Sabah TV3 Team Wins Award

The Sabah TV3 team comprising broadcast journalist Elphege P Godomon and cameraman Mohammed Yazzer Mahmun had won the TV Journalism category of the 2007 Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)-Petronas Malaysian Press Awards.

Kota Kinabalu-based Elphege and Yazzer received their award from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the 2008 Malaysian Press Night in Kuala Lmpur recently. They took home a cash prize of RM7,000 and a certificate of appreciation.

To make their victory sweeter, they were joined by their Kuala Lumpur-based colleague Karam Singh Walia who won in the Environment Journalism (Electronic Media) category. Karam is no stranger to viewers of TV3 news bulletins. He is perhaps the best known broadcast journalist specialising in environmental issues and he amuses his audience by always ending his report with a Malay pantun (quatrain).

(Please see picture above. From the right are Karam, Yazzer, Elphege, the Prime Minister and other winners. Click on picture for a larger view.)

So,congratulations Elphege and Yazzer. As a fellow Sabahan, I am proud of you two. Even prouder that you were the only Sabahans who won this year at the national-level contest. I am sure your victory will spur other Sabah journalists on.

(Footnote: Elphege is a brother of our fellow Sabahan blogger and Giut.Net member Ben Godomon. His main blog, Chronicles, can be accessed at http://bengodomon.com.)

The New Assembly Meets

With the 12th Malaysian General Election on 8th March 2008 done and over with, the winning party; in this case the National Front or BN at both the Federal (Parliament) and the Sabah State levels gets down to the business of governing.

Members of the Malaysian Parliament (MPs) were sworn-in before new Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House or House of Representatives ) last Monday 28th April 2008. The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong or Malaysian King declared open the new session of Parliament which also consists of an Upper House or the Senate (Dewan Negara) the following day.

The real business of Parliament began on April 30 with the one-and-a-half hour question and answer time followed by Motion of Thanks on the King's policy speech and its debate. It was also an historic day for the Malaysian Parliament as for the first time there was a half-hour live telecast over government TV beginning at 10am.

However, this telecast which was meant for the benefit of the Malaysian public who may otherwise never get a chance to see first hand what goes on inside Parliament was marred by heated argurments over petty matters between the Speaker, the Opposition and government backbenchers. As a result, only 3 questions were answered by Ministers over the one-and-a-half question time. Shame on you, Malaysian MPs (not all, only those involved), you wasted precious time and tax payers' money and betrayed their trust.

Faced with a threat by the Government to discontinue the live broadcast, however, the MPs' behavior improved when Parliament met for the second time today, Monday May 5th. Although the first 5-10 minutes or so were still wasted due to queries on the Speaker's decision by the same Opposition guy who started it all last Wednesday, at least 8 questions were answered by Ministers today.

As a result of this 'improved behavior', the Information Minister announced that he will consider increasing the half-hour live telecast to one full hour soon. So, you guys in Parliament, why don't you behave so that ordinary people will get a chance to witness what transpires in Parliament. After all, it was these ordinary folks who put you in Parliament and they will in 4-5 years' time again decide whether to send you back to Parliament. Remember, most of these ordinary folks may not even get a chance to step into Parliament building (let alone becoming an MP) in their lifetime! So please do them a favour.Thank you.

Anyway, there is a consolation though. Much as some of our MPs are childish, they cannot be as bad as their Taiwanese counterparts who actually fight, climbing onto tables inside Parliament, preventing the Speaker from chairing the meeting, and even male MPs physically attacking women MPs and so on. But who knows, given the big number of Opposition MPs now (82), we may just be like the Taiwanese one day if things get too heated.

By the way, there was another first in Parliament this time, at least for Sabahans in particular and East Malaysians in general. For the first time since the formation of Malaysia, both the Dewan Rakyat Speaker and his two Deputies are from East Malaysia!. The Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin and a deputy Datuk Ronald Kiandee are Sabahans while the other deputy Datuk Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is a Sarawakian. One up for Sabah and Sarawak!

Coming back to Sabah, the 60 newly-elected State Legislative Assemblymen were sworn-in before the Speaker, Datuk Juhar Hj Mahiruddin (himself a former Deputy Speaker of Parliament) last Tuesday April 29. The Sabah Yang Di-Pertua Negeri (Governor), Tun Hj Ahmadshah Abdullah opened the new session of the Assembly the next day.

Although the number of Opposition Assemblyman remained the same in Sabah this time as compared to the last session - one - there was nonetheless history in that for the first time the Opposition and Kula Lumpur-based DAP managed to send a'Rocket' (the party's symbol) into the Assembly. He is Jimmy Wong representing Sri Tanjung in Tawau. In the last Assembly, the loner was Datuk John Ghani, the Independent Assemlyman from Kuala Penyu but he failed to defend his seat.

Last Thursday being a public holiday and the Assembly, just like Parliament, does not sit on Fridays; the Assemblymen met again today (Monday) until Wednesday when the Ministers will wind-up the debate on the Governor's policy speech for their respective Ministries. The Assembly is also expected to amend the State Constitution to enable the appointment of 4 new Assistant Ministers, bringing the total to 18. There are 11 Cabinet or full Ministers, similar to most other Malaysian States. The 60 new Sabah State Legislative Assemblymen with the Governor and his consort at the opening ceremony on April 30.

The seating arrangement of the Assemblymen inside the Sabah State Legislative Assembly. The Ministers and Assistant Ministers are on the left, with the government backbenchers and the lone Opposition DAP Assemblyman on the right.

The list of the new Assemblymen elected on the 8th March 2008 election. It begins with the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (BN-Sungai Sibuga) and ends with the lone Opposition DAP Assemblyman Jimmy Wong representing Sri Tanjung in Tawau.

(Please click on images for larger view.)

One of Malaysia's Richest Men Passes Away (Pt.2)

The death today of Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin came barely a few months after another top corporate figure and also one of Malaysia's richest men, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong (pic) of the Genting Casino fame passed away.

Nasimuddin was also the second Tan Sri to have died in as many days. Tan Sri MG Pandithan, president of the Indian Progressive Front (IPF) party passed away a couple of days ago.

May their souls rest in peace.

One of Malaysia's Richest Men Passes Away

Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin (pic), one of Malaysia's richest men and one of the nation's most successful Bumiputra or Native businessmen, passed away today.

Nasimuddin, 53, who built an automotive empire via the Naza group, died after a short battle with lung cancer at a private hospital in Long Beach, Carlifornia. The well-known philantrophist, who rose from a self-funded car salesman to become an auto czar, had been receiving treatment there since January. He passed away at 9am Pacific time Thursday morning, with his wife Puan Sri Zaleha Ismail and children by his side. His remains will be flown to Malaysia on May 3.

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad described the late Nasimuddin as a fine example of the product of the New Economic Policy. He said the late Tan Sri was kind to everybody including his workers.

He died in is prime years. What a big loss to Malaysia. He was certainly a source of inspiration to many an aspiring Bumiputra entrepreneur. May God bless his soul.

The Chinese Have Landed!

Yes, the Chinese have landed! At least that seemed to be the message at a Seminar I attended this morning in Kota Kinabalu.

The half-day seminar was organised by Scott & English (M'sia) Sdn Bhd (S&E) of Kuala Lumpur through its Sabah branch. Its purpose was to introduce air conditioners manufactured by the Midea group of China.

Midea is a household name in China when it comes to home appliances and other electrical items, just like Sony and Panasonic are in Japan. Founded in 1968, it is now the world's largest manufacturer of fans and 2nd largest for air cons in terms of units.

For the purpose of marketing Midea products in Malaysia, S&E has formed a joint-venture company with Midea of China and the result is S&E Electronics Sdn Bhd.

The seminar was well-attended by industry players and electrical dealers from all over Sabah and Labuan. To make it worth their while, it ended with lunch at the plush hotel where the seminar was held.

Among those present at the seminar were Mr Ng Kong Chin, CEO of both S&E M'sia and S&E Electronics; Mr Elvis Chan and Mr CH Yip, joint-general managers of S&E Electronics; Mr Eric Lo, East M'sia area manager for S&E Electronics; and Mr Andy Wong, Sabah area manager for S&E M'sia.

Picture: (From left) Andy, Yip, Chan and Ng giving the thumbs up for Midea air con products (background).

About First of May

Today is the First of May or, as some prefer to put it, May 1st, even May Day.

In Malaysia, as in some other nations, today is also Workers' Day and therefore a public holiday. This also means that if you have to work today, your boss is supposed to pay you double or overtime. However, this only applies to those permanently employed or full-time or at least have a letter of appointment. Meaning if you are daily-paid like coffeeshop workers, I suppose you are not in a position to negotiate.

Workers' Day used to be known as Labour Day in Malaysia until recent years. I am not sure why the government made the change but my guess is that Workers sound more dignified whereas Labour sounds a bit degrading. In Malay (the national language of Malaysia), Workers' Day is known as Hari Pekerja and Labour Day is Hari Buruh. To illustrate my point, there is a local cooking oil branded Cap Buruh (Labour) and you can actually see a labourer hammering away in its logo.

Traditionally, the Prime Minister being the chief executive of the country would address workers in general and civil servants in particular on this day. This illustrates the importance that the government attaches to this day, apart from declaring it a holiday. However, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (known affectionately in Malaysia as Pak Lah) is overseas and he will address such a gathering next week. The more than one million civil servants in the country can't wait to hear him speak because they expect some good news such as the expansion of their retirement age to 60 or at least 58 and the doing away of the civil service efficiency exam (PTK). To the civil servants (me included)keep you fingers crossed until May 10.

Today is also the first day of the month-long Harvest Festival or Kaamatan in Sabah. The Chief Minister normally launched the celebration at a different district each year. This year it's Beaufort's turn. The 2-day finale at the end of the month at Hongkod Koisaan (headquarters of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association or KDCA) would be launched by Sabah's Yang Di-Pertua Negeri or Governor. In the old days when I first started working, there was no 'launching' of the State-level do on May 1st; only the climax on May 30-31 in Penampang near the State Capital. The present practice was started by the then PBS state government in the late 1980s. The Chief Minister then, Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan was, after all, the President of KDCA as well as the Huguan Siou (Paramount Chief) of the Kadazandusun people, a community native to Sabah - he still is, although he is now only Deputy Chief Minister. When the first launching of the May 1st do was held, I can still remember a KDCA leader and Cabinet Minister saying: "If the Chinese can celebrate their New Year for 2 weeks culminating in Chap Goh Mei, I don't see why the Kadazandusuns can't celebrate theirs for one month."

There is a direct-selling company in Malaysia called May First. Why they call it by this name I am not sure. But what I do know is that it is famous for its product called Pronoton which is supposed to be good for men - you get the picture. A relative introduced this company to me but luckily so far I only took 2 of the Pronoton pills for testing purpose. This is because the Health Ministry recently came out with a statement banning Pronoton as it is harmful to health. May First is one of the sponsors of this year's Akademi Fantasia and in its TV advertisement it is using 2 well-known TV personalities to promote it, including the new MC for Akademi Fantasia.

Lastly, for those too young to know, there is actually a song called First of May made famous by the Bee Gees (picture above) between the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Bee Gees was made up of the 3 Gibb brothers - Robin, Barry and Maurice. I was a band boy then and this was among the songs I used to sing at parties (there was no Karaoke then, even the Disco had not yet landed in Sabah) along with other Bee Gees and Beatles songs.

The lyrics of First of May went like this:-

When I was small, and Chistmas trees were tall, We used to love while others used to play. Don't ask me why, the time has passed us by, Someone else moved in from far away. (Chorus) Now we are tall, and Christmas trees are small, And you don't ask the time of day. But you and I, our love will never die, But guess we'll cry come First of May. (2nd verse) The apple tree that grew for you and me, I watched the apples falling one by one. And I recall the moment of them all, the day I kissed your cheek and you were mine. (Repeat chorus) (3rd verse) When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall, Do do do do do do do do do....Don't ask me why, the time has passed us by, Someone else moved in from far away.

If you don't know how it sounds, well, since you are reading this blog I suppose you will have no problem searching for it on the Internet. Happy singing.