LAHAD DATU: Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) Sabah, a component of the Barisan Nasional (BN) is hoping that it will be given an opportunity to contest in the upcoming 14th general election (GE14).

Its chairman, Datuk V Jothi, however, said that the decision is up to the BN leadership, but if MIC were to be given the opportunity, they will definitely contest.

Jothi said MIC will always be agreeable to any decision of the leadership and will give its full cooperation to any BN component party competing in GE14.

“We hope the BN leadership will consider giving the opportunity to MIC. However, if no seat is given to MIC, we hope that we will be given position such as senator. We have been here for a long time, we also have voters in every constituency and we are confident that MIC can contribute to BN,” he said at a press conference after officiating at the Deepavali Night held at Dewan Perdana here last Saturday night.

Earlier in his speech, Jothi said that the BN government had always given attention to the Indian community, including those in Sabah. He said Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman is always concerned about the Indian community, even though they are a minority here.

“The concern and commitment of the government could be seen through various assistance channeled towards the Indian and aid given to temples in Sabah,” he added.

Also present at the function was Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur.

SANDAKAN: The body of a man, believed to have suffered electrocution, was found in some bushes near Bandar Megah Batu 8 near here yesterday.

Sandakan Fire and Rescue Department chief Anddre Andrew said the victim, identified as Mukmin Aroddi, 31, was discovered lying  face down not far from an electric pole by a passer-by about 4pm.

The victim was said to have left his house last Friday but did not return home, he said. — Bernama

TAWAU: The Tawau Immigration Department detained 15 foreigners in a raid at an entertainment outlet in jalan Chen Fook here on Saturday night.

Its head Noraini Rasi in a statement here yesterday said the 15 – five Indonesian men and two women and eight Filipinas – were found to have committed immigration offences.

She added the department also found special rooms on the second floor of the premises believed to be used for sex services.

Five men who were believed to be ‘customers’ were also detained, she added. — Bernama

TAWAU: Democratic Action Party (DAP) parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan  should be praying that he (Lim) would remain in politics so that he could continue to be such a disastrous impact on DAP and Pakatan Harapan, which can only immensely benefit  Umno/BN.

Lim said he wanted to ask the director of Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications  and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department has he gone bonkers and why was he scoring his own goal?

“On Saturday, Abdul Rahman rushed out a statement entitled: ‘Time For Lim Kit Siang To Resign From Politics’, he said in a press conference here yesterday.

“From Abdul Rahman’s gangrenous perspective, he argued that I should resign from politics for the following reasons:

1.    I lack the confidence to take on Datuk Seri Najib Razak and BN by myself despite DAP being the largest political party in Pakatan, and am using Tun Mahathir Mohamad who is not even a member of parliament to spearhead Pakatan.

2.     I am ‘pressed to the wall in desperation’, throwing away all principles.

3.     ‘Without any hint of shame’ I am propelling Mahathir as the ‘saviour’ of Malaysia after attacking Mahathir for 22 years as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

4.     That I have realised that I am ‘a huge liability to Pakatan Harapan’, and that I have ‘lost it’ (Abdul Rahman meaning presumably that I have lost all sense of proper forward direction for DAP and Pakatan Harapan).

Lim said something was very wrong with Abdul Rahman’s sense of judgement and priorities,  from Umno/BN perspectives.

“These are the very reasons why I should remain in my position in Malaysian politics, as I such a useless decrepit old man whose word and deed is a great service to Umno/BN,” he said.

“Why then is Abdul Rahman so keen that I retire from politics, when he should be praying that I  will remain in politics so that I can continue to be such a disastrous impact on DAP and Pakatan Harapan which can only immensely benefit the Umno/BN?” he added.

Lim said for his part, he wanted Abdul Rahman Dahlan to remain as BN Strategic Communications Director for he is  such a boon to Pakatan Harapan and such a bane to Umno/BN.

KOTA KINABALU: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) yesterday officially launched the awareness campaign to encourage employers in Sabah to use the e-payment system for their contributions payment.

The campaign which was conducted through the 2017 EPF e-Payment Open Day programme, here today, was officiated by its Contribution Department general manager Azmi Awang.

“Besides Kota Kinabalu, the programme is also held simultaneously in Labuan and Kota Marudu,” he told Bernama after officiating the 2017 EPF e-Payment Open Day programme at Kompleks KWSP, here yesterday.

The programme which was conducted in two sessions, was attended by employers, employers’ representatives or banks that have link to the contributions system.

Azmi said the campaign was to raise awareness among employers on the importance and benefits of the e-payment system.

He said the programme would be held in stages at all nine EPF’s branches statewide.

The EPF also would conduct follow-up actions including to contact the employers in order to help them on the usage of the e-payment system, he added. – Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is targeting 50 percent of the 29,000 employers in Sabah to use the e-Payment system for the payment of employee contributions by year-end.

EPF general manager (Contribution Department), Azmi Awang said so far, only 34 percent of employers in Sabah used the e-Payment system – the lowest in the country – despite having good Internet facilities.

“This may be due to (the level of) confidence (on e-Payment system) among employers in Sabah. Maybe, they are not so sure about the safety of remitting money using the e-Payment.

“Therefore, for those who are already using the e-Payment system, share your  experience with other employers, because there is no problem using e-Payment, there has never been a case of losing money. EPF assures the system is completely safe and reliable,” he told Bernama after launching the e-Payment Open Day 2017 here yesterday.

For the record, employers in Sabah account for about six per cent of the RM5.4 billion contribution to the EPF every month.

Azmi said Sarawak was second lowest in the e-Payment aspect while Perlis and Perak had reached 70 percent, exceeding the national target of 60 percent by year-end.

He said the e-Payment system was a facility because employers could make payment of contributions anytime and anywhere as compared to the manual way which was tied to office hours.

In fact, employers with less than 10 employees could do so through Android-type smartphones.

“Back then, when using the manual method, the employer had to fill out the form ‘A’ that needed to be sent every month and at the same time, when the employer has filled out the form and sent it back to EPF, the EPF will enter the data, one by one.

“This requires a huge cost because we have about 6.8 million employees. Here (for the form printing process) alone, we (EPF) can save RM6 million a year, whereas, e-Payment costs nothing,” added Azmi.

He said that by using the e-Payment system, the payment process to the EPF could be completed within three days compared to 21 days previously, when using the manual system such as making cheque payments.

Meanwhile, Azmi said since the adoption of e-payment, Contributions With Incomplete Information by employers had been reduced from three per cent per month to 0.23 percent or from 40,000 cases to 12,000 cases from about six million transactions handled by EPF every month. – Bernama

SANDAKAN: The state government has allocated RM4,075,000 to non-Islamic religious bodies and schools around the east coast of Sabah.

From the total, RM1,590,000 were granted to Chinese private schools, mission schools and kindergartens, while RM2,485,000 was churches, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh temples.

The allocation was presented by Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Haji Aman to 62 leaders and representatives of the non-Islamic bodies and schools at Sabah Hotel here yesterday.

Speaking at the ceremony, Musa said these annual contributions will help to fulfill part of the financial requirements to cover daily operating costs, carry out related programs and welfare of the respective institutions and religious bodies.

“Although socio-economic programmes require funds, the State Government will continue to assist schools. The BN government pays serious attention to education development and we are also constantly striving to bridge the gap when it comes to facilities in urban and rural areas.

“Our close ties with the Federal Government provides us a platform to seek solutions to improve facilities that will make teaching and learning more effective and this will definitely boost the standard of education in Sabah.

“The large allocation for non-Islamic religious bodies is reflective of the government’s commitment in upholding religious freedom. There is no discrimination and it is my hope that all parties act responsibly when discussing issues related to religion and the rights of all citizens as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Along with Islamic bodies, non-Islamic religious bodies play an important role in promoting positive values in society,” he said.

Musa also hopes that schools and non-Islamic religious bodies that receive allocations will be able to implement programmes and activities successfully.

He also encouraged all leaders of non-religious bodies and schools to keep up the good work and continue serving their respective schools and religious institutions to the best of their abilities.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department is investigating claims that sea turtles have been killed recently to supply tourists’ demand for exotic meats in Sabah.

However, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun stressed that no evidence had been uncovered regarding the latest allegation.

“There could be illegal supply of exotic meats and we are trying to look into the allegations,” he said.

“There are even allegations that say with the influx of tourists, there has also been an increase in the number of turtles and wildlife killed.

“So there is a theory that it may have been for the purpose of providing exotic food for some tourists but that is one area that we are still investigating. At this point of time, it is just a theory,” he emphasized after the state-level Warriors’ Day celebration at the Likas Sports Complex here yesterday.

Masidi added that when it comes to the recent incident, the ministry is mulling a suggestion to turn Facebook photo upload enthusiasts into Honorary Wildlife Wardens.

“We have actually considered about asking them to identify the real person so that we can offer them to become an honorary warden over the wildlife,” said Masidi.

“There are a couple of them, Facebookers, who seem to have all of the evidence before we get it. So perhaps it is high time we appoint them as honorary wardens so they are in a way under obligation to help us solve the problem,” he added.

Recently, a team from the State Wildlife Department found hundreds of bones from dead sea turtle carcasses were found scattered in some bushes on Pulau Bum Bum off Semporna.

The team were investigating a report about dead sea turtles being spotted on a beach on the island when they made the discovery near Kampung Pantau-Pantau, Kampung Amboh-Amboh and Kampung Sampolan on the island.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old suspect was arrested in Kampung Pantau-Pantau, Bum-Bum island, Semporna in connection with turtle poaching.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga yesterday said that a remand warrant was obtained from the Semporna Magistrate’s Court to remand the suspect for five days for investigation.

“The Wildlife Department is continuing the search for the other identified suspects in the days to come. The search is to cover several islands in Semporna waters,” he said.

“Meanwhile, investigation is continuing on the killing of a male elephant in Kinabatangan. The search for the crime scene was done along the river by boat and on land by car. Inspection along Sungai Koyah near the site where the elephant carcass was found floating didn’t detect any sign of elephant footprint which means that the elephant did not come from the area,” disclosed Augustine.

He said that information was also gathered from the public on the killing and that several suspects have been identified. The department is continuing its investigation.

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) assistant information chief Datuk Herbert T Lagadan has called on the federal government to make public its action with regard to the implementation of the recommendations by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Presence of Illegal Immigrants in Sabah.

The former Kadamaian assemblyman claimed that the federal government is duty bound to inform the people of Sabah in details which recommendations have been implemented thus far and which recommendations cannot be implemented.

He said the federal government had been silent on the RCI and (this) was very unfair to the chairman of RCI, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and to the people of Sabah.

“I call upon the federal government to inform the people of Sabah on the action taken by the government to implement the recommendations outlined by the Committee of the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

“It has been three years since the recommendations were submitted to the government by the chairman of RCI,  Tan Sri Pairin but we have yet to see its implementation,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He asked why was the federal government keeping silent on the RCI.

“Did the government purposely plan to entice Pairin to take up the chairmanship of RCI to make the RCI a booby-trap to kill Pairin’s political career and popularity?” he asked.

Apparently the time bomb with its silent bullet has exploded and the majority of Sabahans are on the verge of anger and blaming Pairin as well as saying that he is an in-effective leader for Sabahans, Herbert claimed.

He was also of the opinion that Pairin seemed to have lost the respect and dignity among the Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) community.

“Was this outcome what the federal leaders had in fact pre-planned, to kill Pairin’s political strengths and to silence the roaring lion? In other words the ‘Silent Bullet Kills the Roaring Lion’?”

“Did Pairin have the option to reject the chairmanship of the RCI when offered by the federal government? At the time when he was offered the chairmanship of RCI, Pairin had no option to reject it,” he claimed, adding that the opportunity to lead the RCI was a life-time chance to give Sabahans a chance to solve the perennial problems of illegal immigrants in the state.

He opined that to reject the chairmanship meant denying the rights of Sabahans to see a comprehensive solutions to the illegal immigrants problem in Sabah.

“Hence Pairin took the offer of RCI chairmanship enthusiastically with the hope that the federal government was very sincere this time round. In the event that the federal government failed to honour its promises, Pairin had jokingly made a note: ‘I will cross when I come to the bridge’.”

“Will the federal government now begin to implement the RCI recommendations before the 14th general election or are we going to see Pairin crossing the bridge?” asked Herbert.

KOTA KINABALU: The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has formed a task force to evaluate the effectiveness of the cabotage policy exemption for East Malaysia in lowering the prices of goods here.

Deputy Transport Minister Dato’ Abd Aziz Kaprawi said his ministry would conduct analysis for one to two years to determine the effect of the exemption on the prices of goods.

He said the government exempted Sabah and Sarawak from the cabotage policy following requests from local leaders, with the aim to make the prices of products here cheaper.

“Basically, we give free approach to all shipping (vessels) from all over the world to go straight to this area. Foreign vessels can also transfer goods from the ports within East Malaysia,” Abdul Aziz said.

However, he said  there were some complaints that the local shipping industry was affected after the cabotage policy was exempted. Nonetheless, he said the MOT would conduct an analysis to evaluate the effect of the exemption of the cabotage policy on the prices of goods in East Malaysia.

Aziz said this at a press conference after launching the 10th Cooperation Forum under the Cooperative Mechanism between the Littoral States and User States on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore at the Hilton Hotel here yesterday.

In May this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak  announced the exemption of the cabotage policy for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan effective June 1.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah state government is considering to reward individuals who provide information, along with evidence, on killings or criminal activities involving wildlife to the authorities.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the move would hopefully increase awareness and sense of responsibility of the local communities in the protection and conservation of wildlife, while enabling appropriate action to be taken against the culprits.

“The responsibility to protect wildlife does not rest with the relevant agencies alone. The cooperation of the local people, to report any incident, is crucial in ensuring that evidence is not lost.

“The problem is, people are more inclined to post and viralise an incident in the social media rather than report it to the authorities for prompt action to be taken,” he told reporters when met after the state-level Warriors Day 2017 celebration here yesterday.

He was commenting on the discovery of about 100 turtle skeletons scattered on the beaches along Kampung Pantau-Pantau, Kampung Amboh-Amboh and Kampung Sampolan on Bum-Bum Island, Semporna recently.

Masidi said the ministry did not have updates on the case which was still under investigation by the Wildlife Department. — Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: Good ethics is the basis that reaffirms the integrity of an organisation, said the director of Yayasan Sabah, Datuk Sapawi Bin Haji Ahmad during the corruption-free pledge ceremony held at Tun Ahmad Raffae Auditorium, Menara Tun Mustapha yesterday.

According to him, Yayasan Sabah Group has taken the initiative to sign the corruption-free pledge as a sign of support towards the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) efforts in achieving a nation free from all forms of corruption and abuse of power.

Sapawi led the declaration of the pledge before the signing which was witnessed by MACC Sabah director Dato’ Sazali Bin Salbi. The ceremony was also attended by deputy director of Yayasan Sabah, Datuk Hajah Rosmawati Haji Lasuki, heads of divisions/zones/units and staff of Yayasan Sabah Group.

“The event symbolised Yayasan Sabah Group’s commitment towards its seven core values, namely honest, committed, caring, dynamic, firm, resilient and result oriented,” said Sapawi.

He added the corruption-free pledge is a commitment of the management and staff to shoulder responsibility and accountability in order to avoid from succumbing to temptations of corruption and abuse of power.

“By signing this pledge, we uphold our commitment and desire to serve in a conducive and corruption-free environment while carrying out our duties for the people,” he explained.

Sapawi also emphasised that the pledge outlined the direction and the will of the management and set a clear leadership tone on the issue of corruption.

“Signing the pledge empowers the management and staff to fight corruption by instilling integrity in them, ensuring that all employees who sign the pledge would be more responsible in their duties and avoid corrupt practices,” he said.

During the ceremony, a briefing on corruption-free pledge was presented by Sazali and a talk on “Towards Best Governance” was delivered by Alan Kirupakaran, administrative officer to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

More than 450 staff of Yayasan Sabah Group attended the ceremony.

For any enquiries or information on integrity involving staff of Yayasan Sabah Group, please call 088-326300, Integrity Unit or email to ysintegriti@yahoo.com.

KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Haji Aman is proud that Sabah’s financial management is the best in Malaysia.

“During the National Finance Council meeting, the Auditor General always reports on which states that achieve high rating (in financial management). And Sabah is definitely the best.

“As the Chief Minister, I feel proud of this achievement,” Musa said at the presentation of excellent financial management awards to State ministries, departments and agencies based on the National Audit Department’s accountability index for the year 2015 and 2016 here yesterday.

The event saw the presentation of a pewter plaque and RM15,000 incentive to 25 State ministries, departments and agencies which had attained five-star rating in 2015, followed by 22 State ministries, departments and agencies in 2016.

Musa, who is also Sabah Finance Minister, said only a few State departments and agencies were accorded the top rating in accountability index back in 2007.

“But if we are committed, transparent, competent in executing our responsibilities, we will definitely achieve success and five-star rating. This has become a reality as our performances improved year after year,” he  said.

In 2015, Musa said 25 of the State ministries, departments and agencies achieved the five-star rating under the accountability index, the highest among all the Malaysian states.

According to him, the success of a ministry, department or agency could also create healthy competition for the others. In the past, Musa said the district councils’ financial records were not good. However, when district councils such as Tambunan, Papar and Beluran successfully achieved five-star rating one by one, others began thinking of attaining the top rating as well, he said.

“Hence, we see the district councils working hard with transparency until almost all the district councils in Sabah have obtained five stars,” he disclosed.

Musa said the award presentation ceremony yesterday was a form of appreciation by the State Government to the ministries, departments and agencies that have worked hard with sincerity to enable them to achieve the top rating.

“We, in Sabah, should be proud of this. But, we must not be complacent. We must improve our performances from time to time,” he reminded.

Musa also said he is aware that some agencies and departments have made mistakes in the past.

“We are not perfect. More importantly, we realize that if we are not sincere, honest and trustworthy, we will face the consequences,” he said.

Musa also urged all ministries, departments and agencies to continue their hard work to achieve the five-star rating.

“So long as we have the will, nothing is impossible,” he said

Also present were deputy Auditor-General Tuan Haji Khalid Khan bin Abdullah Khan, representing Auditor General Tan Sri Dr Madinah binti Mohamad, State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Datuk Pg Hassanel bin Datuk Pg Haji Mohd Tahir and State Cabinet ministers.

SANDAKAN: The Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) people want to be relevant and their voices heard, said United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) secretary general Datuk Donald P Mojuntin

“We (KDM) want to be seen as equal to other races in Malaysia. We do not want (other races in) Malaysia to consider us lower than them. That’s all we want. We don’t want to be considered irrelevant. We want Malaysia to recognize us as a race that can contribute equally in national building,” he said.

Donald said this at the reunion dinner of Upko Libaran here on Sunday night. The dinner was attended by over 250 people led by organising chairman Dr Peter Jr Naintin, who had voiced out to Upko Central to form an Upko Libaran branch to add support to Barisan Nasional in the coming election alongside the existing Upko Sandakan.

Peter said he is currently gathering more members and is close to getting enough members to set up the Libaran branch.

In his opening speech, he mentioned that the KDMs in Libaran chose to support Upko because they want their voices to be heard and to be relevant as a race.

In response to Peter’s statement, Donald said that he flew to Sandakan to attend the dinner to show the people in Libaran that Upko acknowledges the needs of the KDMs here.

“You want to be relevant and you want your voices to be heard. We have come here to acknowledge this. We recognize this and we want to set up Upko Libaran so that together with Upko Sandakan you could support each other. Upko’s fight is the same as PBS and PBRS. Although we have not been able to merge, we can work on the same agenda towards the same goal, which is, to be relevant and to have a place in the eyes of the leaders,” he said.

“Upko is one of the most consistent parties presently. We will not move to any other party. We are a political family that is truly sincere in our fight. We will continue to be committed and consistent,” Peter stressed.

He also said that he had attended the dinner to activate Upko Sandakan again after having been accused of not supporting BN during the last election.

Upko vice president Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh, said Upko Sandakan’s role during the last election was questioned as if Upko Sandakan did not care about BN thereby causing BN to lose its Sandakan parliamentary seat to DAP with over 200 votes majority.

“People made the perception as if we (KDMs in Sandakan) had voted for the opposition only simply because Upko Sandakan was not active. We deny this! This is why we want to activate Upko Sandakan again. The setting up of Upko Libaran will assist in the activation of Upko Sandakan. I will be working with Datuk Juslie Ajirol (Libaran member of parliament) and Datuk Zakaria Mohd Edris (Gum Gum assemblyman) to get their support for Upko Sandakan and Upko Libaran,” he said.

Speaking about opposition parties, Marcus said: “The opposition parties are not united. Look at Gabungan (Sabah). Everyone wants to be a candidate. If they win, can they rule? PAS is fighting for Hudud law, which we reject. DAP is fighting for an equal Malaysia, which will make us lose our Bumiputera privileges, such as our children’s scholarships. (Parti) Warisan Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is my close friend. He said he is fighting for Sabah, but who isn’t? He is fighting for his own interest. His politics is that he is angry with Umno. The people who follow him are the people who do not stand a chance to be a candidate when they were in Umno,” Marcus said, adding that Upko will be voicing out for the KDMs and will eliminate all statements that could affect the sensitivity of the KDMs.

Also present at the dinner was UPKO vice president Tan Sri Wences Angang. The dinner ended withPeter receiving 400 Upko membership forms from Donald.

KOTA KINABALU: Gerakan Akar Umbi Umno (GAUM) wants the relevant authority to investigate a certain group or individual that it claims has been allegedly making seditious remarks about Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman with regard to projects under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.

GAUM president Datuk Zulkarnain Mahdar said the group or individual had allegedly claimed that Musa had put off most projects under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development when Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal was the minister.

“But it must be understood that most projects do not have to get approval from the chief minister. Shafie, who was then the minister, could have approved the projects because he was the minister.

“It is only now when Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is the minister that he has seen to it that all projects would have to go through the chief minister,” he said when met at the Karamunsing police headquarters yesterday.

Zulkarnain also alleged that no second or third party were involved in the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development’s projects.

“This whole issue appeared because Shafie, when he was the minister, was said to have failed to bring development to Sabah and that is why this group or individual is trying to put a proper perspective to the issue and in doing so appear to make the government to be at fault.

“We do not want to point fingers as to who is right and who is wrong. But perhaps the relevant authorities should investigate and take action, if necessary, against this individual or group” he said.

Meanwhile, Zulkarnain also lodged a police report seeking action against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for what he alleged as making defamatory remarks against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during a Pakatan Harapan program in Kuching, Sarawak last month.

“During the program, on September 24, Mahathir was said to have attempted to involve Najib in the implementation of the Petroleum Act 1974. Maybe he (Mahathir) forgot that Najib was only appointed full minister in 1986 and became prime minister in 2009. It does not make any sense how Najib can be involved in the Petroleum Act 1974,” he said.

Zulkarnain added that it was Najib who proposed to review the Malaysia Agreement 1963 involving Sabah and Sarawak.

KOTA KINABALU: A man claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to misappropriating two cheques worth RM776,400 belonging to a training institute.

Ezwan Shah Jaafar, 38, who was brought before judge Abu Bakar Manat, was charged with two counts under Section 403 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of five years and whipping and also liable to a fine upon conviction.

In the first charge, Ezwan was alleged to have misused a cheque dated August 29, 2012 worth RM449,300, which belonged to Giatmara Sdn Bhd.

The cheque was supposedly used to pay off four Toyota Hilux vehicles in full payment for the usage of the institute in Sabah and Sarawak.

However, he had allegedly paid RM191,334.10 for the bookings and deposits of the vehicles to be paid by instalments through 10 receipts.

The offence was allegedly committed at a car dealer’s office at Asia City here between September and November, 2012.

In the second charge, Ezwan had allegedly used another cheque dated July 11, 2013 worth RM327,100 which was supposedly used to pay another two Toyota Hilux vehicles.

Using the same modus operandi, he allegedly paid the booking fees and deposits of RM64,172.30 for the vehicles to be paid by  instalments via six receipts, at the same place between August and September, 2013.

The balance from all the alleged payments was allegedly used for his own purposes.

On November 19, 2015, Ezwan faced seven charges of misappropriating the cheques.

However, the prosecution applied for six of the charges to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal.

The court fixed January 15-17 next year for trial and released the accused on RM10,000 bail with one local surety, pending disposal of the case.

Deputy public prosecutor and prosecuting officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Rozanna Abd Hadi and Awang Samsul Baharam Bungso, respectively appeared for the prosecution while counsel Edward Paul defended Ezwan.

KOTA KINABALU: Work hard and give your best service to the public, was the advice outgoing Kota Kinabalu City Hall  director general Datuk Joannes Solidau had for his former colleagues in the local authority.

Speaking at a dinner in conjunction with his retirement, Joannes, who has served 36 years in the local authority since it was a municipal council reminded City Hall personnel that the expectations of its clients are very high.

“The public wants the best service and you have to work hard to ensure they get it,” he said.

Joannes, who has served under nine municipal council presidents and four mayors, said the past 36 years had been stressful but fun because of the challenges he faced when carrying out his duties.

There were many sleepless nights, especially before big events organised by City Hall, but it was all worth it when the public are happy with the service.

According to Joannes, the public demands the best service from City Hall but they do not know the problems and challenges that come with giving them what they want.

“City Hall has overcome the challenges because we work as a team notwithstanding race, religion and culture,” he stressed.

Joannes also expressed awe and respect for current City Hall Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai, who is committed to his job and the responsibilities that come with it.

He said that Yeo tried to attend all the functions he was invited to and still hadtime to do spot checks around the city to ensure that all was in order.

Meanwhile, Yeo, in his speech, said that Joannes was a dedicated, committed and hardworking colleague who gave his best to City Hall.

“He has helped City Hall to realise its mission and vision as well as implement the 4P strategy to a level which we are proud of. He works in earnest in resolving issues especially in cleanliness, environment and enforcement among others,” Yeo said.

KOTA KINABALU: More than 70 per cent of the Sabah State ministries, departments and agencies audited in 2015 and 2016 have achieved five-star rating under the accountability index of the National Audit Department.

Auditor-General of Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr Madinah binti Mohamad said Sabah had performed very well in financial management and shown encouraging improvements.

She said 35 State ministries, departments and agencies were audited in 2015, 25 of which were rated five stars or at ‘Excellent’ level.   One agency was at ‘Good’ level with four stars; eight ministries, departments and agencies at ‘Satisfactory’ level with three stars; and one department at ‘Less Satisfactory’ level with two stars.

Last year, Madinah said 31 Sabah ministries, departments and agencies were audited.

Of the number, 22 ministries, departments and agencies attained five-star rating; six ministries, departments and agencies obtained four stars; three departments and agencies attained three stars; and none was rated two stars.

“I am pleased to see the improvement in financial management for the Sabah State ministries, departments and agencies in 2015 and 2016, whereby more than 20 ministries, departments and agencies audited, or over 70 per cent of them achieved the five-star rating.

“Based on the records, this excellent performance has been maintained since 2013 to 2016.”

Madinah said this at the presentation ceremony of excellent financial management award to State ministries, departments and agencies based on the National Audit Department’s accountability index for the year 2015 and 2016 here yesterday. The event was graced by Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Haji Aman.

Her speech was delivered by the Deputy Auditor-General, Haji Khalid Khan bin Abdullah Khan.

She said eight ministries, departments and agencies had maintained their five-star rating in 2015, whereas 16 ministries, departments and agencies had successfully secured their five-star rating in 2016 from the previous year.

Additionally, Madinah said the Sabah Public Service Commission, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Tenom District Council and Kota Belud District Council had shown significant improvement as they had managed to jump from three stars to five stars this year.

On another note, she said the National Audit Department was in the process of improving the financial management audit method based on accountability index so as to reflect a more accurate performance in all ministries, departments and agencies.

She said the financial management audit that would be carried out was going to be based on risk-based auditing concept.

“This means that each audit criteria will be set against low, medium or high risk.”

For instance, she said the auditor would focus on high-risk criteria such as devolution of power.

“Non-compliance of high-risk criteria will lead to a more significant impact on the accountability index score.”

Madinah hoped that the improvement on risk element in financial management would provide a more fair and accurate picture on the financial management accountability compliance level of ministries, departments and agencies.

“I am confident that this new version will be implemented in the Auditor-General’s Report in 2017.”

Earlier, Madinah said the accountability index was originally based on one to four stars but the department had amended the rating system up to five stars in 2015.

TAWAU: Beginning Jan 2, the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) will no longer accept cash payments for employee contributions throughout the country, said its general manager Azmi Awang.

He said this would allow the employers to make the contributions through the e-Bayar electronic system. “The e-Bayar system was created to facilitate employers to make payments. We have also given briefings to employers or their representatives on this facility which the EPF set up,” he told reporters after the EPR e-Bayar open day here yesterday.

He added that there was good response to the open day event with employers taking the opportunity to find out more about the e-Bayar system.  Azmi also said that about 35 per  cent of 29,165 employers in Sabah had made employee contributions through e-Bayar.

He said the EPF had also instructed all new employers to make employee contributions through the electronic service. — Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah manufacturers are urging the government to seriously look into the matter of ‘one country one price’.

“The manufacturing industry is a productive sector providing employment along the value chain from transforming raw materials into finished products,” said Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI) advisor Datuk Alan Ang who is a manufacturer and exporter.

He conveyed this message to Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Sabah director Rita Elisha Mering, during a recent courtesy call on FSI president and council members.

“With a strong manufacturing sector, it could provide job opportunities to the rakyat and can be a solution to Sabah’s poverty eradication effort,” added Ang.

Meanwhile, FSI president Datuk Mohd Basri Abd Gafar said Sabah is economically 10 to 15 years behind compared to Peninsular Malaysia, a fact that was concurred by Rita.

Mohd Basri highlighted the need to catch up with Peninsular Malaysia, saying that policy decisions are KL-centric and does not help nor benefit Sabah much.

“Sabah loses out to Peninsular industries in getting incentives or fund allocations because of the inability to meet the eligibility criteria,” he said.

On the issue of logistics, he said, more allocations needed to be pumped in for the development of the Sepanggar Bay Container Terminal in the near future, and he urged the formation of the Sabah Logistics Council as promised by the authorities concerned.

“The Pan Borneo highway is expected to create economic spin-offs and our port needs to live up to its name as a hub port on the scale of Port Klang,” he said.

FSI vice president for resource-based, Datuk Yusoff Kassim, noted that in the case of palm oil, which Sabah produces in abundance, sadly, there has been long absence of further downstream processing activities apart from cooking oils.

These and more issues and inputs will be presented during the TN50 (Transformasi Nasional 2050) town hall session with MITI Deputy Minister on October 9, during which the ministry will allocate time for FSI’s presentation.

In the meantime, members of FSI are urged to channel their issues or to provide feedback on their aspirations for Sabah by 2050. These will be considered for the 2050 Blueprint.

Also present during the courtesy call were FSI vice president (non-resource based) Jeff Lu, vice president (resource based) Datuk Yusoff Kassim and council member Conan Teo.