The body of a man, believed to be in his 40s, was found along Jalan Sahabat near SRJK Yue Mm here yesterday evening.
District Police Chief DSP Madang Usat, when disclosing this yesterday, said no identification documents were found on the body which was found lying down close to a water metre in the area.
“We were notified at 3.30pm and a Police team rushed to the area,” he said, Madang added the body was sent to the QueenElizabethHospital for post-mortem.
We are still investigating the cause of death as no injury was found on the body," he said..
It is during this time of the year that the roads are jammed and people flock to the shopping complexes to get something that makes them looks good for the Chinese New Year.
Lanterns and red-colored decorations were put up days before the Chinese New Year celebration, as red is said to be the luckiest color, especially when ushering a new beginning - the Year of the Ox.
Days before Chinese New Year are spent on thorough cleaning and decorating the home (often with red banners, as red is considered especially auspicious), preparing special food, getting a haircut and mending old clothes. Everything is meant to look fresh and new to set the tone of the coming year.
The Chinese community would be busy doing last minute shopping’s and obviously, the Chinese New Year, which falls next Monday, is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.
The Year of the Ox is predicted to be a conservative year, one of traditions and values, not a year to be outrageous, but rather slow and steady.
This Ox year will bring stability and growth where patience and diligence pay off, and a year where we reap what we have sown.
SABAH JOUNALISTS HAIL EDITORS' ASSURANCE ON PAY NEGOTIATIONS
KOTA KINABALU:
The Sabah Journalists Association (SJA) has welcomed the assurance given by newspaper editors on possible direct negotiations pertaining to the salary and work benefits of local journalists.
SJA President Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said a better salary and work benefits would augur well towards motivating the journalists to be more productive and strive for quality.
Nevertheless, the predicament of local journalists could be better dealt with if they could form a union, he told l3ernama here yesterday.
He said the proposed setting up of a I union for journalists in Sabah was a step in the. Right direction and should be supported.
“It could serve as a plat form to foster better understanding and cooperation between journalists and the management or employers for a win- win solution,” he said.
On Wednesday, several local newspaper editors said journalists in Sabah could negotiate their salaries and work benefits directly with their employers rather than having a third party do it for them.
However, they said although the idea of forming a union for journalists in the State was not considered a bad idea, they felt a representative body for the local professionals was not necessary.
Joniston said: “Some of the local newspaper editors are also former NUJ (National Union of Journalists) members and I believe they understand the benefits of having a union.”
The idea of forming a union was mooted at a recent dialogue between NUJ and local journalists organized by. SJA following complaints that they were underpaid and deserved better benefits as professionals.
It was revealed during the dialogue that some journalists including those with degrees earn less than RM1,000 and. are deprived of medical benefits, among others. Joniston said Sabah local journalists were not demanding perks similar to that received by their national counterparts but at least there should be efforts to narrow the wide gap, between them. - Bernama
KG KIBABAIG DRAINAGE SYSTEM HAS TO BE RE-PLANNED: DAP
PENAMPANG:
Sabah Democratic Action Party (DAP) has called on the relevant authority to re-plan the drainage system in Kampung Kibabaig here following frequent flash floods during the rainy seasons.
“Villagers have complained to the authority about the drainage system but nothing has been done yet.
“Recently, the village was again hit by flash floods and a car got stuck while trying to brave the water,” said Sabah DAP Publicity Secretary Teddy Yang who visited the affected area with his assistant Dr Jeffrey Wong, organizing secretary Steven Jimbangan and ApiApi Branch Chairman Kenny Chai.
Wong, who is also the DAP Moyog Branch Chairman, said that Kibabaig .is a low land area and is surrounded by swampy area, thus vulnerable to floods during heavy rain.
“However, the situation worsens as a lot of land have been reclaimed for housing development. These projects do not come along with proper drainage system, so we hope the developers would also take note of this problem,” he said.
BS President Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and PBRS President Tan Sri Joseph Kurup have been ordered to stop their public spat over the candidature if a by-election for the Pensiangan seat were to be called.
“It (public quarrel) is of no good for anybody. Jam not siding anybody but they are just biting eaéh other and I want to tell this senior leaders that it is only Barisan that will be the loser,” Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary Datuk Karim Bujang said yesterday.
He said this when contacted about a public spat between Pairin and Kurup over the Pensiangan candidacy with a by-election looming.
Pairin had said that BN should do away with its seat sharing quota system and place candidates that could win a seat in reference to Pensiangan, but Kurup responded with a sharp rebuke that his election machinery is in place and asked Pairin not to interfere.
Karim said the two are senior leaders who should know that such a public spat was not in the BN spirit.
“If they had any ideas or grouses they should bring up at closed door meeting where they could pow wow as much as they want,” he said, adding: “I think it will be stupid for Barisan to tell them it is wrong to argue in public.”
Pensiangan, a rural parliamentary constituency with about 19,000 mainly ethnic Murut voters, was won unopposed by Kurup in the March 2008 general
election but an Election Court on Sept 8 declared the result null and void.
Kurup, who is Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister, has appealed to the Federal Court which is scheduled to hear the case and decide on Feb 12-13.
Kurup took over the Pensiangan parliamentary seat from his former secretary general Bernard Maarat who has since joined PBS, and has voiced his intention to contest the seat if a by-election is
called.
Two clays ago, PBS Secretary General Datuk Radin Malleh came to Pairin’s defence, and slammed Kurup by asking him to do some soul searching in terms of the achievements in the area he had served as Assemblyman since 1985.
The constituency which makes up of the State seats of Nabawan and Sook is close to Indonesia’s Kalimantan border and it still lags in infrastructure and development, according to Radin.
He urged Kurup to put the interest of Pensiangan and Barisan above everything else.
Yesterday, Kurup told Radin to stay away from the issues raised by Pairin, the Deputy Chief Minister cum Rural Development Minister.
“Gentlemanly Datuk Pairin should not hide behind his Secretary-General when faced with a situation which was raised by him in the first instance. I do not want to be engaged in debates over the matter in the media with Datuk Radin Malleh as it is understood he is merely sheltering his President,” he said in a statement.
Kurup challenged Pairin to a face to face debate on the issues that have been raised, namely Pairin’s statement on the candidacy and its implications; the meaning and the contents of “colorful and well documented history” and Pairin’s performance as a two-term MP for Pensiangan.
Sabah has recorded a total of 650 complaints from the public, with 514 of them having been dealt with and solved by the Public Complaints Bureau Sabah, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator T Murugiah said.
“The Bureau was set up to enable the public to lodge their complaints. We are here for the people and we will solve all their problems,” he said, during a meet-the-client session at the Bureau’s office at Menara MAA here yesterday.
Any public complaint would be followed up within 48 hours after it has been lodged, according to him.
“Within 48 hours after a complaint is made, we will follow up and get feedback from the complainant. This is to ensure all complaints made are dealt with as
efficiently as possible,” he said, adding that all complaints would be solved or settled within 10 working days.
Between 1975 (its inception) and November last year, the Bureau, which is under the Prime Minister’s Department, has received a total of 7,351 complaints, with 5,964 of those cases having been solved since, said Murugiah.
“This is a huge record from the Bureau by solving 81 percent of the total complaints made by the public. They should be proud of the achievement,” he said, adding that the effort of the Bureau is in line with Prime Minister Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s wishes for a smooth delivery system in all Government Service Departments.
The best records of the Bureau involved resolving 288 complaints in a day and 2,836 complaints in a month, said Murugiah.
“Most of the complaints lodged were through Government agencies and Departments, with the Royal Malaysian Police receiving the most complaints (252 cases) in 2008,” he said, adding that other bodies such as Public Works Department, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Sabah Education Department received 149, 107 and 101 complaints respectively.
Murugiah said the public had begun to understand the role played by the Bureau in solving public complaints, and to achieve the Vision 2020, every Bureau officer would be provided with up-to-date information to help address the people’s needs.
“We are not a rubber-stamp like the Post Office, where we will mail a complaint to other departments to solve. The Bureau is a public complaints department and we will solve all public complaints” he said.
