沙巴民主行动党三脚石支部主席邱文正收到民众的投诉后，前往视察该垃圾收集站。 邱氏始料不及该垃圾收集站的条件非常差。 该垃圾收集站没有建设垃圾房，因此所有的垃圾大箱面对热晒雨淋，导致该处的臭气冲天，垃圾遍布四周。 该垃圾收集站附近的营业者说，他们已经受够了肮脏的环境和恶劣的臭气，要求当局即刻处理该问题。

There are many complaints regarding the filthy and smelly garbage collection centers located around the Bandar Indah in Sandakan. The rubbish were spilled and thrown all over the place which is unsightly and not hygienic. There are many such garbage collection centers.

The Sabah DAP Batu Sapi chairman George Hiew Vun Zin visited the garbage centers to confirm the complaints. It is to his surprise that the condition is worst then what he anticipated. The garbage centers have no proper cubicles to contain the bins, and the bins are put in a exposed condition under the hot sun and rain. The bad smell emitting there is very strong and garbage spread all over the surrounding ground. The business operators next to the bins said they had suffered enough of the dirty environment and the bad smell.

有人提到说，最近安装在山打根和斗湖的应急流动发电机，被发现是二手货，为什么我们沙巴人不能使用新的发电机。 或者因为我们是二等公民。在该研讨会的对话环节中，许多人都抱怨说，能源委员会并没有真正想通过该研讨会对沙巴电力的问题得到好的结论，参加者都不能有充分的时间来表达。 又因委员会选择在星期五早上进行，因为周五是回教祈祷日，造成没有足够的时间来发言，还有广大民众未受到邀请。一位与会者说，委员会多人前来亚庇及花费了大量纳税人的钱，我们只听到一些旧的故事，问题还是未解决。大家都深感失望。邱博士建议在下次选举时，最好是换政府。

The reported mobile generator sets delivered and installed in Sandakan and Tawau being 2^nd hand was brought up to query the Commission on the rational why we Sabahan cannot use new generators. Are we second class citizen so that we can only used 2^nd hand things? many people who were with the dialogue and briefing complained that the Energy Commission had not truly wanted to give and produce a fruitful function where the participants can fully contribute to the event. They set this on a Friday morning and rushed off because of the Friday Prayers and there is not enough time given to speak. There is not enough notice given to the general public and invitation is not overall. A participant said what is the point for the Commission to send so many people, spending so much tax-payer money, and we only got to listen to some old stories over and over again. The problem remains unsolved anyway. It is highly disappointed as far as the Sabahan is concerned. Hiew suggested to change the government during the next election.   

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has forgotten his first promise as Prime Minister in April last year that “The era where the government knows best is over” when he gave an instinctive “No” to the proposal by the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for the restoration of local government elections even without referring to his Cabinet.

This is most irresponsible on the Prime Minister’s part. The important issue of restoration of local government elections deserve more serious response from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the government.

The assurance by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that no Malaysian would be sidelined in the New Economic Model (NEM) is not convincing when from all indications, the NEM has been hijacked by Neo-NEP Umnoputras like Perkasa, forcing another delay in its announcement.

When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister last April, he announced that the government would introduce a new economic model for the country to ensure that Malaysia makes a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country through greater emphasis on innovation, creativity and competitiveness.In May last year, the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the new economic model would be announced in the second half of the year.Time is clearly of the critical essence to launch a new economic model as Husni subsequently admitted in a very frank speech in December that the country had lost a decade in economic stagnation.

In actual fact, Malaysia had lost not only one decade in economic stagnation but four decades in failing to fully realize the economic potential of the rich natural and human resources of the country, resulting in Malaysia losing out not only to other countries including Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea but at risk of being overtaken by an increasing list of other countries like Vietnam, Thailand and even Indonesia.

However, the time-line for the announcement of the new economic model has been repeatedly deferred, from last year to the beginning of this year, then to this month to coincide with the completion of Najib as Prime Minister and now to June when the 10th Malaysia Plan will be presented to Parliament.

By Kee Thuan Chye

http://blog.limkitsiang.com/
2010/03/09/not-a-time-to-lose-
march-8-spirit/

There was a lot of optimism right after March 8, 2008. There was a sense that things would get better. But has there been much change two years since that day?

Instead of seeing multi-racialism being freely accepted and manifested in government policies, we find ourselves becoming more divided along racial lines. Right after March 8, Umno embarked on its campaign to warn the Malays that they were under threat and to rise up against this.

The government has assumed a schizophrenic personality – the prime minister talks about 1Malaysia while his deputy says things that are completely contradictory. The PM talks about multi-racial unity while his own party campaigns for Malay unity.