泰益恣意禁止维权份子进入砂州
刘永山：纳吉一个大马理念破功
2011年10月4日
凌晨 2点58分
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雪州甘榜东姑区州议员刘永山指出，砂拉越州政府三番两次在毫无理由的情况下滥用权力，阻止半岛人民进入砂拉越，导致纳吉“一个马来西亚”理念沦为空谈。
“大马公民运动组织”主席哈里斯依布拉欣日前欲进入砂拉越州，以出席一项由该组织举行的人民改革议程论坛，被该州海关官员援引《1956/63年移民法令》第65(1)条款阻拦并遣返吉隆坡。
封锁东两地人民交流
刘永山（左图)指出，这并非第一次来自半岛的非政府组织社运份子被砂州政府阻止入境。之前社运分子黄天成和黄进发分别在4月3日和4月8日被禁止踏足砂州。其后，净选盟2.0主席安美嘉也在4月15日遭殃成为第4名受害者。
他指出，以砂州首席部长泰益为首的砂拉越州政府滥用该法令，通过砂拉越移民局恣意禁止半岛人民进入该州，为的是封锁东西马两地人民交流，生怕砂州人民通过理性交流平台进行民主思想交流，进而撼动到泰益的霸权。
“尤其是许多来自半岛的非政府组织人员在过去十年一直往返砂州，并深入内陆地区，接触内陆地区的人民，协助他们向有关当局争取权益。这些维权人士在砂州的动向已经严重威胁砂州国阵的政治与商业利益。因此，本人深信泰益强制遣返这些非政府组织人士的决定乃政治决定。”
骗饭吃的政治话语？
刘永山抨击首相纳吉继续不插手处理此事，证明“一个马来西亚”只不过是骗饭吃的政治话语。砂政府禁止来自半岛的国人进入砂拉越州的行为，却让纳吉的一个马来西亚理念在犀鸟之乡破功，间接上狠刮纳吉一巴掌。
“本人质问纳吉在大事宣传一个马来西亚这个得意概念之时，为何砂州泰益政府能够漠视纳吉这位首相的存在，动辄禁止来自半岛的国人进入砂拉越？更甚的是，纳吉在面对砂州政府这种举措竟然还不吭一声，这是否意味着纳吉已经默许泰益地方割据变成藩王？是否已将砂州封给泰益这位在位三十年的首席部长，作为其私有财产？”
《1956/63年移民法令》第65(1)条文的存在让砂拉越国阵政府随意滥用，导致该州成为国中国，也让纳吉之前宣布9月16日为马来西亚日的好意失去其正面意义，因为该法令已沦为砂州政府封锁东马人民交流能力的工具，阻碍两地人民的往来以及思想的交流，破坏国家的团结。
“本人也谴责砂拉越国阵政治人物常以本土及外来政党的政治宣传手法，来操弄砂州人民的本土情意结，这只会造成东马人将西马人视为外来掠夺者，而联邦政府这边厢对于砂拉越国阵破坏团结的行为却只字不提，这种分而治之的做法导致东西马两地之间的隔阂与距离日渐严重。”
刘永山呼吁，以纳吉为首的联邦政府应该公开谴责砂州政府任意禁止半岛人民进入砂州的行为，要求砂政府无条件让两地人民能够自由沟通交流，以达致东西两地一家亲，如此才能真正显示有意落实一个马来西亚概念的诚意。
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Taib-linked firm ‘under surveillance’ in Australia
Clare Rewcastle Brown | October 4, 2011
Australia's Green Party has put Ta Ann Tasmania 'on notice' over its logging activities and six years of losses despite being awrded 'numerous perks and subsidies' by the state.
The tactics of Sarawak’s logging industry are causing increasing dismay in Australia, where Chief Minister Taib Mahmud-linked Ta Ann group has opened two major timber processing mills.
A normal practice of Taib’s crony timber tycoons, such as the Yaw family (Samling Group) and Tiong Hiew King (Rimbinan Hijau) is to expand their foreign timber operations to countries that are politically weak with a slender democratic base.
But this has not been the case with Taib’s cousin Hamed Sepawi.
Hamed, who is the driving force behind Ta Ann and the beneficiary of numerous preferential concessions in Sarawak, has ventured into Tasmania with an eye on the growing market for “eco-friendly” timber.
No certification process in the world would touch the wood ripped out by Taib from Sarawak.
Indeed, Taib’s orgy of destruction in the Borneo rainforest is the major block in negotiations between Malaysia and the European Union over timber exports.
Unhealthy record
However, despite a none-too-healthy timber record in Tasmania, Australia has managed to get the relatively weak Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) accreditation.
The PEFC accreditation is far less rigorous than FSC labeling, but can be used to reassure those less informed consumers who are looking for sustainable products. It is this that has attracted Ta Ann.
They have done a deal with the local state run Forestry Tasmania to supply their mills with huge quantities of eucalyptus wood in a deal that lasts until 2027 and which Ta Ann are lobbying to extend till 2047.
The wood being supplied to Ta Ann is double the amount being taken by all the other logging operations in Tasmania combined.
Intrigue over Ta Ann
Tasmania’s lumber industry has been struggling for some time, partly because logging is not economical anymore and partly because of the growing determination of environmentally aware campaigners to protect what remains of one of the most valuable temperate forest areas in the world.
For these reason there has been a level of intrigue ever since 2005 as to how it was that Tasmania’s state government was persuaded to welcome in this foreign company at what have been clearly give-away rates.
Ta Ann was awarded numerous perks and subsidies to set up its mills, amounting to a tasty A$30 million all in, with the view of sustaining around 100 local jobs in Tasmania.
They are also being sold wood at such cheap rates that Hamed is on record as boasting that he is getting the wood cheaper than in Malaysia!
Six years since and the operation is losing the state of Tasmania’s money.
Bewildered critics
Yet a strong lobby of local politicians are fiercely defending the policy of continuing to treat Ta Ann as if it was some wonderful form of inward investment benefiting jobs and the economy.
To the contrary, as bewildered Greens and other critics are pointing out, Tasmania is losing its valuable hardwood to Ta Ann and losing money in the process!
Sarawakians can of course well identify with this problem of a state losing all its natural assets with very little to show for it publicly.
The Taib family have been the driving force behind such plunder for many years.
And in fact Ta Ann Tasmania has also so far failed to register any profit for taxation either, raising further questions as to why on earth such a strong political lobby is rushing to defend the company.
There have been calls for more transparency over the negotiations, which brought Ta Ann to Tasmania, an issue that is of course an equally familiar problem in Sarawak.
Ta Ann’a history revealed
It was against this background that I, as Editor of Sarawak Report, was invited by the Green Party to Hobart last week to provide some background on what had been regarded as a somewhat mysterious Malaysian company.
I was able to enlighten listeners at various events as to the corrupt nature of Sarawak’s politics and economic management and also to inform them of the status of Hamed as the executive chairman and largest shareholder of Ta Ann.
Hamed is also one of Taib’s key cronies and nominees in Sarawak.
I advised listeners of the letter recently sent to key members of the Australian government expressing concern that investments by the Taib family in Australia are effectively money-laundering the illegal profits gained from corruption and abuse of political power in Sarawak.
Such revelations caused great anger among Ta Ann supporters, provoking complaints in the Tasmanian parliament.
However, I can report that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd immediately responded by forwarding the concerns in the letter to the Attorney General’s office in Australia, which is charged with investigating money laundering.
I have been informed that learning about the nature of Ta Ann and Hamed’s business dealings in Sarawak has changed the nature of the debate over the company’s operations in Tasmania.
Ta Ann ‘on notice’
Senator Bob Brown, the leader of the Green Party in Australia announced to the press on Thursday that Ta Ann Tasmania must henceforth consider itself “on notice” that the company and its activities are “under surveillance” now that they had chosen to set up business in an open and democratic country.
He made clear that the Hamed company could not expect to get away with the sort of impunity with which it and other logging companies operate back home in Sarawak.
Further imminent revelations should put increased pressure on Hamed’s Australian operations, with regard to the “eco-friendly” claims that this Sarawak-based company is making about its products from Tasmania.
Clare Rewcastle Brown is the editor/founder of Sarawak Report. She is also a FMT columnist.
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Comments (8)
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Aban Lah · 2 hours ago
Where is MACC? Where is Australian Anti-Curruption Commission?
Still sleeping kah??
aruna · 2 hours ago
With scoundrels, plunderers, thieves and rapists ruling the state what could one expect. This is where the BN FIXED DEPOSITS comes from. This is where the masses are suffering in abject poverty and misery whilst the rich are merrily robbing and plundering the state. This is where the BN politicians sell their soul or for that matter even their mothers to enrich themselves. This is the heaven for the corrupt regime of Taib and Co. This is where the BN, Najib and the law enforcement authorities do not dare to even move a figure against corruption, cronyism, nepotism, monopoly, Taibism, robbery, plunder and rape of the state’s wealth. This is where the “School of Treachery and Betrayal” was founded up by none other than Taib. This is where the resource rich state is being sold whole sale to BN at the misery and suffering of the people. THIS IS WHERE WE FIND BIG FAT KUCHINGS THAT CAN’T CATCH THE STEALING RATS. THIS STATE IS CALLED THE HORNBIL STATE OF SARAWAK. CRY IN PAIN AND SUFFER IN SILENCE IF YOU LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SARAWAK, THE LAND OF PLENTY.
Unite · 1 hour ago
As we all well know, descendants of convicts will work with other criminals. Now we have Ozzy criminals working with Sarawak criminals to rob everyone.
Vigilante2020142p · 1 hour ago
Extreme corruptions and cronyism being committed in Sarawak for decades. There is no hope for MACC to investigate all allegations against taib. It seem that Sarawakians must change the government in order to be independence from suppressions and daylights robberies.
kucingkurapan112p · 46 minutes ago
Rimbunan Hijau’s PNG operations are notorious for their disregard of environmental sustainability, human rights, labour standards, and legal requirements. It has been reported that the Papuans were so mad at the ways Rimbunan Hijau operated there that the local people took the law into their own hands and many RH employees were injured and a few died. RH went on rampage in PNG like they owned the land. The scenario was similar to the onslaught by the US in the movie Avatar. RH used money to control the PNG government and infact those in the cabinet in PNG are all at the behest of RH. Taib has managed to conquer PNG. Follow these two links: http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/RH-30years-forest-plunder.pdf http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=124424
Wake UP · 46 minutes ago
This guy is money laundering every where. Where is Bank Negara and MACC? This is ONE BIG fish to get! If they are not serious about getting rid of corruption, the voters will get rid of these bunch of filth who are destroying the future generation.
mandela · 23 minutes ago
There is nothing new in this report. It has been out for months. The lackadaisical attitude of the Australian Gov and the State Gov of Tasmania in taking any action leads one to imagine that there is a collusion of a kind existed between Taib/Sapawi and the Aussie Govt. Has the Aussie govt closed their eyes because of the money donation to the Uni.of Adelaide and that Tabi's operations (reportedly un-ethical) seems to continue with impunity?
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/10/04/taib-linked-firm-under-surveillance-in-australia/
Kami Rakyat Sarawak Mahu Taib Berundur
Toyol watched in Australia.
Taib-linked firm ‘under surveillance’ in Australia | Free Malaysia Today
www.freemalaysiatoday.com
Clare Rewcastle Brown The tactics of Sarawakâ s logging industry are causing increasing dismay in Australia..............
