Today's News...by Stephanie

Wow, looks like blogging is the "IN" thing nowadays, EVERYONE is jumping on the bandwagon...yes, even some bigshots who have previously condemned bloggers as liars, seditious troublemakers, and "blogging is only for bored, unemployed women and monkeys"...

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The way things go we will probably be hearing about Musa Aman's gout, and Yee Moh Chai's arthritis before the year is out.

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Check out this piece of news today. According to Muhammad son of Muhammad:

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"The people [readers of his blog] could raise anything from broken bridges to damaged roads, but the minister said he also welcomed discussion on judicial reforms, the Anti-Corruption Agency or any ministry affairs." (HARRRR???? True or not ohh???? Well, since you asked so nicely, I would like to discuss about 1.26 million Australian Dollars, and 'several properties worth more than 17 million ringgit in Australia and New Zealand' which I read about here...can or not jekk?!)

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"Unlike the press, the blog will be a two-way traffic..." (Or it will be until he receives too many "constructive criticisms"...then the comments will be disabled, and it will be one way. AS USUAL. Don't believe? check out here)

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Oh haha...the irony is delicious. This new-blogger-on-the-block is the guy who once lodged a police report about bloggers...!!! Who would have thought that we would ever see him join our ranks?

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The press also didnt give face, apparently someone pointed out that he once used to be at odds with certain bloggers, and forced him to admit “If you can’t fight them, join them!”

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Oh yay, this is what I call a principled feller who sticks to his guns about what he believes to be right or wrong. One day, mati-mati condemn...the next day..."can't beat 'em, muhh join 'em lorr"...Hooray for the leaders of Malaysia.

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Rumour has it even our dear PM is also blogging now...although i cannot seem to find his blogsite on Google to substantiate whether true or not. Anyone can post up his url for me to confirm?

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Check out this news too, apparently our own Dr JK is 'launching his blogsite' on the 23rd...chewahh, so formal meh?! Maybe we should copycat that and do a big launching for christinaliew.com too...if it ever gets finished!

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By the way, thank you for all the well wishes and messages you sent us over the last few weeks. We are happy to report that everything is A-O-K now.

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Till next time, may the (blog)force be with you!
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Stephanie

Blog break

Due to a sudden illness in the family we will be taking a blog break for awhile

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Don't worry, nothing serious... :)

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We will be back when everything is sorted, so do check back often for updates.

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Keep safe!

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Moderators

Remembering Good Friday...

Hello friends,

This has been a packed week for all of us here in PKR. We are so pleased to have this long weekend just to recuperate & catch up with our loved ones & friends.

We'd like to remember our Muslim friends and I wish them all a very blessed Maulidur Rasul.

I am a Christian myself; my family & I would like to wish all our Christian & Catholic friends a very blessed Easter to come!

I remember when I was a little girl growing up in Sabah (a LONG time ago) the place was really very much a kampung still, coconut trees everywhere. When I was old enough to go to school, I went to a Mission school (back then we were still under Colonial rule here in Borneo) and started to attend services in an Anglican church. 

I was very fascinated by the teachings & was the first in my large family to become a Christian. My given name at birth was "Liew Chin Jin" or "Jin-Tze" as my family would call me. After I was baptized, I was given the name "Christina" which carried the meaning "follower of Christ." And from that moment on, I became Christina Liew.

Being the eldest of seven children, I took my duties as a big sister very seriously. One day, after hearing about the story of the twelve disciples in church, I went home, called out my two youngest brothers, and said to two of them "From now on, your name will be Peter. And you are John!"

And my two brothers are still called Peter & John till today. I think they still remember how they got their names!

Perhaps it was the experiences I had when I was growing up, but I don't remember a single moment in my life that I did not feel responsible for something. Being the eldest in a Chinese family meant I had to take care of many little ones; and when I grew up I remember having to work hard to put myself through school. When I got married, there was the family & children to consider; and most of all, I felt responsible for my own life, my environment, my home and my state. My children were taught from young that they had to be responsible over their environment and the people around them, not just be consumed with their own activities only. Whenever there was a school holiday, we would all go to Kundasang & I took pains to show them the legacy that God has given to Sabah, and the responsibility that comes with it.

Things were never handed to me on a silver plate, even though God has been gracious to me all my life. But I learnt the value of hardwork and the character it builds in a person. I also discovered that the lessons I had learnt in church as a little girl, about the principle of "reaping what you sow", applies to all aspects of life even now.

In the last 8 years of my struggle, there were moments when I have felt very discouraged and vulnerable. There were times when the voices outside telling me to stop became so loud that I could barely hear that still voice inside me, telling me not to give up. There were seasons of hardship and toil, and there were people who would come in and shout at me for not being able to give more than I could at the time. There were people who forgot every act of kindness; there were those who came back to thank me; and there were those who would take everything thing I could give and behave as if it was their due.

There have been many rewarding moments; it is such a privilege to serve! But I must honestly say that this is not an easy road to walk. I think people who choose public service must do it because it's a calling and a passion; otherwise you can quickly lose focus and become discouraged.

For me, I keep myself focused by reminding myself about the principle of reaping & sowing. It might be very difficult now, planting seeds for change, seeds of hope, seeds of belief in a brighter future. But the struggle now will surely bear fruit later on, because noone can run away from the principle of reaping and sowing. Sowing is always a difficult job; but if somebody doesn't do it now, what will happen years from now when there is no harvest to be reaped? 

This is what I keep telling myself also after the recent GE results. Another disappointment, but I know the people are with us, no matter what the polls show. Sometimes I feel very sad & discouraged inside, especially when we know some people are not playing fair. But on occasions like Good Friday, I am reminded that Jesus was punished for sins He did not commit. That is the ultimate in "unfairness". So how can we compare our troubles to that kind of sacrifice?

I think in the end, I can only do my best and keep believing that what I do will make a difference; if not now, then with the younger generation who will inherit this land. I am so encouraged to get emails from really young people, saying such wonderful things. There are too many to reply one by one, but I will get around to it eventually. I tell my daughter, "This is so funny! I'm a grandmother already; what do they see in me?" But in my heart, I feel so touched, because I know that at the very least, the young see what is real and they believe in me. So for them, I will keep sowing for as long as I possibly can. Maybe one day either I or someone young will be the one to reap from the seeds sown today.

So from everyone in my family & from my PKR KK Division team, a blessed Easter to all of you! Stay safe & keep praying for change to come upon Sabah!

Your friend,

CHRISTINA LIEW

 

The Buzz - What's Christina Doing Now? ;-)

Yesterday PKR legal team had a meeting with all the candidates who had a complaint and/or evidence of any event or conduct by any party that could constitute an offence under the Election Laws.

As we all know, things like canvassing for votes INSIDE the polling stations, giving out money (got video some more!) to voters, distributing scary pamphlets without any publisher details the eve of polling day (ahem), physically preventing candidates from entering the nomination hall or pressuring candidates to withdraw (what we commonly call "main busuk")... they all constitute offences under the Election Laws. Which means that if any of these events can be proven, then the particular seat would have to be vacated, triggering a by-election!! 

It's all very exciting because this means that Sabahans may still have another chance to join the "political tsunami" that is rocking our country now.

Of course, this is all dependent on whether our Yang Arif ultimately agrees with the evidence of "main buyuk" that will be presented once the petition is filed lah. 

Me-thinks that if people have been playing clean & nice all this time, then there is nothing to be afraid of. :-)

BUT... if anyone has violated any laws in what was supposed to be a clean & fair election, then my prayer is that the hand of justice will prevail. 

We're still getting calls & emails from friends & even random strangers who are upset over the results and wanted more opposition seats in Parliament & the State Assembly. Thank you all, for your tireless support. It is entirely due to your urging that the parties involved are looking into the possibility of filing this petition.

Write us, give us feedback & your opinions on what you think would or should happen next? :-)

We live in interesting times! 

Remember, you heard it hear first. So stay tuned!

JOSEPHINE 

MORE on Today's News! - By Josephine

I spent the whole day sucking in my gut after reading about the "trim & slim" edict proclaimed by the PM today!

Apparently the dangers of crash dieting don't apply to politics. They've got the right idea. If only, if only, if only they had started trimming the fat a leeetle earlier, rather than reacting like sailors tossing sandbags overboard to keep a sinking ship afloat. 

And no doubt about it; with the resignation of the Secretary General of UMNO  adding to the cracks in the increasingly shaky-looking BN government, this ship is certainly rocking up a storm, to say the very least. Rumours of defection by UMNO leaders & parliamentarians are rife & the coffee-shop talk is suggesting that this controversial 12th GE saga is far from over. 

Oooooh. Interesting.  ;-)

So what does the weather look like for Sabah?

Apparently, our Captain here has different ideas about what "trim & slim" constitutes. Instead of shaving off the fat in the administration in order to promote & maximise efficiency, he is actually ADDING ON another layer of ministerial adipose to our bloated Cabinet!

Aik? Sudah gemuk mau tambah lemak lagi?! 

And this is no ordinary "weight gain" mind you. He is having our CONSTITUTION changed just to accommodate more people that you & I will be funding to do heaven only knows what. 

So let's see: Our Constitution gets changed, so that the Sabah cabinet gets unnecessarily inflated at the cost of the rakyat, while the rest of Malaysia slims down to efficiency. At the same time, Sabah, the state that delivers most of the winning seats so that BN can form government, doesn't even get a single full ministerial post in the Federal level. 

So we're not just "fat"; we're "forgotten." As usual.

When will we ever learn, that people only treat us as well as we demand to be treated? 

We had our chance last weekend, to sound off our dissatisfaction and demand better of our elected representatives & leaders, the way Penang did. In the case of Semenanjung Malaysia, the leaders had to listen because they had no choice. The people showed them that the rakyat will not be taken for granted anymore. There is no more room for complacency in the present government; either perform, or out you go.

But in the case of Sabah, we have somehow managed to convey the message that "We like you....we really, really like you!" to BN. With such a convincing mandate, why should they change a winning formula?

I cannot imagine that the local BN leaders are feeling that happy about this result either. Imagine winning first prize in school, & then coming home to find your father throwing a kenduri for your dunce of a brother who came in last? Tapi what can you do? Kuasa di tangan bapa!

Meanwhile, I, & my fellow Sabahans, will have to watch in helpless horror as our sacred State Constitution is fiddled & tweaked to suit the whims & fancies of the current administration. I'm not even entirely sure WHY the CM thinks we need more "Assistant Ministers." To assist with WHAT? The official reason is that we need all the help we can get for the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC).

With regards to the SDC, I would urge Sabahans to adopt a more cautious attitude & borrow a line from the movie "Jerry McGuire": 

'SHOW ME THE MONEY! FIRST!' [*Ok, I added the "first!" to make it contextually appropriate]

I have heard loads about the wondrous allocation set aside for this Corridor. But so far the only money I've seen spent on it is the millions used for the launching of the Corridor. In other words, before we see a single red cent from the Fed Govt. in terms of development, our state government is already spending our limited resources on "Assistant Ministers" in anticipation of SDC. 

I don't want to be overly pessimistic, but with Labuan, Malaysia's International Offshore Financial Centre in the Government's speckled track record, I would be more careful about putting all my eggs in BN's basket of promises. Responsible, wise leaders who care about the people's welfare should consider the people's views when making decisions that would affect the state as a whole. 

If the CM proceeds with this decision, Sabah will probably have more Menteri than any other state. Would that mean that we will have fewer problems than the other states also? Ultimately, if the answer is 'NO', then we are being led up the wrong path & this has to stop before the people have to pay for any more mistakes on the part of their leaders. 

As a rakyat who votes & pays taxes, I would like to suggest to our current administration to give proper justifications for this drastic decision to amend our Constitution in order to add to the Cabinet. Stop burdening the people & using up our resources unnecessarily in this season of rising prices & economic hardship & hardcore poverty.

Perhaps it is time for our CM to conduct a "weigh-in" of the Cabinet instead & start trimming off the excess fat like the rest of the country. If you don't start throwing your extra sand-bags overboard, then be prepared for a bumpy ride ahead. Come next election, Sabahans may finally awaken to the possibility that they CAN have a better life ahead...if they choose change, just like the rest of the nation. It may take us a little more time, but we WILL get there.

You have been warned.

And tomorrow, I'm going on a diet :-)

JOSEPHINE

Today's News...by Stephanie

Cheh-wahh...great news today!

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We have got ourselves a new 'slim and trim' cabinet with lots of fresh faces (bye bye Rafidah!).

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Even more promising, our new Federal cabinet members now have a 'do and don't' list, and have been sternly reminded that they should 'serve the people' and 'must uphold integrity'

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Wow, I am impressed!

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You see what happens when the Rakyat merajuk? The answer is, OUR LEADERS PULL UP THEIR SOCKS AND GET DOWN TO WORK...!

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Maybe we Sabahans should ikut merajuk one of these days? Perhaps we can get some overnight miracles happening here too... (eg bye-bye YB Deadbeats!)

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Stephanie

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P/S I just saw this article, and I was wondering if anyone could explain something to me...What does an Assistant Finance Minister ACTUALLY do all day...and why do we need two of them? *scratch head* Please enlighten me if you can, after all we are always learning from one another here. Many thanks!

Video - Interview at the Hyatt (in Chinese) 16 March 2008