Who Represents the Federation of Malaya?

KOTA KINABALU - “As the dust settles down on the setting up of the Steering, Technical and Working Committees to review MA63, more questions are being thrown up,” said Edward Linggu, a key speaker for the United Borneo Front (UBF) on MA63 during their Borneo Tea Parties.

Edward, who was former PBS Tamparuli Assemblyman and current Deputy President of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku, was delighted that MA63 is now mainstream news and up for review compared to his early UBF days and tracked by the Special Branch since 2010.

According to Edward, the setting-up of the 3 Committees is good and presents a golden opportunity to resolve the long outstanding issues pertaining to the formation of Malaysia and the rights and special privileges accorded to Sabah and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia.

Deputy home minister should resign after IMM13 furore, says Kitingan

SABAH Chief Minister Shafie Apdal’s assertion that he is not aware of the revival of the issuance of IMM13 documents is unlikely, according to Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan.

He said Shafie is making the federal immigration department a scapegoat by blaming them. - The Malaysia Insight

• Hundreds rush to Immigration Dept to renew documents in Sabah

If you want titles, earn them, lawyers group tells politicians

Same goes to all others including from Sabah. Did they ever ask themselves, do they deserve it?

PETALING JAYA - Lawyers group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today called for an end to the practice of awarding politicians or ministers with honorary titles by virtue of their position.

In a statement, it said honorary titles should not simply be handed out, but rather awarded after a strenuous vetting process to those who had unquestionably contributed to society through “exceptional service beyond their call of duty”.

Ulikely Shafie unaware of massive IMM13 exercise

KOTA KINABALU - Shafie Apdal’s claim that he is not aware of the revival of the issuance of IMM13 documents is an unlikely story.

NGO chided PH: Manifestos do matter

PETALING JAYA - An NGO has criticised Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his statement yesterday that Pakatan Harapan (PH) made its election manifesto without expecting to take federal power in the May 9 polls.

Kuasa, which was formed in 2014 to empower groups and individuals who want to become agents for change, said it was irresponsible to prepare a manifesto for a general election without considering whether the promises would be delivered in the event of victory.

It also took Mahathir to task for calling the manifesto “a big burden” now.

US stocks end again with deep losses

NEW YORK (AFP) - United States stocks tumbled for a second straight session on Thursday (Oct 11) as volatility reigned on Wall Street amid worries about higher interest rates and trade wars.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 2.1 per cent to 25,052.83, down 2.1 per cent or 545 points, bringing its losses for the week to more than 5 per cent.

Sabah Immigration Dept halts issuance of controversial IMM13 passes amid protests

KOTA KINABALU - The Sabah Immigration Department is stopping the registration of IMM13 passes for children of Filipino refugees from Friday (Oct 12).

Ex-CM: "Leave Maliau Basin coal alone"

Maliau Basin was gazetted as a heritage conservation site in 1997. To even think of opening up Maliau Basin for coal mining is the most selfish, cruel and short-sighted act of this government

Sabah DCM declines to comment on political interference of land grab suit

KOTA KINABALU - Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew has declined to comment on a land grab suit where she and two others were ordered by the court to pay RM557 million in damages in 2014, saying the case is still under appeal.

The case was won by Borneo Samudera Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of state-owned Sawit Kinabalu, after the High Court ruled that Liew and the two others had unlawfully induced a group of smallholders to breach their joint venture agreement with Borneo Samudera.

Sabah opposition leaders blast return of IMM13 passes

KOTA KINABALU - State opposition leaders today slammed the re-opening of applications for IMM13 passes by the Immigration Department here, saying such documents should not be issued anymore.

IMM13 is a visit pass issued by the Immigration Department to Filipino refugees who escaped to Sabah following unrest in the southern Philippines in the early 1970s.

IMM13 holders are allowed to stay in Sabah and Labuan and work without having to apply for a work pass. They are also allowed to go to school and get medical services from the government.

Yong: Welcome barter trade re-opening with caution

KOTA KINABALU - Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee said that the planned re-opening of Sabah’s barter trade with the Philippines and Indonesia will help revive the economy of Sabah, particularly in the East Coast, which have been hit badly by the unfortunate suspension of barter trade two years ago.

Yong, who is Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President, told that as barter trade will have trade positive spin-offs on local economies, the government should expand the number of barter trade ports such as at Lahad Datu which already has good port facilities. Lahad Datu is also a growing hub in the East Coast, being strategically located mid-way between Sandakan and Tawau.

Earthquake of magnitude 7 hits Papua New Guinea

SYDNEY - A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck remote New Britain island in Papua New Guinea on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, though there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake hit about 200 km (125 miles) southwest of the town of Rabaul at a depth of almost 40 km, just before 7 a.m. local time (2100 GMT Wednesday).

"We felt the earthquake a bit, but it was not too strong," Constable Roy Michael told Reuters by phone from Rabaul police station.

He said there was no damage in the town, but officers had not yet been able to contact villages closer to the epicentre.

6-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Indonesia's Java, Bali; 3 Killed

JAKARTA - At least three people were killed as a shallow 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Java and Bali islands Thursday, a government official said.

The victims in East Java's Sumenep district perished after being crushed by collapsed buildings, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

"The earthquake happened early Thursday when they were sleeping and the quake suddenly rocked so they didn't have time to evacuate," he said, adding that damage caused by the tremor was not widespread.

Another MACC report on Samudera case

KOTA KINABALU - Two retired government servants from the Bagahak Smallholders Scheme suspect is political interference in an alleged case withdrawal involving three people who were ordered by the High Court to pay damages amounting RM557 million to Borneo Samudera Sdn Bhd (BSSB) four years ago.

They were a retired policeman, Andurangan Tubai, a native Dusun Bagahak, and a retired Customs Department officer Ettin Ali, a native Idahan.

Angry MRT2 workers regret voting Pakatan

WORKERS on the Mass Rapid Transit Line 2 (MRT2) are venting frustrations on social media against Putrajaya’s decision to scrap the underground portion of the project and issue a new tender, with one saying his colleagues now regretted voting for Pakatan Harapan.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, engineer Justin Chin Jing Ho, 28, said he feared losing his job and also did not know how to comfort his colleagues.

• Open letter in facebook