Khamis, 10 Mac 2016

Chong Chieng Jen's Blog

Chong Chieng Jen's Blog

施压中央给砂州20%石油税， 张健仁入禀改元首御词动议

Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:14 PM PST

当今大马

国会 随着砂州议会议决要求联邦政府，将该州所获得的5%石油税提升至20%，行动党古晋市国会议员张健仁向国会提呈动议，要求修改国家元首施政御词，以纳入提升砂州石油税一事。
他也要求，25名砂州国阵国会议员能支持这项动议，好兑现砂州人民的心愿。
张健仁也是砂州行动党主席。他今日在国会走廊对记者表示，本身昨天已向议长班迪卡提呈动议，要求为御词增添：'国会议决，砂州政府现有的5%石油税，应提高至20%。"
事隔22个月后不见下文
他指出，砂州朝野议员在2014年5月的州议会上， 通过要求提高石油税至20%的动议。

"但22个月过去了，什么都没有。砂州政府不但没加紧施压，反而退守。原本是砂首长（阿德南，见图）头号议程，现在沦为最后一项诉求。"

张健仁批评国阵中央政府，无意接受砂州政府的要求。

取20%石油税最佳时机
对此，他续称，这是砂州取得20%石油税的最佳时机，原因如下：
（一）在油价低迷的时刻，虽然中央所给予砂州的石油税增至20%，但整体数额不会比国际油价每桶100美元的时期高太多。
若国际原油价格维持在每桶100美元，20%石油税将让中央政府多付50亿令吉予砂州政府。但如今油价下滑60%，20%石油税只让中央政府多掏出20亿令吉。
（二）中央政府从落实消费税中，获得额外收入。
（三）首相纳吉能稳住现有中央政府，关键在25名砂州国阵议员，因此须优先关注砂州的意愿。若下届大选砂州议员人数有变，此景一去不回头。
（四）砂州大选脚步渐近，纳吉需要一场大胜，稳住相位。
胥视25名国阵议员态度
张健仁续称，在上述4大利好因素下，若中央政府不愿支付20%石油税，砂州政府将无缘获得此税。
"不过，若我的修订动议获得国会支持，中央政府别无选择，只能执行议会动议。"
"国会在野党将支持我的动议，这胥视25名砂国阵议员会否施予援手，通过此动议，砂州就能获20%石油税。"
支持不代表要脱离国阵
他表示，砂国阵议员若支持动议，不代表要求他们脱离国阵，抑或不支持纳吉。
"这只是落实砂州议会2014年5月的动议，以及砂国阵的政策。"
砂州议会在2014年5月通过动议，要求中央政府提高增加目前5%的石油开采税至20%。

砂州是马来西亚最大产油州，每年收取5%的石油开采税。根据国油公司2011年年终报告，砂拉越在2011年只获得16亿令吉左右的石油税。
争取20%石油税，过去一直是砂拉越在野党的主张。从2011年州选至2013年全国大选，石油税成为民联竞选宣言的主要议题之一。
- http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/333421

DAP: S'wak needs checks and balances - vote opposition

Posted: 06 Mar 2016 06:06 PM PST


Sarawak DAP has made a plea to voters to support the party in the coming state election to strengthen the opposition's representation.
"I have made it clear that the state election is not about changing the government. Adenan Satem will continue to be the chief minister without any doubt," Sarawak DAP chairperson Chong Chieng Jen said.
Indeed, it was reported that Adenan's approval rate has climbed to 85.5 percent, according to a survey headed by Associate Prof Jeniri Amir of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
"But, don't you want a stronger opposition? (We) do not want to return to the era of former chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud who ignored the voices from the ground," said Chong.
In an interview with Malaysiakini and KiniTV last Wednesday, Chong explained why voters should continue to reject BN.
He pointed out that various promises, particularly related to autonomy issues, were still unfulfilled and Sarawak had been marginalised for years.
In his visit to Sarawak last Sunday, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who relies much on the support of the Borneo state voters to maintain power, urged the people to give Adenan a strong mandate to give him the strength to negotiate with the federal government for help in developing the state.
Giving victory to the state BN, Najib said, would ensure that the state and federal governments were on the same page to ensure rapid development would continue there.
Political conglomerate
Chong, however, reminded the BN leaders that the erosion of rights in Sarawak was caused by the BN political conglomerate, whose state allies had agreed to accept five percent oil royalty. They also gave up on English education.
"If BN is sincere, then it should surrender its autonomy on education, health, finance and other internal affairs to us," he added. "We want autonomy. We want checks and balances."
"Yes, we do have administrative power in land matters and logging licences, for example. But, we do not have checks and balances.
"We have seen the monopoly of six major logging companies, which were given licences that cover 9.2 million acres of forest or one-third of Sarawak land. We have seen prime land in Kuching town given to BN cronies and the companies of Taib's family at low prices," he alleged.
This happened even after Adenan took office on Feb 28, 2014, he said.
"BN will only look at the people's demands seriously when it is under pressure," he said.
Getting rid of race-based tag
Sarawak DAP had obtained its best results in the 2011 state election taking 12 state seats - all Chinese majority - after its establishment in 1978. Only two out 15 seats it contested then were of Dayak majority.
It's notable that DAP wants to get rid of the Chinese-based party label in the Peninsula and Borneo states.
"Sixty percent of our members are Dayak – we have a few thousand," said Chong, adding that Sarawak DAP plans to contest 35 to 40 seats in the coming state polls, expected next month.
This means that DAP will contest 22 to 27 Dayak seats.
In the last state polls, DAP only enjoyed an average 30 to 40 percent of Dayak support in the seats they won.
Kidurung state assemblyperson Chew Chiu Sing, who speaks fluent Iban and had lost six times in elections, had managed to win more than 45 percent of the Dayak vote in the 2011 state polls.
Chong is confident that the party has made some progress in Dayak- majority seats as the DAP's brainchild 'Impian Sarawak', a programme that brings development to the rural community, has borne fruit.
"The Dayak community is aware of the programme," said Chong, adding that the party was confident of taking more than 12 seats.
Meanwhile, the two-term Kota Sentosa assemblyperson said he may contest in Batu Kitang, a new seat under the Stampin parliamentary constituency, created after the redelineation exercise.
"It depends, I may contest there if needed," he said.
- malaysiakini 

'Najib neutralises Adenan's feel-good factor in S'wak polls'

Posted: 05 Mar 2016 06:04 PM PST


Scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will neutralise the feel-good factor of Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem in the upcoming state election, state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen said.
"To put it bluntly, Najib is a liability to BN," he said, adding that federal policies affecting the economy is also a huge factor affecting the ruling coalition's chances at the polls.
Najib is now the opposition's number one 'campaigner' based on two reasons - the goods and services tax (GST) and the scandal surrounding RM2.6 billion donation, he stressed.
"Politics is about managing the country's economy. At the end of the day, the ultimate concern and consideration of the people is their pocket.
"These are things that BN have done very badly - employees do not have money to cover their living costs, business has dropped 30 percent. Price hikes are especially serious in Kuching; the price of imported canned goods from China has increased by 30 percent," he said.
"In speaking and interacting with the people, we found that even those previously more inclined to BN said he had crossed the final limit of their tolerance," said the two-term Kota Sentosa state assemblyperson.
Prior to this, Adenan who took office in April 28, 2014 was seen as the biggest threat to Sarawak opposition with his climbing popularity, by showing a friendlier face of BN compared to his predecessor Abdul Taib Mahmud.
'Traditional supporters ignored'
Political commentators' forecasts say the Chinese community, which voted BN out in most of the Chinese-majority seats in 2011 state poll, will swing back to BN in the upcoming state poll. However the majority Dayak and Malay-Melanau groups will still opt for BN.
Chong, however rebutted the pundits' view, claiming DAP is confident it will maintain all its Chinese majority seats, mainly located in Kuching, Sibu, and Miri.
According to him, Adenan had put so much effort to please Chinese voters that some complained he took the support of Dayak and Malay-Melanau communities for granted.
"Do not think of Adenan as God," said Chong in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini and KiniTV.
Chong claimed his party had enjoyed a comfortable 60 to 70 percent Chinese support in the seats it contested in 2011, compared to 60 percent in 2006.
In 2011, DAP set the record by winning 12 out of 15 state seats it contested.
"What was announced by Adenan might be politically correct and the Sarawakians see him as a good chief minister. The problem is he has a BN team that are bad teammates and that would hold the people back from supporting him," he added.
Internal squabbles in BN
Moreover, Adenan has failed to contain the infighting in his own party, as well as in his BN allies, where splinter parties have emerged due to internal squabbles, he added.
"During Taib's (era of) high-handed and strongman politics, this would never have happened or would not have emerged in the open. They just did not dare.
"Adenan is losing grip. The internal fight will be carried over to the state election. It is an open war now.
"Thus, I don't think Adenan's feel-good factor would add any extra value to the support of BN as compared to (during) Taib's era," he said.
The state BN is mulling on fielding candidates under the BN banner, amid the internal problems in the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).
- malaysiakini  

DAP's Ubah mascot returns as warrior for S'wak polls

Posted: 04 Mar 2016 06:02 PM PST


With the Sarawak state polls around the corner, DAP has unveiled its official mascot called 'Ubah warrior' to join its electoral hustings.
First introduced in the 2011 state election, the mascot complete with a kalambi (Iban ikat vest) and kelabit jewellery necklace, has now grown into an adolescent rhinoceros hornbill.
Notably, the Ubah warrior now dons a red cape embossed with a bunga terung (eggplant flower) tattoo, a sacred symbol of an Iban boy's passage into manhood.
In Iban tradition, a boy gets a coming of age tattoo after a trip to the jungle.
"The Ubah bird has grown up - from a kid to adolescent. The (plush doll's) size is bigger. We also have the shield and spear which symbolise Ubah's warrior status," said Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen.
"(It shows that) we are moving into a new territory with the courage, spirit and determination of a warrior," he said in an interview with Malaysiakiniand KiniTV.
Chong added that it also means Sarawak DAP has grown up too.
Design more complicated, expensive
The Ubah warrior comes in two sizes. The bigger one will be sold at RM100 each, a 66 percent hike in price compare to its predecessor in 2011, while the price of the smaller version has doubled to RM20.
Chong said the party had to fix a higher price due to the depreciation of the ringgit – a 30 percent drop against China's renminbi since the last state election.
"Ubah was manufactured in China. We were supposed to order the mascot in August 2015, but it was delayed as we had to finalise the design. We only put the order in October 2015. This has caused 10 to 15 percent increase in costs," he said.
Chong added that the new design is more complicated, thus more expensive.
The party has ordered 10,000 big Ubah and 30,000 small Ubah mascots.
There was an overwhelming demand when it first made its debut five years ago, Chong said.
"We had to do a second and third order then."
He expressed hope that the mascot will again be well received in the coming state election.
- malaysiakini  
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