Thousands register for green MyKad

18 November, 2008- Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Thousands of "stateless" people thronged the National Registration Department (NRD) offices at the Federal administration building here and in Tawau, Monday, after the Department announced it will start re-issuing the green MyKad.

In Tawau, the number was estimated at several thousand. Police also had to be called in for crowd control.

Applicants started lining up as early as 8am, forcing the NRD to set up desks, acting as temporary centres, outside its office to handle the large crowd showing up.

Its Public Relations Officer, Jainisah Mohd Noor, said the exercise which started last Saturday nationwide, is strictly for those with Malaysian birth certificates and existing green MyKad holders.

"They must be born in Malaysia. (Usually) in their birth certificates, there is no information about the parents or details about the parents' nationality or documentation status.

"But that does not mean green MyKad holders (or those obtaining it) have been granted citizenship statusÉthey are only temporary residents, not Malaysians," she said, in a telephone interview from Kuala Lumpur.

Like other NRD offices nationwide, she pointed out the office here only receives applications but whether they are granted was up to their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

"The approval process is done on-line and centralised," Jainisah said to a question on foreigners or illegal immigrants trying to pull a fast one on NRD.

"We will not issue such documents to just anyone or foreigners."

She said the card is a form of documentation to the holders to show they are stateless but registered with the NRD and to make it easier for these people to carry out personal transactions involving money and such.

Meanwhile, NRD staff had to block access to the applicants into their main office, allowing only customers with other registration transactions in, to avoid congestion while at one point the police had to be called in.

Several green MyKad applicants insisted on entering the office despite being told the counters were already fixed outside.

An applicant, Jaratilluah Abrudasis said she had been waiting since 8am for her number, adding she had also come last Saturday but there were too many people.

"I've tried applying for citizenship status before but failed," said the 35-year-old whose parents were from the Philippines.

She claimed she was born in Sabah when her parents arrived in Kudat in 1972 and has been in the district ever since.

"I don't have any information about my parents but I have this Malaysian birth certificate with me so hopefully I can get the green IC," she said.

Filipino labourer, Siti bin Pirisini, 46, was one of those trying to obtain the card for his sons, aged 15 and 14, who were detained by police previously, claiming they were also born in Sabah.

"My sons were born in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital," he claimed, before adding, "but the authorities suspected my sons' birth certificates as being dubious."

"They said they had never seen such documents because they are different from the normal (local) ones. So I hope to get the green ICs so they will not run into trouble in future," he said.

In TAWAU, more than a thousand people gathered as early as 6am to be first in line to apply for the green MyKad at the National Registration Department (NRD) office here, Monday.

A NRD officer, who declined to be named, said they could not process any application because the people who gathered refused to follow their turns despite the staff warning no one would be entertained if the matter persists.

In light of this, the NRD has set this coming Saturday and Sunday to issue turn numbers to the applicants, the officer said, adding about 5,000 numbers would be given out.

Green MyKad move queried

Kota Kinabalu: Both Sabah Barisan Nasional and opposition leaders Tuesday questioned the current registration of "stateless people" at National Registration Department offices statewide that would enable them to obtain the green MyKad.

They feared that the document would end up not in the hands of "stateless" locals in the interior but to foreigners who may be armed with birth certs issued by hospitals in Sabah.

They said the Federal Government's decision to issue the green MyKad should have been explained fully to the people before the NRD went ahead.

Already IMM13 holders and illegal immigrants with children born in the State are treating it as an opportunity to make their presence in the State easier and trouble free, said Moyog Assemblyman, Donald Mojuntin.

"We can gauge this by their numbers congesting the NRD offices here and in Tawau," he said on the sidelines of the State Budget sitting, Tuesday.

The Daily Express reported that thousands of "stateless" people had thronged the NRD offices at both places, some as early as 6am, since the weekend after the department announced it will start re-issuing the green MyKad.

It is understood that holders of the Green MyKad are allowed to work without requiring a permit and the card is valid for five years. If they are found to be involved in criminal activities during this period, the document would be revoked. A birth certificate is necessary for the registration.

"I would have thought the ultimate purpose of the issuance of the green MyKad is to ease the problem of genuine Malaysians who have trouble getting their citizenship due to the fact that their parents did not register their birth. This is due to many factors such as geographical and lack of knowledge on the need for such an important document. I believe this problem is prevalent in Sabah, especially in areas like Sindumin, Paitan and Pensiangan," said Donald, who is also State Assistant Minister of Resource Development and Information Technology.

He said even in Penampang, which can be regarded as a suburban area, he had received, in his capacity as Chairman of the Upko Citizenship and Security Bureau, a number of cases involving "anak watan" (native) Sabah who have no birth certificate and, therefore, not citizens of Malaysia.

This birth certificate problem is real and needs a focused effort to sort out, he said, adding the issuance of the green MyKad should be prioritised to locals without birth certificates who are waiting for their late registration of birth to be approved and, subsequently, would be waiting for their citizenship application to be considered.

"What we don't want is this exercise further aggravating the perception among the genuine Sabah populace that it is easier for illegals to obtain identity documents than for locals to do so," he said.

19 November, 2008 - Daily Express

Petronas explains

16 November, 2008 - Daily Express

Kuala Lumpur: The plan to set up a petrochemical industry in Sabah was not an afterthought or sudden but the result of a detailed study since 2006 and one in which the State Government was fully involved.

Stressing this in an exclusive interview, Petronas President-cum-Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican said making public the plans beforehand would have alerted competitors and placed Malaysia at a disadvantage.

"This (petrochemical plant project) is not new and has been ongoing.

"People always criticise Petronas. They say we keep things quiet. But in this industry this is how we do it," he said, to suggestions by certain quarters that the State Government was not seen as playing an active part.

"We have been very quiet about this also because we don't want speculation about tanah (land), etc. Together with (Chief Minister) Datuk Seri Musa, we even discussed it with the national leaders, both the Number One and Number Two," he said.

"The first discussion I had with the State Government was in 2006 where the whole concept was discussed. At that discussion we also said we will embark on a master plan for downstream gas industries, which will include petrochemicals."

Marican also said some Sabah leaders who have been agitating for the gas to be landed wholly in Kimanis and for a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant to be built would be disappointed to learn that the gas deposits off Sabah are the lowest in the nation, only 10-12 trillion cubic feet.

He said besides being small, Sabah's gas deposits are also scattered which makes it expensive to develop, unlike Sarawak's and peninsula's huge 45 trillion cu ft and 39 trillion cu ft, respectively.

"This (setting up a LNG plant in Sabah) was considered but found not viable. In the end, if you look at in the national context, we will be wasting resources because we already have a (LNG) complex in Bintulu."

The Bintulu complex is the world's largest LNG Complex producing 23 million tonnes of liquefied gas per year.

The Bintulu plant took 30 years to develop while Kertih 25 years, he said.

Kertih's overall investment alone was RM70 billion.

Marican said the cost of building a LNG plant today was not cheap, about US1,200 per tonne. The third plant in Bintulu which was completed in 2002 cost US200 per tonne to set up.

Then there is the question of infrastructure which is huge as otherwise the world class companies won't be interested to come. "All the facilities we have built are world scale capacities because this is a global business," he said. Marican said in this industry, the ability to bring in big players is crucial and they are not interested in deposits that won't be able to sustain production for a minimum of 20 years, which is the industry's benchmark.

Hence, the only practical approach to developing the gas was to send some to Bintulu and use the rest to support downstream gases at the planned petrochemical plant in Kimanis. He said the development of Sabah's offshore gas will be undertaken in two clusters, which would gather the gas from the various reservoirs before being piped to Kimanis.

He said oil that would be extracted from the Gumusut field would also be landed in Kimanis prior to export, which is why the whole set-up has been labelled as the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT).

Besides, if the gas is to be commercially viable, there would have to be a Base Load. "Only when you have this Base Load can downstream gas industries proceed."

He believed part of the misunderstanding over the issue could be due to politicians and others oversimplifying the matter as just "petrochemicals" without knowing that the gas would have to be broken down to four parts - Methane, Ethane, Propane and Butane - before their appropriate industrial use.

He said the other misperception is that the gas all belongs to Petronas, when in fact it belongs to the Production Sharing Contractors (PSCs), including Petronas, and who will only develop them if there are economic returns.

Nevertheless, Marican said that Sabah stands to gain quite a substantial amount from gas royalty.

"But if we don't go ahead and develop this, there'll be no royalty," he said.

On another issue, Marican noted that some quarters had placed high expectations on the oil and gas industry as "a provider of employment".

"This is not correct. The industry is one of highly skilled, highly technical but small in number (once the construction stage is over and the operational stage begins)."

Marican declined to comment when asked if the State Government should then seek a better deal from the gas through a separate higher gas royalty.

On the contention by some Sabah politicians that the gas belongs to Sabah, he said "it is a national resource" and should not be looked at from a parochial point of view.

Instead, he said the focus should be on how Sabahans can gain from the supporting industries.

He said there would be ample opportunities in the supporting industries and cited the Sarawak service providers who have been very focussed, been able to look at the long term and even export their services.

He said Petronas had elaborated on the many opportunities in this regard in its dialogues with the various trade chambers.

"If the expectation is for all these things to happen overnight, I'm sorry it will not and cannot," he said.

As for the 300MW combined cycle gas plant, Marican said this would be ready by the time the gas is landed on Kimanis in 2011. There is a joint committee involving the State Secretary to monitor the developments.

'Gas plant crucial for Sabah'

18 November, 2008- Daily Express

Kuala Lumpur: The gas-powered plant in Sabah needs to be developed quickly to ensure a stable electricity supply throughout the State, said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) Chief Executive Officer/President, Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh.

He said Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has appointed TNB a technical consultant for the 300-megawatt project.

Che Khalib said this when asked to comment on Petronas President Tan Sri Hassan Merican's statement it was discussing with TNB the requirements to set up a gas-powered plant in Sabah.

"I think what is important for us is to make sure we can quickly set up the power plant in the east coast of Sabah. "This is necessary for Sabah. And it is a good contribution by Petronas to make sure that whatever gas they extract from Sabah be used for generation of electricity for the west coast," he told reporters after attending TNB's Deepavali Open House, here, Monday.

He said it was risky to place all the power plants in the west coast and transfer the power to the east as suggested by many.

"What we don't want is when there is power trip in the east coast there is no backup at all," he said.

Che Khalib said TNB has deferred plans to build its new corporate headquarters to meet the needs of its expanding operations.

"Things are difficult now. We are deferring, definitely until things get better," he said.

The new headquarters would be sited next to its current headquarters in Jalan Bangsar.

The new building is expected to enable the utility firm to save on rentals as its operations are scattered all over the place.- Bernama

SAPP motions on gas rejected both places

18 November, 2008- Daily Express

Kuala Lumpur: An attempt by the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to simultaneously move emergency motions on Petronas' 500km gas pipeline project from Kimanis in Sabah to Bintulu in Sarawak met with failure when both the Dewan Rakyat and the Sabah State Assembly rejected them, Monday.

Both the assemblies held the view that although the RM3 billion project was a specific matter and of public interest, there was no urgency to debate it.

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar turned it down when it was brought up by Sepangar MP Datuk Eric Majimbun, while Sabah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Juhar Mahiruddin did the same when Likas Assemblyman Datuk Liew Teck Chan raised it in Kota Kinabalu.

Eric, when raising the motion, said as the natural resource was coming from Sabah, it was only right that it be developed for the benefit of the people of Sabah.

Juhar told Liew that there would be ample opportunities to debate the matter during the Assembly sitting.

The Federal Government recently announced that the project would go ahead and that only surplus gas after meeting Sabah's petrochemical industry needs would be piped to Sarawak. The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2011.

At the Parliament lobby later, Sepanggar MP Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun requested the Federal Government to revise the Petroleum Act 1976 to re-determine the oil royalties paid to Sabah for the State's development.

He said the Act should be revised every 10 years by taking into account, the gas pipe routes and fuel volume channelled to Bintulu, Sarawak, through Sabah in the interest of the public.

"Petronas and the Federal Government must see all this, instead of just saying they will pay the five per cent royalty," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Tawau MP Datuk Chua Soon Bui said she supported the motion by Eric to cancel the 500km gas pipes from Kimanis, Sabah to Bintulu, Sarawak, costing RM3 billion.

She said the RM3 billion could be used to build more low-cost housing for the very poor families and for the improvement of basic infrastructures in Sabah.

PKR wants neutral assessment on deposits

18 November, 2008 - Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Vice President Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has called for an independent oil and gas consultant to find out whether Sabah's gas deposits are really the least in the nation.

Describing the statement about Sabah's natural resources by Petronas President Tan Sri Hassan Marican as "highly questionable", Jeffrey suggested the former step down if the assessment by the consultant proves to be different from what he claimed.

"If it is the lowest and not viable then why the need to exploit and pipe it or even build a petrochecmical plant?

"Would Petronas just build something for nothing? Or is Marican not telling the truth? What I know from other sources is that Sabah's oil and gas deposits are substantial as those in Sarawak and Terengganu," he said in a statement, Monday.

Jeffrey also challenged Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman to reveal to the public the details of deals discussed with Petronas since 2006, pointing out this is an era of transparency.

"This is not a small matter as it involves a key national resource in Sabah É the people have a right to know.

"For example, even the so-called Floating Production Storage Offshore (FPSO) activities and contracts, which pay up to US Dollars 500,000 per day, are only undertaken by those in the know through whom you know basis.

"Who are the FPSO contractors? Are the Petronas managers also involved?

Why doesn't the Chief Minister get YS Shipping Dua, which has various licences to be involved?," he said, adding Yayasan Sabah should be given a lead role in implementing the project involving RM1.6 billion of taxpayers' money.

In a related matter, Jeffrey said if building a LNG facility in Sabah was not viable, then why is the Government, at the same time, going ahead with the gas pipeline to Bintulu and the petrochemical plant.

"Is the Federal Government giving false hopes to Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and Sabahans or can both the pipeline and petrochemical industry be implemented viably for the benefit of the State and the people?"

He said figures given by Petronas on its reserves and current production level do not indicate, in any way, the viability or otherwise of the oil and gas industry in Sabah.

"It seems Sabah is always at the losing end. We have oil but we only get five per cent royalty. We have gas but it is being piped out.

"We have an oil and gas industry but little participation in its downstream activities (and) we have substantial oil and gas reserves/deposits but are being told you only have very little.

"Yet, Petronas talks about big royalty revenue, where is the logic?

Parliament should demand for an independent consultant and get the facts right," Jeffrey said.

SAPP motions on gas rejected both places

Kuala Lumpur: An attempt by the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to simultaneously move emergency motions on Petronas' 500km gas pipeline project from Kimanis in Sabah to Bintulu in Sarawak met with failure when both the Dewan Rakyat and the Sabah State Assembly rejected them, Monday.

Both the assemblies held the view that although the RM3 billion project was a specific matter and of public interest, there was no urgency to debate it.

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar turned it down when it was brought up by Sepangar MP Datuk Eric Majimbun, while Sabah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Juhar Mahiruddin did the same when Likas Assemblyman Datuk Liew Teck Chan raised it in Kota Kinabalu.

Eric, when raising the motion, said as the natural resource was coming from Sabah, it was only right that it be developed for the benefit of the people of Sabah.

Juhar told Liew that there would be ample opportunities to debate the matter during the Assembly sitting.

The Federal Government recently announced that the project would go ahead and that only surplus gas after meeting Sabah's petrochemical industry needs would be piped to Sarawak. The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2011.

At the Parliament lobby later, Sepanggar MP Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun requested the Federal Government to revise the Petroleum Act 1976 to re-determine the oil royalties paid to Sabah for the State's development.

He said the Act should be revised every 10 years by taking into account, the gas pipe routes and fuel volume channelled to Bintulu, Sarawak, through Sabah in the interest of the public.

"Petronas and the Federal Government must see all this, instead of just saying they will pay the five per cent royalty," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Tawau MP Datuk Chua Soon Bui said she supported the motion by Eric to cancel the 500km gas pipes from Kimanis, Sabah to Bintulu, Sarawak, costing RM3 billion.

She said the RM3 billion could be used to build more low-cost housing for the very poor families and for the improvement of basic infrastructures in Sabah.