Do not equate RM2.1 billion contracts awarded by Petronas with 20% oil and gas royalty.
(12-4-2015)

Adenan seems to be contented with the so-called intended awards of RM2.1 billion worth of contracts by PETRONAS to Sarawak contractors, thereby diverting the attention of the people from the initial demand for 20% oil and gas royalty for Sarawak.

Last year, in the Sarawak DUN sitting, the State Legislature unanimously passed the resolution to demand for 20% oil and gas royalty for Sarawak.

Till this day, almost a year has passed and yet it seems that the demand has hit brick-wall.

Despite the failure on the part of Sarawak government under the leadership of Adenan to execute the resolution of the Sarawak DUN, Adenan seems to be happy and contented with the award of contracts worth RM2.1 billion to Sarawak contractors.

The 20% oil and gas royalty is a far cry from the RM2.1 billion worth of contracts awarded in many ways, namely:

1. According to the 2015 Sarawak State Budget’s estimates, the 5% oil and gas royalty will give Sarawak a revenue of RM1.83 billion.  Therefore, 20% oil and gas royalty will give Sarawak an additional RM5.49 billion.  This is 2.5 times the RM2.1 billion mentioned.

2. “Contracts worth RM2.1 billion to Sarawak contractors” means that Sarawak contractors have to come out with RM2.1 billion worth of material and work to earn that RM2.1 billion.  This is totally different from the outright RM5.49 billion cash payment as oil and gas royalty.

3. Out of the RM2.1 billion worth of contract, I am sure a very substantial portion will be paid to import materials from suppliers who are not Sarawakians or to engage consultants who are not Sarawakian.  Therefore, not the whole of the RM2.1 billion will be circulating in the Sarawak economy.

4. The contracts worth RM2.1 billion will benefits the local contractors who are awarded with the contracts.  Its impact on the general public in Sarawak is limited.  On the other hand, the RM5.49 billion royalty payment can be used by the Government to benefit all Sarawakian, especially the poor.

5. Even if all the contracts worth RM2.1 billion were to be awarded this year, they will definitely take more than a year to complete all.  Therefore, it will not be RM2.1 billion worth of contract a year. The amount will be spread over a few years.  On the other hand, if the 20% oil and gas royalty were to be given to Sarawak, it would mean an additional RM5.49 billion a year.


Given the above 5 points, Adenan should not try to use the RM2.1 billion worth of contracts to cover-up his failure to obtain 20% oil and gas royalty from PUTRAJAYA.  Such failure to obtain the 20% oil and gas royalty from PUTRAJAYA shows the disrespect on the part of the Federal Government towards Sarawak’s rights.

It further proves that Sarawak BN is just an insignificant appendage to the Federal BN and that Sarawak BN cannot make any important decision without the nod from the Federal BN.

In the coming DUN sitting, I will suggest some ways whereby the Sarawak Government can compel the Federal Government to give in to the demand of 20% oil and gas royalty, PROVIDED THAT　the Sarawak Government must have the political will and resolve that it is not a subordinate or a colony to the Federal Government.


Chong Chieng Jen
DAP Sarawak Chairman
MP for Bandar Kuching
ADUN for Kota Sentosa

Chong Poses 5 Questions on the Pan Borneo Highway Contract to BN reps


The Sarawak BN elected representatives, the likes of Abdullah Saidol (ADUN for SEMOP), Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (Assistant Minister) and Michael Manyin have totally evaded my queries on the award of Pan Borneo Highway project to Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) and tried to give a racial twist to my critics on the award of the said project to LBU.


In their statements today, the 3 of them seem to have either purposely avoided answering my queries or just could not understand the issues.


As such, for their clarity, I will put my questions in words that are easier for them to understand.  The 5 questions for the 3 BN leaders to answer are as follows:

1. While the Government claims to help Sarawak contractors, why is the Board of Directors of the appointed Main Contractor, LBU, controlled by West Malaysians (4 out of 7 of the directors are West Malaysians)?

2. While the Government claims to help Bumiputra, why is there not a single Dayak in the Board of Directors nor Shareholdings of LBU or its holding companies?  Dayaks are also Bumiputra, why are they left out?

On this question, I would like to remind Abdu Karim that by raising this issue, I am not importing the so-called West Malaysian racial politics into Sarawak.  It is the act of the Federal Government to award the contract to a single-race company that is importing the West Malaysian racial policy into Sarawak.  I am merely stating a fact so that such racial policy can be rectified.

3. While Adenan is preaching integrity and transparency and that the Sarawak cabinet ministers have signed the so-called “Integrity Pledges”, why is a contract worth more than RM10 billion awarded without open tender process?

4. While LBU has only been registered in 2011 and zero track record in construction and any trading activity, why was LBU appointed as the Main Contractor for the Pan Borneo Highway project? Is the government intending to continue with the “Ali Baba” contractor modus operandi in the implementation of its projects?

5. While the government is talking about cutting-costs, why create an Ali Baba middleman?  Would it not make better sense for the Government to break down the whole stretch of Pan Borneo Highway into 20 – 30 smaller contracts, carry out open-tender processes and award the contracts directly to the ones doing the work, rather than going through LBU who will get the lion share of commission / profit, leaving the actual contractors smaller budgets to do the job?


Michael Manyin was saying that the works for the projects will not be dominated by one single race.  He is either playing ignorant or just pure ignorant.  The whole contract has already been awarded to LBU. It is now up to LBU to decide who will be the sub-contractors.


It is well-known in the industry that Main Contractor will take between 10% - 20% of the money and leaving the balance for the sub-contractors who actually do the job.  As the Minister in-charge of public works, it would be a joke if Michael Manyin is not aware of this improper practice which has become a norm in public construction works for the Government.


I hope the 3 BN elected representatives can understand and reply to my 5 questions posed above and be accountable to the people of Sarawak.


18-4-2015
Chong Chieng Jen
MP for Bandar Kuching
ADUN for Kota Sentosa

Press Release

DAP Sri Aman Deputy Branch Chairman Mr Bennet Empi refutes the claims of Achim Leman, who is a former DAP Balai Ringin member who left DAP to join PKR Sri Aman to be its Vice Chairman, on DAP losing support in Dayak areas.

Achim now claims that DAP should have quit quietly without causing an uproar over the relationship between PKR & PAS in Sarawak. He claims that Hudud is not an issue in this State as CM Adenan has already said Hudud will not be implemented here.

"By saying that CM has already reiterated that Hudud will not be implemented in Sarawak, isn't the case closed for it? But PKR's continued association with PAS Sarawak raises many eyebrows as this shows that they do not have the so-called autonomy that they have been claiming. Why can't they emulate their brave colleagues in Sabah which, in view of disciplinary action slapped towards them, they still remained steadfast in their resolution of discontinuing their relationship with PAS Sabah. As it stands today, PKR Sarawak still cannot make any decisions when it concerns the well-being of Sarawakians unlike DAP Sarawak which has been bold and decisive in its vision for Sarawakians', said Mr Bennet Empi.

'On the DAP losing Dayak support, may I remind that Achim of all people should realise that during the last general election, the area under his watch, PKR had 0 votes, which explains a lot about the level of support PKR received in Dayak areas, especially the areas where their presence is supposedly strong. Hence, if it weren't for the support from DAP campaigning in Simanggang & Bukit Begunan, PKR's candidate last election could have lost his deposit,' added Mr Bennet Empi.

Press Release

Villagers seek compensation from  Sri Aman Hospital over negligence

DAP Sri Aman was approached by a very distraught family who has just lost their newborn baby. They claimed that the baby passed away due to negligence by Sri Aman Hospital staff.

Madam Mading anak Roney gave birth to a healthy baby boy on the 11th of March.

On the 14th March, they brought the baby to the hospital to do a routine check. It was found out that the baby had jaundice with a count of 18 which required the baby to be hospitalized for observation.

However, on the 15th March, after a check at 8am, the hospital nurses noticed the sugar level has increased to 4.9. The baby's mother tried to breastfeed him but he refused so after so many times trying, the staff decided to give oxygen to the baby which made his sugar level to go down to 2.7. The baby's condition got weaker because of him refusing to milk from his mother which led the hospital staff to do an x-ray and later on try to insert a respiratory tube, only to mishandle the insertion procedure which prompted them to do it again, therefore injuring the Baby internally. The nurses deduced that the baby had a germ infection so they had to do an antibiotic injection. At 3pm, the hospital staff said that they had to send the baby to Kuching for further treatment.

At 4.30 pm they did another x-ray on the baby to check on the baby's condition and at 5.20pm, the nurses told the mother that they had to shave the baby's head in order for them to insert a respiratory tube thru the baby's head. After they inserted the respiratory tube, the baby's heartbeat stopped & the nurses tried to revive the baby for 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, the hospital pronounced the baby had passed away to the parents.'

'The family is now asking DAP Sri Aman to help them seek compensation from the Sri Aman Hospital for negligence.

Mdm Mading also said that one of the doctors advised her to never to go to Sri Aman Hospital to give birth. Better to go to Kuching, Sibu or Miri.

One of the questions asked by even some of the hospital staff, how could a healthy baby got infected by a deadly germ in a supposedly clean hospital environment?

One of the respiratory machines was reported broken, this shows the level of dilipated machinery in our old hospital. A police report has been made by the victim's parents and we will act accordingly by sending the letter of demand to the Health Ministry ', said Leon Jimat Donald, DAP Sarawak Vice Chairman.

'The PM came to Sri Aman to lay the foundation for the site of Sri Aman Hospital recently , but until today, nothing is being done at the site. Until how many unnecessary accidental deaths such as these can BN wait before they start building our badly needed hospital?'

'The original budget for the Sri Aman Hospital was originally RM200 million in 2011. Recently it was announced by PM Najib that the hospital would cost RM150 million. Why cut it? Taking into account the rising material cost over the years, this is absolutely unacceptable to the people of Sri Aman! This is also one of the reasons why DAP Sarawak, under our Bintulu Declaration, seeks to have for Sarawak, its own Medical Autonomy. We must have the right to make hospitals, get more doctors and nurses and have the right to have access to better medical facilities instead of forever begging from Putrajaya," said Leon Donald.



Leon Jimat Donald

Madam Mading ak Roney with her family.

Press Release

The Southern Rural Committee in a meeting today asks PKR on why it remains wishy-washy on its relationship with PAS. These few points are to note;

1. PKR Sarawak's association with PAS will only give PAS a foothold n grow in Secular Sarawak.

2. There is no point for PKR Sarawak to state that it opposes hudud but work with a party that has its agenda to implement hudud.

3. Does PKR Sarawak has to listen to their west Malaysian leaders on important issues and do not have the power to decide on important issues.  if that is the case, cannot effectively protect Sarawakians' interest.

4. Even PKR Sarawak Chairman is appointed by the national leadership, it is not elected amongst the Sarawakian members. This compromises the independence of decision making process of PKR Sarawak.

Thus PKR Sarawak's continued association and cooperation with PAS, it is an indirect assistance to PAS' hudud agenda.

Why is PKR Sarawak unable to follow the brave position by PKR Sabah which has severed their political relationship with PAS?

We have had our meetings with our members in all our areas and the consensus is that due to its hudud agenda, PAS has no place in Sarawak politic. 

The allegation by PKR that DAP is joining Barisan Nasional is utterly ridiculous.  Sdr Lim Kit Siang only proposes that all political parties in Malaysia to form a new coalition Government so as to push Najib out as he has been the main perpetrator behind this push for Hudud laws. 

It is his suggestion that there should be a non-BN and non-PR alliance government to protect our constitution and the sanctity of secularism in Malaysia.

On another note, Sdr Leon added that DAP Sarawak's Dayak membership is now nearly 50% of the total DAP Sarawak membership. To paint that DAP Sarawak is entirely a chinese based party is utterly ridiculous and perpetrated by parties that are uneasy about the amazing strides DAP Sarawak has made into the Dayak heartland.


Leon Jimat Donald
DAP SARAWAK VICE CHAIRMAN
DAP SARAWAK Go Rural Southern Chairman.



Southern Rural Committee 
Branch Chairmen:  Sdr Chang Chiong Hun, Sdr Edward Luak, Sdr Leon Jimat Donald (Chairman Go Rural Southern) Sdr Mordi Bimol, Sdr Aziz Isa

Not in picture: Sdr Sanjan Daik (Mambong), Sdr Bunsin Kalun (Bukit Semuja) Gerald Roger (Layar)