18 October 2023
Topik Pada Hari Ini
> Kulleh Selong, Penduduk Belaga – Kemarahan di Sungai Asap: Lori Bermuatan Berlebihan Merosakkan Jalan dan Menimbulkan Kebimbangan
> Chiew Choon Mun, Ahli Parlimen PKR Miri – Masyarakat Memiliki Hak untuk Memantau Penggunaan Bajet GPS, Mencontohi Akta Kebebasan Maklumat Selangor dan Pulau Pinang
> Datuk Dr. Madeline Berma, Analis Ekonomi Bebas – Memperkasa Rakyat: Pendekatan Praktikal terhadap Kelestarian Ekonomi
> Robert, Aktivis dari Bintulu – Wakil Jepak dalam Enam Terma Tidak Menyalurkan Sumber Secara Adil, Aktivis Galakkan Pengundi Bertindak Bijak Dalam Mengundi
On Today Show
> Kulleh Selong, Residents of Belaga – Outrage in Sungai Asap: Overloaded Lorries Damage Roads and Raise Concerns
> Chiew Choon Mun, PKR MP of Miri – Civil Society has the Right to Monitor GPS's Budget Use, Emulating Selangor and Penang's Freedom of Information Acts
> Datuk Dr. Madeline Berma, independent economic analyst – Empowering the People: A Practical Approach to Economic Sustainability
> Robert, an activist from Bintulu – The six-term Jepak representative did not allocate resources fairly, activists urge voters to cast their ballots carefully
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*Special Randau*
1. The Minister of Home Affairs acknowledges that some employers are misusing foreign worker permits.
2. Residents of Bakun in Sungai Asap are angry about damaged roads due to overloaded palm oil and timber lorries. Additionally, the Indonesian lorry drivers do not have valid driving licenses.
3. The fate of the Kuala Kangsar Member of Parliament who supports PMX will be determined soon, says the Secretary-General of PN, Hamzah Zainuddin.
4. The Secretary-General of PKR, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, says there is no need to threaten parliament members to support PMX. A majority of 147 is strong enough to approve the 2024 budget.
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Kulleh Selong, Residents of Belaga
*Outrage in Sungai Asap: Overloaded Lorries Damage Roads and Raise Concerns*
Kulleh complained that the Belaga-Bakun-Bintulu road was badly damaged due to the activities of palm oil lorry drivers and log lorries carrying excessive loads. According to Kulleh, many complaints with photos have been given to the authorities. However, no strict action was taken against these drivers. Even more unfortunate is the palm oil lorry driver who carries the extra load - the majority of them are Indonesian foreign workers. This seems to confirm the interior minister's statement in today's press conference that there are employers who misuse work permits. According to Kulleh, there are indeed JPJ making obstacles. But they don't fine or arrest drivers without a driver's license. My question - why?. This question can only be answered by the authorities. Today the conversation went viral in a wsap group. Believed to happen in Bakun Sungai Asap. That operational information by JPJ - to create roadblocks. To arrest and detain these unlicensed and overloaded drivers. Has been leaked and known by drivers and employers. The scheduled roadblock is said to be held on 18 to 21 Oct 2023. Residents in the Bakun Sungai Asap area are worried about their safety and complain that the road is badly damaged as a result of this activity. They requested that the authorities enforce the rules more strictly. Residents also question why local workers are not given the opportunity to drive lorries, they have the skills, have a driving license and have a sense of responsibility to take care of safety when on the road
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Chiew Choon Mun, PKR MP of Miri
*Civil Society has the Right to Monitor GPS's Budget Use, Emulating Selangor and Penang's Freedom of Information Acts*
On Monday, Anwar Ibrahim announced the 2024 budget, which included the allocation of substantial subsidies to rural residents, particularly the RM225 million designated for financing the transportation costs of essential food items to rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak. This has caught the attention of the interior people in Sarawak, and RFS has reported for two consecutive days that the public is demanding to participate in supervising whether GPS is correctly using this budget.
Chiew expressed that civil society is the best oversight role for the government, and that NGOs, opposition parties, and civil society should all play an effective oversight role to ensure that the government's budget is used effectively for relevant projects, especially the federal development budget allocated to the Sarawak government.
Chiew suggested emulating the Freedom of Information Acts possessed by the Selangor and Penang state governments, where civil society can make requests to the government for information on relevant development projects to ensure that these projects are carried out transparently and with integrity.
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Datuk Dr. Madeline Berma, independent economic analyst
*Empowering the People: A Practical Approach to Economic Sustainability*
Firstly, we must understand what a budget or supply budget is, which is presented yearly by the Minister of Finance, usually in the third week of October. However, this year, it has been brought forward.
A budget consists of two main categories: revenue or income and expenditures. The key questions are, where is the government sourcing its income, and how does it plan to allocate and spend that money? A significant portion of government revenue is derived from both indirect and direct taxation.
The government's expenditures fall into two primary categories. The first is operating expenditure, which includes salaries for civil servants. The second is development expenditures, which cover investments in various projects and initiatives aimed at enhancing the nation's development.
For the current fiscal year, our income has seen a slight increase. However, the government is facing challenges in managing subsidies, which have now reached almost 8.1 billion ringgit. The concern is that these subsidies might not be effectively reaching their intended target groups. Take, for example, petrol subsidies; the government struggles to accurately identify the actual recipients within the B40 income group.
In the case of petrol subsidies, it has been observed that higher-income groups tend to benefit more, especially those with larger vehicles, while the B40, who primarily rely on motorcycles, receive fewer benefits. As a solution, the government has introduced targeted subsidies to specifically assist lower-income groups. This approach aims to rationalize subsidies and make them more equitable.
It's important to note that providing subsidies is not always the most effective solution in the long term. Instead, it is more practical to empower the people, including farmers, through various means that promote economic self-sufficiency and sustainability. This approach not only helps individuals but also contributes to the overall economic development of the country.
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Robert, an activist from Bintulu
*The six-term Jepak representative did not allocate resources fairly, activists urge voters to cast their ballots carefully*
Robert points out that GPS is making efforts to attract Jepak voters. During the recent Sarawak state assembly primaries, he emphasizes that the topic of development, initiated by the late Talip during his six terms in the Jepak State Legislative Assembly, was widely discussed.
According to Robert, the development facilities in Jepak primarily benefit only a select few citizens and not the entire population. This is because late Talip, as their representative, repeatedly promised at longhouses that if there were any surplus allocation, it would be directed to the longhouse residents. This is why late Talip earned the nickname "YB Lebih" and only then would it be allocated for longhouse community development. Meanwhile, the Malay community often received generous allocations from late Talip.
Robert argues that development contributions should be distributed equally among all residents in the Jepak State Legislative Assembly, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion. He highlights that the Jepak area is vast and should not favor one ethnic group exclusively.
Robert also notes that the level of development in the Jepak State Legislative Assembly has been significantly lower than during the six terms served by the late Talip as their representative. Furthermore, he raises the issue of many single mothers in Jepak who have not received adequate support for their welfare over an extended period.
Robert urges the voters to consider these issues carefully during the upcoming by-elections and calls for a more equitable and inclusive approach to development in the Jepak area.