External News

KUCHING, May 27 — Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS Baru) accused Education Minister Mazslee Malik of being “insensitive” in his video greetings to teachers and students celebrating the Gawai Dayak and Pesta Kaamatan.

Its president Bobby anak William claimed Maszlee had hurt the feelings of teachers and students in the two Borneo states celebrating Gawai Dayak and Pesta Kaamatan by leaving out mention of the harvest festivals.

“He was being insensitive and careless for not mentioning the two celebrations in his video greetings to teachers and students from Sarawak and Sabah having their school holidays,” Bobby said of Mazslee’s May 23 video posted on Facebook.

The Sarawakian politician reminded Maszlee that he is education minister of Malaysia, not just the peninsula or a particular community.

He said he hoped that Mazslee did not think that Gawai Dayak and Pesta Kaamatan were not important to the Pakatan Harapan federal government.

“Probably he has forgotten about the two celebrations. We forgive him, but his action is not sensitive to the indigenous communities of Sarawak and Sabah.

“Either it was done unintentionally or otherwise, we don’t know. But as an education minister, on a federal level, he should know better actually, especially when Gawai Dayak and Pesta Kaamatan come much earlier than Hari Raya Aidilfitri,” Bobby said.

He urged the federal minister to correct himself by offering a more inclusive greeting for all communities in the country.

In his video greetings, Mazslee wished teachers and students who are having school holidays from May 24 to June 8, a good time with their families and relatives to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

He urged them to be extra careful while they were travelling on the roads and he hoped that they reached their villages safely.

He said the school holidays were good time for them to be with their families and relatives as Hari Raya Aidilfitri fell during the school holidays.

Mazslee also urged the students to take care of themselves and not to play with firecrackers, which could endanger their lives.

Gawai Dayak celebration in Sarawak falls on June 1 and 2 while Pesta Kaamatan in Sabah falls on 30 and 31.

DUBLIN: Fans from near and far got what they really really really wanted on Friday night when the ultimate 1990s girl band, the Spice Girls, opened their long-awaited reunion tour at last in Dublin.

“We have been fans for 20 years at least… but we have only been to see impersonators. This is our first time with the real live Spice Girls,” said Erica Rozario, 32, from Toronto, in Baby Spice-esque pigtails and a Scary Spice leopard-skin top.

“Are we excited? We’re off the scale!”

The British pop group, which shot to global fame telling you what they “really really want” in their bouncy debut single “Wannabe” in 1996, announced their reunion tour last year.

Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Geri Horner (Ginger Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) and Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) will play 13 dates over the next few weeks, starting with Dublin on Friday before performing in cities around Britain.

The fifth member, Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), now a successful fashion designer and part of a global celebrity family brand with soccer-player husband David, is not joining them but wished “good luck to the girls” on Instagram on Friday.

“TODAY IS THE DAY!” the band wrote on their Twitter page, with a poster for the “Spice World” tour showing most gigs, including Friday’s and the last three in London, as sold-out.

Fans, many dressed in the girls’ signature outfits, swarmed around Croke Park, Ireland’s largest stadium.

“It’s 21 years in the making. I saw them on TV in 1998 and cried because I couldn’t go,” said 32-year old fan Aisling Leahy. Her brother Emmet, 27, said he was devastated his “idol” Posh was not performing.

But Mandy Phelan, 23, who was walking to the stadium in a short Union Jack dress and orange platform boots, was less fussed: “We’re not mad on Posh, to be honest. If they were missing Baby or Ginger that would be a problem,” she said.

She added: “It’ll be 90s nostalgic great.”

The 13-date tour is the latest reunion for the band which broke up in 2000. They reunited for a tour in 2007-2008 and also performed at the closing ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics.

Earlier this week, Brown told fans she had suffered a health scare from inflamed eyes. Sharing a picture of a bandaged eye, she said she now had to get “a very cool Scary eye patch”.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about getting this tour on the road!” Bunton wrote on Instagram on Thursday beside a picture of herself at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is committed to strengthening Malaysia-China relations with even closer and more meaningful cooperation, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said the trade and investment growth between the two countries in recent years had been meteoric and this trend would continue to generate more opportunities in tourism and science and technology as well as cultural exchanges.

Mahathir said that from the initial government-to-government relations, the partnership had scaled numerous levels and chalked up milestones making China Malaysia’s biggest trade partner.

“China’s astonishing growth in the last few decades, that catapulted it to become the world’s second biggest economy, had contributed much to its extensive presence not only in Malaysia but in other parts of the world,” he said in a message in the souvenir book published by the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, or better known as PPMC, to mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

“Our cooperation has grown at various levels and sectors. I believe apart from the roles played by government and political leaders, the various associations and non-governmental organisations from both nations, including PPMC, have contributed much to the strong and positive state of affairs enjoyed by both our countries.”

Mahathir said it was in June 1993 when he witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding between PPMC and its sister organisation, the China-Malaysia Friendship Association, in Beijing during one of his many official visits to China.

“I wish to congratulate PPMC for being able to sustain the friendship through all these years and, in fact, taking it to a higher level,” he said.

He said that despite changes of leadership in both countries, the partnership had remained constant through the years, thanks to their adherence to the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and striving to be good neighbours.

“I have always believed in the principle of ‘prosper thy neighbour’ and as China prospered, it has, in turn, prospered Malaysia as well,” he said.

Mahathir said Malaysia supported China’s Belt and Road initiative because the benefits were mutually shared and distributed.

For Malaysia, he said, it was a continuation of the ancient trade that started way back during the Melaka empire and trading between both countries had never diminished for centuries.

PPMC was formed in 1992 with members comprising entrepreneurs, investors, academicians, artists, educationists, politicians, professionals and government officials.

In April 2005, veteran diplomat and former Malaysian ambassador to China Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan was elected PPMC president and he still holds the office till today.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — A Filipino domestic worker was left hospitalised after she was allegedly kicked in the head and limbs by her employer’s daughter earlier this month.

The Star reported that Penny Fritz Gutierrez Pido, 39, sustained serious injuries from the beating in Kuching, Sarawak.

“I have 50 stitches in my head. My right hand and left arm are broken. My left knee is also fractured, so I cannot walk,” Penny was quoted as saying.

News about the alleged abuse surfaced more than a week after the incident is said to have taken place when Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii posted about it on Facebook on May 16.

Gutierrez Pido said she was beaten on May 8. She was admitted to the Borneo Medical Centre the next day for treatment.

The helper claimed her employer had told her not to reveal the incident to anyone.

“When my employer brought me to the hospital, she told the doctors not to make a police report,” the helper claimed.

“But after she left, I told the doctors what happened.”

The authorities have since launched an investigation. Gutierrez Pido said the police came to talk to her on May 16 together with Dr Yii, who was tipped off about her case.

Her sister Jackylin Pido, who came to Kuching on May 21, now wants police to speed up investigation.

“Whatever mistake occurred, you shouldn’t do that to my sister. No one has a right to hurt others,” she said.

Jackylin said she went to the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur for assistance on May 21 before flying to Kuching.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — The Sarawak government will continue to work with Huawei despite restrictions imposed by the United States on the Chinese telecommunications giant, Borneo Post reported.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg told reporters in Kuching last night that Huawei will remain a key player in Sarawak’s digital economy development plans, which includes 5G technology.

“Our side is not affected,” the Gabungan Parti Sarawak leader said after the breaking of fast hosted by Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (Centexs) and Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence (Scope).

“We will carry on with the collaboration.”

Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sarawak government in April 2017, according to the news portal.

The partnership will explore the collaboration on State Digital Economy Programmes promoting economic growth in Sarawak through digital transformation.

Huawei would also help Sarawak develop its information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, according to several news reports.

The Chinese telecommunication giant, seen as the leading global player in 5G technology, was recently banned from operating in the US after the Trump administration accused it of espionage.

Huawei executives denied the allegation.