Kiandee's Rejection of RCI Motion Makes Him Sabah Public Enemy No. 1

When Ronald Kiandee, the greenhorn Deputy Speaker of Dewan Rakyat, rejected the motion on the proposal to set up the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal Immigrants in Sabah in Parliament on 22 May 2008, I immediately sensed trouble. Kiandee's senseless action to reject tabling the motion borders on sheer stupidity. I felt immediate anger. And I knew I will not be the only one. I knew that any right thinking Sabahan would be incensed. Kiandee's excuse was that the motion by LKS on illegal immigrants was 'irrelevant', 'disrespectful' and 'impolite' when the Parliamentarians were winding-up the debate to thank the King for his majesty's address.

My question to Kiandee is: Why are you using some technical irrelevant excuse (eg., the standing order) to get in the way of finally helping Sabahans tackle the long-standing issue on illegal immigrants? IS 'POLITENESS' IN PARLIAMENT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE LIVES OF SABAHANS AND OUR FUTURE GENERATION???!! Sabahans are being robbed (literally and economically), raped and murdered almost everyday for the past 30 or so years by the good-for-nothing illegals, and here you are rejecting a rare opportunity to resolve the biggest problem Sabahans faced? That makes you, Kiandee, as good-for-nothing as the illegal immigrants themselves, and obviously even more stupid than them! Why are you throwing the standing order at Lim Kit Siang? He has been in Parliament as far as we can remember. You have only been Deputy Speaker for, what, less than a month! Don't try to act smart with your stupid interpretation of the Standing Order? What standing order in Parliament are you talking about? Many MPs (especially your neighbour, the one that Karpal calls big-foot, and big foot's buddy, Ibrahim ...something) have been acting like barbarians and baboons and have never practised orderliness in Parliament. When have the MPs ever practise politeness in the House, I ask you?? Never, ever! You and Big Foot are becoming the biggest disgrace to Sabah.

Here, I just want to show how angry Sabahans are with Kiandee. The disgust of not only Sabahans but also Malaysians have flooded the alternative media and threatening to spill over into mainstream media:

Kiandee's rejection of motion a betrayal to Sabahans: PKR
Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah has taken Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee to task for having rejected the motion on the proposal to set up the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah. Its Deputy Chairperson Christina Liew said he had betrayed Sabahans and done great injustice to the people.
"Ronald, being a Sabahan himself, should understand the critical and pathetic situation facing Sabahans for almost four decades. The influx of illegal immigrants has a devastating impact on the people of Sabah, from prevalence of communicable disease to drug trafficking, mushrooming of squatter colonies and security issues. It is not surprising if there are more illegals
than locals in some parts of the east coast of Sabah.
"Therefore, Ronald's rejection on the ground of irrelevancy is totally unacceptable," she said ...
(Read more here http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=57789)

Malaysia Today also posted this Daily Express article on the same day (and don't forget to read the comments) :

http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/7998/1/


I personally share the sentiments of 'Immeasurably Angry Sabahan' posted on Malaysiakini:

'Ronald Kiandee, we will remember you'
May 26, 08 10:48am

‘Rest assured that every Sabahan will never forget that you rejected the tabling of the motion to set up the royal commission on illegal immigrants in Sabah.’
On Kit Siang challenges speaker's ruling on Sabah motion

An Immeasurably Angry Sabahan: Dear beloved Ronald Kiandee, rest assured that every Sabahan will never forget what you did when you rejected the tabling of the motion to set up the
royal commission on illegal immigrants in Sabah. You said that nobody will vote for the motion to be passed, including the Sabah BN MPs.
It is unbelievable that Sabah MPs would not vote in support for this motion. Why? What, may I ask, is your reason for not supporting this motion. Please don't give me stupid reasons such as, ‘irrelevant’, ‘unnecessary’, ‘pointless’ or other stupid arguments. The fact is you are hiding something. You prove to us that Barisan Nasional is not for Sabah.
To all the Sabah MPs, you must all feel relieved by this for you need not be put in a difficult position of voting against the motion. We will remember you. We have your names. We will not be like before where we say: ‘Apa boleh buat?’ This issue will not be put to rest. We will
carry on this fight so that truth and justice prevails. http://malaysiakini.com/news/83408

The disgust of the Sabah Forum community was clearly overwhelming. If I were Kiandee, I would probably not have a good night's sleep from this day forth.

http://www.sabahforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4774&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=105

And the best part is the following pix campaign that the Sabah Forum community came up with:

Sabahans, in general, have no problems with Kiandee on a personal level (well, initially at least but now he has given us one). Sabahans are merely disappointed and frustrated. We have suffered in silence for so long since under Mahafiraun Mahathir, where the illegals boasted and bragged about Project Mahathir that this 'Project M' which gives myKad to all illegals in Sabah became an open secret. Project M was part of the strategy to keep UMNO in power in Sabah. Sabahans have pleaded and begged for the problem to be resolved by the Federal Government. Nothing was ever done. In fact, UMNO further aggravated the problem with Project M and provided the illegals with homes and facilities better than what the locals could get. When Sabahans were appointed Speaker and Deputy Speaker in Dewan Rakyat recently, Sabahans rejoiced. And when the motion to table the Royal Commission on illegal immigrants came up, Sabahans finally felt there is hope and that solutions are on the way. Finally, we can end this long-standing problem of illegal aliens. Sabahans would have been happy with anything, JUST ANYTHING, that would have some effect, no matter how small, in tackling the illegal immigrants issue. But nooo, Kiandee thinks he is smarter (personally, he'd only be as smart as an ass###!). So now, Kiandee is trying to play God with the lives of Sabahans.

How dumb can you be, Kiandee! You see, Kiandee, the motion would have been a first step towards tackling the illegal immigrants issue. THE FIRST STEP, GET IT! With the illegal immigrant issue, Sabahans are akin to a drowning person. We would have grabbed at anything, even a straw if it means saving ourselves and our future generations. The proposed RCI motion is like a straw to Sabahans. Sabahans would have grabbed something, anything, that would save our children from the threat of the illegal immigrants.

Can't you get this through that thick skull of yours, stupid! To hell with your politeness, or relevance or your standing order. We are talking about saving this beautiful land of ours from are our safety and the safety of our children and our future generation. But you have let Sabahans down, to say the least. To redeem yourself, if you are a true Sabahan, you must do what is right for our beloved land, Sabah. Deputy Speaker, sir, please don't misinterpret me as you did the Standing Order in Parliament. Since you are prone to misinterpreting written words, let me put it in black an white. Redeeming yourself here means resigning from the Deputy Speaker's post and jumping into the nearby Kinabatangan River!

"SDO to take over from JPPS, says Musa." For Real?!

Is this for real? That the Federal Development Dept Sabah (JPPS) will be closed down and Sabah Development Office (SDO) will take over its functions? Not only the functions, but also honestly manage development funds from the Federal Government that are meant for Sabah? According to the Sabah Chief Minister, this seems to be in the works:

"SDO to take over from JPPS, says Musa
13 May, 2008
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Federal Development Department (JPPS) that has been the cause of discomfort among state leaders is now being slowly phased out with the re-introduction of the Sabah Development Office (SDO).
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said State Secretary Datuk Sukarti Wakiman has been tasked to look into the revival of the SDO, which has similar function as the JPPS.
The SDO, that will be under the jurisdiction of the Chief Minister's Department, was particularly active during Usno and Berjaya government era.
He said the re-introduction of the development office is part of the Federal Government's promise to do away with the JPPS." (Daily Express, 13/05/08)

Well, I've been harping on this issue of JPPS in my last few posts. I've been saying that they will never close JPPS because it is cashcow for a selected few. And I remain skeptical that this will really happen. If it does, it can ony mean two things:

1. The PM must be really in dire straits. He must be in a really, really desperate situation that he is willing to fulfil one of the promises he made to Sabahans. So the Anwar threat is looming large and near, is it? So much so that the PM is going to give in to one of the demands from Sabah? or
2. This revived SDO is only different in name. SDO will be manned by the same people, doing the same things over again. JPPS with a different name.

I was about to say, I'll take back my words, that I'll take back what I said about them not closing down JPPS. But, nothing is concrete yet. JPPS still exist. The CM only gave instructions to the State Secretary to look into the matter to revive SDO. SDO may never materialise. It could only be a carrot on a stick so that certain Sabah MPs will not 'frog' over to Pakatan Rakyat to enable Anwar Ibrahim to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia come September 16, 2008. So, I will not take back my words, not just yet.

Still, if SDO does materialise, I'll probably still not take back my words. Because if SDO replaces JPPS, SDO might STILL be JPPS only with a different name. Remember, Sabah is demanding for oil royalty to be increased from 5% to 20%. Goodness, that should be about RM2 billion per year for Sabah. So, our cashcow has just gotten much, much fatter, eh? And the fat, fat cow will continue to enrich the same chosen few. Greater days are definitely coming for this chosen few, inspite of the skyrocketing prices for consumer goods and daily necessities, which the common Sabahans on the streets shiver to think about.

A small part of me want to believe in our elected leaders, but because of so much dirty, toxic water under the bridge, it is really difficult to get rid of this phobic instinct of distrust towards all Malaysian politicians, Sabahans included. So, we will see. We will wait and see. We will see if SDO is for real, and it is not a wolf in sheep's clothing. We will wait for SDO to be up and about doing its job, understanding the real needs of Sabahans and serving Sabahans in the true sense of the word. If and when all these become reality, then and only then will I take back my word.

Sabah 'Robbed' of its Natural Gas & Urged to Use Coal Instead

The Federal Government has urged Sabah to use coal to resolve its power supply crisis whilst it siphons off natural gas from Sabah to Sarawak. What kind of senseless governance is the Federal Government using? Simply put, the Federal Government through Petronas is 'robbing' Sabah in broad daylight of its natural gas, and then try to pollute Sabah (and thus risk poisoning Sabahans with poisonous coal emissions) by urging Sabah to use coal-fired power plants. This is an insult and total outrage to all Sabahans. What are they trying to do? Pollute us so and destroy this beautiful Land-Below-the-Wind and poison us in the process? Sabahans, let us stand up for our rights (and our lives) and put a stop to all this bullying treatment!

Earlier in February, it was reported:

"Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has awarded a RM1.01 billion contract to China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) to build a 300MW coal-fired power plant in Silam, Lahad Datu, Sabah." (Feb 20 2008, Bernama)

In 2nd April 2008, the Sabah Government rightly cancelled the project following fierce criticisms from many quarters including experts. Then when on April 21 and 30 SESB transmission towers collapsed, due to greed of scrap metal thieves (only illegal aliens have the stomach to do this), Sabah was thrown into power crisis.

Then in trying to resolve the crisis, Mr. Leo Moggie came into town on 2nd May 2008, gave a press conference, and tried to push the coal-fired plants down Sabahans throat again. He arrogantly announced again that there is no available alternative that is better and more viable than coal to boost the power reserve margin in Sabah. Such coal-fired plants now use clean coal technology, he pointed out. Then he went into a dialogue all by himself to convince Sabahans that coal burning is clean these days, and went on into a tirade, again by himself, questioning Sabahans' rejection of coal-fired plants:

..."What is so bad, so dirty about coal? Yes, coal is black, giving an impression it is not clean and if you talk about coal plants 20 years ago the worries would be more than today. But in the last few years clean coal technology had been developed and is increasingly sophisticated." (Daily Express, 03 May 2008)

Yeah rite, Mr. Moggie, if coal is clean, try rubbing it on your face. But seriously do you really believe what you are saying? No matter how clean the technology, and whilst the process may not seem all black and dirty, but it has to involve heating or burning, right? So with the heating/burning, where do the gas emissions go? Will the emissions not go right back into the atmosphere? And how many tons and tons of coal do you need to burn to supply the East Coast of Sabah with 200mw that it needs?

The State Government again rightly responded by saying it is sticking to its decision against building the coal plants in Lahad Datu:

"KOTA KINABALU: The state government is sticking to its decision against building a coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjum.

Masidi said the government could not afford the environmental risks of such a facility close to key pristine conservation areas.

“We are aware of the argument that coal-fired plants in the peninsula are sited close to a resort and Singapore. But these places do not have the Danum Valley, the Maliau Basin or the Darvel Bay,” he said here yesterday.

The minister said the Sabah cabinet had heard views and advices from various experts before deciding against the 300MW coal-fired plant on April 2.

He found it surprising that Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) was insisting coal was the only viable option for power generation in the state’s East Coast.

“We have no intention to quarrel with SESB but we hope they appreciate that our obligation is to preserve the delicate nature of our environment,” he added.

On Saturday, Sabah Environmental Protection Association president Wong Tack said Tenaga Nasional Berhad chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie had insulted Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Masidi and Sabahans for saying that there was no alternative for the state but to accept the coal-fired power plant in overcoming the shortage of electricity supply.

On Saturday, Sabah Environmental Protection Association president Wong Tack said Tenaga Nasional Berhad chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie had insulted Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Masidi and Sabahans for saying that there was no alternative for the state but to accept the coal-fired power plant in overcoming the shortage of electricity supply. " (Borneo Post Online, 05/05/08)

What is scary about such coal-fired plants is that they can put the health and lives of many Sabahans at risk . To quote published reports:

"EAC’s Lahad Datu chairman Wong Tack said the project was an unnecessary risk. He said there had been worldwide opposition to coal plants due to concerns over emissions such as sulphur dioxide causing acid rain, soot particles causing visibility and respiratory problems and carbon dioxide contributing to global warming."

Isn't that trying poison Sabahans living in the vicinity not to mention destroying our pristine Danum Valley and Maliau Basin? And where are they going to find coal? Are they going to dissect, destroy and burn our beautiful land to mine for coal?

A thought just struck me. Why is the Federal Government so desperate to convince Sabahans to use coal plants. Sabah has enough natural gas to supply the power for its own use. Why the desperation in trying to convince Sabahans to use coal plants and pull the wool over our eyes? Is the Federal Government trying to distract Sabahans whilst Petronas siphons gas from Sabah to Sarawak?

Yes, indeed, whilst the Federal Government through TNB distracts us with stupid issues, Petronas is preparing to 'rob' Sabah of her oil and gas in broad daylight! They have to rationalise this senseless act by the Federal Government & Petronas to pipe natural gas from Sabah to Sarawak in the midst of a power supply crisis in Sabah. This Petronas 'robbery' project was launched by who else, the Prime Minister himself. The Daily Express reported:

18 January, 2008

"Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) project at Kimanis, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in February last year, is expected to transform significantly the State's socio-economic fabric, particularly in the Kimanis area.

The project, covering an area of 101.17 hectares, undertaken by Petronas would not only be a symbol of Sabah's brisk economic development but also create employment opportunities in oil-related industries for the local populace and in the process raise their standard of living.

The basic infrastructure such was water supply, electricity and transport facilities to be developed for the project would indirectly benefit the locals.

SOGT is among components of the Sabah-Sarawak Oil and Gas Integrated project undertaken by Petronas. Other components of the project include the development of oilfields offshore Sabah and the construction of the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipe project (SSGP).

The SSGP project would involve the construction of gas pipes overland spanning 500 kilometres (90km in Sabah and 410km in Sarawak) linking Kimanis in Sabah and the LNG Petronas Complex in Bintulu.

Although the total cost of the project to be completed by 2010 has yet to be revealed, news reports have estimated it to be around RM3 billion....

.... The natural gas piped to Bintulu would be processed into Liquefied Natural Gas for export."

And typical of the mainstream media, large part of the report went on and on about how great this project will be for Sabah and how the project will open up new developments along the 550km span from Kimanis to Bintulu and stimulate further economic activities for the locals blah..blah..blah.

What struck me and why I call this a daylight 'robbery' is because (and I quote) "The natural gas piped to Bintulu would be processed into Liquefied Natural Gas for export."

Why siphon the gas to Bintulu? Why not just build a LNG Complex in Sabah and export LNG from Sabah? I am sure we have more than ample space in Sabah for a LNG Complex. We already have the oil terminal depot in Sepanggar, and building an LNG complex in Sepanggar, which would be peanuts for Petronas, will no doubt boost the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) after all the KKIP is a landmark of Sepanggar, and it will also create economic spillover throughout the State. Why pipe our gas all the way to Bintulu? As it is, Petronas is already bleeding Sabah dry of its oil and gas resources, and Sabah is only given 5% percent royalty each year? Isn't that 'robbery' in broad daylight? A LNG complex, say in Sepanggar, will only be a tiny, tiny drop in the hugely lucrative bucket for Petronas.

And why is Leo Moggie saying that "there was no alternative for the state but to accept the coal-fired power plant in overcoming the shortage of electricity supply. " ? With all the so-called educated people staffing TNB and SESB, is this the best alternative that they could find? Any 6-year old can figure out that burning coal gives out so much smoke and make people cough which may not be good for their health. Go figure that one out, Mr Moggie and all you educated people in TNB/SESB!

And Mr. Moggie, sir, Petronas is piping our natural gas from Kimanis into your home state Sarawak, and you come in here and announced arrogantly that we Sabahans have no alternative but to accept the coal-fired plant!!! What kind of bullshit is this? You think Sabahans are so stupid that you can just bullshit us? The way I see it, you people (Fed Govt, Petronas & TNB) are not only 'robbing' from Sabahans but you are also trying to pollute the air that we breathe and that could probably end up poisoning us all!

Sabahans are relieved that the State Government has cancelled the coal plant in Lahad Datu. Thank you, State Cabinet. It is time Sabahans object to the unethical tactics and bullying done by the Federal Government in Sabah. Why should we use coal-fired plants when we have natural gas? We have so much natural gas that could easily resolve the power supply crisis that we are facing now. We probably have so much natural gas in Sabah that if we were to blow it all up, the whole island of Borneo and, hopefully Peninsular Malaysia, will disappear from the face of the earth!

I think I speak for many Sabahans when I say that I just don't understand why Petronas will be siphoning off our natural gas from Kimanis to Bintulu in Sarawak while we are, at this very moment, suffering from a power supply crisis in Sabah. Can the Sabah Government not put a stop to this horrible treatment of Sabah by the Federal Government, Petronas and TNB?

Could we not demand for an increase in oil royalty to 30% or even 50%? After all, Sabah with all her oil and gas resources FORMED this country called Malaysia together with Sarawak and Malaya, making Sabah and Sarawak an equal partner to Malaya in the formation of Malaysia. Hence, Sabah should be entitled to a 50-50 arrangement in anything that directly concerns and come from Sabah. We are not like Trengganu which was part of Malaya. We were a sovereign nation-state that, with Sarawak and Malaya, formed Malaysia, hence, equal partners by right where federal-state matters are concerned. The oil and gas comes from bumi Sabah, and we should share it 50-50 (or something very close to that) with the Federal Government. Likewise, anything directly concerning Sarawak and her resources should be treated likewise.

Can't the Sabah Government do anything at all about this worrying situation, especially the act by Petronas to siphon off gas from Sabah to Sarawak? Is Petronas so powerful that it can do anything it wants that even the Prime Minister has no say? Or, he has a say but will/can not do anything about it? How did Petronas get so powerful? And the only answer I can come up with is that Petronas is so powerful because it controls so much money from the oil and gas that were extracted from oil rich states including Sabah. Yes, Sabah used to be one of the richest states in Malaysia. Today, Sabah is the SECOND POOREST state in Malaysia. What happened? How come with all its oil and gas resources, Sabah is the second poorest state in the country? I just have trouble trying to understand this.

Again, I ask, can't the Sabah Government do anything about this at all, review the agreement on our oil and gas resources, for instance? Are the agreement covering Sabah's oil and gas written in stone that there is nothing we Sabahans can do? Can someone out there enlighten us, or at least me. Or should we, Sabahans, just resign ourselves to this fate of being forever sidelined, bullied and bled dry of our rich resources by the Federal Government for generations to come? With the deep frustrations that we, Sabahans, feel about Sabah's rights at the moment, I fear to think about how our children will feel in the future.