19 August 2024
On Today Show
— Geoffrey Tang, President of Rise Of Social Effort (ROSE) – 1 Person, 1 Vote, 1 Value: The Push for Electoral Fairness in Sarawak
— Paul Wan, an activist from Long Lama – Activist Calls on Sarawak to Use Reserves for Road Construction to Combat Poverty
— Jerald Joseph, Director of Pusat Komas – Evictions in Sabah Marine Park: CSOs Demand Justice for Bajau Laut Communities
Topik Pada Hari Ini
— Geoffrey Tang, Presiden Rise Of Social Effort (ROSE) – 1 Orang, 1 Undi, 1 Nilai: Usaha Mencapai Keadilan Pilihan Raya di Sarawak
— Paul Wan, aktivis dari Long Lama – Aktivis Mendesak Sarawak Menggunakan Rizab untuk Pembinaan Jalan Bagi Membanteras Kemiskinan
— Jerald Joseph, Pengarah Pusat Komas – Pengusiran di Sabah Marine Park: CSO Menuntut Keadilan untuk Komuniti Bajau Laut
-
Special Randau
1. The redelineation of electoral areas in Sarawak is very necessary to solve the problem of malapportionment as a result of the sudden increase in voters. But this demarcation does not necessarily require an increase in seats - said President ROSE-Geoffrey Tang. A total of 82 seats is sufficient.
2. The 1mdb fund embezzlement trial - Najib's lawyer submitted a 2500-page argument and claimed that the prosecution was flawed because there was a lot of overlap, especially the 4 main charges which were rather vague. Najib faces 4 charges of misuse of power to obtain rm2.3 billion of 1mdb funds and 21 charges of money laundering.
3. Defective charges- Najib was never at AmBank on. 24 feb 2011 and 19 dec 2014 as alleged. If he is not there, how can he ask for a bribe at AmBank - said Najib's main lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
------------------------------
Geoffrey Tang, President of Rise Of Social Effort (ROSE)
1 Person, 1 Vote, 1 Value: The Push for Electoral Fairness in Sarawak
Rose is running an election awareness campaign throughout Sarawak and urges the EC to re-delimit electoral areas based on the principle of 1 person, one vote, one vote, one value. According to Tang, after the AVR is approved and implemented in 2022. The increase in votes in Sarawak is sudden - that is an increase of 79.5 percent and until April 2024 the number of Sarawak voters increased to 1,990,322 people with an average increase of 3100 people every month. This gives problems to the current Sarawak constituencies. There are so many voter areas and there are quite a few voters. So because of that there needs to be redistricting, but not with an increase in seats - that is ROSE's suggestion and opinion - said Tang. We think the number of seats -82 is enough but the number of voters in each area should be almost the same. The next process is that the Sarawak DUN must bring the motion in the DUN and be approved and brought to the EC. It should be clarified that the EC has no authority to increase the number of seats in Sarawak, except with the recommendation of the Sarawak State Assembly. For now 82 is enough. We also launched a campaign of volunteers who will be involved in giving suggestions on the demarcation of Sarawak's constituencies. The more voters who are aware of their rights, the wiser they are in choosing competent representatives.
------------------------------
Paul Wan, an activist from Long Lama
Activist Calls on Sarawak to Use Reserves for Road Construction to Combat Poverty
Paul fully supports the statement made by Senator Abun Sui regarding poverty eradication through the construction of better roads. According to Paul Wan, the people would not need to rely entirely on government assistance if good roads were built, especially connecting rural areas to the cities. Paul Wan frequently meets with communities that often complain because, every time they sell palm oil from their farms, the proceeds are used to repair damaged vehicles. Such incidents frequently occur because of the poor and pothole-ridden roads, which cause vehicles to break down every time they transport palm oil, leading to palm oil farmers not making a substantial profit, including being unable to pay their workers' wages.
Paul urges the Sarawak government to use the much-celebrated RM40 billion in reserves to allocate funds for road construction.
------------------------------
Jerald Joseph, Director of Pusat Komas
Evictions in Sabah Marine Park: CSOs Demand Justice for Bajau Laut Communities
Jerald Joseph commented that the CSOs' platform for reform stands in solidarity with Cikgu Mukmin Nantang and four other human rights defenders who were detained last week regarding issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Sabah, particularly the Bajau Laut. These communities have traditionally lived on the sea in areas spanning Sabah, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with most of them being undocumented due to their lifestyle on boats or stilt houses. However, these areas have recently been gazetted as Sabah Marine Park.
Over the past one or two months, the Sabah government has begun evicting these communities and dismantling some houses deemed illegal. Due to this issue, Cikgu Mukmin and supporters of the Bajau Laut visited these communities, leading to their detention on allegations of trespassing into Sabah Marine Park.
The question now is why these evictions are only happening at this time. Has the Sabah government attempted to hold discussions with these communities to find a solution, such as identifying a place to resettle them? These communities need to continue their sea-based livelihood to meet their daily needs. Jerald Joseph opines that the Sabah government's treatment of these communities and human rights defenders constitutes a violation of UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) and freedom of speech.
The CSO Platform for Reform urges enforcement agencies to prioritize the welfare and rights of these communities.