Masing To Critics: Show Us A Better Alternative

 

KUCHING: Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has challenged critics of the state’s hydroelectricity programme to come up with better alternative source of energy.

“I would like to throw a challenge at them (critics) on two fronts. Firstly, please provide us with the best source of alternative power besides fossil fuel, and secondly, they have to stop breathing if they criticise just for the sake of criticising,” Masing told The Borneo Post here yesterday.

He was commenting on South-East Asia Renewable Energy People’s Assembly (Searepa)’s fierce criticism over the weekend of the state government’s intention to develop 12 dams to support the mammoth Sarawak Corridor of renewable Energy (Score).

These dams are to produce some 20,000 megawatt of electricity by 2030 to push the state to full industrialisation status.

SCORE is expected to employ some 1.5 million workers and would attract some RM300 billion worth of investments.

Searepa, during its regional meeting in Kota Kinabalu which was attended by more than 120 participants representing 11 nations in South-East Asia, made a declaration to reject the development of these 12 proposed dams.

It also urged the state government to abide by international standards in protecting indigenous people.
Searepa also said that it had discussed renewable energy problems in the nation and claimed that it was concerned with the construction of the mega dams to power polluting industries in the state.

“Across South-East Asia, we have witnessed the inefficiency, failure, and destruction caused by similar mega-dam projects. We have also witnessed the potential of community-based renewable energy projects and unanimously believe that instead of continuing to develop these mega-dams, there are many energy alternatives that are more efficient, environmentally friendly, and socially and culturally inclusive,” Searepa was quoted as saying.

Masing said the state government decided to focus on hydroelectricity as it was deemed to be the best choice when compared to other renewable energy such as solar and nuclear.

“Hydro-electricity is renewable and clean. What better source of energy do we have when we do not have the capability to develop our solar energy? On top of that, we are also unable to venture into nuclear energy as it could be very expensive and destructive.”

Masing reiterated that the state government would build the 12 mega dams as and when they were needed. “The 12 proposed dams are just the potential number of dams that could produce electricity on a commercial scale. At the moment, we don’t have to develop all of them.”

So far, out of the 12 proposed HEP dams, the state had built two: Bakun (2,400 MW) and the 70 per cent completed Murum (944 MW).

The remaining 10 on the drawing board are Lawas (50 MW), Limbang (150 MW), Tutoh (220 MW), Baram (1,000 MW), Belepeh (110 MW), Metwajah (300 MW), Belaga (260 MW), Linau (290 MW), Baleh/Putai (1400 MW), and Ulu Air (54 MW).

*Source from The Borneo Post : http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/08/masing-to-critics-show-us-a-better-alternative/#ixzz2Bc2kmiq6

Masing: A Politician Has Three Ways To Retire

SIBU: Tan Sri Dr James Masing seems to be prepared for the day when he has to finally retire after almost three decades in politics.

Speaking at his party’s eighth anniversary dinner here on Saturday, the PRS president offered advice on retirement to his members that could also apply to him.

Masing said that there were three ways a politician could retire – by natural causes, when they chose to and when voters made the decision for them.

“The third is a bit hard to swallow. There were many instances when politicians refused to retire or they simply failed to read the writings on the wall and overstayed their welcome. Thus when election came they were defeated. The Malaysian political arena is full of politicians who were defeated because they overstayed their welcome,” he said.

“The first method of retiring is not by choice. In fact, we have no choice on the matter. The second method is by choice. We decide when to retire. We as elected representatives must understand that after a few years as YB, we do get tired.

“Therefore, we must work ourselves out of the job. What this means is that we teach others to take over from us, so that even without us the job is done. When we finally retire there is no disruption in the discharging of responsibilities.”

Masing, who is Land Development Minister, said the advantage of politicians deciding for themselves when to retire was that they could prepare themselves, at least mentally.

He said the transition of responsibility from an elected representative to a retiree could be both physically and mentally uncomfortable.

“I have seen and witnessed many cases when our Dayak YBs, who are not ready for retirement but are forced to by circumstances, become resentful of the authority including those who had helped them to attain their position.

“Please note that there is life after politics. But to ensure that such life exists outside politics, we must be mentally prepared for the next phase of our lives. We the YBs have worked so hard for many years for the cause of our people. I am sure we deserve to have time to do things that we want, and most important of all to live a hassle-free life in our twilight years,” he said.

 

*Source from The Star : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/29/sarawak/12239560&sec=sarawak

Radio Free Sarawak ‘Running Wild’

SIBU: The stealth modus operandi of Radio Free Sarawak has grown to become a ‘grave concern’ as it is sowing deceit among the rural populace.It (Radio) has gone ‘wild’ by hurling all kinds of allegations and accusations against the government, cautioned PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing after the party’s Supreme Council Meeting here on Saturday.

“We view this matter with grave concern, given that the main form of communication in the rural areas is radio,” he said, adding that this issue was deliberated during the meeting.“I hope that rural folks will be more discerning when listening to news broadcasted by Radio Free Sarawak.”
Masing admitted that it was difficult to nail the perpetrators for they not only use different frequencies but also operate through mobile stations.

“I don’t listen to Radio Free Sarawak, but apparently from the report that we had, it is running wild. Running wild in the sense that they tell all kinds of stories and make all kinds of allegations and accusations against government of the day,” he bemoaned.He added that party vice president Datuk Joseph Salang, who is also Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture, told the meeting that it was difficult to home in on these individuals.

“Firstly, they are using different frequencies which we cannot control, and their stations are mobile to avoid detection,” explained Masing, who is also Minister of Land Development.
“You see, one day they will be here, the next time they could be in Malacca, and other time in Limbang or elsewhere. They are always on the move, so it’s hard to control them.”The only viable option left is to advise all listeners to analyse what they hear carefully, and not to accept things at face value.

“All listeners must put on their thinking cap, and become more discerning when listening to their news.”

Source from The Borneo Post : http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/29/radio-free-sarawak-running-wild/#ixzz2AfzDQHgZ

Masing ‘lacking leadership’?

The Dayak community is not “lacking leadership” and neither is it “fragmented” as claimed by Senior BN Minister James Masing. What it lacks are ‘sincere’ leaders.

Is Senior Minister James Masing’s finally admitting that he ‘lacks leadership’ and is unable to go up against his boss Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s dictatorial rule?
Masing who is the state’s Land Development Minister and president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), recently told a Gawai Dayak function in Miri that Dayaks “possessed” the largest land bank in the country, but are today ranked as one of the “poorest” communities because they were ‘fragmented’ and suffered from a “lack of leadership”.
This brings in focus veteran leaders such as Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu, who is the deputy president of Taib’s Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) party.
Jabu has been sitting in his post for 38 years and yet his Layar constituency has thousands of natives without clean water and electricity coupled with numerous allegations of land grabs. The situation is not limited to Layar. Vastly rural Sarawak is still without its basic utilities and infrastructure.
Even Masing’s own Baleh constituency is not without native claims of land grabs, deforestation and displacements.
The litany of allegations against Taib’s Dayak cabinet members including Senior Minister William Mawan who is Sarawak Progressive Demcratic Party (SPDP) president and state Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister Michael Manyin (also of PBB) are seemingly endless.
Notwithstanding this are Sarawak’s 14 Dayak MPs (of 31 parliamentarians) which include one full federal minister (Douglas Uggah Embah) and six deputy ministers and its 29 state assemblymen (out of 71 state elected representatives), many of whom have been linked to alleged power abuse and corrupt practices.
Are they all also “lacking” in leadership and subservient to Taib’s over 30-year old ‘politics of development’?
The Dayak leaders ‘aligned’ to Taib, according to widespread reports, are wealthy beyond their ‘wildest dreams’ courtesy of Taib’s ‘benevolence’.

Dayak’s not fragmented
Local senior lawyer Baru Bian, whose firm is inundated with cases involving land grabs, believes that that it is not a ‘lack of leadership’ that is plaguing the Dayak community.
“What we lack are sincere leaders… The only ‘real reason’ standing between Dayaks and progress is “sincerity”.
“The Dayak community is not lacking leadership and neither is it fragmented.
“It is the elite and the Dayak leaders themselves are weak and fragmented.
“In my opinion it is the current leadership which is not sincere in searching for ways to improve the lot of the Dayak communities. These Dayak leaders are dictated by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
“They are looking into their own interests. They know that Barisan Nasional policies on lands are not favouring the Dayaks but are without any will to oppose Taib,” said Bian who is Ba’ Kelalan assemblyman.
Land was a key issue in last April’s state elections which saw Bian, who is state PKR chief, and his colleagues Ali Biju (Krian) and See Chee Hua (Batu Lintang) wrest their seats from BN. The opposition collectively won 15 seats – DAP took 12 – putting a conspicuous dent to Taib’s unchallenged influence in the State Legislative Assembly.
Alluding to the oppositions overtures to the Dayak community, Masing in his speech last Saturday said the Dayak communities were so fragmented that they had become easy preys for those who wished them ill.
“Dayak communities (comprising Ibans, Bidayuhs and Orang Ulu natives) are actually the biggest groups of natives in the state and possess the most amount of land in the country, yet they remain relatively poor.
“In a nation which prides itself as one of the most progressive in the third world, this should not be a record that the community should continually maintain in the years to come,” he said.
He noted that although the Dayaks are hard working, some of them do not work smart at times.
“There are many of us here tonight who are professionals in our own right. Therefore there is no reason why we cannot pool our expertise to improve the socio-economic standing of our community,” he said.

Taken from Free Malaysia Today news portal : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/07/03/masing-lacking-leadership/