Nostalgic Weekend - Henry Suriya

Naomi Suriya, backed by The Boys with brother, Robert, at the helm, was undoubtedly a big hit in the mid-sixties. Just as the local charts started to be clogged with the many talents from Malaysia and Singapore, there emerged Henry Suriya, another brother of Naomi, who gave us a refreshing feel in pop music. It was the first time I heard a local doing country. The first song I heard from him was "My Last Date", a cover version made popular by Skeeter Davis and Floyd Cramer. Just like his sister, his easy, laid-back type of singing helped to endear him to many of his fans on both sides of the causeway.

Previous Features:

The Saints, Kuala Lumpur
The Quests, Singapore
The "Little" Falcons, Kuala Lumpur
The Crescendos, Singapore
Rose Iwanaga, Sarawak
Naomi & The Boys, Singapore
Rocky Teoh, Ipoh
The Surfers/October Cherries, Singapore
Janice Wee, Sarawak
Roy Chew & The Merrylads, Kuala Lumpur
The Checkmates, Singapore
Terry Thaddeus and The Teenage Hunters, Kuala Lumpur
The Thunderbirds, Singapore
The Straydogs, Singapore
The Strollers, Kuala Lumpur
The Western Union Band, Singapore
Frankie Cheah, Kuala Lumpur
Sharifah Aini, Kuala Lumpur
Sudirman Arshad, Kuala Lumpur
Tracy Huang, Singapore
Kathy Ibrahim, Kuala Lumpur

Elaine Kang, Kuala Lumpur

The Tidbits, Singapore

Anita Sarawak, Singapore

The Pakatan 10-Point Manifesto for the Sarawak people

1. FREEDOM OF BELIEF

WE GUARANTEE FREEDOMOF RELIGION as enshrined in the Federal Constitution without any form of

hindrances and make no discrimination in assistance and allocations to a particular belief or religionand in the

process maintain the status ofSarawak as a secular State.

2. GOOD GOVERNANCE

WE PROMISE GOOD GOVERNANCE premised onproven international principles of Competency, Accountability

and Transparency (CAT),which will create and promote a clean administration of the State’s welfare, equal

business opportunities, and bring back national pride, patriotismand self esteem in the public sector.

WE PLEDGEA FAIR DISTRIBUTION of the State’s wealth and riches, endeavoring to end the practice of

favouritism, corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

WE PROMISE TO SET UP AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY to investigate the allegations ofillgotten

wealth of BN politicians and their cronies, to ensure the due process of law and prosecution and to return the

wealth to the people of Sarawak.

WE PROMISE to establish an Ombudsman to receive complaints from the public against corruption and power

abuse by Government Ministers and heads of departments.

WE PLEDGE TO RESTORE local government elections for all local authorities including the adatruaiand/or

custom of choosing the Village Leaders or KetuaMasyarakat in order to return power to the people at all levels.

3. LAND REFORM & NATIVE LAND COMMISSION

all expiring leases will beunconditionally renewed for 99 years;

all s.47 notifications will automatically lapse after 2 years of gazettal;

all in perpetuity and 999-year leases will remain when land is approved for

development; land alienation will be carried out through open tenders; and

a Native Land Commission shall be formed having the power to investigate all

Native Customary Rights land claims, and thereafter to survey and issue grant

or leases to such lands in accordance with the adator customs of the natives of

Sarawak.

4. ERADICATION OF POVERTY

WE PROMISE to set up a RM1 billion State Poverty Alleviation Fund to ensure that no family in Sarawak lives

below the official poverty line.

WE PLEDGE TO KICK-START THE RURAL ECONOMY by the construction of roads connecting all the rural areas

of Sarawak that will quicken the provision and construction of public amenities including schools, kindergartens,

medical services and telecommunications.

WE ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE agricultural entrepreneurship, like small holdings through micro-financing to all

farmers.

Berubahlah! Vote for a NEW Sarawak!

5. FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS

WE PLEDGE to maintain good federal state relations in line with the spirit

of the Malaysian Agreement 1963, and to ensure that any marginalization,

neglect and omission on the 18 points be addressed immediately.

Confident that Pakatan Rakyat will take over the federal government WE

GUARANTEE to increase the petroleum royalty from the present 5% to 20%.

WE BELIEVE that priority in employment opportunities in the public service

of Sarawak should be given to Sarawakians.

6. GREENER SARAWAK

WE WILLENSURE the observance and implementation of State and International

laws and/or conventions on the environmentfor the benefit of future generations

of Sarawakians.

WE WILL STOP the constructions of excess dams.

WE FORBID the construction of nuclear powered plants in Sarawak.

7. A FAIR DEAL FOR ALL SARAWAKIANS

WE ARE COMMITTED to support stable economic growth, sustainable development and a

fairer distribution of income and wealth based on hard work, competitiveness and

technological innovation.

WE ENDEAVOUR to remain investor friendly, emphasizing long term investment in human

capital by offering financial incentives to all industries to upgrade the technical skills of their

employees as well as their production processes.

WE PROMISE the immediate registration of stateless Sarawakians and the unconditional

granting of citizenship papers to all Malaysians of Sarawak origin.

WE PLEDGE a grant of RM200-00 for every child of Sarawak origin who begins primary

one education.

In appreciation of their contribution to the State, WE PROMISE to give all Sarawakians above 60 years of age who

are residents in the State annual welfare assistance of RM600-00 and to set up community support systems

within every local government authority for their continued well-being.

8. CULTURE AND EDUCATION

WE RESPECT the constitutional rights of all ethnic groups to learn their mother tongues and to treat all mother

tongue education equally.

WE PLEDGE that all schools regardless of background will be given systematic allocations according to needs as is

practised in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan so that our children can have a bright future.

WE EMPHASIZE thatScience and Mathematicssubjectsin secondary schools must be taught in the English

language.

9. RIGHTS of WOMEN’S & THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

WE GUARANTEE gender equality and will REVIEW all laws that are discriminatory

against women.

WE PLEDGE to establish women’s aid centres to shelter women suffering from

violence and child care services to reduce the financial and psychological burden of

working mothers.

WE PLEDGE to set up more special schools for children with special needs.

WE IMPLEMENT measures to employ those with disabilities and PROMISE incentives

to employers who employ them.

10. INVESTMENT INTO THE FUTURE

WE PROMISE to tackle the flood problems in Sarawak in 2 years.

WE EMPHASIZE in long term investment in human capital and

infrastructure to make Sarawak a great economy.

WIFI will be provided free to move Sarawak into a knowledge state.

Ibrahim Ali, the MCP

This bloke, Ibrahim Ali, is at it again. If it is not something related to racial or religious issues, this time it is sex. His reason as to why men visit prostitutes is because wives are too busy attending to their household chores rather then to satisfy their sexual needs. Goodness, there must be a hugh vacuum between his ears to come out with a statement like this. If he thinks that women are sex machines, then I recommend he gets one of these from Japan.

Pakatan off to a flying start

Pakatan Rakyat's campaign for the Sarawak polls was off to a flying start last night with big turnouts at rallies in Kuching, Sibu and Miri. At Kuching's Premier 101 Commercial Centre, crowds of an estimated 5,000 people flooded an open-air hawker centre to listen to a slew of opposition heavyweights, including DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. Venues at the Boulevard Commercial Centre in Miri, and near the Specialist Medical Centre in Sibu saw rallies with about 1,000 people each. Heartened by the good turnouts, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang repeatedly stated the fact on Twitter, saying this was not only a good start for Pakatan Rakyat, but a record of sorts. Local reporters also told Malaysiakini that the mood among the rallygoers appeared to be more determined this time as compared to the 2006 state election. In Kuching, the rally venue was jam-packed, forcing organisers to erect speakers and projecters at a nearby area to enable more people to follow the speeches.

''Battle of the century'

The crowd favourite for the night was clearly Guan Eng, who told the crowd in a mix of Malay, English and Chinese that they were taking part in the “battle of the century”. The Penang chief minister (centre) said although BN component party SUPP had fielded a couple of fresh faces with impeccable credentials, Pakatan's real enemy was long-serving Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. “The SUPP candidates are really talented... on paper, they are worth voting for. But what we must ask ourselves is this:

"Do these fresh faces support 'Pek Moh'?” asked Guan Eng, using the colloquial term Sarawakian Chinese use to described Taib, in reference to his shock of white hair. “Can these SUPP fresh faces answer you? If they say 'yes', they offend the voters. If they say 'no', offending Taib would yield more severe repurcussions.” Guan Eng described SUPP's fresh faces as “old wine in new bottles”, stressing that the “old wine” would proved to be “poisonous” for the voters. He also took digs at Taib and his deputy George Chan, the SUPP president, over their promises to step down. “Chan used the same trick in 2006. Did he step down? Instead he got married again, just like Taib.

"Both of them have 'springs' now when they skip and walk. Do you think they want to step down?” he asked, mimicking a skipping motion and drawing roars of laughter. Over at Miri, DAP organised a rally in the Piasau constituency, where Chan would be seeking his sixth term as state assemblyperson. DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke said that the response was far better than in 2006, adding that RM10,200 was collected in donations for their campaign fund. Initially, the police tried to stop the rally on the grounds that their application for a public assembly had been revoked because SUPP was holding another function at a restaurant nearby. This led rally organisers to demand that the police act fairly and stop the SUPP function as well. After the police backed down, the rally proceeded smoothly, albeit under a slight drizzle.

Taking turns to rail against Taib

Similar to the Kuching rally, speakers took turns to rail against Taib and accused SUPP of being the chief minister's biggest proponents. PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar also drew huge applause from the crowd when she addressed them briefly in Chinese, while another PKR vice-president, Tian Chua, promised that Pakatan would return oil and gas royalties to the state if it comes to power. The coast of Miri is one of Malaysia's biggest producers of natural gas. Other speakers at the event included former Bandar Kuching MP Sim Kwang Yang and Selangor exco member Teresa Kok. In Sibu, rally participants spilled over into the the street as they attempted to follow speeches by Sarawak DAP chief Wong Ho Leng and Kit Siang. In his trademark fashion, Kit Siang's speeches centred on the biggest news of the day, which is the death of a Customs officer at the Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on Wednesday. “Few believe he committed suicide. Yesterday he was playing badminton, while this morning he went to the MACC headquarters... regardless, a life like his should not have been lost,” he said. He urged Sibu folks to vote in Pakatan candidates in order to keep closer tabs on government agencies.

[Source: Mkini]

Who is Suriati Abdullah?

Suriati Abdullah was once a food stall operator managing her own warungcalled ‘Suriati's Café’ in Selangau, near Balingian, until the state government tore her stall down despite her protests.

“They said that it was state land, despite me holding a land title. They didn't care anyway, and bulldozed my stall. They told me they wanted to build a park or some lake garden but to this day, nothing was built on that land.”

After the state had turfed Suraiti out from her own land, they failed to pay her any compensation and she lost her source of income.

Yesterday, Suriati was named as Sarawak’s PKR candidate and will take on the Chief Minister Taib Mahmud on his own turf of the Balingian state seat.

Suriati, the five foot nothing and politically inexperienced candidate, is only too aware who and what she is up against: “Of course, I cannot compare myself with Taib. He is one of the richest men in the world.”

Taib may be politically astute and derive his energy and vigour from his new bride, the 29 year old Syrian Ragad Al-Waheeb, but Suriati is a fresh face in a sea of the usual, tired old faces that have represented Sarawak in the past three decades.

Suriati said, “But I have a strong will and support from the people I know.” Her experience of having suffered at the hands of Taib’s oppressive rule, will put her in good stead.

If we cast our minds to the end of last year, another stall operator also had a confrontation with the authorities. He was the Tunisian Mohammed Bouazizi.

Bouazizi turned to selling fruit and veg to earn some money for his family. He did not have money to pay for a permit for his stall. The police confiscated his produce because he was selling his wares illegally.

Bouazizi was disheartened and in an unusually public protest, immolated himself. The 26-year-old died from his burns but today he is a hero. Not just to his nation, but across all of north Africa. He had sparked something remarkable: a wave of protests that, for the first time in recent memory, felled two leaders in north Africa and is about to topple another.

Unlike Bouazizi, Suriati has instead decided to take Taib on. She is as courageous as all those who dare stand up against oppressive regimes.

Many in Sarawak especially the indigenous people in the interior who are fighting for their land, have battled with the police and have withstood bullets, beatings and bloodshed to oust an unpopular Chief Minister.

Taib has made their lives a misery while he and his family have made a multi-billion fortune at their expense.

The grievances across Sarawak are rising prices, lack of infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, no access to clean water, repression, grotesque corruption, unemployment and more.

The battle in Sarawak is being keenly watched by its neighbour Sabah and even more so by peninsular Malaysians.

Already, there have been several distractions, deliberately placed by Umno-BN, so that all attention is diverted from Sarawak.

Taib has started to play dirty. The clutch of ageing leaders - himself, his deputy George Chan, will be wondering nervously, to see if they can prevent a rising tide of anger from turning into a wave of revolutions, just like in the middle-east and north Africa. The consequences will be profound.

Taib has already responded with his usual tricks – at least one PKR supporter and NGO have been barred from entering Sarawak. Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim has been hounded by the police who have already interrupted his speeches three times. The DAP gathering to launch its candidates also suffered from a heavy police presence and interruption.

Taib has already used money to buy off as many constituencies as possible. The empty promises of change have already been made. However, the Sarawakians have had enough of his lies and corruption.

Few would have predicted the sudden uprising in Tunisia caused by the fruit and vegetable peddler.

Suriati may well be the one to unseat Taib. Sarawak may have been seen as a stable country, long held in the iron grip of a man who had thwarted any threat from other rivals.

Behind the images on the tourist posters of Sarawak’s famous caves and beaches, lies a land of raging unemployment, repression, corruption, decay and lost opportunities.

Suriati Abdullah is a fitting symbol of the change that is sweeping Sarawak. There is so much anger on the streets and in the longhouses.

One Sarawakian working in west Malaysia said, “Change must happen in my lifetime. We Sarawakians must wake up and say “enough”.’

[Source: MC]