Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Year of reckoning
- 2011 In Review - Politics: Malaysia
- World braces for turbulent 2012
- Our Malaysians of the year: A lawyer, a whistle-blower, undergraduates and a civil servant
- Weak education system eroding talent
- Breathless in 2011
- 2011 saw the ‘awakening’ of Sabah
| Posted: 30 Dec 2011 07:52 AM PST 2012 WHAT'S NEXT - POLITICS The general election is all anybody can think about as 2012 arrives and the Mother Of All Battles looms in Malaysian politics. EVERYTHING in this country has had a tinge of politics to it since the political tsunami of 2008. In fact, there has been too much politics and gamesmanship in too many issues. But 2012 is likely to see the politics of the last four decades reach some sort of conclusion. Nope, the world is not going to end but as they say in the movies, get ready for the Mother Of All Battles, namely the 13th general election. Political analysts have been predicting early polls every year since March 2008, and they have been embarrassingly wrong. Despite having been in the public eye for so many decades, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been quite difficult to read, and very few thought that he would go the full term before seeking his own mandate. It has been one long guessing game with people predicting an election every few months or every time the ruling coalition came up with some goodies for the rakyat. In fact, one of the most asked question last year was on when the general election would be. But the long wait is about to be over. The Barisan Nasional will touch the final 12 months of its mandate in March 2012 and after that, all political parties will be in election mode. The usual political pundits are predicting polls by the March school holidays but political insiders say that anytime after June is a better bet. The Prime Minister, they say, is determined to leave as little options as possible to the four Pakatan Rakyat states to not come along in the polls. Conventional wisdom has it that this will be the definitive election after the one that caught everyone on the backfoot. Both sides are hungry to arrive first in Putrajaya, and this is going to make 2012 a very exciting and unprecedented year in politics. Hopefully, it will not get ugly and the winners will show magnanimity and the losers, grace. A great deal of 2012's politics will be geared towards the Mother Of All Battles. Everything else will sort of pale in comparison. But as the year opens, national attention will be on the court verdict of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial on Jan 9. The verdict is finally coming more than three years after Anwar was charged with sodomising his aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Anwar was touted as "Malaysia's 7th Prime Minister" during the PKR national congress in Johor last month. But the court verdict will decide whether the PKR's de facto leader will still be in the running for the title or if it's the end of the road for him. The court decision will also impact on Pakatan's strategy and plans for the general election. It needs a prime minister candidate with cross-sectional appeal. For Malaysia's most controversial politician, 2012 will be a year of reckoning. This year ended with the political spotlight trained on Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who struggled to keep her head afloat over the National Feedlot Corporation controversy which involves her family. The last time something so devastating has hit her was when she was defeated in Lembah Pantai by Nurul Izzah Anwar. Shahrizat, who is also a Cabinet member, sailed through the Umno general assembly without any open censure from her party. But the pressure on her to take responsibility has not subsided, and even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man who had handpicked her as a candidate in the 1995 general election, is sceptical that she can continue. The controversy will continue to dog her in 2012 and all eyes will be on how she handles the pressure and whether she will cave in or defy her critics and cling on. The politics of 2012 will also hinge on the reforms that the ruling coalition has promised, especially the new legislation that will replace the abolished ISA, and also the electoral reforms that have been the rallying cry of Pakatan politicians. And before the big battle takes place there will be lots politicking and even fights within individual political parties as aspirants lobby to be picked as candidates. This time around, the disease of people doing what it takes to become candidates will not be confined to the Barisan parties. The Pakatan parties have also caught the disease big-time. This has to do with the intoxicating taste of power, and the perks and material rewards that come with it. The recent warlord-godfather fight in the Penang DAP was basically about staking the territory for certain candidates. There will be more of such tussles as 2012 builds up to the Mother Of All Battles. The world is apparently not going to end in 2012 but for whichever side loses in this election, it will surely feel like the end of the world.
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| 2011 In Review - Politics: Malaysia Posted: 30 Dec 2011 07:49 AM PST The Star IT was an interesting year on the home front as far as civil liberties are concerned. After 42 years, Malaysia finally declared that it was no longer in a state of Emergency. On Nov 24, Parliament approved a motion to lift three emergency proclamations, two of which had been in place for over 40 years. With that, the powers granted to the police under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), including to detain suspects without warrant, was withdrawn. The first emergency proclamation was issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on May 15, 1969 following the May 13 racial riots. The other two emergency proclamations, issued on Sept 14, 1966 and Nov 8, 1977, were aimed at resolving political disputes in Sarawak and Kelantan, respectively. Along with the revocation of the Emergency proclamations, the Government also announced the abolition of the Banishment Act 1959 and the Restricted Residence Act 1993 and said it would abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA). However it clarified later that the new law replacing the ISA would also allow for detention without trial.  To reduce the possibility of fraud, the Election Commission has accepted the use of indelible ink for the next general election. Meanwhile, euphoria over the repeal of the Emergency was tempered by the introduction of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011, which was passed by Dewan Negara on Dec 20, with 39 senators voting in favour, and eight against. Under the new law, street protests, defined as "open air assembly which begins with a meeting at a specified place and consists of walking in a mass march or rally for the purpose of objecting to or advancing a particular cause or causes", are prohibited. The new law purportedly makes it easier to hold peaceful assemblies at "designated areas" (off-the-streets), but organisers would have to notify the police 24 hours before the event. The bill, which also allows for appeals to the Home Minister against the conditions and restrictions, was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 29 after a heated debate. Critics said it was, in fact, an even more restrictive law. In the end, six amendments were incorporated into the bill, including shortening the notice period required to be given to the police for any assemblies to 10 days, down from 30 days. Opposition MPs staged a walkout from Parliament before voting commenced. Amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) are now being considered following a Court of Appeal ruling on Oct 31 that Section 15(5)(a) of the act was unconstitutional. The result was handed down following an appeal by four former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia undergraduates who faced disciplinary action for being present during the Hulu Selangor by-election on April 24 last year. Civil society activists want more than just amendments, and are calling for the complete abolishment of the act, and along with it, the abolishment of the Educational Institutions (Discipline) Act 1976 (Act 174) and Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555). The draft amendments to the UUCA, which the Government said "will respect the constitutional rights of students aged 21 and above", are expected to be tabled in Parliament next year. Print publications will no longer need to renew their printing licences annually under a comprehensive review of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). The MCA, under its New Deal manifesto, is calling for PPPA to be abolished, a move supported by the National Union of Journalists Malaysia. Of concern to media owners is the fact that the Minister still has absolute discretion in the granting and revocation of licences, as well as in restricting and banning publications deemed detrimental to national security. One of the most notable event this year was the Bersih protest movement in July. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, better known by its Malay acronym Bersih, mobilised tens of thousands of Malaysians to take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur on July 9 to press for electoral law reforms amidst allegations that anomalies and discrepancies in the election system heavily favoured the incumbents. In response to popular demand, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform was established in August to forward several suggestions to the Election Commission (EC). Some suggestions included the use of indelible ink to cut down the possibility of fraud; doing away with the one-hour objection period; early voting for military personnel, healthcare workers and media personnel; and the display of electoral rolls every quarter for two weeks. So far, the EC has accepted only the use of indelible ink for the next general election, while postal voting from overseas still remain the preserve of diplomatic mission staff, civil servants, and members of the armed forces.
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| World braces for turbulent 2012 Posted: 30 Dec 2011 07:44 AM PST Next year could hold some equally disquieting social, political and economic turmoil. But few predicted the sweeping Arab Spring, the wide-ranging economic and financial tremors rocking Western Europe, or the devastating natural disaster tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis affecting Japan. By John J. Metzler, Special to The China Post It's once again time to peer into the foggy crystal ball and try to decipher the future political trends and events. Indeed, after the volitile year of 2011, it's hard to imagine that Next year could hold some equally disquieting social, political and economic turmoil. But few predicted the sweeping Arab Spring, the wide-ranging economic and financial tremors rocking Western Europe, or the devastating natural disaster tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis affecting Japan. So let's look thematically at a number of key issues affecting the world this new year. Transitions — After the death of North Korea's dictator "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, the dynastic mantle passed to his son Kim Jong Un, aka "The Great Successor." Instability in North Korea's bizarre Marxist Monarchy poses a clear and present danger to prosperous and democratic South Korea. Will Jong Un keep his restive military under a tight leash, shall he loosen the socialist economic system and copy Mainland China's reforms, or can North Korea remain in its totalitarian time-warp? As for the Arab Spring, the political season has now turned to Winter. Egypt's fate hangs in the balance as hard-line fundamentalist forces are certain to gain from elections. Libya, though well-rid of the tyrant Colonel Gadhafi, is yet to solve the regional and tribal divides which have long plagued this North African land. Significantly, American forces are now out of Iraq, yet the results of the conflict, so costly in U.S. blood and treasure, remain inconclusive given the political tensions and infighting among Iraqi political factions. The imbroglio in Afghanistan continues with military success against the Taliban insurgents, but hampered again a weak and corrupt central government in Kabul. Flashpoints — Probably the biggest challenge remains Pakistan, once a close U.S. ally which has morphed over the past few years into a seething and embittered partner. Pakistan's nuclear weapons, its web of support to Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and Kashmir, its domestic inter-Islamic strife, and dysfunctional government presents a combustible recipe for chaos. The Islamic Republic of Iran tirelessly pursues the nuclear genie and threatens to close Straits of Hormuz petroleum jugular vein. The Obama Administration's political naivete and strategic myopia has allowed Tehran's rulers more time to pursue their nuclear proliferation, but time to stop it is now running out. The stars may be in alignment for a military strike on Iranian regime. Personalities — Turkey's Islamic-lite Prime Minister Recep Erdogan is set to play (and probably overplay) his role in the Middle East. Once a stalwart NATO ally and reliable partner, Turkey under Erdogan has become a free agent, some would argue loose-cannon, in regional affairs. Despite being democratically elected, Erdogan exhibits a latent authoritarian aura in many of his speeches and relishes challenging Israel and now France. This is not your father's secular and staunch ally Turkish Republic. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron unexpectedly rose to defend British sovereignty over the growing fiscal homogenization of the European Union; Bravo, about time! Russia's Vladimir Putin is running for President again but under a cloud of blatant fraud. Will this career KGB crony ride the wave of Russia's petroleum-and-gas bling-bling prosperity and return to power? Elections — Crucial contests are slated this year in France (April), Russia (March) and the U.S. (November). In the United States the choice will be between the incumbent Obama Administration offering status quo statism and a challenger who promises to return America to its traditional individualistic and entrepreneurial values. In China, the 18th Communist Party Congress in Beijing, gathers to select the once in a decade political transition from Hu Jintao as the paramount leader of the People's Republic. Conversely on January 14th, the people of Taiwan will elect their president from among fiercely competing democratic political Parties Economics — the recession continues in the U.S. despite the occasional sugar rush of good economic news. Massive government spending and accrued debt has failed to stimulate a moribund economy or significantly cut unacceptably high levels of unemployment. High energy prices and regulatory red-tape equally serve as a political deadweight to faster economic growth. Energy independence is held hostage to hyper regulation. In Europe the EURO currency has stayed afloat after innumerable breathless crisis meetings and last minute bailouts of a number of the debtor countries. Sustaining the cost and the benefits provided by The State, has exhausted many European nations. Finger-pointing aside, most European countries are guilty of massive unsustainable government spending and are now paying the piper on a path to insolvency. Despite the global turbulence, may my readers have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012! John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Transatlantic Divide; USA/Euroland Rift?"
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| Our Malaysians of the year: A lawyer, a whistle-blower, undergraduates and a civil servant Posted: 30 Dec 2011 07:41 AM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - The dissent and demand for accountability shown by the Malaysian public has been greater in 2011 than at any time in recent history. And that is why The Malaysian Insider has chosen as its Malaysians of the Year a lawyer, a whistle-blower(s), undergraduates and a civil servant. They are Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, the undergraduates pushing for academic freedom, the unnamed National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) whistle-blower(s), and Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang. While many other personalities also made the headlines this year, we believe that these four represent the impact of a Malaysia that is evolving into a society that no longer believes what it is told. Regardless of political affiliation, of whether we support Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR), or neither, Malaysians more than ever are taking ownership of their own country. Here are the four we feel best represents the changes our country has seen: Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan Lawyer-turned-activist, the 55-year-old hit world headlines symbolising Malaysian civil society's dissent when she led 62 non-governmental organisations and thousands of middle-class Malaysians of all ages, gender, colour and creed into the capital city's streets to peacefully march for cleaner and more transparent elections as 11,000 policemen shot chemical-laced water and tear gas at demonstrators. The July 9 Bersih 2.0 march drew instant support as videos and online reports of the incident were beamed live worldwide via Facebook, Twitter and other social media, prompting similar gatherings abroad from overseas Malaysians and global criticism against the Najib administration for its heavy-handed measures and authoritarian rule. Under severe international pressure, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a historic pledge on September 15, the eve of Malaysia Day, to dismantle the decades-old Internal Security Act, a law widely panned as draconian for stifling government dissent and setting up a bipartisan parliamentary panel to review the country's electoral system. The Election Commission has since announced several revisions to its rules for the next national polls expected soon, including using indelible ink to deter voter fraud. The government has also followed up its reform promises and is reviewing changes to a variety of other laws and policy. The undergraduates The awakening of middle Malaysia that started with the Bersih 2.0 march led to a youth uprising in the battle for academic freedom. They gained leverage from an unexpected quarter when the Federal Court ruled on October 31 that Section 15(5)(a) of the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) that barred undergraduates from taking part in partisan politics was in breach of Article 10 of the country's supreme law, the Federal Constitution, which provides for freedom of expression. The government pledged to review the law but its resolve has now been put to the test after Adam Adli Abdul Halim, a 21-year-old student activist from Sultan Idris University of Education (UPSI), came under fire for purportedly lowering a banner bearing the likeness of Najib at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) during a peaceful student protest led by Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia and Gerakan Menuntut Kebebasan Akademik (Bebas) on December 17. The incident has lit a fire among the undergraduates in Malaysia's public universities and spawned more student groups. Some have styled themselves as pro-government activists. This vibrant growth has brought about a dynamic debate about student rights. As Adam Adli said in a recent interview, "Students are not fools or tools. They see, they learn, they acquire the knowledge, and they are ready to make our country a better place. In no time, I believe many more will come out." The unnamed National Feedlot Corporation whistleblowers That PKR has been able to lead the charge against minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family over the cattle-for-condos scandal is probably due to the person or persons who have furnished the opposition party with the alleged evidence of misappropriation of funds. Shahrizat's husband and chief executive of the scandal-hit National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail, has admitted to having used taxpayers' money to buy at least two posh condominiums units in the city, claiming it was meant as an investment while conveniently forgetting the fund was meant for the farm. He has also blamed two former "renegade employees in a bid to sabotage the company" but did not name them. PKR has also refused to disclose its sources, saying it was dangerous to name them. Despite initial resistance, the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission have started investigating the claims. Whether it was out of revenge as Mohamad Salleh claimed, or otherwise, the anonymous whistleblowers took a major risk in providing the information that involves senior leaders within the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. They did not have to, but they chose to, showing that there is a limit to how much Malaysians can stomach before taking action.
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| Weak education system eroding talent Posted: 29 Dec 2011 02:00 PM PST A powerful driving force behind the talent outflow is a waning education system that has fallen short of meeting youthful aspirations. "Students abroad said that it was an automatic understanding that they would study overseas and many headed for Singapore where they could challenge themselves intellectually and make it big. New parents also believe that their children's global competitiveness would be better groomed through an education outside of Malaysia and many have made plans to migrate before their children reach school age," Koh added. Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today The state of Malaysia's public education system has never been as insistent a topic of conversation as it is today. It is hence unfortunate that most discussions on it are often fraught with sorrow, contempt or frustration. Even more unfortunate is that those who hold court over these discourses are predominantly baby boomers. Not the Generation X who only just escaped the series of education policy flip-flops or the Millenials who lived through those policies. But this has less to do with the latter's apathy or oblivion than the fact that a significant number of them are either no longer residing in the country or in the midst of migration procedures. The World Bank's Economic Monitor 2011 has put the number of Malaysians abroad at 1.1 million and pinpointed the Malaysia-Singapore migration corridor as a significant channel for half this brain drain. The National Economic Action Council meanwhile last year estimated that 50% of the Malaysian disapora is highly-skilled, tertiary-educated and representive of a heavy net loss to the country. And Koh Sin Yee of the London School of Economics will further tell you that a powerful driving force behind this talent outflow is a waning education system that has fallen miserably short of meeting youthful aspirations. Koh is currently researching a paper entitled "Emotional Geographies of Skilled Disaporic Citizenship: Malaysians in London, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur". Her interviews with students, graduates and new parents have dragged the painful truth into the open. Young Malaysians have lost faith in the country's Education Ministry, policies and structure. So much so that what sprouted as a bone of contention has since morphed into a cultural phenomenon. "Education has in fact become a culture of migration," Koh said during a recent forum on Economic Migration, Disapora and Brain Drain in the Asia-Pacific. "Students abroad said that it was an automatic understanding that they would study overseas and many headed for Singapore where they could challenge themselves intellectually and make it big." "New parents also believe that their children's global competitiveness would be better groomed through an education outside of Malaysia and many have made plans to migrate before their children reach school age," Koh added. Abolishment of PPSMI The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) would agree with her. PAGE has been fighting a longstanding battle with the Education Ministry since the latter's decision to abolish the Teaching of Maths and Science in English (PPSMI). Its chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim reminded the ministry of its previous mistake in abolishing English medium schools in 1969 to appease the rioters at the expense of students being allowed to master the language. "This allowed the teaching and learning of English to deteriorate because ultra-nationalists and young activists believed that being mono-lingual was enough for survival," she said in a previous interview. Azimah further predicted that slamming the door on PPSMI would only prompt wealthy parents to send their children off to international schools and inevitably contribute to the country's brain drain. For once, MCA and DAP stood on the same plaform. MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek voiced his support for PPSMI and called for English to be made a compulsory pass subject in the SPM examination. DAP meanwhile urged that students be given the option to learn Maths and Science in English in order to combat the brain drain predicament. Its publicity chief Tony Pua added that PPSMI would allow schools to produce "the best human capital for Malaysia" which was in line with the government's goal to become a high-income nation. Politics has never strayed far from education in Malaysia and the two have recently veered dangerously close to each other. This year has seen waves of student hostility towards the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) which prohibits students and faculty from hob-nobbing with political parties and trade unions. Daasaratan Jeram and Vanitha Sivapragasam, both graduates from University Utara Malaysia, pointed out that the reluctance to allow greater student freedom of expression inadvertently made public universities a contributor to the country's "endemic" brain drain. "The quality of Malaysian higher education has been variable since the 1980s," they said when presenting their paper "Ethnicity, Education and the Economics of Brain Drain in Malaysia: Youth Perspective" at the same forum as Koh. "There is widespread perception that a top education can only be gained in a foreign institution and many Malaysian families are willing to make the investment with hopes for a brighter future." "So while policy makers dither and politicians strategise, younger generations will continue to determine the criteria that will either drive them out of Malaysia or convince them to stay."
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| Posted: 29 Dec 2011 01:58 PM PST As we usher in the New Year, we cannot forgot the many memorable events in the old year that left indelible marks on the country's history. (Free Malaysia Today) - With so many newsworthy events and developments happening in the closing weeks of 2011, it is easy to forget that the whole year has been one that would leave any news organisation breathless. The revelations about the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) may shock and dismay us, but they are not more shocking and dismaying than the findings and conclusion of the royal inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock's death. The speedy passage of the Peaceful Assembly Bill fills us with disgust, but so did the gunning down other rights, the death fall of Ahmad Sarbaini, the often unjust ejection of MPs, and the spewings of Perkasa. We applaud student activists for standing up for their rights, but their recent protests and those of KillTheBill.org were just so many in a full year's series of acts of civil disobedience. The mother of these, surely, was the Bersih rally that happened nearly smack in the middle of the year. This editorial refers to "we" and "us" because we believe that the sentiments felt in our newsroom adequately reflect those of the average literate and informed Malaysian. And, as any of our regular readers can attest, we are not a voice for any political organisation. Indeed, the last time we were accused of promoting some political clique's agenda was more than a year ago. We acknowledge that the government and the ruling party often appear in a bad light in our pages, but it is not a deliberate policy. It may well be a reflection of the truth, and the reason we cannot be sure is that neither the party nor the government has kept its promise to be open and transparent. Neither has any BN member or government official made a credible attempt to counter the bad press with plausible arguments.
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| 2011 saw the ‘awakening’ of Sabah Posted: 29 Dec 2011 01:57 PM PST The breeze of change which stirred through Sabah in 2011 saw ripples of revelations that threatens the 18-year-old Barisan Nasional regime. (Free Malaysia Today) - 2011 will in all probability go down in Sabah's history as the year of 'The Awakening'. This is the year when the first hints of a breeze of change began to stir through Sabah, also known as the 'land below the wind'. Aptly there was no 'gust' of wind, just a steady breeze, enough to stoke the slumbering Sabahans into seeing the realities of the 18-year old Umno-led Barisan Nasional regime. Several events that took place this year looks likely to echo into the new year and test the state's political stability and its economic progress. The pain of a global business slowdown combined with austerity measures put in place by the federal government and already being painfully felt in Sabah, will also start to intensify while state leaders remain preoccupied with retaining power at the expense of the state. In Sabah 2011 saw widespread uneasiness and revelations. Illegal immigrants The perennial issue continued to be the main focus of citizens angry that their leaders had failed to adequately explain the dramatic increase in population of the state and take those involved to task. Politicians on both sides of the fence continued to point the finger at a decades old secretive national agenda to change the racial and religious demographics of the Christian-majority state into an overwhelmingly Muslim one with the help of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Southern Philippines and Indonesia. The accusations were lent credence by disclosures in Wikileaks that senior Malaysian officials had acknowledged the scheme that was implemented during the government of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad. A parliamentary panel hurriedly put together by the federal government following deafening calls nationwide for electoral reforms, recommended that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) be set up to investigate claims that thousands of illegal immigrants had been granted citizenship and quickly placed on the electoral rolls. The recommendation added further pressure on Umno leaders who had dubbed the state their "fixed-deposit" – a phrase coined to boast the party's dominant position in the state in perpetuity. Umno-Sabah linked businessman, Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad, rattled the state political establishment earlier this year crowning himself Sultan of Sulu. He was later arrested and released in quick succession. In the finals weeks of December 2011, Akjan riding on his position as Sabah Perkida (a Muslim welfare organisation) chairman and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's overt approval of national-level Perkida, brazenly rejected government-approved calls for the RCI warning that it would incite racial troubles. Political power-play Troubles that had begun to emerge in the ruling state Barisan Nasional coalition in 2009 continued to unfold with the focus being on Chief Minister Musa Aman. Elements within Umno said to be aligned to Musa turned their guns on smaller coalition members like LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) who in turn called for him to step down. Within Sabah Umno itself, talk emerged of a power struggle with Shafie Apdal, the powerful Umno warlord from the east coast of the state, going head-to-head with billionaire Musa. A money-laundering investigation initiated by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2009 continued unabated with several alleged close associates of Musa being questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. To ward-off increasing criticism, Musa unveiled a RM4 billion budget with a pledge to boost economic growth in a state believed to have the highest number of poor. Autonomy demand The state opposition's prodigal son, Jeffrey Kitingan, having quit politics a year ago to form his NGO, United Borneo Front, went on a statewide campaign dubbed 'Tea Parties' to drive home his message of political autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak. They were well-received and prompted calls for him to form a new party to push the 'Borneo Agenda'. Activists from the state also travelled to Europe and former colonial master, Britain, to appeal for support for a reappraisal of the Malaysia Agreement (1963) that they claim has been ignored by the Malaysian government. Kitingan rounded off the year by announcing he was rejoining politics through the Sarawak Reform Party (Star) which would form an alliance with his UBF and fellow locally based parties like SAPP, Usno and the Sabah People's Front (SPF) party to contest in the impending 13th general election. Kitingan also called on local BN parties to abandon the ruling coalition and join his Borneo alliance to fight for the state's autonomy. Oil and gas hub After years of neglect, the state started making efforts to boost its presence in the nation's oil and gas industry apart from being a mere exporter following further large discoveries of the resource off its coast. However, the RM2.4 billion job to build a fuel terminal in Kimanis, just outside the state capital, caused widespread criticism among local politicians and industry players who questioned the federal government's commitment to helping develop the state. They were particularly angered that companies based in the peninsula and Sarawak were awarded projects in Sabah and local companies sidelined. People's power Ordinary people in the state won a resounding victory when the government U-turned on a plan to build a coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu following sustained protests by people from all walks of life. They had united to block the project and their unrelenting campaign spearheaded by environmental groups and NGOs shook the government until it backed away from the project. Locals had demanded to know why Sabah's oil and gas resources were being exported and 'dirty' power production in the form of imported coal was being forced on them. That victory helped spur ordinary citizens to protest against unpopular ecological and environmentally damaging activities in the state. A plan to build a massive, multi-storey commercial complex a few metres from a famed, over 100-year-old clock tower that was deemed a heritage building raised a hue and cry that saw government authorities back-pedalling. It spurred a group of city-dwellers to form Heritage Sabah, an NGO dedicated to preserving the last vestiges of the state's history. Two ordinary citizens gained wide support after they filed a suit against the city's authorities for allegedly approving the project. The case is on-going while the authorities say no decision has been made yet whether the project will be allowed to go ahead. The use of social media networks to pressure the authorities from pursuing unpopular projects also gained strength following the coal-plant and clock tower fiasco. The Bersih 2.0 rally for electoral reform while not on the scale experienced in Kuala Lumpur was nevertheless marked in the state capital by scores of young activists some of whom were detained by police but remained undeterred. Ghost of 1976 The plane crash that took the lives of Chief Minister Fuad Stephens and 11 others some 35 years ago on June 6, 1976 continues to haunt state politics and politicians. The man who replaced Stephens, Harris Mohd Salleh filed a civil suit against former chief minister Yong Teck Lee for allegedly defaming him when he called for a reinvestigation of the crash following Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's revelation last year that he was asked to disembark the flight by Harris just before the doomed craft was about to take off. Harris is claiming that Yong, a lawyer by training, and his party, SAPP, slandered him by calling for the re-opening of the crash files based on Razaleigh's revelation as by doing so allegedly insinuates he was involved in the crash. The hearing is on-going. Land grabs and religious conversions Hundreds of native villagers, mostly poor farmers around the state are furious that the state government has given plantation companies preference in land applications especially in areas that they claim to have cultivated for decades and in some cases generations. The government in turn claims that the villagers have encroached into state land and forest reserves and was forced to evict them. Several legal suits have been filed over native customary land rights and are pending in the courts. In the scenic village of Tambatuon in Kota Belud district, the villagers are up in arms over a plan to build a dam which will submerge their villages. The government claims that the villages must be sacrificed for the sake of turning the district into the rice bowl of the state with a steady supply of water. The villagers said they will not move setting the stage for a confrontation. Religious conversions have also been a a rising concern this year. There have been increasing complaints concerning children in pre-school, primary and secondary schools in the interior of Sabah being pressured to convert to Islam. Many of these students have to live away from their homes and as such live in government run hostels where indoctrination allegedly happens. Also the overzealousness of the state Islamic authorities has affected everyone. Over the years the state Mufti issued a fatwa (ruling) prohibiting non-Muslims from using 32 words in Bahasa Malaysia in their teaching and in the propagation of their belief. Some of those words are "Allah", "Quran", "Fatwa" and "Syariah". Earlier this year the federal government seized several titles in a Christian bookshop and bibles containing the word 'Allah". Education, environment and wildlife Sabah perennial problem of poor performance among its students has spawned loud calls for self-determination. BN state minister in charge fo education, Masidi Manjun in July, broke ranks and urged the federal-based Education Ministry to leave it to Sabah to handle their own educational development. He claimed it was the only way to improve education standards in Sabah. Students in Sabah have one of the lowest in terms of achievement in the country. Much of this is due to the problems related to teachers. On environment, the scores of palm oil plantation companies operating in the state have been accused of ignoring state laws in pursuit of profit increasingly isolating and endangering wildlife unique to Sabah including the pygmy elephant, orang utan and proboscis monkey. Apart from failing to provide corridors for animals to move freely pocket to pocket of remaining rainforest areas in the Kinabatangan area, plantation companies have also been accused of clear felling forests right up to the banks of rivers, a practice prohibited by state environmental laws. Such is the destruction that the Sabah Environmental Protection Association has suggested that the state authorities start enforcing the law stringently and imprisoning recalcitrant plantation managers to prevent the wanton destruction of the state's remaining rainforests.
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