Kaamatan 2023 In Glasgow

      The Sabahans Abroad in the United Kingdom (SAUK) group will help organize a Kaamatan celebration in Glasgow, Scotland on the 28th of May 2023. This will be the first time SAUK will be supporting and co-organizing a UK-based Kaamatan in Scotland. The organizer is a Sabahan, Farouq Omaro who is currently based in Glasgow.

      The celebration has received the support of the Gibson Street-Otago Street-Westbank Quadrant (GOW) Community in Glasgow's West End. The one day event will also be graced by Member of Parliament for Glasgow North, Mr. Patrick Grady of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP).

      According to Omaro, among the events which will be held are Kadazandusun-Murut karaoke singing competition, best traditional costume competition and some traditional games. There will also be sumazau dances and singing performed throughout. Plenty of traditional Sabahan dishes will also be served along with home-made rice wine. 

        The event is open to all members of the public by invitation. Unlike the Kaamatan celebrations organized by SAUK in previous years, the event this year will be held outdoors in the Westbank Quadrant Garden.

Anwar Ibrahim Becomes PM of Malaysia: Promises To Return Autonomy to Sabah & Sarawak

  Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the Pact of Hope (PH) managed to become the Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaysia after his coalition won the most number of seats in parliament, 82 out of 222. In the November 19th 2022 elections, PH won 82 seats, PN 74, BN 30, GPS 23, GRS 6 and the rest were won by smaller parties and independents. 

      Although short of a simple majority, on the advise of the King, Sultan Abdullah of Pahang, Anwar Ibrahim secured an alliamce with the Sarawak Parties Coalition (GPS) and Sabah People's Coalition (GRS), enabling him to garner enough seats to become the Prime Minister. The National Front (BN) though lost badly in the election was also included in Anwar Ibrahim's new government.  

      Earlier, the Islamist coalition of the National Alliance (PN) had intended to form the government by aligning with GPS and GRS. However, both GPS and GRS made a u-turn since the King had preferred a candidate from the coalition with the most number of seats to become the Prime Minister.

       The new Prime Minister has promised to return Sabah amd Sarawak's autonomy that were whittled away durimg 55 years of BN rule. Though BN was finally brought down in 2018, the then new PH government's rule was short-lived when the interim Prime Minister from PH, Dr.Mahathir Mohamad indirectly made way for his party Bersatu to leave PH and join forces with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)  to form a new government.

         Anwar Ibrahim has been waiting to become Prime Minister since he left BN in 1998. As a result he was charged under suspicious accusations of sodomy under a colonial-era law and had to spend years in prison. 

       Chances for Sabah and Sarawak to regain their rights look bright now that the new PM has directed all rights of Sabah and Sarawak be returned without the need to form committees or hold lengthy discussions. As a result, several jurisdictions have been returned including the right to oil and gas products. At the time of this writing, the return of health and education  to the governments of Sabah amd Sarawak are in the works.

         The toughest measures would probably be the reinstatement of Article 161C and Article 161D of the Federal Constitution which guarantee the secular character of Sabah and Sarawak. Any attempt to reinstate these provisions might face tough opposition from the Islamist-rooted PN and BN which is also currently allied to Anwar Ibrahim. After all the repeal of the said articles were made by BN in 1976. 

        The following months will be interesting to watch as we would see how far Anwar Ibrahim would go to appease GPS and GRS who together have given him enough numbers to hecome PM.

Kaamatan Festival Goes To Scotland

 

May 29th-  The Kaamatan Festival celebrated every May in Sabah to mark the rice harvest was today brought to Scotland. The family of Farouq Omaro from Papar decided to organize a Kaamatan party in Glasgow, Scotland. Mr.Omaro's wife, Betty is currently doing her PhD in Education Leadership at the University of Glasgow. Mr.Omaro & his children are living with her until she finishes her studies in 2023.

       The Omaros prepared rice wine in a traditional jar, cooked chicken in coconut milk and made a traditional Sabahan sweetmeat called panjaram.  The rice wine and the food were so well-liked by their Scottish guests that everything was finished when the party ended. The host family also belted out the traditional Sabahan dance of Sumazau for the guests. Mr.Omaro also rendered some popular Kadazandusun songs for the enchanted guests. The Kaamatan feast which was held at a garden by the River Kelvin was attended by about 30 guests in total. The number of guests was small  due to the current Covid19 pandemic. 

           The Omaros hope to organize a bigger celebration next year should the pandemic end.

Sabah Coalition Falls

  

     Sabah's ruling coalition Warisan Plus lost in the hotly contested state elections held on September 27th. Out of the 73 seats contested, Warisan Plus won 32 while Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (Sabah People's Coalition or GRS) won 38 seats. The remainder 3 seats were won by independent candidates.

     A total of 447 candidates contested the state elections. The state election was called by the Election Commission after incumbent Chief Minister Shafie Apdal dissolved the state assembly after only 2 years plus in power. The assembly was dissolved following attempts to topple the government by ex-Chief Minister Musa Aman.

       The main parties which contested included Warisan Plus comprising Sabah Heritage Party (Warisan), United Peoples of Kinabalu Organization (UPKO), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the National Justice Party (PKR). Their main contender was GRS comprising the National Front (BN), National United Indigenous Party (PPBM), STAR and Sabah United Party (PBS). 

          Several smaller parties and dozens of independent candidates also contested but most of them lost their deposits. Only three independents won, all of whom later sided with the winning coalition as expected.

           The win by GRS strenghtened the Malaya-based federal government which was formed through defections by government backbemchers earlier in February. It was also a blow to Warisan Plus which hoped to make Sabah more autonomous from Federal rule.

           Hajiji Noor was sworn in as Chief Minister shortly after the elections.

UMNO Finally Falls

 May 2018-   The United Malays National Organization (UMNO)  which has ruled Malaysia's federal government since its formation in 1963 and also Sabah since 1994 has finally fallen.
        The results of the 14th General Elections and the Sabah State Elections held on May 9th saw UMNO finally taking a beating. At the federal level, the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition spearheaded by former prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad won enough seats to form the federal government. At the state level, UMNO only managed 17 seats out of the 32 seats it contested. Together with its allies Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Organization (UPKO) and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), they managed 29 seats. The Sabah-born Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) and its allies also managed 29 seats. The kingmaker was therefore the Parti Solidariti Tanahairku (STAR) which won two seats.
      However unexpectedly the STAR president Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan who had all along opposed UMNO rule in Sabah, decided to help UMNO form the government again. Sensing that this UMN0-Star coalition would not last long, UPKO acting president Wifred Tangau decided to join forces with Warisan.
This gave Warisan and its allies the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Keadilan (PKR) and new partner UPKO a total  of 34 seats, but one UPKO rep decided to stick with UMNO, thus giving Warisan and its partners 33 out of 60 seats, enough to unseat UMNO.
       Thus 24 years of UMNO rule came to an end. Those who criticise UPKO for jumping ship must remember that in 1994 UMNO came to power in Sabah due to assemblymen from the ruling government hopping to UMNO. And as UPKO pointed out, the UMNO government would never last, and truly enough two days after the elections, two UMNO reps left for Warisan.  Also, the UMNO chief Musa Aman was alleged to have forcibly confined UPKO reps at his residence and forced them to sign allegiance to him, which is very undemocratic if true.
      Let us hope that the new government which is finally helmed by a Sabahan party will rule Sabah fairly and bring more development to the state.

More Families Celebrating Kaamatan

It is good to note that more Kadazandusun families are now celebrating Kaamatan. Previously organization of Kaamatan festivities was mainly done by district offices and village committees. Now, more and more families are taking the initiative to hold their own Kaamatan festivals. Spokesperson for the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA), Datuk John Anthony recently lauded such family initiatives at the Soluja Solimuda Family Kaamatan in Papar. It is learned that more families in Sabah are organizing Kaamatan festivities throughout the month of May this year. This is a good sign that Kaamatan among the Kadazandusuns is alive and well.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

The North Borneo Herald wishes all its readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yamaha FZ For Fuel Economy

    The all new Yamaha FZ150i, 2014 edition is a stylish yet affordable and economical motorcycle. In view of the recent fuel hike many might want to consider this bike as a means of travelling to and from work. With a 12-litre tank and low displacement, this bike can go up to 300 kilometres on a full tank.
   With its stylish look the rider could also blend in with high-powered bikes. It is also a plus point for those who want to use a motorcycle but shy away from mopeds which are so common on our roads.
      The recent increase in gasoline price will help to increase the sales of this bike. It will surely find a place with those who travel long distances to work daily.

Exercise Care In Wake of Sedition Crackdown

 The North Borneo Herald wishes to advise fellow bloggers on the need to exercise care when reporting on truths and writing articles which may offend the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO). This is because of the recent crackdown by the UMNO-dominated government by arresting students, a lecturer, a reporter, a lawyer, a Muslim preacher and opposition politicians who have wrote things or made statements which may have angered UMNO.
    Bloggers can however endear themselves to the government by reporting on UMNO's achievements or writing articles praising Umno. Though some might find this against their principles, we must admit that this is a price we have to pay for freedom.
    Do not laugh when reading this article, as you might be arrested for sedition!!!

Tiger of Jelutong Dies

     Chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), Karpal Singh died on April 17th this year in a car crash in Malaya, while travelling from the federal capital Kuala Lumpur to his home state of Penang.

      Karpal Singh joined the DAP in 1970 and had served as state assemblyman and member of parliament until his death.

       Karpal  was cremated according to Sikh rites. His son Ramkarpal Singh succeeded him as member of parliament after winning the by-election following his father's death.

        Karpal was popularly known as the Tiger of Jelutong during his lifetime. Among his struggles were fighting against the death penalty in the Malaysian legal system, fighting abuses by the Malay monarchy, fighting against Islamicization of the federation and fighting against persecution of members of the opposition including the current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

         Karpal had during his lifetime been imprisoned many times by the authorities for his struggles. His death is definitely a loss for Malaysians.