Read facts about "secession"

KOTA KINABALU : What is "secession"? The current trending word "secession" or "seceding" is derived from the Latin term secessio, which describes the act of withdrawing from an organisation, union, or a political entity.

World's history, both in olden days and recent, is astoundingly littered with the act of "seceding". In Americas, Europe, Africa, Indias and even nearby Indonesia the act of seceding has been just too common. Many seceding territories or states did succeed but others were crushed, violently.

While debates seem to be on the rise on suggestions and calls for Sabah and Sarawak states to secede from the Federation of Malaysia (formed in 1963), many, if not all, of those virulently commenting on it online as well as in coffee shops and offices, are actually still ignorant about all things "secession".

This article attempts to enlighten us as to what this word really means and implies to us in Malaysia, in the hope that a politically-enlightened audience would have a healthy discussions and not degenerate the word into a taboo, like some half-baked Malaysian politicians attempted to do.

The majority of the rest of this article is derived from observations records in Wikipedia, now a leading credible online source of reference worldwide.

According to popular observations, the mainstream political philosophy largely ignored theories of secession until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s through secession. 

In his 1991 book Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec, philosophy professor Allen Buchanan outlined limited rights to secession under certain circumstances, mostly related to oppression by people of other ethnic or racial groups, and especially those previously conquered by other peoples.

In 1994 the Journal of Libertarian Studies published Robert W. McGee's article "Secession Reconsidered". He writes from a libertarian perspective, but holds that secession is justified only if secessionists can create a viable, if minimal, state on contiguous territory.

In April 1995 the Ludwig Von Mises Institute sponsored a secession conference. Papers from the conference were later published in the book Secession, State and Liberty by David Gordon. Among articles included were: "The Secession Tradition in America" by Donald Livingston; "The Ethics of Secession" by Scott Boykin; “Nations by Consent: Decomposing the Nation-State” by Murray Rothbard; "Yankee Confederates: New England Secession Movements Prior to the War Between the States" by Thomas DiLorenzo; "Was the Union Army's Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act?" by James Ostrowski.

In July 1998 the Rutgers University journal "Society" published papers from a "Symposium on Secession and Nationalism at the Millennium" including the articles "The Western State as Paradigm" by Hans-Herman Hoppe, "Profit Motives in Secession" by Sabrina P. Ramet, "Rights of Secession" by Daniel Kofman, "The Very Idea of Secession" by Donald Livingston and "Secession, Autonomy, & Modernity" by Edward A. Tiryakian. In 2007 the University of South Carolina sponsored a conference called "Secession As an International Phenomenon" which produced a number of papers on the topic.

Justifications for secession

Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason ("Choice Theory") while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices ("Just Cause Theory"). Some theories do both.

A list of justifications may be presented supporting the right to secede, as described by Allen Buchanan, Robert McGee, Anthony Birch, Walter Williams, Jane Jacobs, Frances Kendall and Leon Louw, Leopold Kohr, Kirkpatrick Sale, and various authors in David Gordon's "Secession, State and Liberty", includes:

• United States President James Buchanan, Fourth Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union December 3, 1860: "The fact is that our Union rests upon public opinion, and can never be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in civil war. If it can not live in the affections of the people, it must one day perish. Congress possesses many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force."
• Former President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William H. Crawford, Secretary of War under President James Madison, on June 20, 1816: "In your letter to Fisk, you have fairly stated the alternatives between which we are to choose : 1, licentious commerce and gambling speculations for a few, with eternal war for the many ; or, 2, restricted commerce, peace, and steady occupations for all. If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, 'let us separate'. I would rather the States should withdraw, which are for unlimited commerce and war, and confederate with those alone which are for peace and agriculture."
• Economic enfranchisement of an economically oppressed class that is regionally concentrated within the scope of a larger national territory.
• The right to liberty, freedom of association and private property
• Consent as important democratic principle; will of majority to secede should be recognized
• Making it easier for states to join with others in an experimental union
• Dissolving such union when goals for which it was constituted are not achieved
• Self-defense when larger group presents lethal threat to minority or the government cannot adequately defend an area
• Self-determination of peoples
• Preserving culture, language, etc. from assimilation or destruction by a larger or more powerful group
• Furthering diversity by allowing diverse cultures to keep their identity
• Rectifying past injustices, especially past conquest by a larger power
• Escaping "discriminatory redistribution", i.e., tax schemes, regulatory policies, economic programs, etc. that distribute resources away to another area, especially in an undemocratic fashion
• Enhanced efficiency when the state or empire becomes too large to administer efficiently
• Preserving "liberal purity" (or "conservative purity") by allowing less (or more) liberal regions to secede
• Providing superior constitutional systems which allow flexibility of secession
• Keeping political entities small and human scale through right to secession

Aleksandar Pavkovic, associate professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Macquarie University in Australia and the author of several books on secession describes five justifications for a general right of secession within liberal political theory,

• Anarcho-Capitalism: individual liberty to form political associations and private property rights together justify right to secede and to create a "viable political order" with like-minded individuals.
• Democratic Secessionism: the right of secession, as a variant of the right of self-determination, is vested in a "territorial community" which wishes to secede from "their existing political community"; the group wishing to secede then proceeds to delimit "its" territory by the majority.
• Communitarian Secessionism: any group with a particular "participation-enhancing" identity, concentrated in a particular territory, which desires to improve its members' political participation has a prima facie right to secede.
• Cultural Secessionism: any group which was previously in a minority has a right to protect and develop its own culture and distinct national identity through seceding into an independent state.
• The Secessionism of Threatened Cultures: if a minority culture is threatened within a state that has a majority culture, the minority needs a right to form a state of its own which would protect its culture.

Types of secession
Secession theorists have described a number of ways in which a political entity (city, county, canton, state) can secede from the larger or original state:

• Secession from federation or confederation (political entities with substantial reserved powers which have agreed to join together) versus secession from a unitary state (a state governed as a single unit with few powers reserved to sub-units)
• Colonial aka "wars of independence" from a "mother country" or imperial state
• National (seceding entirely from the national state) versus local (seceding from one entity of the national state into another entity of the same state)
• Central or enclave (seceding entity is completely surrounded by the original state) versus peripheral (along a border of the original state)
• Secession by contiguous units versus secession by non-contiguous units (exclaves)
• Separation or partition (although an entity secedes, the rest of the state retains its structure) versus dissolution (all political entities dissolve their ties and create several new states)
• Irredentism where secession is sought in order to annex the territory to another state because of common ethnicity or prior historical links
• Minority (a minority of the population or territory secedes) versus majority (a majority of the population or territory secedes)
• Secession of better off regions versus secession of worse off regions
• The threat of Secession sometimes is used as a strategy to gain greater autonomy within the original state

Arguments against secession

Allen Buchanan, who supports secession under limited circumstances, lists arguments that might be used against secession

• "Protecting Legitimate Expectations" of those who now occupy territory claimed by secessionists, even in cases where that land was stolen
• "Self Defense" if losing part of the state would make it difficult to defend the rest of it
• "Protecting Majority Rule" and the principle that minorities must abide by them
• "Minimization of Strategic Bargaining" by making it difficult to secede, such as by imposing an exit tax
• "Soft Paternalism" because secession will be bad for secessionists or others
• "Threat of Anarchy" because smaller and smaller entities may choose to secede until there is chaos, although this is not the true meaning of the political and philosophical concept.
• "Preventing Wrongful Taking" such as the state's previous investment in infrastructure
• "Distributive Justice" arguments that wealthier areas cannot secede from poorer ones

Movements that work towards political secession may describe themselves as being autonomy, separatist, independence, self-determination, partition, devolution decentralisation, sovereignty, self-governance or decolonisation movements instead of, or in addition to, being secession movements.

Now let us look at some of the examples of secession movements in as many countries in different continents, just to convince ourselves it is a world's norm to have seen as many secessions, many were successful, some crushed, and yet others just a lingering aspirations or potentialities.

I bet many in Malaysia did not realise that the small enclave nation of now Belgium actually seceded from the Netherlands, and that Portugal seceded from a Kingdom of Spain. Neither do we so realise for sure before that Bangladesh actually seceded from what was formerly East Pakistan, only in the 1970s. Let us read on the list below...

Australia

During the 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales (NSW) was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. Victoria (Vic) in 1851 and Queensland (Qld) in 1859.

However, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century; particularly in central Queensland (centred in Rockhampton) in the 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland (with Bowen as a potential colonial capital) in the 1870s. Other secession (or territorial separation) movements arose and these advocated the secession of New England in northern central New South Wales, Deniliquin in the Riverina district also in NSW, and Mount Gambier in the eastern part of South Australia.

Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia (WA), where a 1933 referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution.

The Principality of Hutt River claims to have seceded from Australia in 1970, although its status is not recognised by Australia or any other country. According to a lexicon on nationalist movements across the world, Macau happened to recognise that Principality.

Austria

Austria successfully seceded from Nazi Germany on April 27, 1945. This took place after seven years of Austria being part of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich due to the Anschluss annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938.

Belgium and the Netherlands

On August 25, 1830, during the reign of William I, the nationalistic opera La muette de Portici was performed in Brussels. Soon after, the Belgian Revolt occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from the Netherlands.

Brazil

Two southern republican states seceded from Brazil in 1835. Defeated in the Ragamuffin War, they returned in 1845. The slightly earlier cabanagem struggle of Grão-Pará was in part a northern secessionist movement.

Canada

Throughout Canada's history, there has been tension between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. Under the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Quebec colony (including parts of what is today Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador) was divided in two: Lower Canada (which retained French law and institutions and is now divided between the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador) and Upper Canada (a new colony intended to accommodate the many English-speaking settlers, including the United Empire Loyalists, and now part of Ontario). The intent was to provide each group with its own colony. In 1841, the two Canadas were merged into the Province of Canada. The union proved contentious, however, resulting in a legislative deadlock between English and French legislators. The difficulties of the union led to the adoption of a federal system in Canada, and the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The federal framework did not eliminate all tensions, however, leading to the Quebec sovereignty movement in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other occasional secessionist movements have included anti-Confederation movements in 19th century Atlantic Canada (see Anti-Confederation Party), the North-West Rebellion of 1885, and various small separatism movements in Alberta particularly (see Alberta separatism) and Western Canada generally (see, for example, Western Canada Concept).

Central America

After the 1823 collapse of the First Mexican Empire, the former Captaincy-General of Guatemala was organized into a new Federal Republic of Central America. In 1838 Nicaragua seceded. The Federal Republic was formally dissolved in 1840, all but one of the states having seceded amidst general disorder.

China

The Republic of China (ROC) government, which ruled mainland China from 1911 to 1949, administers Taiwan and a few surrounding islands, while the People's Republic of China (PRC) government administers mainland China. Both sides officially claim sovereignty over both mainland China and Taiwan. There is debate in Taiwan as to whether to create a new Republic of Taiwan to replace the current ROC government. At the Third session of the Tenth National People's Congress (March 14, 2005) the PRC government adopted the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. See Taiwan independence.

Within the PRC, the three northwestern regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet, (and its accompanying regions) are also the focus of secessionist calls by the Tibetan Independence Movement and East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

Congo

In 1960 the State of Katanga declared independence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations troops crushed it in Operation Grand Slam.

Cyprus

In 1974, the Turkish Army invaded northern Cyprus to protect the interests of the ethnic Turkish minority, who in the following year formed the Turkish Federative State of Cyprus and in 1983 declared independence as the Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey.

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) has been described as having "seceded" from Indonesia.[19][20][21] After Portuguese sovereignty was terminated in 1975, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia. However the United Nations and the International Court of Justice refused to recognize this incorporation. Therefore the resulting civil war and eventual 2002 East Timorese vote for complete separation are better described as an independence movement.

Ethiopia

Following the 1993 victory of opposition forces against the communist Derg regime during the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrea (formerly known as "Bahri Negash" before being renamed to "Eritrea" by Italian colonizers from 1890–1941) seceded in a United Nations referendum with the blessing of the newly formed Ethiopian government.

European Union

Before the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009 no provision in the treaties or law of the European Union outlined the ability of a state to voluntarily withdraw from the EU. The European Constitution did propose such a provision and, after the failure to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, that provision was then included in the Lisbon Treaty.

The treaty introduces an exit clause for members who wish to withdraw from the Union. This formalises the procedure by stating that a member state may notify the European Council that it wishes to withdraw, upon which withdrawal negotiations begin; if no other agreement is reached the treaty ceases to apply to the withdrawing state two years after such notification.

Gran Colombia

After a decade of tumultuous federalism, Ecuador and Venezuela seceded from Gran Colombia in 1830, leaving the similarly tumultuous United States of Colombia, now the Republic of Colombia which also lost Panama in 1903.

Republic of India

Pakistan seceded from the British Indian empire in what is known as the so-called the Partition. Today, the Constitution of India does not allow Indian states to secede from the Union. The disputed occupied territory of Indian-administered Kashmir has had a violent nationalist movement against Indian annexation mostly in the Valley of Kashmir since 1989, which continues and is supported by Pakistan. Other violent secessionist movements in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Punjab (known as the Khalistan movement), Mizoram and Tripura were also formerly active, while Tamil Nadu had a non-violent movement in the 1960s. While a violent Maoist insurgency continues to rage across a wide-swath of eastern rural India, the movement is not considered a secessionist movement because the goal of the Maoists is to overthrow the government of India, although rebel commanders have occasionally called for a Communist republic to be carved out of swaths of India. The Pakistani Armed organizations is a participant in the Kashmir conflict and strives to establish the merger state of Jammu and Kashmir from secular India to Muslim Pakistan.

Italy

The Movement for the Independence of Sicily (Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano, MIS) has its roots in the Sicilian Independentist Movement of the late 1940s. They have been around for 60 years and is the oldest movement in Italy. Lega Nord seeks the independence of Padania which includes lands along the Po Valley in northern Italy. Some organizations separately work for the independence of Venetia or Veneto and the session or reunification of South Tyrol with Austria.

Iran

Active secession movements include: Iranian Azeri, Assyrian independence movement, Bakhtiary lurs movement in 1876, Iranian Kurdistan; Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Khūzestān Province Balochistan indefependence movent for free separated Balochistan, (Arab nationalist); Al-Ahwaz Arab People's Democratic Popular Front, Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (See Politics of Khūzestān Province: Arab politics and separatism), and Balochistan People's Party (BPP) supporting Baloch Separatism.

Malaysia

When racial and partisan strife erupted, Singapore was expelled from the Malaysian federation in 1965. Agitation for secession has since been sporadic on the culturally distinct large island of Borneo in the states of Sabah and Sarawak although these sentiments has been gaining momentum and supports in the past few years following the proliferation of social medias and failure of the central government to fulfill conditions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963

*Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia - Sabah Sarawak Union (UK), Sarawak Sovereignity Movement (SSM), Sabah Freedom Movement (SFM), Borneo's Plight in Malaysia (BOPIM), Sarawak People's Aspiration (SAPA), Borneo Youth Revolution (BYR), Semangat Satu Perjuangan Rakyat (SSPR), United Borneo Front (UBF)* 

Mexico

Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836 (see Texas Revolution), after animosity between the Mexican government and the American settlers of the Coahuila y Tejas State. It was later annexed by the United States in 1845.

The Republic of the Rio Grande seceded from Mexico on January 17, 1840, it rejoined Mexico on November 6 the same year.

After the federal system was abandoned by President Santa Anna, the Congress of Yucatán approved in 1840 a declaration of independence, establishing the Republic of Yucatán. The Republic rejoined Mexico in 1843.

New Zealand

Secession movements have surfaced several times in the South Island of New Zealand. A Premier of New Zealand, Sir Julius Vogel, was amongst the first people to make this call, which was voted on by the Parliament of New Zealand as early as 1865. The desire for South Island independence was one of the main factors in moving the capital of New Zealand from Auckland to Wellington in the same year.

The NZ South Island Party with a pro-South agenda, fielded only five candidates (4.2% of electoral seats) candidates in the 1999 General Election but only achieved 0.14% (2622 votes) of the general vote. The reality today is that although "South Islanders" are most proud of their geographic region, secession does not carry any real constituency; the party was not able to field any candidates in the 2008 election due to being unable to enlist 500 paying members, a requirement by the New Zealand Electoral commission. The party is treated more as a "joke" party than any real political force.

Nigeria

Between 1967 and 1970, the unrecognised state of Biafra (The Republic of Biafra) seceded from Nigeria, resulting in a civil war that ended with the state returning to Nigeria. Later in 1999 at the beginning of a new democratic regime, other secessionist movements emerged, the movement for the Actualization of a Sovereign state of Biafra was formed as a military wing of the Republic of Biafra.

Norway and Sweden

Sweden, having left the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway in the 16th century, entered into a loose personal union with Norway in 1814. Following a constitutional crisis, on June 7, 1905 the Norwegian Parliament declared that King Oscar II had failed to fulfill his constitutional duties. He was therefore no longer King of Norway and because the union depended on the two countries sharing a king, it was thus dissolved. After negotiations Sweden agreed to this on October 26 and on April 14

Pakistan

After the Awami League won the 1970 national elections, negotiations to form a new government floundered, resulting in the Bangladesh Liberation War by which the eastern wing of Pakistan seceded, to become Bangladesh. The Balochistan Liberation Army (also Baloch Liberation Army or Boluchistan Liberation army) (BLA) is a Baloch nationalist militant secessionist organization. The stated goals of the organization include the establishment of an independent state of Balochistan free of Pakistani and Iranian Federations. The name Baloch Liberation Army first became public in summer 2000, after the organization claimed credit for a series of bomb attacks in markets and removal of railways lines.

Papua New Guinea

The island of Bougainville has made several efforts to secede from Papua New Guinea.

Somalia

Somaliland is an autonomous region, which is part of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Those who call the area the Republic of Somaliland consider it to be the successor state of the former British Somaliland protectorate. Having established its own local government in Somalia in 1991, the region's self-declared independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.

Soviet Union

In 1990, after free elections, the Lithuanian SSR declared independence. Other SSRs followed leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

South Africa

In 1910, following the British Empire's defeat of the Afrikaner in the Boer Wars, four self-governing colonies in the south of Africa were merged into the Union of South Africa. The four regions were the Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Natal and Transvaal. Three other territories, High Commission Territories of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Swaziland later became independent states in the 1960s. Following the election of the Nationalist government in 1948, some English-speaking whites in Natal advocated either secession or a loose federation. There were also calls for secession, with Natal and the eastern part of the Cape Province breaking away. following the referendum in 1960 on establishing a republic, and in 1993, prior to South Africa's first elections under universal suffrage and the end of apartheid, some Zulu leaders in KwaZulu-Natal considered secession as did some politicians in the Cape Province.

In 2008, a political movement calling for the return to independence of the Cape resurged in the shape of the political organisation, the Cape Party. The Cape Party contested their first elections on 22 April 2009.

Spain

Spain (known officially as "the Kingdom of Spain") was assembled in the 15th and 16th centuries from various component kingdoms, from which Portugal seceded in the Portuguese Restoration War while other component kingdoms lost their secession wars. Spain has several secessionist movements, the most notable being in Catalonia and in the Basque Country.

Sri Lanka

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been banned in US, UK, EU, Canada, and many other countries as a terrorist group, operated a de facto independent state called Tamil Eelam in eastern and northern Sri Lanka until 2009.

Switzerland

In 1847, seven disaffected Catholic cantons formed a separate alliance because of moves to change the cantons of Switzerland from a confederation to a more centralized government federation. This effort was crushed in the Sonderbund war and a new Swiss Federal Constitution was created.

United Kingdom

Ireland is the only territory that has withdrawn from the United Kingdom proper. Ireland declared independence in 1916 and, as the Irish Free State, gained independence in 1922. Currently the United Kingdom has a number of secession movements:

In Northern Ireland, Irish Republicans and Nationalists in general, have long called for the secession of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom in order to join the Republic of Ireland. This is opposed by Unionists.

In Scotland the Scottish National Party (SNP) campaigns for Scottish independence and direct Scottish membership of the European Union. It has representation at all levels of Scottish politics and now forms the devolved Scottish Government. A number of nascent pro-independence parties have enjoyed only limited electoral success. The Scottish Green Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Enterprise Party are most widely publicised, however all independence movements/parties are opposed by Unionists. A referendum on the independence has been scheduled for 2014, after being agreed by Alex Salmond and David Cameron

In Wales, Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) stands for Welsh independence within the European Union. It is also represented at all levels of Welsh politics and is the third largest party in the National Assembly of Wales.

In Cornwall, supporters of Mebyon Kernow call for the creation of a Cornish Assembly and separation from England, giving the county significant self-government, whilst remaining within the United Kingdom as a fifth home nation.

In England the now-disbanded Free England Party (FEP) campaigned for English independence.

Parts of Southern England like Devon, the Isle of Wight, Minster in Kent, and Wessex, have autonomy movements.[citation needed]

Some of the more radical members of the British direct democracy movement in the Conservative Party (Daniel Hannan for example) – while not actually advocating secession – support the federalization of the UK into states along county boundaries (actually a proposal of 5 or 6 regions of England, 4 or 5 in Scotland and 3 in Wales). There are currently 9 government office regions in England and none in the other Home Nations.

United States

Discussions and threats of secession often surface in American politics, and secession was declared during the Civil War between the States. However in 1869 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1869) that unilateral secession was not permitted saying that the union between a state (Texas in the case before the bar) "was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States. There was no place for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or through consent of the States."

Yemen

North Yemen and South Yemen merged in 1990; tensions led to a 1994 southern secession which was crushed in a civil war.

Yugoslavia

On June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia seceded from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Also Bosnia and Hercegovina and Macedonia declared independence. Followed, the federation collapsed, Serbia and Montenegro, was renamed to Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Several wars ensued between FR Yugoslavia and seceding entitites and among other ethnic groups in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later, Kosovo. Montenegro peacefully separated from its union with Serbia in 2006.

Kosovo declared de facto independence on February 17, 2008, and was recognized by several dozen countries, but officially remains under United Nations administration.

There is a strong tendency for secession of the Republic of Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Source: http://www.borneoherald.com/2014/02/read-facts-about-secession.html#more

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The EU is young people’s future. They must have the vote in this referendum

In the days since the general election, David Cameron has set his sights firmly on Europe and shortened the potential timeframe of his planned referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

But it’s worth remembering that the Tories managed to win only one out of 59 seats in Scotland, and that they had their worst ever general election vote share north of the border since 1865. Cameron’s mandate among the UK’s “family of nations” – to use his own term from the Scottish independence referendum campaign – is dubious at best. In light of the result in Scotland, the prime minister must recognise that it cannot be business as usual.

Cameron has promised to govern with respect. To have any hope of achieving that, it is vital to his own credibility and to that of the government he leads to apply core democratic principles to the EU referendum bill ,which is expected to be published on Thursday.

Best practice from the independence referendum must be followed – and that includes extending the vote in an EU referendum to 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK. Scotland’s 56 SNP MPs will certainly seek to amend the legislation to ensure that young people are able to take part in the vote.

Restricted franchise in EU referendum would make a mockery of democracy

Letters: David Cameron must give me and fellow Brits living in other parts of the EU a say in our own future

My own interest in this matter goes back many years – including devoting my maiden speech in the House of Commons in 2001 to the case for lowering the voting age to 16 across the board. Interestingly, when Winnie Ewing won the Hamilton by-election in 1967, her maiden speech called for the voting age to be cut from 21, as it was at that time, to 18.

Progress has been made, and one of the great successes of last year’s independence referendum was the franchise being extended to young adults. Scotland sent out the message loudly and clearly that 16- and 17-year-olds should have the right to shape the country they live in.

And as a nation we were not let down: 16- and 17-year-olds turned out in huge numbers to vote, and did not stop there. Young people in Scotland have embraced participative democracy like never before.

I don’t agree with having a referendum on EU membership – but if it is to go ahead, then Cameron has a responsibility to help ensure it can be an enriching and open debate. Young people are our future. It is their UK – and their Europe – so they must have their say.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds can pay taxes, get married and join the armed forces, so it is only right and fair that they should also be entitled to vote.

The opposition benches must send a message to this Tory government that they cannot ride roughshod over our future

We will also seek to amend the legislation to ensure that no constituent part of the UK can be taken out of the EU against its will. We will propose a “double majority” rule, meaning that unless England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each vote to leave the EU, as well as the UK as a whole, Britain would remain a member state.

If Cameron continues to refuse to accept this democratic protection, then his independence referendum vow that Scotland is to have an equal voice will be in tatters.

We also support the idea of EU nationals living in the UK having their say. If a vote for the UK to leave the EU was successful, it could have deeply damaging consequences on the lives of those people who have chosen to live and work here, and on their families. Just like young people, and the UK “family of nations”, European nationals deserve a voice too.

North of the border, EU citizens can vote in Scottish parliament elections and local authority elections – and, of course, they had their say in the independence referendum. Although this is not yet the case for Westminster’s general elections, it would be wrong to exclude them from a vote on the UK’s European membership.

Cameron will be accountable for his rhetoric and his actions, and the SNP will – as we promised during the general election campaign – work to promote progressive policies.

And we will look to work across party lines in these objectives. As well as from our friends in Plaid Cymru and the Greens, we will also seek support from Labour MPs and the remaining Lib Dems.

It is important that the opposition benches send a strong message to this Tory government that it cannot ride roughshod over our future.

SNP MPs at Westminster will do all we can to ensure that everyone has a fair say on our future European membership – including the UK’s youngest citizens.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/24/eu-young-people-vote-referendum?CMP=share_btn_tw

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A message from a Canadian to all Sabahan regarding the Earthquake tragedy: Siou poh kumaa tulun Sabah

I am deeply saddened by the events that have recently transpired in Sabah, for a number of reasons.

First, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims of the earthquake. My deepest condolences. To the rescuers, we honour you.

I am fortunate enough to have been allowed to climb Mount Kinabalu, and I will always remember the welcoming porters who tolerate tourists climbing her with kindness and hospitality. I admire the Dusun women who carry giant tubs of water up the mountain to the waypoint, Laban Rata (wearing only sandals!).

The people of Sabah are some of the gentlest people I have ever had the fortune to know. Who would have thought I would meet and marry a Kadazandusun from Tambunan! I am blessed to be part of such a beautiful family. I am in awe of my wife’s spiritual connection to Nature, something that the Western world seems to have lost a long time ago.

Sabahans are compassionate people with a warrior spirit, and have a rich indigenous tradition. Mount Kinabalu is not 'just a mountain'. It holds a place of deep significance, particularly to the natives. They do not ask much of tourists - they know that most will make little or no attempt to learn their language. They tolerate rudeness with a smile and only ask that tourists show some respect to their culture and traditions.

When I found out that Canadians were involved in the recent 'strip down' on the mountain (on May 30 no less--- they are likely blissfully ignorant of the significance of doing this on Kaamatan), I only hoped that they were contrite, and made immediate, public apologies. When I found out that they swore at the porters, and urinated on the mountain, I was infuriated. Canadians have worked hard to build up a good reputation as tourists and travelers, and these few have managed to soil our reputation in the eyes of many Sabahans, perhaps forever. They have continued to show disrespect and are doing more damage to the reputation of Canada than they likely know. When Sabahans say that their lewd behaviour is what caused the earthquake, this may sound 'ridiculous' to some. But it is their belief and we need to respect it.

I hope that the people of Sabah realise that not all Canadians are ignorant. I hope that the people responsible for the disrepectful behaviour are punished to the fullest extent of the law. They should be fined or jailed, and asked to perform community service. Although this will not erase what they have done, hopefully it will make them realize how seriously they have offended one of the last guardians of the natural world as we know it. Siou poh kumaa tulun Sabah.

Written by Chris Quarrie with Michelle Kiob

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Mangsa Korban Gempa Bumi Perlukan Doa Anda Semua

Abang saya hantar barang di kundasang tadi, sekali yang dia balik sudah, dia singgah sekejap beli breakfast.. Aunty yang jaga kedai itu terus cerita semalam jam 11pm ada bunyi pelik di gunung, itu aunty keluar kunun pergi tengok di sana arah gunung ada orang suluh-suluh lagi dari laban rata sambil dorang dengar ada orang teriak-teriak.. ada itu yang sama-sama membeli terus cakap sama itu aunty. . "aik,saya ingat saya saja yang dengar" dia bilang ni..

Itu bunyi pelik berlaku sekitar jam 11pm - 1am ..

Sejak semua sudah dijumpai, dipercayai tidak ada siapa-siapa sudah yang berada di gunung. Belum ada kerja pembaikpulihan atau pun apa-apa. Bunyi apa kah itu ?? Pelikk tapi benaarrr...

Mungkin itu souls sana ataupun yang baru meninggal di atas gunung... Memang belum rest in peace itu sebab my friend itu hari pray rosary 11.45pm... Itu soul/roh Robbi and another guide and the singaporean kids datang kepadanya, dia blang....Itu kawan saya cakap sama si Robbi.. "GO TO JESUS... HE'S WAITING FOR YOU... BRING ALONG THE KIDS..YOUR JOB HAS DONE HERE..." Begitulah kawan saya cakap sama soul/roh si Robbi... Itu guide satu tidak berckap tapi muka dorang sedih sebab ramai budak mati... Si Robbi tidak tahu yang dia sudah mati... Kawan saya bilang... Tengah dia sembayang rosary... Dia nampak itu souls/roh-roh guide kan berabis berlari kehulu-hilir pergi search and rescue itu budak-budak semua... Dia nampak masa the day Robbi kena kubur....

Lepas kawan saya bercakap sama dia... Barulah Robbi bawa semua budak-budak yang mati itu dan itu guide satu orang di belakang sekali jalan ke tempat lain... Dorang betul-betul sedih kawan saya bilang... Dorang perlukan doa... Bukan untuk setakat sehari, dua, minggu tapi forever kawan saya bilang...

***Cerita ini adalah satu perkongsian daripada beberapa orang yang telah digabungkan menjadi satu cerita lengkap. Ini bukan rekaan cerita dan terpulang kepada anda untuk mempercayai ataupun tidak. 

Kepada semua rakyat Negara Sabah khususnya, mohon anda semua membawakan mereka ke dalam doa anda nenurut kepercayaan anda masing-masing.***

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An open letter to the nudists: Our culture makes us who we are; who are you to question it, let alone defile it?

Dear Emil, Monkeetime, and the rest,

I haven’t been this angry in a long time. In fact, I doubt I have ever been this angry. I was raised to respect people as equals, and I am doing my best to keep that in mind. I am truly, however, disappointed and ashamed to have to call you as such. Please know that there is nothing more I would like to do than cuss you out, but I am a better person – not better than you, but better than that.

I cannot understand and I cannot even begin to fathom how utterly and completely selfish you must be. It is not a joke. It is not even remotely funny. People have lost families and loved ones because of the earthquake. If you did or did not cause it is not the point. If the mountain has spirits or not is not the point.

The point is you.

The point is your disrespect, and your continual disrespect of Malaysia. You have not insulted just the locals of Borneo – you have insulted Malaysia. Every. Single. One of us who call it home, whether we live here or overseas.

The point is your insolence for who we are. This is not your home. This is not your country. You are but a visitor, with no right to do what you did. Our culture makes us who we are; who are you to question it, let alone defile it?

The point is your ignorance of the current situation. People have lost lives. People have lost family and loved ones. People have lost their homes. People are suffering. And you don’t care. Don’t tell me otherwise, because it’s evident in the way you speak.

The point is your inability to take responsibility for what you have done. I don’t mean the earthquake – I mean the incivility you have displayed by taking those pictures. You would not go to France and draw on the Mona Lisa. You would not go to England and vandalise the Buckingham Palace. You would not go to Egypt and take a dump on the pyramids. And yet, you have taken nude pictures on sacred land. It’s the same thing; you have come into our land and blatantly, and without any sign of remorse, desecrated something that is special to us.

Own up. Take responsibility. Apologize. These are basic manners ingrained into me since I was a child. I don’t know what background you’ve had, nor how you were raised. I only know the bare basics of how to behave. You have taken those pictures. You have shown nothing but a complete and utter effrontery for us as a country. You have damaged the sacredness of our mountain, and then you have the sheer audacity to insult us and our culture after that.

I am angry, but I am also disgusted. I am disgusted by your hard heart – your lack of empathy towards those who are suffering. I am disgusted that you have such a small mind and such a shallow appreciation for different cultures that you can’t understand what you have done wrong. I am disgusted that you cannot and will not take responsibility for what you have done. I am disgusted by your continual insulting of our culture and our people.

You alone know why you did such horrible acts, and you alone know why you have shown such disrespect towards us as a nation. All I know is that I truly and honestly pity you, because only someone with absolutely no moral standards would ever do something like this. What truly horrible lives you must live and have lived to have turned out this way.

I can only hope that, one day, you find your way back to humanity.

Sincerely,

Written by Melanie Lim

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Formation following quake said to resemble first Dusun man to scale Mt Kinabalu

KUNDASANG, June 8, 2015: Surface formation following the earthquake aftermath is said to resemble Datuk Gunting Lagadan, the first Dusun man to scale Mount Kinabalu.

Dusun is one of the more than 70 ethnic groups in Sabah.

A lodge on the mountain has also been named in his honour.

The “image” was initially thought to be of Aki Nabalu, which is the mountain’s name in the Dusun language.

A photo of the surface formation and that of Lagadan have gone viral and are being circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp.

The images hold a lot of fascination following the earthquake tragedy on Friday that has resulted in at least 16 deaths and many injuries on the revered mountain and property damage in the surrounding areas.

The Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) community believes that the spirits of their ancestors dwell among the bare rocks of Mount Kinabalu top.

According to local folklore, Aki Nabalu, which literally means “the revered place of the dead”, is the story of a broken-hearted wife who turned into stone waiting for the return of her husband.

Some say it is a giant king and it remained unshaken until Friday morning after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit most parts of Sabah.

Since the quake, the people have been lifting their eyes to the mountains seeking help from their god.

Many blamed the sacrilegious act by a group of Europeans who posed butt naked on Mount Kinabalu recently and thus desecrated the site revered as sacred to the people of Sabah.

The group of 10 tourists, believed to include two Canadians, two Dutch and a German national, were butt naked when they posed upon reaching the peak of Mount Kinabalu on May 29 morning.

Of the 187 climbers,  a total of 16 deaths have been recorded and two more have not been accounted for.

Source: http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/06/08/formation-following-quake-said-to-resemble-first-dusun-man-to-scale-mt-kinabalu/

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‘EC must refer to Malaysia Agreement 1963 for delineation plans involving Sarawak, Sabah’

KUCHING: The Election Commission (EC) should adhere to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 as the reference for any proposed constituency delineation exercise.

PRS Youth deputy chief Sempurai Petrus Ngelai concurred with party president Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing who recently said the legality of the Malaysian Federation could be questioned if the 1963 Agreement was not honoured.

Sempurai feared that any act to the contrary would breach the said Agreement and in turn, could open a floodgate in which any federal bodies would begin to ignore or refuse to abide by the said accord.

“It is puzzling to us as to why the EC said it’s not bound by the 1963 Agreement when it has clearly spelt out that East Malaysia should be given one-third of parliamentary seats. We urge the commission to observe the Agreement and allocate one-third of the parliamentary seats accordingly.

“We must uphold the fundamental principles under the Malaysia Agreement. Therefore, any act to the contrary clearly denies the existence of this accord,” he said in a statement to The Borneo Post yesterday.

On Thursday, Masing was quoted as having said that EC should honour and uphold the terms entailed in the 1963 Agreement as it remains the foundation for the country’s formation.

“If the accord is not honoured, then the Federation of Malaysia should be declared null and void,” he said.

Masing was responding to EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, who said that any allocation of seats must be dealt with according to the constitution; not by way of any agreement that would not be binding on the commission’s part.

On this, PRS Youth publicity chief Bit Surang believed that the legality of the nation would be at stake should Abdul Aziz’s statement be taken into account.

“The EC chairman is obviously ignorant about the history of the formation of Malaysia. By saying that EC is not bound by the Malaysia Agreement 1963, he is in fact, questioning the validity of the Agreement.

“Abdul Aziz said any review on the matter must take into account the composition ratio of the parliamentary seats agreed at the formation of the (Malaysian) Federation. Back then, Malaya was allocated 104 seats representing 65 per cent of the parliamentary seats; with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore combined getting 55 seats or 35 per cent. But after Singapore left, where did the 15 seats go to?

“Sabah and Sarawak must collectively be given 35 per cent of the seats in Parliament, which means a combine minimum of 78 seats out of 222 in Dewan Rakyat. Currently, Sabah and Sarawak have 56 seats in Parliament,” he pointed out.

Bit also said the government should revisit the recommendation in Paragraphs 165 and 190(g) of the Cobbold Commission Report, which states: “Representation of the Borneo territories shall take into account not only of their population but also their size and potentialities.”

He added: “We must also ensure fairer and more equitable distribution of funds for each constituency, as well as access to facilities and amenities by the people in both states.”

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/06/06/ec-must-refer-to-malaysia-agreement-1963-for-delineation-plans-involving-sarawak-sabah/#ixzz3ck6hGvaw

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Sabah and Sarawak saviours, not fixed deposits, says academic

Describing voters in Sabah and Sarawak as "fixed deposits" for Barisan Nasional (BN) is degrading, an academic said, adding that the Bornean states were better called "saviours" of the ruling coalition.

University Putra Malaysia's politics and government expert professor Dr Jayum Anak Jawan said Sabah and Sarawak had time and again ensured Malay politics in the states survived for BN, which would otherwise be faring worse in elections.

"Sabah and Sarawak are not a fixed deposit, I think that is very degrading.

"Please don't use fixed deposit. Sabah and Sarawak are the saviour of a sunken ship. Without Sabah and Sarawak, Barisan Nasional is no where. We have been saving West Malaysian politics for more or less three or four times in history," he said at a conference today.

"Before this, we came over to save Malaya from the emergency in 1948. In 1963, we came to ensure Malay politics remained, as our population was to balance the Chinese population in Singapore," Jayum said, referring to the formation of Malaysia in 1963 when Sabah, Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore came together. Singapore left the federation two years later.

Jayum said BN's political problems were race-based between the Malay and Chinese votes and had little to do with Sarawak and the Dayaks –  the broad term used to collectively describe the indigenous people of the state.

"This is all Malay-Chinese problem, it is not a Sarawak and Dayak problem, but we have been coming to resolve, to bring peace between these two political warring ethnic groups," he said at a conference called "The 13th Malaysian General Elections: The Sarawak Perspective" in Kuala Lumpur.

Jayum said Sabah and Sarawak had again saved Malay politics in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, when BN leaders began using the term "fixed deposit" to describe the east Malaysian states which remained with the ruling coalition despite inroads by the opposition.

Jayum also said later during a question-and-answer session that it was unreasonable for Sabah and Sarawak's citizens to say they were still undeveloped, since they had chosen to vote for BN all this while.

"Is that the fault of federal government or the fault of state government, or your own fault?

"If the representation from Sabah and Sarawak is unfair, why do Sabah and Sarawak people still stay in Barisan Nasional?

"If Sabah and Sarawak says that they are unfairly treated, yet keep on telling the people that we still (lag) behind, then what are (we) doing in Barisan Nasional the last 50 years?" Jayum said.

On that score, Jayum said he agreed with other analysts that BN would win the upcoming Sarawak elections, except for seats in urban Chinese areas which have swung to the opposition in recent polls.

But he also predicted a rough ride for BN now that greater political awareness had come to the Dayaks.

"The state elections will be challenging. I don't expect the state BN to lose, but I'm not sure whether they will be able to keep their two-thirds majority because the focus now is on the Dayaks," he said.

Dayak seats form some 45% of state seats in Sarawak, and Jayum said more natives were beginning to realise that there was nothing wrong in voting against the ruling party or government.

He said this "wind of change" among the Dayaks was coming from the younger generation, who were more politically aware and informed of their rights.

He said this would not have much impact on the coming state polls which must be held by August 2016, as such awareness was still new, but he believed it was an indication of things to come. – June 9, 2015.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sabah-and-sarawak-saviours-not-fixed-deposits-says-academic#sthash.mb9VLumo.dpuf

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UNFINISHED PROCESS OF DECOLONIZATION UNDER UNDD 1960

You see, Singapore declared UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) on 31 Aug 1963, which was not recognised by Britain and Malaya. For a British colony to have its independence restored, the British Parliament must pass the independence act for the colony.

Singapore merged with Malaya on 16 Sep 1963 to form Malaysia. Malaysia is a sovereign nation, Malaysia is Malaya as verified by United Nations on 16 Sep 1963, just name tweaked a bit. Westminster did not pass the Parliament Act to decolonize its colonies - Spore, Sarawak, North Borneo. instead Malaysia Act in 1963 was passed in the British Parliament, vesting the power in Malaysia to hold the sovereignty of these British colonies. this is a direct transfer of colonialism, sukarno called it neo-colonialism.

The british were fond of choosing friendly regimes to pass their colonies to, who would continue their military (and US too) and economic interests in this strategic region.

In 1965, Singapore left.

The British Parliament still had to pass the Singapore Act in Westminster in 1966.

Why would Britain need to do this if Spore was independent territory in Malaysia 63-65?

But this final step is the most important process to complete decolonization. i repeat, full and complete decolonization means the colony (non-self-governing territory) is given national independence with the colonial power passing an Act to grant independence UNCONDITIONALLY AND UNRESERVEDLY.

This is the final step wanting for Sarawak and Sabah.

This is what we had been saying all the time, that is why the Peoples' Petition to United Nations is addressed to the Special Decolonization Committee C-24. to put SS back on the decolonization path, like french polynesia. we still need British Parliament to pass the Sarawak Act and Sabah Act for us to gain national independence. I always said Singapore set the precedent.

So, Sarawak and Sabah are still in the unfinished process of decolonization under United Nations Decolonization Declaration 1514, 1960.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/233762186824908/permalink/384054185129040/

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‘S’wak only stating the obvious’ dues under M’sia Agreement – Masing

KUCHING: Sarawak’s demand for more autonomy is a case of wanting what was due to the state under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and nothing more.

Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing who said this, added that the state is merely requesting for rights that was agreed upon the formation of Malaysia and nothing less.

The senior minister added that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem was stating the obvious when the latter made this request during the meet-the-people rally with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here on Thursday.

“The Federal boys shouldn’t get excited by Sarawak’s request. We just want what is due to us. Just don’t short-change Sarawak,” Masing told thesundaypost yesterday.

At Thursday’s programme attended by some 12,000 people comprising state Barisan Nasional (BN) component party members and BN affiliate members, Adenan said the state wants its autonomy to be reinstated. The chief minister added that both the state and federal governments were in negotiation on the terms for the devolution of powers to some of the state agencies.

Adenan was reported as saying that at the moment, decisions have to go through a lot of red tape before it is approved at federal level whereas some of the decisions could be done here. He also mentioned that implementation could be better as Sarawakians know the problem here better.

Najib, during his speech afterwards, acknowledged the need for the devolution while explaining it will expedite Sarawak’s development plan.

In this regards, Masing who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, reminded that Peninsular Malaysia must understand that in essence, without Sarawak and Sabah, there is no Malaysia.

“It would only be the Federation of Malaya,” he quipped.

The state’s autonomy at present covers its right to manage land, forest resources and immigration in accordance with the Federation of Malaysia Agreement signed on Sept 13, 1963.

Some of the federal government agencies, namely health, education and immigration are currently headed by Sarawakians as part of the Borneonisation policy as stated in the accord.

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/06/07/swak-only-stating-the-obvious-dues-under-msia-agreement-masing/#ixzz3chwbdv4Z

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Penerangan Ringkas Mengenai Gempabumi Ranau

Gempabumi merupakan gegaran bumi hasil pelepasan tenaga yang sangat cepat. Gelombang seismos bergerak pada semua arah daripada punca yang dikenali sebagai fokus. Titik pada permukaan bumi diatas fokus ini dikenali sebagai pusat gempabumi. Misalnya pusat gempabumi semalam didapati berdekatan puncak Gunung Kinabalu.  Ini bermakna fokus gempabumi terletak dibawah pusat ini. Dalam kes ini, fokus gempa berada sekitar 10 km dibawah. Inilah sebabnya berlaku tanah runtuh besar di gunung.

Gempabumi biasanya berlaku sepanjang sesar (retakan memanjang) dalam bumi sewaktu pembalikan elastik (elastic rebound). Bayangkan kita ambil pembaris plastik dan kita bengkokkannya. Selepas tahap tertentu ia akan patah dan seterusnya melepaskan tenaga yang disimpan olehnya. Batuan di dalam bumi pun berkelakuan begini.

Ada tiga jenis sesar, iaitu sesar mendatar (pergerakan horizontal), sesar naik dan sesar turun (pergerakan tegak). Dalam kes gempa di Ranau semalam, ia dihasilkan oleh sesar normal bertrend timurlaut-baratdaya.

Selepas gegaran besar beberapa gegaran kecil, dikenali sebagai "aftershocks" atau gempa susulan berlaku semasa kerak bumi mengalami pengubahsuaian. Kadang kadang terdapat gegaran kecil mendahului gegaran besar dikenali sebagai "foreshocks". Setakat ini terdapat 33 gempa susulan yang direkod oleh Jabatan Metereologi akibat gempabumi semalam.

Sekitar 80% gempabumi berlaku di Jalur Lingkaran Pasifik, hasil dari pertembungan plet bumi. Yang lain berlaku di luar jalur yang dikaitkan dengan sesar rantau yang masih aktif.

Seismik merujuk kepada gelombang tenaga yang dilepaskan selepas berlaku gempabumi. Ada tiga jenis gelombang seismik, iaitu gelombang mampatan dikenali sebagai P (Primer), gelombang ricih S (Sekunder) dan gelombang permukaan. Gelombang P adalah yang paling laju dan bergerak kedepan dan kebelakang, seperti "spring" kereta. Ini yang membuat kita merasa terayun dan pening bila gempa sampai di lokasi kita. Gelombang S pula bergerak turun dan naik, sementara gelombang permukaan bergerak dati kiri dan kanan. Kita-tiga gelombang ini akan dirasai hampir serentak kalau kita berada berdekatan dengan pusat gempabumi.

Kejadian gempabumi di Ranau berkait dengan kehadiran sesar aktif. Sesar aktif ini digerakkan kerana Sabah masih menerima tenaga mampatan dari interaksi 3 plet utama. Sebenarnya Sabah terletak pada tenggara Plet Eurasia. Di sebelah timur terdapat Plet Filipina-Pasifik. Plet ini bergerak sekitar 10cm per tahun kearah barat bertembung dengan Plet Eurasia.  Di bahagian selatan Plet Australia bergerak kearah utara dengan kelajuan sekitar 7 cm per tahun. Sempadan pertembungan plet inilah adalah yang paling aktif dan tidak stabil. Gempabumi bermagnitud besar sampai M8 boleh terjadi selain berlaku gunung berapi. Walaupun Sabah terletak sekitar 1000km dari jalur pertembungan plet, ia masih menerima tenaga mampatan jarak jauh ini. Makin jauh dari jalur bahaya ini, makin kurang kesannya. Oleh kerana Sabah paling dekat dengan Filipina dan Indonesia (Sulawesi), maka ia menerima kesan yang lebih serius berbanding dengan Sarawak dan Semenanjung. Aktivi mampatan di Sumatra yang memberi kesan kepada Semenanjung.

Di Ranau terdapat intrusi batuan igneus akibat mampatan oleh interaksi tiga plet diatas. Intrusi batuan yang lebur ini juga satu cara untuk melepaskan tenaga tersimpan melalui sesar aktif. Jadi di Ranau bukan terjadi volkano, seperti yang dipercayai orang ramai. Maka itu Gunung Kinabalu tidak akan meletup. Volkano hanya terdapat di Tawau dan Semporna, dimana pernah berlaku letupan beberapa puluh ribu tahun dahulu. Kawa volkano  masih kelihatan di Tawau.

Intrusi batuan igneus Gunung Kinabalu berlaku sekitar 7-8 juta tahun dahulu. Kini ia sudah sejuk di permukaan tapi masih ada sisa haba di bahagian dalam (beberapa km). Air panas Poring mendapat sumber haba dari ini apabila air hujan masuk dalam bumi melalui sesar-sesar yang masih aktif.

Semasa gempabumi semalam, air panas poring menjadi sangat keruh selama beberapa jam. Gegaran gempabumi nampaknya telah mengeluarkan mineral lempung yang terendap dicelah celah sesar ini. Akibatnya pengaliran air panas Poring lebih lancar dan lebih panas.

Gegaran kuat seperti yang berlaku semalam akan terus berlaku, apabila tenaga yang tersimpan sudah melebihi kemampuan bumi untuk menyimpannya. Ini biasanya berlaku secara berkala. Dalam kes gempabumi Ranau, ia berlaku sekitar 25 tahun. Yang pertama dalam ingatan kita berlaku pada tahun 1966 dengan magnitud 5.3. Yang kedua pada tahun 1991 bermagnitud 5.2 dan terkini pada tahun 2015. Kitaran ini anggaran saja, sebab rekod sejarah gempabumi di Sabah belum cukup panjang.

Sumber: Prof. Felix Tongkul, Pensyarah Geologi, UMS. 6/6/2015

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NEGARA SABAH MEMPUNYAI GUNUNG BERAPI! TAPI BUKAN GUNUNG KINABALU

Gunung Maria di Tawau merupakan sebuah gunung berapi tidak aktif. Malaysia memiliki gugusan gunung berapi, itu adalah fakta yang tidak mungkin anda temui di dalam buku teks di sekolah. Hanya kajian lanjut diperingkat pengajian tinggi mendedahkan perkara ini. Semenanjung Semporna bertapak di atas gugusan lapisan tebal batuan yang mengalir di bawahnya aliran lava dan batuan gunung berapi. Kajian topography menunjukkan kawasan di bahagian Tenggara, Sabah itu meliputi pergunungan Andrassy, Lucia, Maria, Wullersdorf dan Magdalena terbentuk mengunjur dari gugusan gunung berapi dari rantau Sulu, Filipina. 

Gunung ini diberi nama Gunung Maria, dikelaskan sebagai gunung berapi tidak aktif terletak di wilayah Bombalai, dalam daerah Tawau dengan ketinggian 1,067 meter dari aras laut Gunung Maria adalah jenis gunung berapi "Pyroclastic Cone" dan berstatus "Perholecene" iaitu berusia melebihi 12,000 tahun. Terdapat banyak gunung dan bukit kecil di dalam gugusan gunung berapi di Tawau termasuklah Bukit Gemok. Bukit Gemok umumnya adalah sebuah bukit curam disamping beberapa dataran landai. Puncak bukit ini berada di paras 396m dari aras laut.

Terdapat banyak gunung berapi tidak aktif di daerah Tawau termasuklah:-

- Gunung Tiger

- Gunung Bombalai

- Gunung Andrassy

- Gunung Maria

- Gunung Lucia

- Gunung Magdalena

- Quion Hill

- Gunung Wullersdorf

- Gunung Tagasan

- Gunung Glas

- Tengah Hill

- Kukusan Hill

Gunung berapi tidak aktif berhampiran Semporna ialah Gunung Pock dan Gunung Conner. Pulau Boheydulong dan Pulau Tetagan dekat Semporna juga merupakan sebahagian dari gugusan gunung berapi tidak aktif. Gunung Magdalena berketinggian 1,208 meter dari aras laut merupakan gunung tertinggi di gugusan itu.

Sumber: Geology UMS

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Hikmah disebalik kejadian Bogel di Puncak Gunung Kinabalu

Disini, ingin pihak SSKM-SSU(UK) mencadangkan dan menyarankan kepada pihak Persatuan-persatuan Etnik yang ada di Negara Sabah untuk menyenaraikan adat budaya dan pantang larangan masing-masing untuk diwartakan sebagai satu Peraturan yang mesti dihormati dan dipatuhi di Negara Sabah. Ia kan berfungsi sebagai perisai dan kekebalan kepada etnik-etnik Orang Asal. 

Kegagalan berbuat demikian boleh dikenakan tindakan undang-undang dan juga Sogit mengikut Makhamah Anak Negeri.

Melalui cara ini, semua adat budaya dan pantang larang etnik masing-masing akan mendapat pengiktirafan daripada semua pihak. Ini juga akan membantu Tourists Guide Sabah untuk memberikan pendidikan dan panduan umum kepada pelancong-pelancong asing dibawah jagaan dan tanggungjawab mereka tentang apa yang boleh dibuat dan tidak boleh dibuat agar perbuatan-perbuatan yang menjadi larangan adat budaya dan pantang larang etnik-etnik di Negara Sabah dihormati dan dipatuhi.

Dengan cara ini juga, ia mampu membendung perbuatan yang menjadi larangan dan pada masa yang sama ia memartabatkan kebudayaan dan adat resam nenek moyang Orang-orang Asal. Tambahan lagi, ia juga akan mampu berfungsi untuk menangkis sebarang cubaan untuk menghilangkan identiti dan keunikan yang sangat istimewa etnik-etnik Negara Sabah.

Perlu diingatkan juga bahawa pengamalan kebudayan dan adat resam perlu mendapat persetujuan bersama dikalangan etnik masing-masing agar ia tidak bertentangan dengan kepercayaan agama (kepada mereka yang memiliki agama).

Lain daerah, lain adat dan budayanya maka kerjasama pelbagai pihak perlu diberikan dalam menjayakan usaha ini demi kebaikan bersama.

Adat dan Kebudayaan ini merupakan identiti yang tidak boleh sesekali dihilangkan kerana jikalau ini berlaku, maka dunia tidak akan mampu mengenali etnik dan kebudayaan anda.

Selain itu, antara adat dan budaya Orang Asal Negara Sabah yang mesti diperkuatkan dan dipertahankan ialah "Pembukaan Tanah Kosong" untuk tujuan penanaman. Bukankah didalam adat dan budaya Orang Asal khususnya KDMR, aktiviti dan kegiatan pembukaan Tanah Kosong ini adalah sebahagian daripadanya? Apabila pembukaan Tanah Kosong ini berlaku, secara langsung, ia akan menjadi milik kepada si Peneroka. 

Dengan itu, kerajaan mahupun syarikat asing tidak boleh sewenang-wenangnya merampas kawasan tanah yang telah diusahakan oleh Orang Asal. Ia perlulah melalui pengadilan Makhamah Anak Negeri Sabah yang bertanggungjawab memberikan pengadilan dalam isu-isu budaya dan adat resam ini. Pampasan yang sewajarnya mesti diberikan jikalau pihak kerajaan berkeras untuk mengambil kawasan yang telah diteroka. Pihak kami yakin bahawa perkara ini sememangnya telah dipraktiskan tetapi sejauh manakah perkara ini mendapat pembelaan secara adil itu yang menjadi persoalan.

Semoga cadangan ringkas ini mampu membantu rakyat dan Kerajaan Negara Sabah khususnya untuk membuat penambahbaikan untuk masa depan agar perbuatan yang tidak senonoh seperti apa yang berlaku di Gunung Kinabalu dapat dielekkan dan nasib Orang Asal mendapat pembelaan sewajarnya mengikut peruntukan Adat dan Budaya yang dipraktiskan di Negara Sabah.

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Sabah quake: ‘Sorrowful’ atmosphere on mountain, says guide who led students on trip

SINGAPORE — Adventure guide Mohamad Amin Mohamad Nor, 29, who had led the fateful trip that the Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) teachers and students made to Mount Kinabalu, had a recurring thought for the past two days as he stayed behind in Sabah to tie up the loose ends, including transporting home the trekkers’ personal belongings.

“What’s in my mind ... was it was me who brought them out (to Mt Kinabalu), I want to help to bring them all back ... Being the group leader who brought 39 others out with me, but I don’t have all of them back together with me … the feeling is just …” said Mr Amin, his voice breaking off mid-sentence.

Six TKPS Primary 6 students and one teacher were killed by the earthquake which struck on Friday morning. Mr Amin’s colleague, Muhammad Daanish Amran, 22, was among the fatalities.

Mr Amin, who was greeted by family and friends when he touched down at Changi Airport yesterday, was among three Camp Challenge guides who went on the trip with the TKPS trekkers.

He decided to return home on Sunday night to settle the administrative matters after completing his duties on Mount Kinabalu. Mr Amin, who has a decade of experience in guiding adventure tours, described the atmosphere on the mountain as “sorrowful”.

He can still vividly remember what happened when the earthquake struck. He had just finished helping some TKPS students — who were about to start on the Via Ferrata route — put on their helmets and harnesses, and had said goodbye. Back in his room, he felt the hut where the group was staying shake violently, and he ran out to the lounge area. “I was able to see a small part of the Via Ferrata (route) and there were big rocks rolling down. I knew the kids were already up there,” said Mr Amin.

Having little time to let what he saw sink in, he rushed back into the hut to ensure the safety of the other students.

Mr Amin said he will fondly remember the months of pre-trip training with the “energetic and lively” TKPS pupils. “I will still go along on such adventure trips in future, but taking along kids … I’m not sure … maybe,” he said. NG JING YNG

Source: http://m.todayonline.com/singapore/sorrowful-atmosphere-mountain-says-guide-who-led-students-trip

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Kenyataan RASMI SSKM-SSU(UK) Berhubung Dengan Isu Sogit, Adat Budaya KDMR dan Personaliti Ringkas Tentang Diri Doris Jones

Salam sejahtera, salam hormat, salam Hari Kaamatan dan Salam Hari Gawai buat semua bangsa Negara Sabah dan bangsa Negara Sarawak. Saya Doris Jones mewakili kumpulan sosial di alam maya iaitu Facebook yang bernama Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM) yang kini sudah bergerak didalam dunia yang nyata dengan nama kumpulan Sabah Sarawak Union (SSU-UK) yang telah didaftarkan secara SAH dibawah bidang kuasa perundangan United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) ingin membuat kenyataan rasmi berhubung dengan teguran mengenai isu sogit, adat budaya KadazanDusunMurutRungus (KDMR) dan juga personaliti ringkas tentang diri saya.

Sebelum saya memberikan penjelasan yang sebenar, izinkan saya terlebih dahulu untuk menyampaikan salam Takziah kepada keluarga mangsa korban gempa bumi dari Negara Singapura, Negara Filipina, Negara Jepun, Negara China dan khasnya negara saya sendiri, Negara Sabah. Kesedihan itu sangat dirasai walaupun berada jauh dari tanah air. Disini, saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk memberikan Pengiktirafan dan Penghormatan atas Keberanian dan pengorbanan yang ditunjukan oleh Mountain Guides Gunung Kinabalu ataupun Malim Gunung Kinabalu dalam menyelamatkan pendaki-pendaki gunung yang terkandas dipuncak gunung kinabalu telah memberikan mereka satu status tertinggi sebagai Wira-wira Negara Sabah. Tahniah diucapkan!

Kepada rakyat Negara Sabah khususnya KDMR;

Saya sedar bahawa kenyataan saya didalam Facebook berhubung dengan isu Sogit ini telah mendatangkan kemarahan sehinggakan saya telah menerima kritikan yang hebat. Ini dimalangkan lagi apabila saya berusaha untuk menjelaskannya dengan mengaitkan adat budaya KDMR dalam isu ini. 

Disini saya sertakan komen-komen saya sebagai rujukan semua pihak.

Pertama:

"MAU SOGIT, SOGIT YANG MASUK SABAH CARA HARAM..BUKAN SOGIT PELANCUNG DI GUNUNG KINABALU. DULU ASAL DUSUN PUN BERCAWAT JUGA DAN ADA YANG PEREMPUAN TIDAK BERPAKAIAN JUGA...MAKA BELAJAR DULU SIAPA ITU SABAHAN."

Penjelasan: Saya ingin  membawa anda untuk bersama-sama berfikir untuk perkara ini. Adakah Sogit yang dikenakan kepada seseorang individu ataupun kumpulan itu bersifat "Selective/memilih"? Mari kita ambil beberapa situasi yang telah berlaku dahulu seperti ketika penghinaan dilakukan terhadap adat dan budaya KDMR seperti penobatan "Huguan Siou" kepada "Anwar Ibrahim" yang merupakan "orang luar", dimanakah tindakan sogit dikenakan keatasnya atau pihak yang menobatkannya? Ketika penghinaan pemimpin-pemimpin umno yang mengatakan bahawa KDMR itu adalah melayu, dimanakah sogit dikenakan keatas mereka? Ketika pencerobohan orang luar khususnya syarikat-syarikat malaya dengan bantuan kerajaan dibawah pimpinan bn-umno keatas tanah-tanah adat KDMR, dimanakah sogit yang dikenakan keatas mereka? 

Mereka diatas yang telah dinyatakan adalah golongan yang tahu akan adat budaya KDMR dan sepatutnya perkara ini tidak berlaku tetapi malangnya telah berlaku dan tiada "Sogit" pun dikenakan kepada mereka. Walau bagaimanapun, orang luar seperti warga negara Canada yang langsung tidak mempunyai pengetahuan tentang adat budaya KDMR kerana tiada pendedahan kepada mereka pula dikenakan Sogit keatas mereka. 

Saya tidak berniat untuk mempertahankan tindakan mereka disebabkan apabila melihat daripada aspek adat budaya KDMR, mereka sememangnya jelas tidak menghormati adat budaya KDMR malah mencemarkannya dengan perbuatan yang tidak senonoh itu TETAPI bagaimana mereka hendak menghormatinya jikalau sebelum ini tiada pendedahan langsung  diberikan kepada mereka? Bukankah ini sesuatu yang tidak adil bagi pihak mereka? Adakah terdapat polisi daripada Taman Negara Sabah yang menyatakan bahawa pendaki "Tidak boleh berbogel" dipuncak? Setahu saya polisi jelas melarang pendaki untuk mengambil barang-barang aneh mahupun tumbuhan sepanjang berada dalam ekspedisi pendakian sahaja. Tambahan lagi, adakah Taman Negara Sabah ada menerangkan "Adat Budaya KDMR" yang mesti dihormati oleh warga luar negara ketika hendak membuat pendakian Gunung Kinabalu? 

Jikalau ini semua tidak ada, bagaimana sesuatu hukuman itu dapat dijatuhkan keatas mereka secara adil? Sememangnya mereka sudah pasti didapati bersalah kerana telah melanggarnya tanpa disedari kerana tiada pendedahan itu sendiri daripada persatuan KDCA mahupun kerajaan Negara Sabah melalui Taman Negara Sabah.

Kedua:

"INI SKARANG BUKAN MASALAH PELANCUNG... INI KEBODOHAN TOUR GUIDE SEBAB TIDAK TAHU KAWAL PELANCUNG. BODOH MACAM UMNO. PATUTLAH KAMU INI SENANG DISUSUN."

Penjelasan: Terlebih dahulu, saya ingin meminta maaf kerana kenyataan ini sememangnya kasar untuk didengari namun sila berikan peluang untuk diri anda untuk memahaminya. Perkara ini sememangnya tidak akan berlaku jikalau Mountain Guide bertindak tegas keatas mereka. Mountain Guide mempunyai kuasa penuh untuk mengarah mereka untuk turun segera ataupun memberikan mereka amaran tegas dengan menyatakan seperti "Jikalau anda masih ingin meneruskan niat berbogel, sijil penuh pendakian ataupun separuh tidak akan diberikan kepada anda kerana melanggar/tidak mematuhi nasihat saya sebagai Mountain Guide anda". Apakah anda yakin pendaki-pendaki warga asing dari Canada itu berani untuk mengingkarinya? Jikalau mereka meneruskan juga, pihak Taman Negara Sabah masih tidak mempunyai kapasiti untuk mengenakan tindakan undang-undang keatas mereka kerana polisi untuk melarang perbuatan tersebut tidak wujud. Tindakan undang-undang hanya boleh diambil keatas mereka jikalau polisi itu wujud dan perlanggaran polisi itu berlaku.

Benar, info mengatakan bahawa Mountain Guide sudah berusaha untuk melarang mereka berbuat demikian namun telah diketawakan dan dimaki dengan perkataan "Go to hell". Lantas itu, mountain guide terus membiarkan mereka dan hanya gambar sahaja yang dapat diambil dan telah disebarkan ke dalam Facebook. Inilah yang menjadi kemarahan awam khususnya KDMR.

Saya akui bahawa perkataan "Bodoh" itu terlalu kasar untuk didengari dan saya memohon maaf untuk itu namun ia adalah satu kenyataan marah yang ikhlas kerana ketidaktegasan itu telah menyebabkan perkara ini menjadi serius. Daripada hal ini, ia boleh digambarkan secara keseluruhan tentang bagaimana begitu mudah rakyat negara Sabah diperbodohkan seperti mana umno-bn memperbodohkan rakyat negara Sabah sehinggakan sampai satu peringkat yang mana rakyat Negara Sabah begitu senang disusun. Ini adalah realiti. 

Dalam penjelasan ini, saya memberikan pandangan dalam dua sudut iaitu sudut perundangan dan juga sudut adat budaya. Dalam sudut perundangan, warga asing ini tidak melanggar undang-undang negara tetapi jikalau melihat sudut adat budaya, jelas ia telah melanggarinya tanpa disedarinya.

Saya mempertahankan adat budaya KDMR dan sememangnya itulah tanggungjawab bagi Orang Asal yang berasal daripada rumpun KDMR tetapi untuk perkara ini, saya mohon pertimbangan daripada anda semua untuk memahaminya. Bukan menghina atau menafikannya tetapi untuk kita bersama-sama fikirkan secara rasional dan matang.

Kejadian gempa bumi ini juga seharusnya dilihat melalui 3 sudut iaitu dalam sudut Saintifik dan logikal, budaya dan spiritualiti, dan juga keagamaan. Jikalau kita percaya kepada sudut saintifik dan logikal bahawa ia berlaku disebabkan oleh pergerakkan plat bumi, maka itulah jawapan keatas kejadian ini. Jikalau kita melihat kepada budaya dan spiritualiti, gempa bumi ini berlaku disebabkan oleh perbuatan warga asing ini sehingga mendatangkan kemarahan semangat penjaga gunung, maka itulah jawapannya. Dan jikalau kita mempunyai kepercayaan agama, sudah tentu kita tahu bahawa ia adalah kekuasaan Maha Pencipta dan kejadian ini sudah tentu mempunyai hikmah menurut kepercayaan agama masing-masing.

Untuk itu, saya memohon anda semua untuk sila pertimbangkan segala penjelasan yang telah saya berikan untuk perkara ini. Berikan peluang kepada diri anda semua untuk memahaminya tanpa menyempitkan kotak pemikiran anda dengan hati yang terbuka, matang dan professional.

Personaliti Ringkas Tentang Diri Saya

Ingin saya perjelaskan bahawa saya mempunyai hak penuh untuk memberikan pandangan, kritikan dan provokasi mengikut isu dan keadaan. Anda semua sedar bahawa saya kerap mengetengahkan komen-komen yang pada anggapan saya perlu diberi perhatian. Ini adalah bertujuan untuk saya mempertahankan diri saya daripada cemuhan dan persepsi negatif orang luar. Jangan samakan diri saya dengan pemimpin-pemimpin luar yang memiliki Facebook dan membiarkan orang luar menghentam sesuka hati kerana bagi saya, jikalau ia perlu diberikan respon, saya akan lakukan. Anda sendiri mampu melihat didalam akaun Facebook saya.

Rakyat Negara Sabah dan Rakyat Negara Sarawak perlu membebaskan diri daripada kekangan sensitiviti yang menghadkan perbincangan khususnya seperti keagamaan. Perkara 1 dalam 20 Perkara dan 18 Perkara jelas mengatakan bahawa Negara Sabah dan Negara Sarawak tidak mempunyai agama rasmi dan juga bebas beragama. Perbincangan yang sihat tentang agama seharusnya tidak dipandang serong kerana jikalau itu sudah berlaku, tidakkah anda semua sedari bahawa anda sebenarnya telah dijangkiti virus sensitiviti malaya. Dahulu, perkara ini tidak pernah berlaku di bumi Borneo, mengapa pula hari ini boleh wujud? Salahkah jikalau saya katakan bahawa pengaruh malaya kini sudah jelas perlahan-lahan meresapi kedalam diri anda semua secara tidak langsung yang mana ia jelas dapat dilihat melalui penerimaan ideologi-ideologi politik malaya seperti umno-bn dan pr?

Apa yang selalu disentuh oleh saya adalah hanya berlandaskan kepada 20 Perkara, 18 Perkara dan Perjanjian Malaysia 1963. Jikalau perkara itu dilarang untuk disentuh, maka apakah maknanya memiliki Perkara-Perkara dan Perjanjian ini tetapi tidak boleh disentuh? Bukankah ia sangat pelik dan seharusnya tidak berlaku?

Saya akui bahawa saya kerap menimbulkan provokasi yang khususnya mengenai kesedaran Hak Bangsa Negara Sabah dan Bangsa Negara Sarawak tetapi ia sebenarnya untuk kesedaran. Disamping itu juga, ia adalah bertujuan untuk melihat sejauh manakah kematangan dan penerimaan rakyat Negara Sabah dan rakyat Negara Sarawak tentang sesetangah isu yang dibangkitkan oleh saya. apa yang dapat saya perkatakan ialah kebanyakannya sudah mula mampu untuk menerimanya jikalau dibandingkan daripada sejak isu-isu mengenai hak Bangsa ini dibangkitkan beberapa tahun dahulu. Sedarkah bahawa dengan kesedaran yang anda perolehi ini, kerajaan persekutuan dan kerajaan negara masing-masing iaitu Kerajaan Negara Sabah dan Kerajaan Negara Sarawak telah menampakkan ketakutan dan keakuhan untuk tunduk kepada suara kebangkitan rakyat? Yang jelasnya boleh dilihat di Negara Sarawak. Di negara Sabah, kerajaan perlu dan mesti ditukar agar kesedaran itu akan merebak dengan lebih pantas. Ini kerana kesedaran di Negara Sabah dihalang dan dipesongkan oleh barua-barua tegar malaya daripada umno dan bn yang pro malaya. Tetapi jikalau ia terlalu keterlaluan, saya ingin meminta maaf.

Inilah diri saya. Saya seorang yang berfikiran terbuka dan mampu menerima teguran dan kritikan tetapi jikalau ia sudah melebihi batas, saya juga mempunyai hak untuk menonjolkan perasaan marah. Selain itu, jikalau jawapan dan komen saya kelihatan tidak perofessional dan kebudak-budakan, itu adalah kelemahan dan kekurangan diri saya. Untuk itu, sekali lagi saya ingin memohon maaf.

Saya tidak mengimpikan untuk menjadi Presiden ataupun Menteri kepada sebuah Negara yang bakal muncul tidak lama lagi tetapi cukuplah untuk menjayakan misi tersebut kerana itu bukanlah peranan saya. Peranan saya hanyalah untuk memberikan kesedaran dan membawa suara-suara bangsa Negara Sabah dan bangsa Negara Sarawak ke Peringkat Antarabangsa dan memperjuangkan di peringkat itu agar perhatian dan pembelaan daripada pihak antarabangsa dapat diberikan kepada bangsa Negara Sabah dan bangsa Negara Sarawak. Selebihnya, untuk pengurusan negara selepas merdeka daripada persekutuan yang gagal ini, saya serahkan kepada generasi-generasi muda yang mempunyai semangat Nasionalisme pada Tanah Air masing-masing iaitu Negara Sabah dan Negara Sarawak.

Dengan itu, saya akhiri kata-kata saya dengan lafaz Pergo Et Perago dan Dum Spero Spiro.

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Sabah Earthquake: They were never prepared because they never expect this thing to happen

Maximus Ongkili said the lack of respond by the SAR team is caused by lack of training and preparation of such type of disaster and most of them never expected it to happen, in his short meet with Wan Azizah at Kg Bundu Tuhan, Ranau Sabah.

"At the end it is the guide that lead the way. What do you expect the police to go up when they never train to go up the mountain in their life?" he said in respond to PKR President who highlight the respond over the SAR that angered many people especially the stranded climbers and mountain guide.

Maximus also said that he was told by a pilot that the helicopter is not mean to fly beyond 5,000 ft and to go 10,000 ft the air is thin, but Wan Azizah disagreed and mentioned a packaged food drop that failed to reach stranded climbers and fell of the valley.

Maximus explained further that the helicopter cannot maintain idle and have to keep moving because the air is thin on top of the mountain peak.

Wan Azizah urge the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water to better prepare for future disaster due to past tremors and hot spring where indicate it is an active area for earthquake.

Maximus was told by the bomba and the police that they never climb the mountain and he admit that they can do better by having a more permanent action plan as Mt Kinabalu is a world heritage site.

He also made comparison to the recent Genting Highland disaster when mud slide struck the valley along the places and even their SWAT team cannot do much work.

8 Jun 2015

Kota Kinabalu

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The Sabah Earthquake- have we forgotten to mourn together as a nation?

On September 16, 1963, 4 countries came together to form a new nation called the Federation of Malaysia. The 4 countries were Malaya (which was itself a federation of several states), Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. On August 9, 1965, Singapore declared her independence after she was expelled from of Malaysia leaving only 3 countries in the Federation.

Since her departure, Singapore has charted her own destiny and become the powerful and important city state financial centre that it is today. When her founder, Lee Kuan Yew died recently, the world stood at attention in respect of the man that had made Singapore what it is- a successful nation where everything works excellently.

The same success story could not be told of the 3 countries left in Malaysia. ‎Economic blackmails by the Federal government under Barisan Nasional in order to have political dominance over the state governments became the way business is done.

In the end, the development of the states were sabotaged by the very central government that the people elected to bring them prosperity. It became worse when several states came under opposition rule.

Outright sabotage of these states’ development which were hostile, while outright bribery of the states that supported the central government. That is how Sabah and Sarawak have become to be regarded as the electoral fixed deposit boxes by the central government politicians in Malaya.

Thus, the resentment towards Orang Malaya continues in these two states. In the end, the politicians of these states too played the political blackmail game and demanded political bribes, sometimes for their states, but most times for themselves, as a condition for supporting the BN central government.

That is the sorry state of affairs we have today which is unashamedly declared by PM Najib in Sarawak recently when he said that he and his wife can sleep on the same pillow because the people of Sarawak support him.

Sabah has been infiltrated many times by Filipino bandits. In the recent Lahad Datu epsiode, Sabah was even invaded‎ leading to the formation of Esscom which is supposed to ensure that the borders of Sabah, being the national borders of Malaysia will never be invaded again. But that was just an empty promise. Since then, more kidnappings have happened and Sabah remain ever exposed to invaders with the central government and military unable to do anything. Therein lies the broken promises that the Federation and the Federal Government made to Sabah which was never fulfilled.

The Federal Government could not and did not provide safety, peace and security to Sabah from foreign invaders. Sabah might as well have been part of the Philippines with such frequent incursions breaching it’s state borders. The Federal Government failed in that basic duty that it owed to a country in the Federation.

Najib's Saudi trip

That is not all. The terrible disease that has struck our nation is symptomatic when Sabah ‎suffered an earthquake just a few days ago. This was a natural disaster. There were deaths. The state is in mourning, but the Prime Minister did not go to Sabah. He has instead gone to Saudi Arabia to perform his umrah. Which is more important?

Yesterday was the Yang DiPertuan Agong’s birthday. There were celebrations and conferment of awards. Did the federal government and its ministers not think of the grief of Sabah? The Agong ‘s speech drafted by the federal government did not even mention Sabah’s disaster. A more appropriate action would be to cancel these celebrations and conferment of awards. But we did not do that.

If Sabah is an integral part of Malaysia, should we not abort all these ceremonies. Or have we simply forgotten to mourn together as a‎ nation?

Source: https://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/the-sabah-earthquake-have-we-forgotten-to-mourn-together-as-a-nation/

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