Just when you think the state election campaign has not started…

Judge for yourself if these are things that happen without the state elections providing the inspiration:
* Hundreds of Tuai Rumah and Ketua Kaum gathered for a government `training’ in Sri Aman where they are put up in hotels for a few days;
* The Rm450.00/month allowance for the Tuai Rumah is suggested to be doubled to Rm800.00/month next year!
* Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is taking a rare visit to the northern border of Sarawak close to X-mas-stopping in Limbang and Lawas;
*Another Minister Rais Yatim announced thousands of note-books have been given away to school kids in Sarawak, while visiting Limbang;
* CM Taib announced that 2000 hectare of land will be given to independent Chinese schools -something he had never done in the last 30 year of his rule;He even offered to ask for more help for the Chinese community from the Federal government;

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Penans bring loggers to court!

The time has changed ahead of the Sarawak state elections: Penans are bringing logging companies to court in bigger number:

Penan go to court to defend Heart of Borneo rainforests

by Borneo Independent News Service on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 12:27am

Ba Jawi community sues logging group Samling and the Sarawak state government in order to protect 15,000 hectares of high-conservation-value tropical rainforest

Ba Jawi (Sarawak), MALAYSIA. The Penan community of Ba Jawi in Sarawak’s Upper Baram region has today lodged a collective action lawsuit against Malaysian timber giant Samling and the state government of Sarawak over 15,000 hectares of primary rainforest in order to protect their livelihood from being destroyed by logging.

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Sarawak Report is BACK-finally!

You can shut down a web site some of the time-but not all the time! The truth can't be avoided for too long! The nameless foreigner who become the consort of Sarawak's CM will be the subject of much talk for months to come so long that she is covered by a veil of secrecy.

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TV Sarawak Bebas DVDs welcome on-line orders!

Friendly announcer of TV Sarawak Bebas

Halo folks,
TV Sarawak Bebas: What is it? TVSB has  started this year as a DVD/CD based media to target the vast interior of Sarawak. The content give coverage to urgent/relevant issues in the interior eg land rights struggles, lack of birth certificate,IC, voting rights, lack of basic amenities etc. The aim is to share the information, promote discussion and finding of collective solutions among the interior folks, who have been largely segregated by unmanageable distances between the communities as well as bad/absence of means of transport.

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Tenang: another campaign strategy is possible

The expected election strategy for both sides in the semi-urban and semi-rural seat of Tenang in the coming by-election will focus on appeal to separate ethnic groups in the constituency and more national issues by the PR. Is there another way to do it-especially one which will bring the politics of the country to more modern, policy oriented and non-racial approach? This is a proposal:

Mixed semi-urban and semi-rural seats are actually the fault lines of Malaysian politics. The differences here are:

1. Too much ethnic politicking doesn’t work here-the 3 major ethnic groups are here-half of Malays,1/3 Chinese and 12% Indians as ethnic `king maker’; BN deploy its local ethnic parties to work on 3 etnic groups separately -using 3 separate messages which may not be consistent-a strategy which is supplemented by allocations announcements by various visiting Federal Ministers; PR try to copy this half way and make up for their lack of ethnic campaigners in the 3 major ethnic groups by raising national issues and big ceramahs;

2. Challenges to policies are many-from urban to rural ones. BN will bring out its `only BN can bring development’ weapons-supplemented by real life demonstration of tarring roads, erecting lamp posts etc. PR will attack on the failures of development/corruption to highlight its higher competence and cleaner administration;

So: is there a `3rd way’ to campaign strategy’? This is a sketch/ABC of 3rd campaign strategy in semi-rural seats:

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Press statement by Sarawak Report: we are under attack by the very rich!

Press Release – 20/12/2010 from SARAWAK REPORT

Sarawak Report has been subjected to a cyber-attack, which has knocked it temporarily off-line. This follows a number of death threats sent through our mail, which have been notable for their creepy, ‘black-magic’ format.

Disabling websites by using millions of hits is a very expensive process, even more expensive than hiring top lawyers. So this limits our list of suspects in this case to people who are both very rich and have a direct interest in shutting us up, but who would rather not face the scrutiny of an open court.

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The latest Sarawak Report which cyber troopers want to stop you from seeing

December 21, 2010

BILLION RINGGIT BRIDE

Hornbill Unleashed @ 12:00 AM 

Sarawak Report

We have an exclusive picture of Sarawak Chief Minister, Taib Mahmud’s, new young bride.  Kuching has been aflame with interest and amusement at the leaked information that the 74 year old has found himself a second wife who is apparently still in her 20s.

However, the government has refused to issue official confirmation of the wedding ceremony, which was celebrated at the weekend in the Chief Minister’s vast mansion (the financing of which remains a mystery, like the rest of his properties).  Even senior Government Ministers have been scouring the web for details of the new “Thief Lady”, who has yet even to be announced by name. In desperation calls were even going out to Sarawak Report.  We feel honoured to oblige.

Sarawak’s wealth around her neck

Sarawakians will not fail to notice that several thousand hectares of irreplaceable jungle must have been felled and turned to oil palm to adorn this lady’s neck.

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2 web sites revived-1 still inaccessible!(Updated)

Taib's billion dollar bride from Lebanon?

Of the 3 web sites which were closed down yesterday 2 are revived and 1 still inaccessible today:

Radio Free Sarawak can now be open-thus their explosive reports on Sarawak Chief Minister’s `billion Dollar bride’ is now open for all to read and download. Since the wedding and the bride has been kept such a secret Sarawak Report exposed that there are some people in high places who had to inquire from the web site to find out what really happen at the wedding eg even the name and age of the `imported’ bride still remain top secret! But the report from the ground was definitely a coup as there has not been any report about the wedding from such closed up quarter in any main stream or side-stream media. The main stream media prefer to give the function the low profile treatment as though on cue from Taib himself. The web site has not provided any clarifications on what happened to it thus far.

The Sarawak Report web site has re-emerged in a new appearance-but still inaccessible. The attack continues. Earlier in the morning the web site was revived for some time where readers can read and leave comments. However later attempt to open the web site meet up with the `new look’ where logging in is not possible. But the new look seems to suggest a hacking job on the web site instead of a DOS attack as happened previously.

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