probe Taib for his alleged wrongdoing.

“Karim Hamzah should be careful of drawing further attention to the key failings of BN’s own management of the government by the nature of the accusations he makes,” she said.

Related Stories:

Dep Minister: Radio Free S’wak in M’cca not London, we can ban it

Taib fires back at foreign NGOs for being “mischievous”

Interview with Clare Rewcastle Brown Part1: Taib will not last forever

Anti-Taib campaign to be taken to the streets of London and Ottawa

Act Now. Freeze Taib’s assets and order a probe, Pakatan dares Najib

Gordon Brown’s sister-in-law takes on Taib and corruption

The battle for Sarawak begins: Angels and Devils show hand

 

A White Lady vs The White Hair Monster and the winner is…….

Baru Bian to Taib,lets Debate!!!

Bian invites Taib to open debate

The Sarawak government’s recent comment that there are only 1.5 million hectares of NCR land has confused natives, says state PKR chief Baru Bian.

KUCHING: Chief Minister Taib Mahmud has been challenged to an open debate to clear the confusion over the native customary rights (NCR) land and allegations that the state government is “robbing” natives of their lands.

Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian, in issuing the challenge, said: “This NCR land issue is crucial to them (natives), and they want to know the true stand of the state government.

“We are giving the chief minister two weeks to reply to our challenge; if there is no reply, we will write officially to him through my legal firm.

“If he cannot come, then he can send one of his ministers to debate with me.”  Bian, who is also an NCR land lawyer, was responding to statements made by Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, Second Planning and Resource Management Minister who said that NCR land was “an old issue.”
Awang had also said that the state government did not “rob” NCR land from the natives.

“These two issues have been harped upon by Sarawak ministers on behalf of the chief minister. Therefore I would like to throw a challenge for an open debate with the chief minister on these two statements.

“I would prefer the chief minister or Awang Tengah or James Masing (State Land Development Minister) to debate with me. I do not want other ministers like (Deputy Chief Minister) George Chan and (Deputy Chief Minister) Alfred Jabu anak Numpang because they do not know much about NCR land,” he said.

Bian also suggested that academicians from a local university, especially those who have experience in lecturing and writing about NCR land should be invited to sit as panel members.

He said the people from villages and longhouses should be invited to witness the debate and that it should be recorded and televised.
Confused people

Meanwhile, a recent statement by the director of Land and Survey Department, Sudarsono Osman, that there are about 1.5 million hectares of NCR land in Sarawak has caught Bian’s attention.

Bian asked Sudarsono how he came to determine the size of NCR land.  “Is this definition in accordance with the government’s understanding which is confined to temuda land (farm land) created before Jan 1, 1958?

“Or is this definition based on the legal decision that came out from the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court?

“In the landmark case of Nor Anak Nyawai confirmed by Madeli bin Salleh’s case in the Federal Court, the NCR land includes temuda land, ‘pemakai menua’ (communal land) and ‘pulau galau’ (reserved forest land).

“What they (government) are recognising and surveying is temuda land created before Jan 1, 1958, but what about the bigger portion of NCR land called ‘pemakai menua’ and the ‘pulau galau’ that have been preserved with the adat (customs) of the natives?

“That is the main contention,” said Bian, who estimated the size of NCR land to be at least three times bigger than the 1.5 million hectares declared by the government, if they go along with the  court decision that NCR  land includes temuda, pemakai menua and pulau galau.

He accused the government of deliberately confusing the people.

The Potential contender is………..

Abdul Taib Mahmud A.K.A The Chief Monster

James Messing A.K.A Land of Di Bolot Ment Minister

Awang Tanah A.K.A Minister of MisPlanning and Abuse of Resources MisManagement II and Minister of Public Utilities?

But what happen to this 2 Chief Kaddam of the Dayaks?

Alfred Jabu A.K.A Menteri Kepayang

William Mawan A.K.A Minister of “Social Development” and Urbanisation

Or Mawan is too busy with her?

Interview with Clare Rewcastle Brown Part1: Taib will not last forever

Written by  Mariam Mokhtar for  Malaysia Chronicle

EXCLUSIVE When Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud first heard of an anonymous blog that attacked him and his family for alleged corruption, he laughed and brushed it aside like he would a pesky fly.

But the blog didn’t go away, and soon it sprouted a radio unit to reach more people in interior of the state where broadband is still a dream invention of the West.

And on Monday, Taib’s headache is bound to grow worse. Defenders of Sarawak’s indigenous communities and the Borneo rainforest have announced street protests in the United Kingdom and Canada against what they call his blatant corruption and deprivation of his people’s humanity.

Yes, the Sarawak Report blog and Radio Free Sarawak have turned out to be much more successful than its editor Clare Rewcastle Brown – the sister-in-law of former Bristish prime minister Gordon Brown – had hoped for.

She is now looking to achieve even greater impact and the quicker the better because state elections are due to be called anytime now. A window of opportunity has finally appeared for the downtrodden in the state. A massive journey still lies ahead but the first step must be paved by political transformation.

“BN have tried to give the impression that Taib, although he is old and highly discredited, will last forever. People need to discuss amongst themselves the fact that this is not true and that change is inevitable, so when and how do they want that to happen?” Clare said in the interview with Malaysia Chronicle.

Call her ambitious but she is fighting for the country of her birth. A British citizen, Clare has not forgotten she was born in Sarawak 51 years ago.

She is now fronting a crusade that many Sarawakians had wanted to begin but could never quite pull together. They and millions of other Malaysians and even people from other countries are now joining the battle for justice she began with her blog.

They have one common goal – to Save Sarawak. To stop the plunder of its natural resources, the pillage of its awesome rain forests, the rape of its unique tribes by loggers emboldened by decades of lax and greedy governanance by Taib and his team.

Far away in the federal capital in Putrajaya, Prime Minister Najib Razak looks on. Maybe he even clucks sympathetically with the Sarawakian people, but for sure, he lifts no finger to try and stop their hurt or heed their screams for help.

Malaysia Chronicle appends below Part One of the exclusive interview with Clare. Part Two will be published on Monday.

Chronicle: How many people in Sarawak, do you think listen to you? Are they mostly in the interior or towns? How effective is RFS in getting the message to the people?

Clare: It is always hard to judge the level of listeners, especially in this situation where we are broadcasting to remote communities, but we think we have many listeners and they are growing in numbers by the day.

Just as importantly we are listening to them.

Our aim is to provide an outlet where their concerns and what they say is treated as being interesting and important.

This isn’t just about what the Government wants to tell them it’s about what they want to tell the Government and others as well. Radio Free Sarawak is one platform where their voices can be heard.

Every day we make big efforts to get in touch with people from longhouses all over Sarawak and the stories they tell us about their land grab issues, their deprivation, their poverty and their lack of medical and other facilities, provide the real picture of what is happening to these previously silenced and suffering communities.

Through our radio show villagers can learn that their problems are not isolated and they share the same concerns and issues with other tribes in areas all over Sarawak.

These problems are largely caused by the corrupt way in which their country has been governed over the past decades.

Chronicle: With your main whistleblower, Boyert dead, is this a massive setback for Sarawak Report? How will you carry on? (Ross Boyert was Taib’s disaffected US aide who died in mysterious circumstances. The inquest into his death is still pending.)

MCMC Can Act Against Radio Free Sarawak Says Deputy Minister

Salang Gandum

By Bernama

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) can act against Radio Free Sarawak if police reports are lodged against it, Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang said today.

He said so far no report had been lodged with the police or the Home Ministry.

“I have heard about its existence. I have also been made to understand it is based in Malacca and not in London as believed.

“If there are reports against it, the MCMC will investigate. If the contents contravene the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, it can block its broadcast,” he told reporters after chairing the agricultural development committee meeting of his Julau parliamentary constituency here.

Salang said the radio station was not licensed with the MCMC and, as such, was an illegal one.

Today, Sarawak Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Abdul Karim Hamzah called on the relevant authorities to take action against the station.

He said that in its daily broadcasts, the radio incited Sarawakians to go against the state government in the next state election as well as incited inter-racial hatred.

“It is strange that people would want to do things that are harmful to their own country.

“If anything, people with the right kind of mind will want to improve the situation in their own country and not destroy it,” he said.

Salang said that if the people thought that certain individuals were committing wrong against the country, they should lodge police reports.

Earlier, he said a sum of RM150,000 had been allocated for various agricultural projects in his constituency.

Well.lets take a look at what our friends from Kami Rakyat Sarawak Mahu Taib Berundur had to say

If there is a police report against it so MCMC can act on Radio Free Sarawak but what if there is a police report against TV1, TV2 and TV3 for their involvement in giving false news, what say you mr salang gandum… think salang making joke…if he already know that radio free sarawak operate at melaka why did not take any action at the first place…why until now he realise about the radio free sarawak operate in malaysia…hahahaha…funny bah this guy

S’wak Report founder: Not my job to oust Taib

A British journalist who runs an website and online radio critical of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Abdul Mahmud says that her task is not to oust the long-time leader.

“I do not see it as my job to bring down Taib. That is for the Sarawakian people to decide,” said Clare Rewcastle Brown in an email interview with Malaysiakini.

Rewcastle Brown runs the fiercely anti-Taib website Sarawak Report which has exposed the chief minister’s alleged global business empire and corrupt activities.

She is also responsible for underground radio station Radio Free Sarawak, which began broadcasting in November last year on shortwave.

“I just want to make sure that they receive all the information about what has been happening to their resources and to their wealth, so that they can make an informed choice,” said Rewcastle Brown, who is sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown.

‘Evidence easily available’

She argues that she is providing a “vital service from a safe distance” because Sarawakians right to a free press was being denied by the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and abuse of power.

 “It is up to Sarawakians how they wish to spread the news (we provide),” she said.

 

The former BBC journalist, who began her career in 1983, also adds that her work      relies only on material that can be proven and she would readily hand over evidence to the Malaysian authorities.

“Most of it, as we have demonstrated, is a matter of public record. This is why it has been difficult to disprove. We have heard nothing back from Taib Mahmud, despite several invitations to reply to our accusations.

“We would be only too delighted to hand over all this evidence to the Malaysian police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should they show the slightest interest. Most of it they could have accessed themselves anyway without much trouble,” she said.

The brains behind Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak were revealed on Wednesday. They decided to go public following several death threats.

Excerpts of the email interview, edited for clarity, follows:

Malaysiakini: In the London Evening Standard report, you mentioned that Sawarak Report had received death threats. Tell us more. Were they from Taib’s men? Do you take this seriously? Have you reported this to the authorities?

Rewcastle Brown: We have received unpleasant emails, but they were anonymous so we are making no accusations about who sent them. However, this was one reason why we decided to come out into the open.

We have lodged a report to the UK police, who are monitoring the situation. We think our safety is less threatened in the UK that it would be if we went to Malaysia.

Sarawak Report has been reporting Taib’s alleged corrupt activities and his alleged global business empire. Do you have hard evidence and witnesses to back your claims? Are you prepared to hand them to Malaysian or international authorities?

We have only published what we can prove and we have laid out our sources and evidence in Sarawak Report. Most of it, as we have demonstrated, is a matter of public record. This is why it has been difficult to disprove.

We have heard nothing back from Taib Mahmud, despite several invitations to reply to our accusations. We would be only too delighted to hand over all this evidence to the Malaysian police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should they show the slightest interest.

Most of it they could have accessed themselves anyway without much trouble!

Are you prepared if Taib and his alleged business associates take legal action against you?

Yes.

It would seem you are building up momentum to oust Taib. But then again, most in Sarawak has no access to the Internet. Have you found ways to help spread your reports in Sarawak?

I do not see it as my job to bring down Taib. That is for the Sarawakian people to decide about. I just want to make sure that they receive all the information about what has been happening to their resources and to their wealth, so that they can make an informed choice.

This is their right and BN have corruptly denied them that right by suppressing the freedom of the media and persecuting people who speak out or hold the government to account.

Because of the abuse of the ISA law and the abuse of power generally, no journalist or opposition person who speaks out about the corruption in Sarawak is safe from persecution.

It is for this reason that I am providing this one vital service from the safety of a distant country, where the role of objective journalism is still respected and protected. It is up to Sarawakians how they wish to spread the news.

Your critics have dubbed your work as blatant Western meddling in Asian countries. They accuse you of being funded by “foreign agents” with vested interests. How do you respond to this?

Well they have to say something! BN has spent millions of ringgit hiring New York, Maddison Avenue PR (public relations) people to plug their own message in the Malaysian media, so why are they so upset by my shoestring, voluntary operation to redress some of that balance?

My agenda is the agenda of the people of Sarawak, whose jungle and resources have been greedily taken leaving them destitute. So many of the people I have met there have asked me for whatever help I can give them in exposing their terrible problems and now they are warmly thanking me.

This is my agenda and I will stop the moment people from Sarawak no longer want or need my help.

You left Sarawak for the UK when you were eight years old. Have you tried to go back? If yes, did you face any problems?

Yes, I have come back a number of times in recent years, which is how I came to learn of the terrible things that have happened to Sarawak’s people and environment.

I was appalled at the dismissive view of the chief minister towards his people when I asked him at a press conference in 2005 whether he thought the interior tribes had anything of value to offer to the rest of the world.

His reply? “Ha ha, yes, we have put all that stuff into a museum somewhere!”

I realised that this arrogant and ignorant attitude was behind nearly all of the problems facing the poor people of Sarawak today. On recent visits to Malaysia, it has been made clear that I am no longer welcome for being outspoken on these issues.

Officials have informed me I am on a ‘blacklist’ and will be watched whenever I enter the country. I am now always held up at immigration and my mobile phone is then always blocked.

Taken from Malaysiakini.

FBI’s Seattle office to see embarrassing anti-Taib protest

Taken from BMF

SEATTLE / SAN FRANCISCO (US) The global campaign against Sarawak’s billionaire Chief Minister-cum-illegal logging tycoon, Abdul Taib Mahmud (“Taib”), is gaining further momentum. Yesterday, human rights groups and environmental campaigners in the US announced a picketing campaign outside Taib properties in Seattle and San Francisco. Similar protests will be held next week in the UK and Canada.

The Seattle protest (on Thursday 3 March) will be particularly embarrassing for the US authorities. It is being held outside the Taib-owned Abraham Lincoln building in downtown Seattle, a property held through Wallysons Inc, which hosts no less than the FBI’s Northwestern Regional Headquarters! What a shame that the FBI, an institution set up to uphold the fight for justice and against corruption and money-laundering, is renting its premises from a well-known Malaysian criminal kleptocrat!

Wallysons’ chairman is Taib’s son, Sulaiman (Rahman) Taib, while Taib’s Canadian son-in-law, Sean Murray, is its president. Taib is one of South East Asia’s most corrupt politicians and the chief culprit for the destructive logging of several hundred thousand hectares of Borneo rainforest. Last week, the Swiss Bruno Manser Fund published a blacklist of 49 Taib companies in eight countries which are estimated to be worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of US dollars.

The San Francisco protest (on Wednesday 9 March) is being held outside the Citibank branch at 260 California Street in the city’s historical centre. The building is the seat of Taib’s Sakti International Corporation, which used to be headed by the late Ross Boyert. After having been dismissed by the Taibs, Boyert filed legal action against Sakti at a San Francisco court in early 2007. In September 2010, Boyert was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel. In an interview with Sarawak Report given weeks before his death, Boyert said he and his family had been harassed and terrorized by Taib agents ever since he had filed the case.

The Bruno Manser Fund, together with an international NGO coalition against Taib timber corruption, is asking the US authorities to freeze all Taib assets in the United States and to investigate the former Taib aide and whistleblower Ross Boyert’s allegations against the Taibs and the circumstances of his death.

Details of planned Taib street campaigns in the United States:
Seattle: Thursday, 3 March 2011, 12:00 p.m. outside the FBI Northwestern Regional Headquarters at 1110
3rd Avenue (corner Spring St)
San Francisco: Wednesday, 9 March 2011, 10:00 a.m. outside Citibank at 260 California Street
Phone contact for the United States:
Brihannala Morgan, The Borneo Project, Berkeley, California Tel. +1 415 341 7051
www.borneoproject.org
International campaign coordination: Bruno Manser Fund, Basel, Switzerland +41 61 261 94 74
http://www.stop-timber-corruption.org/@bmf.ch
Sources used for this release: http://www.sarawakreport.org/; research by the Bruno Manser Fund.
Follow our campaign on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bmfonds