Shortage Of Teachers - Mediocrity And Politics

 Shortage Of Teachers - Mediocrity And Politics

The New Sarawak Tribune reported on the MOE’s decision to implement a one-off recruitment of 18,702 graduates teachers to fill vacancies in schools nationwide with a front page teaser which in part said ‘ But in our pursuit of quantity, let’s not sacrifice quality. We have sacrificed meritocracy and quality teaching for mediocrity and politics’

That teaser was not attributed in any one in particular so we have to assume that it comes from an editor of the Sarawak Tribune. Whether you would like to further assume that is was prompted by a politician from the ruling GPS government (who wish to remain anonymous) is entirely up to you.

Whoever those thoughts came from it highlighted what is common knowledge among many Malaysians, particularly Sarawakian parents and students who have long complained, not just about quality of teachers who arrived from Malaya but also about the distorted history of Sarawak and disproportionate amount of the history of Islam in the text books for Sejarah.

The Sarawak Teachers Union (STU), in a statement dated 20^st June 2021, said that there are some 3000 vacancies in Sarawak.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/06/20/moe-spp-urged-to-come-up-with-clear-guidelines-instructions-for-large-scale-recruitment-of-teachers/

The statement also said that Sarawak is in dire need of new teachers especially for subjects such as English, History, Islamic Studies and Special Education Programme. This is however is not the point which this article wants to discuss. The objective of this article is to stir a debate on the role of the Sarawak’s Ministry Of Education, Science & Technological Research in determining the direction of the education sector in Sarawak so that it will fully meet the aspirations of Sarawak’s students.

Three years ago the Sarawak Education Department (or the Sarawak Chapter of the Jabatan Pendidikan) said that it was working  to reach a posting ratio of nine local teachers to one from outside the state under initiative 90:10 by 2018.

That time the ratio for secondary schools, the ratio of local teachers to those from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Labuan was 73:25:2 (10,628 locals, 3,687 West Malaysians and 229 from Sabah and Labuan). The number of non-Sarawakian teachers in the primary schools were about the same. Three years down the road, Sarawak was no where near the targeted ratio of 90:10. In fact the situation worsen to a point where this one-off mega recruitment became the only viable solution to this problem of shortage of teachers in Sarawak.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/08/90-pct-local-teachers-by-year-2018/

The 90:10 ratio in fact went all the way back to 2010. And in 2015  news about unemployed teaching graduates from UNITAR surfaced.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/09/accept-unitar-graduates-for-training-to-achieve-91-ratio/

https://bosspengajar.blogspot.com/2015/02/dud-degrees-leave-graduates-in-fix.html

Among the reason proffered by the MOE then was Sarawakian candidates for the Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) were not qualified, either academically or because they failed some psychological tests. Yet it was painfully obvious that many teachers sent from Malaya were of inferior quality and lacking in motivation especially when it comes to teaching in rural schools.

Except for a very brief period of 22 months i.e from May 2018 to March 2020, the government of Sarawak was always part of the federal government. Before May 2018, it was the Sarawak’s chapter of Barisan Nasional (BN) that was the government in Sarawak. After Feb 2020, it was the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), a rebranded BN, that is the government. GPS, as we all know is a coalition partner in the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) government. In fact, GPS is not only a partner but a very strategic one too because without them the PN government would not be in existent today. They were the kingmakers and they were shy about claiming the title.

The question that we must ask now is this: Why did the Sarawak government, despite recognising the gravity of the problem so long ago, did nothing to arrest the problem and let it fester until it reached the emergency that we are seeing now? Was their strategic position in BN and in PN a farce?

The local Sarawak ministry in charge of educational matters in Sarawak, past and present failed miserably. The incumbency of BN and now GPS’s lawmakers takes precedent over the vital interest of the general Sarawakians and so they become subservient to the of leaders of Malaya. In other words they become ulun Malaya. This paved the way for the Malayan minister-in-charge to send many substandard teachers from Malaya to Sarawak, many of whom cannot even string a decent sentence in English.

As part of the background to this article, it is pertinent to know that in the history of Malaysia’s ministry of education there had been 23 ministers of education so far, starting with Abdul Razak Hussein. Out the 23 ministers of education that we have had until today, only 2 are from Sarawak - Abdul Rahman Ya’kub ( from 1969 - 1970) and Sulaiman Daud (July 1981 - July 1984). The other 21 are all Malayan.

Of the 23 ministers of education that have served Malaysia, 6 went on to become prime minister (PM) of Malaysia. Every single one of them, including the 6 that went on to become PM,  were fully acquainted with the problems but none demonstrated any particular motivation to solve the problem. Sarawak was not in their backyard.

Do you still want to entrust your children’s future to this incompetent and uncaring government? Renung renung lah.

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From the time the problem of shortage of teachers in Sarawak became public sometimes in 2010, there had been 5 ministers of education, among them the current prime minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

https://www.malaysiatercinta.com/2016/11/senarai-alamat-peta-lokasi-gps-mrsm.html

( 3 MRSM in operation in Sarawak). 2 under construction - Lawas and Bintulu 

https://www.malaysiatercinta.com/2018/12/senarai-sekolah-berasrama-penuh-sbp.html

 ( 3 SMK Sains in Sarawak)

Kekurangan tenaga pengajar di sekolah-sekolah di Sarawak?

 Shortage Of Teachers In Sarawak - The Not So Good Agenda Of The Malaya Driven Ministry Of Education

The Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) has called on the state government to urgently review its 90 per cent Sarawakians policy for teachers.

According to STU president Adam Prakash Abdullah, the policy has resulted in a shortage of 3,000 teachers, which is burdening the education sector in Sarawak.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/05/06/union-calls-for-review-of-90-pct-sarawakians-policy-for-teachers-in-the-state/

The issue of the shortage of teachers for public schools in Sarawak and the ratio of Sarawak-born teachers versus teachers from Malaya has dogged Sarawak since at least 2010. These are issues that, for over the last 11 years at least, no federal Minister of Education had shown any motivation to solve.

As part of the background to this article, it is pertinent to know that in the history of Malaysia’s ministry of education there had been 23 ministers of education so far, starting with Abdul Razak Hussein. Out the 23 ministers of education that we have had until today, only 2 are from Sarawak - Abdul Rahman Ya’kub ( from 1969 - 1970) and Sulaiman Daud (July 1981 - July 1984). The other 21 are all Malayan.

Of the 23 ministers of education that have served Malaysia, 6 went on to become prime minister (PM) of Malaysia. Every single one of them, including the 6 that went on to become PM,  were fully acquainted with the problems but none demonstrated any particular motivation to solve the problem. Sarawak was not in their backyard.

From the time the problem of shortage of teachers in Sarawak became public sometimes in 2010, there had been 5 ministers of education, among them the current prime minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_Education_(Malaysia)

Rural Schools Affected The Most

When the problem first caught our attention in 2010, among the issues highlighted were challenges faced by teachers serving in rural schools and the strangely low intake of Sarawkians into the teachers’ training colleges. These days they are called Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG).

It was said that there was (and reportedly still is) a general reluctance among teachers to serve in rural based schools, particularly schools with decent road access to it, without 24 hrs electricity supply and without clean water supply. For muslim teachers, the absence of places of worship and difficulty in sourcing halal food were also cited. Teachers transferred from Malaya were well known for their reluctance to serve in rural Sarawak and this manifested in the large number of requests to be transferred out from rural schools.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2010/01/03/teachers%E2%80%99-woes-in-rural-sarawak/

What is seldom discussed was the impact of these unresolved issues on rural households, the majority of which are B40 (now rightly B60) who looked upon education as their ticket out of poverty. Until today, the education which their children received never did become the game changer they had hoped for.

Convergence Of Challenges

Shortage of teachers experienced by rural schools was in fact a manifestation of the combined effects of many other issues. At the risk of being accused of repeating myself I will name as contributing factors the lack of decent access roads to rural schools, absence of 24 hrs electricity and reliable clean water supply, no health facilities nearby, difficulty in getting halal food for muslim teachers, dilapidated classroom blocks and living quarters. 

To be fair, these are daunting challenges but we are looking at a period that dates back to as far as Sept 1963, a period of more than half a century.

The 90 : 10 Ratio.

In Oct 2015, several mainstream and online news portals reported that a bunch of teaching graduates from UNITAR had approached Sarawak’s Land Minister Tan Sri James Masing (TSJM), to enlist his help to get them employed as teachers. 

https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/09/accept-unitar-graduates-for-training-to-achieve-91-ratio/

Sometime later it was reported that many of these graduates, despite intervention of TSJM, failed to get employment because they failed the psychometric tests to which they were subjected to.

In the same month, CM Datuk Patinggi Adenan Satem, recognising the need for an urgent measure to mitigate the adverse effects of the shortage on the rural communities, directed that by 2018 the ratio of transfer to schools in Sarawak, particularly rural schools be at 90% : 10%, the later being the ratio for teachers from Malaya.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/08/90-pct-local-teachers-by-year-2018/

Five months earlier, then minister for education Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin proposed that all all graduates of teaching institutions be subjected to psychometric tests before they are absorbed as teachers.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/muhyiddin-calls-psychometric-test-would-be-teachers

Effectively, what the then minister of education did was to placed additional hurdles in the effort to resolve the problem of shortage of teachers and the dilapidating effects it had on the rural communities in Sarawak.

Why was Sarawak allowed to be left so far behind Malaya when the enviable progress made in the education sector in Malaya was fueled by oil money sucked from Sarawak’s territory? Why did the Sarawak BN government (now rebranded as GPS), despite being part of the federal government all along except for a brief period of 22 months when Pakatan Harapan (PH) helmed the federal government, failed to stop the injustice dealt to Sarawak by these Malayan leaders?

How It Should Have Been

A sharp focus by both the Sarawak government and the federal government on resolving the issues of rural road connectivity, 24 hrs supply of electricity and clean water, safe schools and living quarters for teachers was definitely one way of making it easier to get teachers to serve in rural schools. 

The federal government, which was sucking up Sarawak’s oil should have had the moral obligation to give Sarawak a much bigger share than the 5% royalty that it gave to Sarawak since the implemention of the Petroleum Developmeny Act ‘7. At this point, it is pertinent to mention here that the 5% royalty was in fact proposed by a Sarawakian politician who later became the Chief Minister of Sarawak - Abdul Rahman Ya’kub.

https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/152676/5pc-payment-was-s-wak-s-idea-says-razaleigh/

The corrupt practices aside, much could have been done to improve rural road connectivity, providing 24 hrs supply of electricity and clean water, setting up of rural health clinics, keeping schools facilities in safe and habitable state and other things that would have made rural postings more bearable. Sadly, even until today very little had been achieved.

The other course of action that could have had the effect of  minimising the problem of shortage of teachers was to enrol more Sarawakians, particularly Sarawakians originating from rural communities  into the teachers training institutes or the IPGs. But for reasons best known to the successive ministers of education and to the powers that be in Sarawak, these options was not considered. The intake of Sarawakians into the IPGs was always stated as very low and the reason always used were few Sarawakians were qualified to enter the IPGs to be trained as teachers. One factor which was cited was the inability of Sarawakians candidate to pass the psychometric tests, a test recommended by PM Muhyiddin when he was the education minister.

In 2016, to compound to the problems, then PM Najib Razak in his 2017 budget, proposed to close down 11 IPGs nationwide, including 3 in Sarawak. Fortunately, after much protests and petition, the MOE backed down.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2018/05/24/alan-ph-sarawak-disagrees-with-closing-of-ipg-campuses/

In the final analysis, what causes the problem with the shortage of teachers can be safely narrowed down to the lackadaisical attitude of the Malaya driven federal government and compounded by local Sarawak government leaders paying lip service to the education sector in Sarawak.

By keeping Sarawak bogged down in this problem, great employment opportunities are being opened up to Malayan. That is the logical effect of forcing Sarawak to reconsider the 90 : 10 ration, the narrowing of opportunities for Sarawakians. At the same time, Sarawakians are being conditioned to believe that they are not good enough to be teachers.

Where Do We Go From Here?

In just one sentence, we need a government and leaders who constantly have the well-being of Sarawakians at heart and who are not averse to prioritising the impoverished rural communities.

Lampu Suluh Jenama Covid.19 - Jelas sekali Kegagalan Kerajaan GPS

According to the national Covid.19 vaccination plan, the vaccination programme will end in Feb 2022. By then 2,240,000 Sarawakians would have been fully vaccinated, if everything goes according to plan.

Today, Sarawak’s Health Department director Dr Chin Zin Hing is on record saying that as at last Wednesday, 28th Apr 2021, a total 52,960 Sarawakians, comprising mostly frontliners have been fully vaccinated. Among this total are also the wakil rakyats or ADUNs. 

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/04/29/52960-people-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-19-in-sarawak-dr-chin/

The medical front liners had to be vaccinated first because they are the foot soldiers in this battle against Covid.19, fighting and putting their lives on the line everyday that other Sarawakians may live. The wakil rakyats or the ADUNs have all been fully vaccinated because they are the privilege group, made the privileged by the votes of those who are still waiting in the queue to be vaccinated.

The first phase of the vaccination in Sarawak started on the 26th Feb 2021 with CM Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari among the first few to be vaccinated. This means that as at the 28th Apr 2021, we are already 61 days into the vaccination process. With 52,960 Sarawakians having been fully vaccinated, Sarawak is averaging an average of 868 people being fully vaccinated daily.

Sarawak has a population of roughly 2.8 million people. To achieve herd immunity, about 2.2 million Sarawakians will have to be fully vaccinated by 28th Feb 2022. At a daily average of 868 people per day, it will take 7 years from now before Sarawak achieves herd immunity.

Registration For Covid.19 Vaccination

In today’s (Friday, 30th Apr 2021) issue of the Borneo Post, the chief advisor to the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Dato Dr. Sim Kui Hian is reported as saying that Sarawak supply of vaccine may exceed recipients. 

There are at least two ways on interpreting this: 1. That the registrations for Covid.19 vaccination is well below what it should be, for reasons either not known or that cannot be made public. 2. For reasons best known to the Sarawak GPS government, their stated intention to buy the Covid.19 vaccines is not practicable and has to be abandoned. The confirmed registration numbers against available vaccines will justify them not proceeding with their plans to buy the vaccines outside the national plan managed by the federal government.

What are the possible reasons contributing to the low registration among Sarawakians? Surely it cannot be because Sarawakians do not value their lives or they have lost their desire to return to normalcy.

According to Dr. Sim K.H, of the 1.2 million registrations in the books, 868,000 was made online via the MySejahtera app while about 300,000 made manually. Two things can be said here: 1. The Sarawak GPS government has failed miserably to provide internet connectivity to Sarawakians that only 31% of all Sarawakians have access to internet and was able to register for vaccination online. 2. There was very little efforts made the Sarawak GPS government to register rural based Sarawakians that we have to asked why was there an urgent need to vaccinate the privileged ADUNs for rural areas. Only 300,000 manual registrations was recorded. 

The end result of this is that rural based Sarawakians may not get to be vaccinated at all or they will have to endure a long wait in the queue. And all this makes us wonder, is the GPS government people centric or perihatin rakyat as they often claimed to be?

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/04/21/ulu-baram-covid-19-vaccine-roll-out-in-doubt-due-to-moh-requirement-says-dennis/

Breaking The Chain Of Transmission Of Covid.19

Yesterday was another day of misery for Sarawak. There were 522 new cases recorded, bringing the total to 29,899 cases since the pandemic started in Sarawak. There were 2 new fatalities, bringing the Covid.19 related death tally to 173. The number of death involving people in their 30s and early 50s too have increased. Equally critical, as at yesterday, there was only 1 green zone left in Sarawak. Our public hospitals are stretched to the limits.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/04/28/covid-19-tanjung-manis-turns-orange-simunjan-sole-green-zone-in-sarawak/

Our public hospitals are stretched to the limits and surely our medical front liners are drained and stressed beyond words. Images of burning funeral pyres in Delhi, India comes to mind.

https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2021/04/26/sarawak-general-hospital-hits-full-capacity-for-covid19-patients/

There was a time when Sarawakians were hopeful. Our leaders in the GPS government spoke about how Sarawaks’ autonomous power will stem the tide on Covid.19 and that Sarawak will make sure that enough vaccines will be available in Sarawak so that no Sarawak will be left behind.

Up until Oct 2020, the numbers of Covid.19 infections did not cause numbing fears among Sarawakians. It looked like it was under control. Then it all went wrong in Nov 2020.

Where did it all go wrong? Simply put, the GPS government failed to do the necessary to break the chain of transmission. Why for example was surge or mass testing of all Sarawakians, to identify all asymptomatic people and isolate them not done? We live on an island and that should have made it relatively easier to contain the virus. Why were entry points into Sarawak not sealed in the early days? I suspect that because we were approaching the state elections, selfish requests from groups with vested interest or from groups which the GPS deemed to be their votes bank were entertained and this rendered successive MCOs ineffective.

How long do we want to leave our fate in GPS hands. Renung renung lah.

Itulah legasi yang kita nak dan bukannya sesuatu yang buruk

    Itulah legasi yang kita nak dan bukannya sesuatu yang buruk

Sudah-sudahlah menipu dan janganlah hendak berdolak-dalih lagi. Carilah kebenaran dan permasalahan sebenar punca kekacauan ini dan lakukan apa yang mesti anda lakukan untuk memperbaiki perkara yang salah, jika ada kesopanan dan keikhlasan dalam diri anda. Ini adalah pertaubatan dan pemulihan bagi anda.

Senarai di bawah adalah salah satu dosa anda terhadap rakyat Sarawak, keburukan yang anda tinggalkan:

1. MA63

Ini bukanlah undang-undang, yang pastinya, ketika matahari terbit di timur dan terbenam di barat, dokumen ini mempunyai kesan undang-undang. Umum mengetahui, wujudnya Perlembagaan MA63 bermaksud Sarawak bersetuju untuk mewujudkan Malaysia bersama-sama. Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) dan rakan-rakannya dari UMNO tidak menghiraukan syarat MA63 dari hari pertama dan di saat itu jugalah  kejatuhan Sarawak kian berlaku seperti apa yang berlaku  sekarang. Kesalahan siapa? Nenek moyang anda di Berjasa / Bumiputra. Oleh sebab mereka alpa dan lalai, mereka bersekongkol dengan pemimpin Tanah Melayu.

 2. Pemecatan Stephen Kalong Ningkan, CM pertama Sarawak

Ketua Menteri Pertama Sarawak Stephen Kalong Ningkan (SKN) dipecat dari pejabat dalam gerakan yang dipimpin oleh TAR. Kesalahan siapa? Ianya adalah kesalahan moyang anda iaitu Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub (TARY). Dia menghasut TAR untuk memberhentikan SKN kerana SKN ingin meminda Kanun Tanah Sarawak untuk melindungi tanah NCR orang Dayak. Dia disokong oleh para pemimpin.

 

3. 1976 Pindaan Perkara 1 (2) Perlembagaan Persekutuan

Pindaan tahun 1976 terhadap Artikel 1 (2) perlembagaan Persekutuan menurunkan status Sarawak menjadi negeri, status yang sama dengan Perlis atau Kelantan di Tanah Melayu. Sekarang anda menangis dan menyesali dengan apa yang telah berlaku. Itupun hanya kerana ianya mengancam jawatan yang akan diperoleh anda. Kesalahan siapa ini? Rakan seperjuangan sebelum anda, diketuai oleh TARY dan Pek Moh.

 4. PDA 74

Melalui PDA 74, Sarawak kehilangan semua hak ke atas sumber minyak dan gas. Namun, Sarawak hanya mendapat royalti 5% sahaja sebagai balasan dan perkara ini amat menyedihkan sekali. Kesalahan siapa ini? Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub. Dia mencadangkannya kepada pemimpin Tanah Melayu dan menolong mereka agar undang-undang tersebut diluluskan.

5. Akta Wilayah Laut 2012

Akta Wilayah Laut tahun 2012 mengurangkan Kawasan perairan Sarawak dari 12 batu nautika kepada 3 batu nautika dari pantai, memberikan kerajaan persekutuan hak penuh untuk semua sumber semula jadi di luar garis 3 batu nautika.

Kesalahan siapa ini? Anda dan rakan-rakan anda dari BN Sarawak.

6. Pakatan Harapan (PH) Berusaha Menyelaraskan Perlembagaan Persekutuan kepada MA63

Pada bulan April 2019, Kerajaan PH memperkenalkan rang undang-undang kerajaan di parlimen, untuk meminda Art 1 (2) perlembagaan persekutuan sehingga menyelaraskannya dengan MA63. Itu adalah peluang keemasan untuk memperbaiki beberapa kesalahan yang dilakukan terhadap Sarawak. Rang Undang-Undang GAGAL dan tidak berhasil diperbaiki.

Dosa siapa ini? Anda dan rakan anda dalam GPS (sebelumnya BN Sarawak). Mereka ambil keputusan untuk tidak mengundi di dalam hal RUU itu , malah mengabadikan tradisi BN / GPS untuk mengkhianati Sarawak.

Sekarang anda membawa perdebatan mengenai ' Wilayah' , Region dan Territory ke pengadilan pendapat umum dan berusaha menarik perhatian orang-orang Sarawak. Sekarang anda mengatakan PM Mahiaddin akan segera memperbaiki perkara yang salah, semua ketika parlimen digantung.

Anda terus menganggap rakyat Sarawak bodoh membuat saya sangat marah. Perkara itu termasuklah berusaha meyakinkan orang-orang Sarawak bahawa keadaan darurat yang sedang kita jalani sekarang adalah untuk kebaikan negara dan bukan untuk anda berbuat lebih banyak lagi pengkhianatan.

Oleh itu, kini, ramai rakyat Sarawak jauh lebih sedar akan perkembangan politik hari ini dan saya yakin mereka akan membuang anda dalam PRN akan datang.

Saya berharap akan mengucapkan Adios, Sayonara, Zaijian & Selamat Tinggal kepada anda tidak lama lagi.

Keling Sigat Palau Dalam Pub

Betong

(English)

It Is Legacy We Want Not Infamy

Cut through the bullshit man. Get to the core of this mess and do what you must do to right the wrong, if there is any decency and sincerity in you. It is both repentance and restitution for you.

These are among your sins against Sarawakians, the infamies you are leaving behind :

 1. MA63

This is not law but as certain as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, this document has legal effect. It was the foundation upon which Sarawak agreed to co-create Malaysia. Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) and his comrades from UMNO ignored the terms of MA63 from day one and started Sarawak's fall into the mess that we are in now.

Whose fault? Your forebearers in Berjasa/Bumiputra. By their negligence they conspired with Malaya leaders.

 2. Sacking Of Stephen Kalong Ningkan, Sarawak’s 1st CM

Sarawak 1st Chief Minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan ( SKN ) was sacked from office in a move engineered by TAR.

Whose fault? Your forebearer Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub ( TARY ). He instigated TAR to dismiss SKN because SKN wanted to amend the Sarawak Land Code so as to protect dayaks' NC land. He was supported by the leaders of

 

3.  1976 Amendment To Article 1 (2) Of The Federal Constitution

A 1976 amendment to Article 1 (2) of the Federal constitution demoted Sarawak's status to a state, same status as Perlis or Kelantan in Malaya. Now you are crying over split milk but only because it threaten your incumbency.

Whose fault was this? Your predecessors, led by TARY and Pek Moh.

 

4.  PDA 74

Through PDA 74, Sarawak completely lost all her rights to her oil and gas resources. In return for surrendering her rights, Sarawak was to get a miserable 5% royalty.

Whose fault was this? Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub. He proposed it to Malayan leaders and helped them to get the law passed.

 

5. Territorial Sea Act of 2012

The Territorial Sea Act of 2012 reduced Sarawak's Continental Shelf from 12 nautical miles a mere 3 nautical mile from shore, giving the federal government full rights to all the natural resources outside the 3 nautical mile line.

Whose fault was this? You and your comrades from BN Sarawak.

 

6. Pakatan Harapan (PH) Attempt To Align The Federal Constitution To MA63

In April 2019, the PH government introduced a government bill in parliament, to amend Art 1 (2) of the federal constitution so as to align it to the MA63. That was a golden opportunity to right some of the wrongs done to Sarawak. The bill FAILED and nothing came out of it.

Whose sin was this? You and your comrades in GPS (previously BN Sarawak). They abstained from voting and perpetuated BN/GPS's tradition of betraying Sarawak.

Now you take the debate over ' Wilayah' , Region and Territory to the court of public opinion and attempt to pull the wool over Sarawakians' eyes. Now you say PM Mahiaddin will soon right the wrong, all when parliament is suspended.

That you continue to assume Sarawakians are stupid makes me so angry. And that includes trying to convince Sarawakians that the Emergency we are in now is for the good of the country and not to keep you bunch of pengkhianat in office.

Well, Sarawakians are much much more aware of political on-goings these days and I am confident they will throw you out in the coming PRN.

I hope to say Adios, Sayonara, Zaijian & Selamat Tinggal to you soon.

 Keling Sigat Palau Dalam Pub

Betong

Kerajaan GPS- Kau Berjalan Menuju Kearah kegelapan Ke? (Bahasa)

Kerajaan GPS- Kau Berjalan Menuju Kearah Kegelapan Ke?

Perjumpaan sosial, sejak dulu lagi sampai ke bulan Mac 2020 tidak pernah dikenali sebagai punca penyakit berjangkit atau penyebar penyakit berjangkit di Sarawak. Dari fasa awal gejala Covid-19 di Sarawak sehingga ke sekarang, kita telah melihat di surat khabar dan kaca televisyen pesanan dari pihak berwajib bahawa penjarakan sosial dan kawalan orang ramai adalah penting dalam usaha membendung penyebaran Covid-19 tetapi tidak pernah kita dengar perjumpaan sosial adalah punca virus ini. Pada mulanya, nampak ada kefahaman mengenai punca sebenar virus ini dikalangan ahli kerajaan dan juga dikalangan kakitangan kerajaan yang ditugas membendung Covid-19 namun sekarang seolah olah kefahaman itu sudah hilang. Begitu juga naratif kerajaan GPS di Sarawak berkenaan dengan Covid-19.

https://dayakdaily.com/social-gatherings-not-allowed-in-covid-19-red-and-orange-zones/

Punca penyebaran gejala Covid-19 di Sarawak adalah daripada mereka yang dijangkiti virus ini. Mereka yang dijangkit akan dikenalpasti selepas melalui ujian pemeriksaan kesihatan. Seterusnya, proses mengesan kenalan yang mempunyai gejala jangkitan dibuat dan tindakan susulan akan memutus rantaian penyebaran dikalangan kategori ini. Kumpulan  satu lagi ialah kategori mereka yang dipanggil tidak simptomatik.

Bagi mereka yang selalu baca laporan harian kes Covid-19 di Sarawak, sering kali akan mendengar istilah pesakit simptomatik yang digunakan.

Untuk pengetahuan pembaca yang kurang arif dengan istilah tidak simptomatik, ini adalah kategori orang yang dijangkiti Covid-19 tetapi nampak sihat dan tidak ada sebarang tanda jangkitan. Penyebaran tidak simptomatik adalah penyebaran yang berpunca daripada orang yang sudah dijangkiti tetapi nampak sihat dan tiada tanda jangkitan.

Dari kes positif baru dan dari kluster baru yang dilaporkan setiap hari, kita tahu bahawa banyak orang yang tidak simptomatik di Sarawak sedang bergerak dan berleluasa diantara daerah dan diantara zon. Kumpulan-kumpulan ini menghadiri majlis atau perjumpaan sosial dan dalam proses aktiviti yang mereka lalukan, Covid-19 telahpun tersebar kepada orang lain yang ada di majlis atau perjumpaan dan dari itu timbul kluster baharu.

Boleh kah orang tidak simptomatik diuji dan dikenal pasti, dikuarantin dan diubati? Tentu sekali boleh, dengan proses yang dikenali sebagai proses saringan atau ujian beramai-ramai. Pernahkah saringan Covid-19 dibuat di Sarawak? Memang pernah, tetapi dengan cara yang tidak cukup berkesan untuk memutus rantaian penyebaran virus tersebut.

Satu daripada proses yang amat kritikal dalam usaha membendung Covid-19 di Sarawak ialah saringan beramai ramai diseluruh Sarawak iaitu semua yang tinggal di Sarawak sekarang disaring, sebaik baiknya proses dilakukan secara serentak. Tentu sekali ini bukan satu usaha yang mudah tetapi dengan fokus dan komitmen yang tinggi ia boleh dibuat dengan jayanya.

SDMC mempunyai kebijaksanaan yang mencukupi pada awal nya dan telah membahagikan kawasan Sarawak kepada Zon. Setiap Zonpula diberi kod berwarna. Kawalan penggerakan penduduk diantara daerah dan zon juga diperkuatkuasakan. Kerangka kerja dan kawalan yang wajar semua telahpun lengkap untuk kerajaan GPS dan KKM menjalankan saringan beramai ramai. Persoalan nya, kenapa perancangan semua ini tidak digunakan?

Kedudukan sebagai juara dalam penyebaran Covid-19 bukanlah satu yang boleh dibanggakan. Ia adalah satu tanda bahawa kerajaan Sarawak tidak mempunyai sebarang kemahiran untuk menangani pandemik Covid-19. Lebih dahsyat dari itu ialah peningkatan kes positif Covid-19 akan mengakibatkan lebih banyak lagi kes kematian. Sehingga petang semalam, 4hb April 2021, Sarawak mencatat 17,554 kes positif dan 114 kes kematian. Kes positif baharu untuk semalam sahaja sebanyak 419, jumlah paling tinggi didalam negara sekali lagi.

https://covid19.sarawak.com.my/

Masanya sudah tiba untuk Douglas Uggah meletak jawatan sebagai pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Negeri (JPBN) dan diganti dengan seorang profesional dari bidang perubatan atau ahli sains. Ahli politik, terutama sekali ahli politik GPS tidak harus menerajui JPBN.

Akhir kata kepada pemimpin Sarawak yang sekarang : Adalah wajar dan juga wajib SDMC serta KKM menjalankan saringan beramai-ramai dengan kadar segera dan mengenal pasti semua yang dijangkiti Covid-19 tetapi tidak simptomatik. Kehidupan warga Sarawak cuma akan kembali ke tahap normal apabila pandemik ini berakhir. Jika anda tidak berbuat sedemikian, anda akan bertanggungjawab dengan sepenuhnya ke atas setiap kematian baru disebabkan oleh Covid-19. Sekian, harap maklum.

GPS Government Of Sarawak - Are You Walking In Darkness?

 GPS Government Of Sarawak - Are You Walking In Darkness?

Douglas Uggah

‘Since early 2021 until today, most of the positive cases detected in the various communities in Sarawak have stemmed from attending social events’…quote Datu  Amar Douglas Uggah, Chairman of the SDMC and DCM of Sarawak.

https://dayakdaily.com/social-gatherings-not-allowed-in-covid-19-red-and-orange-zones/

Social gatherings in Sarawak, from earliest recorded times until March 2020, have never been a cause of infectious disease or the spread of infectious disease. In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic there was a wide publicity campaign to educate the members of the public that social distancing and crowd control were essential in the efforts to break the transmission chain of the virus but never was it said social gatherings were the cause of the spread of the disease. There was understanding of the real cause in the early days but lately the GPS government seems to have lost that understanding and the narratives.

The source of the virus that is spreading in Sarawak (and everywhere else) is the person(s) who has been infected by the disease. Some of these people are identified when they develop the symptoms, are tested and found to be Covid-19 positive. Contact tracings and follow-ups actions have broken the chain of transmission by this category. The other group consists of asymptomatic people in Sarawak.

Those who read the SDMC’s daily report on the Covid-19 pandemic in Sarawak cannot fail but notice that quite regularly there there mention of asymptomatic Covid-19 patients.

For the benefit of Sarawakians who are unfamiliar with the term, an asymptomatic laboratory-confirmed case is a person infected with COVID-19 WHO DOES NOT develop symptoms. Asymptomatic transmission refers to transmission of the virus from a person, who does not develop symptoms i.e asymptomatic people.

These asymptomatic people who are freely moving about in Sarawak, travelling between districts and going to social gatherings like birthday parties, religious gatherings, weddings, wakes and funerals etc etc. The presence of these asymptomatic peoples in such social gatherings causes those gatherings to become Covid-19 clusters. They are the main cause for the spread of the virus now.

Is there a way to screen and identify these asymptomatic people, quarantine and treat them? Of course there is. It is called mass screening. Has mass screening been done in Sarawak? Yes but not in ways that have made the screenings into an effective tool for breaking the transmission.

The one ingredient that was and still is missing is mass screening on a ‘global ‘ scale in Sarawak. In simple terms, screen every one residing in Sarawak. Can it be done? Of course it can be done. It may be difficult. There may be constraints in the requisite manpower and in the short term, mass screening exercise will make it tougher for the local business communities but it can be done.

The framework for mass screening is already in place. The SDMC obviously have enough wisdom to divide Sarawak into zones, color code the zones and restrict movement of people between zones. The basic foundation for mass screening was already in place. They could have isolated the zones and conduct the mass screening zone by zone and identify all the positive and asymptomatic people as they moved through the zones. What was it that prevented them from optimising what they have already put in place?

Being the champion in Covid-19 transmission in Malaysia is not something to be proud of. It speaks of incompetence. Worse still, the continuing presence of the virus of epidemic scale will be accompanied by Covid-19 related deaths. On the last count, Sarawak recorded a total of 17,554 positive cases and 114 Covid-19 deaths. There were  419 new positive cases yesterday, the highest in the whole of Malaysia, again!

https://covid19.sarawak.com.my/

I think the time has come for Douglas Uggah to step down as Chairman of SDMC and a medical professional or a scientist  be appointed to head the SDMC. A politician, particularly one from the ruling government should not be asked to helm the SDMC.

And now, the most crucial part : Can the SDMC and the KKM do the global mass screening now before this pandemic get even worse! Every death subsequent to this will be on your head if you do not do what you should be doing to break the transmission and stop the virus in its track.

COVID-19 Pandemic Management - GPS, Show Your Mettle Now!

 COVID-19 Pandemic Management - GPS, Show Your Mettle Now!

 

The KPIs Of The GPS Government And Of The SDMC

There was a time in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in Sarawak when Sarawakians honestly believed that the GPS government of Sarawak and the SDMC (Sarawak Disaster Management Committee) were doing an excellent job in controlling the spread of the virus in Sarawak. For example, throughout year 2020, the highest number of positive cases for a single day in Sarawak was 32, reported on the 01/04/2020 whereas Selangor reported figures in excess of 1200 on the 23/11/2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Sarawak

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/11/643651/malaysia-records-whopping-1884-new-covid-19-cases-highest-single-day

In year 2021, Sarawak went downhill. In Jan 2021, the highest single day tally was 255, reported on the 24/01/2021. In February 2021, the highest single day tally was 353, reported on the 24/02/2021. On the 28/03/2021, Sarawak emerged as the champion with 426 new positive cases reported. Covid.19 related death toll totals 107 as at today while the total positive cases stands at 16,214 (out of the 28,887 cases of Persons Under Investigation or PUI).This is beginning to look like a very perplexing anomaly as the COVID.19 vaccination is already underway. It certainly looks like the GPS government has seriously blundered in its management of the pandemic. As can be seen quite clearly, the figure reported in March 2021 is nearly 14 times the highest for the whole of year 2020.

Where did it go wrong?

Breaking The Chain Of Transmission - Was There A Serious One In Place?

The blame for the spike in the numbers of new positive cases was blamed mainly on social gatherings like Chinese New Year visits, cock fighting sessions, a birthday party and funerals. What were also mentioned in the daily reports but not assigned blames in similar fashion to the events mentioned above are the asymptomatic people detected among the positive cases identified during screenings. It does not need nuclear science to tell that these asymptomatic people were significant contributors to the statistics of positive cases in Sarawak. So why were these asymptomatic people, who were moving freely in the state not detected? Simply put, the screening processes that were put in place by SDMC and the Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) were not ‘designed’ to identify ALL the asymptomatic people in the state. The screenings were knee-jerk responses to positive cases identified after ad-hoc cases were tested as positive  in hospitals and clinics.

The obvious solution to the problem was to mass screen the entire population of Sarawak but for reason best known to the Sarawak government and to the SDMC this was not done.

Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing advocated for mass screening although he limits his recommendation to the locality where Covid.19 positive cases have emerged but as said above, his recommendations fell on deaf ears.

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/01/20/tiong-stresses-mass-screening-in-curbing-spread-of-covid-19-virus/

Where or what were the constraints that prevented them from doing mass screening? The SDMC obviously have enough wisdom to divide Sarawak into zones, color code the zones and restrict movement of people between zones. The basic foundation for mass screening was already in place. They could have isolated the zones and conduct the mass screening zone by zone and identify all the positive and asymptomatic people as they moved through the zones. What was it that prevented them from optimising what they have already put in place? Only they know.

 The Vaccines

The general Sarawak public knew that in Malaysia and for now, it is only the PN federal government that has the locus standi to import the Covid.19 vaccine. So when CM Abang Johari announced that the Sarawak government will foot the entire cost of the vaccines for Sarawak, they were simultaneously glad and perplexed. Glad because it appears Sarawak did not have to worry whether or not the federal government actually have the financial resources to import sufficient vaccines. Sarawak apparently has sufficient resources of its own or so it seems. It certainly look that way as the GPS government had earlier decided to fully finance the construction of the Batang Lupar bridge by themselves after they failed to convince the PN federal government to shoulder its burden on the bridge. At the same time, Sarawakians were understandably perplexed as without the cooperation of the federal government on the matter, Sarawak will not get the vaccine in the amount they want. So when CM Abang Johari said they are waiting for an official reply from the federal government on the matter you can almost hear Sarawakians saying, ‘ Told you so ‘.

You would have expected CM Abang Johari and his GPS government to immediately exploit their kingmaker’s clout, especially now when the PN federal government is tottering on the edge of the abyss, and force the federal government to quickly make arrangement to import the vaccine for Sarawak but they did not.

https://dayakdaily.com/free-covid-19-vaccine-for-all-sarawakians-swak-govt-to-foot-bill-for-all-costs-involved/

https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-sarawak-to-mobilise-vaccination-team-to-interior-areas-soon-CE7336316

Vaccination - Targeted Groups And Prioritising

‘ Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas is calling upon companies or industries with many workers operating in the state to submit the name list of their workers to the nearest resident offices in their respective division to be included in the state Covid-19 vaccination programme ‘

https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/03/28/uggah-companies-industries-urged-to-submit-name-list-of-workers-to-respective-resident-offices-for-vaccination/

In most countries in UK and in the EU countries, the government are prioritising their frontliners and the vulnerable among their citizens. Among those considered as vulnerable are the elderly, especially those with underlying medical issues. In Sarawak the elderly do not seems to be on the priority list. Are the elderly in Sarawak considered as not deserving of the vaccines because economically they are past the age where they are able contribute positively to the economy?

Rural Folks - Registration Via Sejahthera and Connectivity

DCM Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas is reported to have said registration for the Covid.19 vaccination can be done through the MySejahtera application or at the nearest hospital, health clinic or district office.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/667440/sarawak-opens-registration-covid-19-vaccination

It is common knowledge that for the vast majority of rural based Sarawakians, good internet connectivity is something that they continue to dream of only. Registration for the vaccination via MySejathera is out of the question. And there are those for whom registration through the nearest hospitals or clinics or the district office is also a major challenge, either because of poor or non-existent road connectivity. Best as we can tell, there is no mention of government reaching out to these rural based Sarawakians to get them registered. The stated desire of CM Abang Johari to have all Sarawakians vaccinated somehow rings hollow in the face of this.

In conclusion and in the matter of the management of the Covid.19 pandemic, the GPS government has failed and failed miserably too and the only way to deal with these pretend kingmakers is to make them into deep fired frogs @ katak goreng kering with cili kering as optional flavour enhancer. Deep fry them in the coming PRN and serve them up to their buddies in Malaya.