8 September 2023
Topik Pada Hari Ini
> Dennis Along, Pengarah Komunikasi PKR Baram - Ketidakadilan di Sarawak: Perjuangan Menentang Rang Undang-undang Perdagangan Karbon
> Geoffrey Tang, Presiden ROSE - Keperluan Pembangkang yang Berwibawa dalam Politik Sarawak
> George Laeng, Aktivis dari Uma Akeh Baram - Potensi Baram sebagai Pusat Pengeluaran Beras: Inisiatif Kerajaan Diperlukan
On Today Show
> Dennis Along, PKR Baram Communications Director – Injustice in Sarawak: The Fight Against the Carbon Trading Bill
> Geoffrey Tang, ROSE president – The Need for a Robust Opposition in Sarawak Politics
> George Laeng, activist from Uma Akeh Baram – Baram's Potential as a Rice Hub: Government Initiatives Needed
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Special Randau
> Only NCR landowners who have been gazetted can obtain a carbon trading license.
> In Zahid's case, PMX may not be involved, but the justice system has many weaknesses and requires immediate reform.
> The King's expedition to explore Borneo - Agong arrived in Brunei today and will reach Miri tomorrow.
> There is a Member of Parliament building roads and bridges to their own plantation using rural project funds.
> Zahih can be released, so why isn't the mosque fund thief (RM22) in Kuala Terengganu also released? Facing a 10-year prison sentence.
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Dennis Along, PKR Baram Communications Director
*Injustice in Sarawak: The Fight Against the Carbon Trading Bill*
Sarawak's Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Dr. Hazland Abang Hipni said that only owners of NCR land that have been gazetted are eligible for a carbon trading license. According to Dennis- this is GPS's tactic of denying the rights of the Natives and Dayaks of Sarawak to be involved in an industry worth billions of ringgit. Throughout Baram, Apoh-Tutoh, Marudi up to Mulu. Not a single acre of Baram residents' NCR land is gazetted. On the other hand, logging companies that destroy the environment (Samling) are given a carbon trading license by the GPS Sarawak Government. Dennis urged the people of Sarawak to realize that since the beginning the policy of the Sarawak BN government and now the GPS is pressuring the Indigenous/Dayak people to remain poor so that they are easy to manipulate. Dennis asked the public to protest the Carbon trading and Land Affairs Bill that will be tabled in the Sarawak state assembly this November. Which it will definitely not favor the Dayak people. For 60 years the Orang Asal/Dayak have been pleading for their NCR land to be gazetted and given a title deed. However, this request could not be fulfilled by the GPS Sarawak government. On the other hand, PL and logging concessions of hundreds of hectares were given to foreigners who came from Sibu, Miri, Bintulu, Kuching and even some companies from Malaya were also given PL.
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George Laeng, activist from Uma Akeh Baram
*Baram's Potential as a Rice Hub: Government Initiatives Needed*
George Laeng from Baram comments on the rice issue. He mentions that Baram still has vast areas suitable for rice cultivation, but the government does not have plans to promote rice farming in Baram. This is because the government tends to grant land (PL) to companies for oil palm cultivation. If the economy is uncertain and people suffer, it is not the fault of the people but rather the government's lack of early planning for the future economy and its people.
The issue of rising rice prices would not exist if the people could engage in modern rice cultivation supported by the government, eliminating the need to import rice from foreign countries. People often hear promises of rural development from the government, but these are often just empty words.
While many blame the federal government for the rising rice prices, it is important for every state government to make efforts to control rice prices, even though it is a global issue. Therefore, the Sarawak state government must take action and plan to promote rice cultivation in the interior regions with significant potential for rice farming. Areas like Baram and Bario have fertile land suitable for rice cultivation.
The Sarawak government should focus on Baram as a major rice producer in Sarawak. There was a time when Kuala Tutoh was a place for rice cultivation, so why wasn't it continued? The government should reactivate rice farming schemes in the interior regions. If the issue of rice prices cannot be controlled, it means that the Sarawak state government has failed to assist its people. The government should raise awareness in every longhouse and encourage rice cultivation so that people are not dependent on imported rice.
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Geoffrey Tang, ROSE president
*The Need for a Robust Opposition in Sarawak Politics*
The announcement by Abang Jo that GPS will be contesting all 82 seats in the upcoming State election in 2026 or 2027 is not a new development, as they already achieved a substantial majority in the 2021 state election with a significant win of 76 seats. This tally does not include seats from PSB, which is said to support Abang Jo's government and collaborate with PDP, led by Datuk Tiong. In Sarawak, there are only two opposition ADUN from DAP of PH, so it may not be too early to speculate that GPS will negotiate with any party, especially Sarawak PH, with the goal of contesting all seats, possibly under the banner of a Unity Government.
However, if we reflect on the outcome of the 2021 election, more than 289,000 voters turned out, and the voter turnout was 746,000, who voted for opposition parties, constituting approximately 38.7 percent of the total vote. What could be on their minds? The point being made here is the need for a strong opposition party to provide a check and balance in the political landscape.