Sarawak natives file land rights case

Press Release dated 3 March 2011 from the Bruno Manser Fund...

Kelabit, Penan and Lun Bawang plaintiffs join forces to claim 1770 km2 of tropical rainforests in Upper Limbang, Sarawak – first land rights litigation uniting three ethnic groups in Malaysian Borneo

Sarawak natives file historic land rights case

MIRI (MALAYSIA). For the first time in the history of Malaysia, natives from three different tribes have filed a joint land rights litigation. This morning, representatives from the Kelabit, Penan and Lun Bawang communities of Upper Limbang, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo have filed a joint land rights litigation at the Miri High Court in which they are claiming native customary rights over 1770 km2 of tropical forests in the Limbang river basin. The case is being represented by native rights lawyer Baru Bian who also heads the Sarawak branch of the oppositional Justice Party (PKR).

The joint claim over an area twice the size of Singapore is directed against the Sarawak state government and four Malaysian logging and plantation companies that had been given concessions over the native lands without the communities’ consent. The companies listed as defendants are Ravenscourt Sdn Bhd, Billion Venture Sdn Bhd, Limba Jaya Timber Sdn Bhd and Kubang Sri Jaya Sdn Bhd. Ravenscourt is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Samling group which has recently been blacklisted by the Norwegian government for its involvement in illegal activities and environmentally destructive logging.

Click on map to enlarge

The Kelabit, Penan and Lun Bawang plaintiffs have been living in the Upper Limbang region for hundreds of years. Since the early 1980s, the region has been logged under a number of logging concessions. Currently, the area is being threatened by a major dam project on the Limbang river and the conversion of secondary forests into oil palm and paper tree plantations. All this while, the native communities had no say whatsoever on the use of their native lands by the Sarawak government and had only received ridiculous compensation payments by some logging companies who made millions of the dollars from logging the tropical hardwoods in the region.

After having lodged the case, representatives of the native communities displayed a banner in front of the Miri High Court building which read “Indigenous people taking action for change to save the last remaining Sarwak rainforest”. Currently, close to 200 native communities from Sarawak have challenged the state government over its land rights policies. The native land issue is also a heated subject during the runup to the next state election which is to be held before July 2011.

Please contact us for more information:

Bruno Manser Fund, Socinstrasse 37, 4051 Basel, Switzerland, Tel. +41 61 261 94 74
www.bmf.ch, www.stop-timber-corruption.org

An historic moment in the Arab world...

For more than 4,000 years the Middle East has been Ground Zero for a holographic insert featuring a patriarchal archetype codenamed Abraham. This enormous vortex of religious shock and awe spawned Judaism, Christianity and Islam - book religions designed to disconnect human beings from their own natural environment and keep them trapped in the semantic dimension of dogma and theology, of superstitious belief in an almighty, all-knowing, wrathful Father God quick to punish us for the "original sin" of disobedience - instead of rewarding us for our curiosity and our spirit of adventure and innovation.

On 26 January 2008 the vortex reversed its polarity (when Pluto shifted into Capricorn) and now amplifies people's desire for freedom and justice. This is the beginning of the end for the powerful, parasitic bloodlines that have misruled through cruelty, oppression and tyranny. People now look for leaders they can respect and love, not fear. Soon they will realize the leaders they are looking for are looking back at them from every mirror.

What is happening in the Middle East will ripple out across the entire world, igniting the spark of hope in every human heart, inevitably resulting in the overthrow of authoritarian, plutocratic regimes that continue to cling on to inherited privilege and the power of tradition - and refusing to spiritually evolve.

Mariam Mokhtar on Gaddafi & Najib

Najib's own violent record and Gadaffi: 
Pot calling the kettle black!

Written by Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

Crime Minister Najib Abdul Razak [sorry, Mariam, I just can't acknowledge this pink-lipped poltroon as our Prime Minister] is rather disingenuous to tell Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to refrain from using violence against protestors who are opposed to his rule.

He said, “We believe that he should not use violence. What is important for us is to take into account the aspirations of people... The system should be legitimate, it has to be based on support of people.”


Najib was speaking to AFP during his visit to Istanbul and said that the people in Arab and north African countries were giving “a clear sign of their demand for change and reform” and that those governments would have to acknowledge this.

He said, “The constitutional and political reforms that would be effective should be able to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of people, particularly the young people”.

Najib stressed that change in the region should be peaceful.

If only he would heed his own words.

When asked to comment about a possible uprising in Malaysia, Najib said that he was unperturbed as he had no concerns about a possible uprising happening in Malaysia as elections here were “quite free and fair” and that support for the government support was increasing.

Does Najib truly believe that vote-buying and rigging as well as manipulation of voters does not happen here?

But if Najib was not worried about events in the middle-east, why has there been a media blitz with various ministers saying that none of the rebellions will happen here?

The day after Egypt fell, Najib denied claims that there were parallels between Egypt and Malaysia. A few days ago, Minister for Information, Communication and Culture Rais Yatim told Malaysians to ignore Opposition propaganda to hold protests like those in Arab countries. Soon after, Deputy Prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that upheavals in the middle-east would not happen in Malaysia.

The more they protest, the more they betray their true feelings.

A few days ago, the British press claimed that Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi threatened to unleash mob rule as he pledged to “cleanse Libya house by house” until he crushed the insurrection seeking to sweep him from power.


In his most chilling speech of his 41 years in power, Gaddafi threatened death sentences against anyone who challenged his authority and in a diatribe lasting over 75 minutes, declared that “I will fight to the last drop of my blood”.

Najib’s ludicrous statement to tell Gaddafi not to use violence against the protestors is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

At the 61st Umno General Assembly in October 2010, Najib asked the near-hysterical delegates, “Are we willing to hand our beloved Malaysia to the traitor of race and country?” They in turn responded with shouts of “No. No.”


However, Najib’s most despicable statement then was, “Even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost, brothers and sisters, whatever happens, we must defend Putrajaya.”

His ensuing speech was riddled with hostility. It encouraged fear and apprehension. His words taught Malaysians all about envy and hatred.

With his violent past, Najib has the gall to tell Gaddafi to refrain from using violence.

Furthermore, how does he explain the police use of water cannons, chemical-laced sprays, police batons, tear gas, arrests, physical intimidation and assaults against peaceful protestors in his own homeland?

What is the point of Najib telling Gaddafi off?

When we asked Najib about the government’s alleged purchase of small arms – pistols, sub-machine guns, stun-grenades and more – from underground sources in the overseas black markets, he kept quiet.

When we demanded to know if these arms would be used by Umno Youth, who are suddenly embarking on paramilitary training, he did not reply. (Khairy Jamaluddin has just completed his parachute training.)

When we questioned him about the need to recruit 2.6 million Rela volunteers by mid-year, he again maintained silence.

courtesy of Johnny Ong

Still My Guitar Gently Weeps...

Lovely birthday suit, George! (photo: Richard Avedon)

George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle," Harrison was a devotee of Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles, as well as those of their Western audience, to include Eastern thought and practices.

Following the band's break-up, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys, and also as a film and record producer. Harrison is listed at number 21 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." [Wikipedia]



Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me

I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me

Don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now

You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around now it may show
I don't know, I don't know

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me

Don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now





I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you.

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you.

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
Look at you all...
Still my guitar gently weeps.



We were talking
About the space between us all
And the people
Who hide themselves behind a wall
Of illusion,
Never glimpse the truth,
Then it's far too late
When they pass away.

We were talking
About the love we all could share
When we find it
To try our best to hold it there
With our love,
With our love
We could save the world,
If they only knew.

Try to realize it's all within yourself
No-one else can make you change;
And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows on within you and without you.

We were talking
About the love that's gone so cold
And the people
Who gain the world and lose their soul.
They don't know,
They can't see,
Are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find peace of mind
Is waiting there.
And the time will come when you see
We're all one, and life flows on
Within you and without you.

[This birthday tribute is especially for my dear friend Arakah who, on a recent visit from Singapore, confessed she had never heard of George Harrison and hardly knows any Beatles songs.]

A pictorial tribute to the heroic Egyptians who put an end to pharaonic power on earth...

PEOPLE POWER IN EGYPT!
A streetfighter's guide to protective gear

Would be more effective if the bottles were filled with water -
but that would make this helmet too heavy!

Is the guy with the plastic pail on his head hurling the remains of a tuna sandwich?

If this carton can protect tomatoes from damage, why not my head?

When fighting to bring down a despot, paving tiles are more useful on the head than underfoot.

Multi-purpose helmet can be used to make a stew afterwards or as a percussion instrument.

Egyptian Vietcong?

Charging into the fray with two baguettes taped to his ears and a stale bun on his forehead.
This guy deserves a special award!

[Forwarded by Hari Ho]

Happy New Year, Son of Teoh Beng Hock!

30 years of misrule by secret police and hoodlums on the payroll...

Hosni Mubarak in Washington last September [Getty Images]

Taking on Pharaoh's hired hooligans

By Mozn Hassan | Aljazeera | 03 Feb 2011 15:39 GMT

The Egyptian people's uprising has reached a crucial phase in which the Army's true stance is soon to be revealed

If the military is ever to be a legitimate national force, it must side with the protesters against Mubarak's thugs and the police. These thugs today have been ridiculously and mistakenly labelled by right-wing media as "pro-Mubarak demonstrators." It is crucial at this moment in the Egyptian Uprising to understand that this is the Egyptian Army's moment of truth. As the thousands of unarmed demonstrators are tortured, trampled, firebombed and molested by Mubarak's thugs, will the military move to protect, or to crush the non-violent democratic movements that have occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo for the last ten days. Following up on Paul Amar's useful analysis, we need to know which faction of which branch of the army is in ascendant, and where exactly we can identify and energise possible allies of the people within these forces.

Mubarak goon squad, believed to be working for the Mukhabarat (intelliegence services) adding gratuitous violence to the popular uprising [Getty]

The newly appointed Vice President is Omar Suleiman, who everyone assumes is being groomed to be the next president. We Egyptians know him as the person who managed the negotiations between different Palestinian groups and assuages Israel's security concerns. Suleiman is welcomed by the US as a trusted man who caters to international interests. Suleiman is from the Intelligence Services (mukhabarat) which is loosely associated with the Army. Intelligence is charged with international security and countering the external Islamist militant threat. Suleiman is not hated by the people, but his base of support is as much in Washington and Tel Aviv as it is in Cairo.

But Suleiman does not have an exceptionally strong base of support at home. On the other hand, Field Marshall Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, the General Chief of the Army (al-Geysh) does indeed have a domestic base of legitimacy and respect. So this plays out now as a very critical struggle between Mukhabarat and Geysh, that is, between Soleiman and Tantawi. Since the police and security forces have done most of the repressing and torturing, the Geysh have kept their hands clean. So Tantawi is the person whom we Egyptian people respect. But we do not know him that well and we wonder if we can trust him and the Geysh.

[AFP]

Citizens have an image that the soldiers of the army are people who care and have a national mission to protect the people and the land. However, the Intelligence services are thought of as politicians whose role is to protect the US and Israel - and to protect their own political power as dependent to the international scene. Egyptians generally do not have a clear opinion on Suleiman or the Mukhabarat but they suspect that Suleiman is drawing out the endless Israeli peace/security mandate. Whereas under Nasser, the military was serving the nation; under Mubarak, the Intelligence Services serve the individual leader’s personal ambitions.

People in Egypt feel safe with the army and love them without dealing closely with them. Once they have to deal with them directly as repressors or direct rulers, the limitless hate they have now for the police may be transferred directly to the army. Citizens should create a clear position toward the army and the army should play a decisive role in favour of peoples’ demands in order to maintain the nation's respect.

During the next days Tantawi's armed forces will have their chance to reaffirm the national fabric and legitimacy of the country, or to plunge into the mire of brutality and corruption – the place where Suleiman’s Intelligence Services now wallow along with Mubarak's thugs and the monstrous police forces.

Mubarak mob captured by pro-democracy protesters are handed over to the army [Reuters]

Tantawi today must step up to protect the people, evict the Mubarak family from the country immediately, and subordinate the international mission of the mukhabarat to the national mission of the people. He could then facilitate the peaceful transition everyone wants to a new parliamentary election and a presidential one.

Mozn Hassan, Director for the El-Nazra for Feminist Studies in Cairo, is a prominent leader of the Democracy Movement in Egypt and an expert in human rights, international law, gender policy, and constitutional reform.

End of another greedy ego-driven regime!

Hosni Mubarak prefers to be dragged kicking and screaming out of his palace. Guess who propped him up all these decades? That's right, your friendly neighborhood international bankster and the friendly folks who brought you Walmart and Starbucks...



Violent clashes between police and demonstrators as over ten thousand gather on the streets of Cairo. The Egyptian population has endured a tyrant's rule for far too long, millions struggle each day to find where their next meal is coming from. January 25th, 2011 marks the day when the people rise and take back what's rightfully theirs. This isn't the end, but hopefully the beginning of a long awaited regime change!

Song: "Into the Fire" - Thirteen Senses

Thanks to the following news sources for their footage:

Daily News Egypt The Guardian CNN New York Times Al Masry Al Youm

Created by Tamer Shaaban. Another Egyptian who's had enough.

Facebook Link

Cairo, 1 February 2011. More than 2 million gather against Mubarak. Pic: Scott Nelson (New York Times)

PEOPLE OF EARTH, NOW IS THE TIME TO FREE OURSELVES FOREVER FROM THE REPTILIAN MASTER-SLAVE PROGRAM!

DOWN... DOWN... DOWN...DOWN... DOWN!

All right, all right... enough rhetoric, enough low-grade Umno/BN politics, enough self-serving bullshit around race, religion and royalty.

Enough police brutality and torture, enough arrests of peaceful anti-ISA protesters, enough mysterious deaths while being interrogated, enough dirty deals that benefit only a tiny handful of Umno/BN cronies.

Enough stinkingly stupid utterances from the out-of-control mouth of the moronic home minister, enough ugly spin from the entire Umno/BN cabinet.

I've definitely had enough, I don't know about you, folks...

I want to see Najib and Rosmah out of Putrajaya and behind bars - or in permanent exile. They are absolutely unfit to hold high office and utterly beyond redemption.

We cannot afford to wait a few years. I'm not sure we can even afford to wait a few months. It's time for radical change across the board, throughout the planet.

No more criminal misrule and mismanagement!

HAPPY NEW ERA, FOLKS! THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER... AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP!

Enough of Big Brother's Heavy Hand!

These superb photographs were found on Totally Cool Pix...

Rebellion has flared up across the Middle East, starting with the massive uprising in Tunisia that forced President Ben Ali and his family to flee in disgrace.

None of this street violence would have been necessary if only the ruling elites had heeded the warning signs and reined in their ego excesses, their insatiable appetites and misguided worldviews. Like a father who collapses of heart failure because he no longer has power over his own grown-up children, all corrupt and oppressive feudal-style governments on this earth will inevitably collapse.

People of Malaysia, unless we effectively vote BN out at GE13, these scenes of street violence are almost certain to happen here. We have suffered four decades of hypocritical authoritarian misrule - first under Razak Hussein, then Mahathir Mohamad, followed by the spineless Abdullah Badawi and now, the most despicable of all... Rosmah Mansor's chubby hubby, the infamous Mr Pink Lips.

Rosmah and Najib have so much in common with the Ceaucescus of Romania, the Marcoses of the Philippines, the Taib Mahmud clan of Sarawak, and the Ben Ali family of Tunisia....



Change is always scary, folks - but no change at all is a million times worse!

Will the moon shine over Tenang?

We certainly wish to see a minor miracle happen tomorrow when the people of Tenang cast their votes. Although touted as an Umno stronghold, there's every chance that the new generation of voters will opt for change and renewal - and boot out BN, whose candidate from Umno, Azahar Ibrahim can offer only more of the same old arrogance, corruption and hypocritical business-as-usual everybody is so sick and tired of.

Normala Sudirman, the Pakatan Rakyat candidate from PAS, looks like a warm, intelligent, approachable and dedicated woman who values social justice and personal integrity. Tenang voters would do well to have Normala represent their long-term interests.

HERE'S WISHING PAKATAN RAKYAT & PAS A MIRACULOUS VICTORY IN TENANG!

Some good ones from Nat Geo...