FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - NEW COURT BUILDING TO BE BUILT IN LIKAS

New court building to be built in Likas
KOTA KINABALU

The state Government has allocated seven acres of land in Likas for building a new court building, said Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.
He said the current Kota Kinabalu Court building is now too congested. Richard added some designs had been shown to them but no concrete decision had been made yet.
"Perhaps members of the Bar can come up with some suggestions on the design of the new court house. We should make it a landmark of Kota Kinabalu in the same way as this courthouse (the current Kota Kinabalu Court building) in the late sixties and seventies," Richard said in his address at the opening of Legal Year 2008 here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Richard also said that computerization of the Sabah courts on a pilot scale is also in the final stage of planning.
"Due to the flight problems between the major towns in the State, video conferencing is being seriously considered: When implemented, it will link Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau thus saving time and money for both lawyers and their clients," Richard said.
He further said the introduction of Electronic Case Management (ECM) is also being considered.
"It is already in use in Sarawak. It has many beneficial features intended to expedite the registration and management of cases filed in courts." Richard added.
Earlier Datuk John Sikayun who is the president of Sabah Law Association said in his speech that as the number of litigants and the volume of cases before the courts increased, the situation of the Kota Kinabalu Courts was becoming critical.
John added more personnel and space were required to meet the workload and the present building would soon be inadequate to cater for the rising needs of the courts such as courtrooms, detention rooms, libraries and resource rooms, parking spaces and security.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - DECAYING SCHOOL BUILDING ENDANGERS STUDENTS, TEACHERS

Decaying school building endangers students, teachers

MENGGATAL:
The Headmaster of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (SJK) Good Shepherd in Menggatal has voiced fears that the old buildings in the school are posing a grave hazard to its 378 students and teachers if no drastic action is taken to rectify the problem.
Fong Li Ming said the wooden buildings, especially the floors and pillars, have decayed and need to be repaired urgently.
"We hope the Government, especially the Education Minister, will find a way to solve this problem before any untoward incident happens to the students and teachers," he said, adding that the school was built in 1961, and is one of the oldest in Kota Kinabalu.
Fong revealed the problem during a briefing for Inanam assemblyman Johnny Goh during the latter's visit to the school yesterday.Johnny appealed to the relevant government agencies and department take drastic measures to overcome the safety problem faced by the students and teachers "I hope the buildings will be repaired as soon as possible to prevent any unfortunate incident," Johnny said.
Meanwhile,Chairman of the School Management Board, Simon Lee said the proposal to build a new building has not been approved yet even though the applications were made since more than 20 years ago in 1984.
"We have already applied for a site in Menggatal for the building but until now, we haven't received any response from the Government," he said.
Simon said that more applications have been made to the Land and Survey Department, JKR and Mineral Department, and he hoped the site will be approved soon.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - BIAN LIAN SHOW AT ISUZU FEST

Bian Lian show at Isuzu Fest

KOTA KINABALU:

The people here will have the wonderful opportunity of catching a mesmerizing Bian Lian (art of face changing) performance live on Saturday evening during the Isuzu Fest that will be held Jan 19 and 20 at Universal Motors at the SEDCO Industrial Estate in Inanam.
The visitors will also get to enjoy thrilling stage performances, free food, attractive games and activities and stand a chance to win some fabulous prizes.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008- TAMAN UJANA RIMBA TROPIKA

Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika
- a park in centre of city

KOTA KINABALU:

Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika at Penampang Road, about four kilometres from the centre of Kota Kinabalu, is a popular recreation spot for the city dwellers.
The location of this four-hectare public park is rather strategic since it lies in the urban territory and the centre of Government administration, next to the Sabah State Library, State Archive
Department, Geochemistry Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Agriculture and Fisheries Departments and several housing estates.
This park is funded entirely by the Country Landscaping Department, Housing Ministry and the local Government. The whole cost of the project, which started in 2001 and completed two years later, was RM12 million. Kota Kinabalu City Hall agricultural officer Salmah Aplasin said the park was officiated on April 12, 2003, and was handed over to the City Hall for management.
"The construction of this park is based on three concepts, which is for protocol events, recreation and learning activities," he said.
For protocol events, it is used as the site for the Sabah State Warrior's Day celebration each year, while the recreational asset of this park attracts the attention of nearby housing dwellers.
A three-month study by City Hall revealed that 73,300 people had visited the place to do exercise, jog, relax and play games.
Among the locations inundated by visitors are the walking track, children's playground, fitness area, the monument and pond areas, reflexology track and the stadium.
The park has indigenous jungle trees such as the binaung, laran, belian, seraya, menggaris and jati for learning activities. It is no wonder that this park is also frequented by university students who do their research there.
It also has resting huts, canteen, public toilets, surau (prayer room) and parking lots.
Shopkeeper Rita Rudianshah, 38, who comes from Taman, said the park offers a place to relax after a long day at work.
"I am attracted to the beauty of this park which is green and eco-friendly," said Rudi who just recently came to Kota Kinabalu.
Government servant Amran Haj i Dahlan, 40, from Sandakan said Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika emphasizes on greenery amidst the growing development of Kota Kinabalu city.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - GIVE POWER BACK TO SABAH : SLA

Give power -back to Sabah: SLA

Power to appoint Judicial commissioners on ad hoc basis

KOTA KINABALU:

Sabah Law Association (SLA) President Datuk John Sikayun has urged the Government to revive the power vested with certain authority on the appointment of judicial commissioners on an ad hoc basis in Sabah.
Some years ago, the law enabling the State Government to appoint judicial commissioners was repealed, John said in his address at the opening of the Legal Year here yesterday.
"It is hoped that the power by the relevant authority to appoint judicial commissioners on an ad hoc basis in the State would be revived," John said, adding such power was given up when the circumstances then made it justifiable.
He however said that with the State's rapidly expanding population and society's increasing demand for dispensation of justice, it is now the right time that the State be given back the power to appoint judicial commissioners.
According to him, giving the power back to Sabah in appointing judicial commissioners is crucial as this will help reduce the backlog of cases in the courts.

"The appointment of ad hoc judicial commissioners would be a practical move that would infuse dynamism in the judiciary. It would lead to better administration of justice," he added.

Meanwhile, John said that they have been continuously updating members and the other committees such the Women and Children's Rights Committee, Duty Counsel Committee and the Ethics Course Committee on the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and Penal Code so that they are well acquainted with the new developments in this area of law.

"The amendments to the CPC and the Penal Code were fully enforced on September 7, 2007, wherein some of the recommendations and suggestions made by the SLA Court Practice (Criminal) and Human Rights Sub-Committee were accepted by the CPC Ad Hoc Review Committee," John said.
"As the said amendments have made extensive charges pertaining to human rights during arrest, raid and detention, we have written to all the enforcement agencies to hold dialogues and to update them on the amendments made and the problems faced by lawyers in the criminal practice," he further said.
He also said April 2007 also marked the setting up of a special sub-committee to deal with legal rights pertaining to women and children who suffer from abuse and violence such as rape, domestic violence, incest and child abuse.
"I am proud to say that the Sabah Law Association has possibly created history in this country by being the first Bar and legal body to set up this Women's and Children's Rights Sub-Committee in Malaysia," he said.
John added this committee had provided legal aid service to individual cases with complaints ranging from domestic violence, incest, bigamy, rape and hardcore poverty and created handouts on laws related to domestic violence and rape laws for the community, and conducted seminars in hospitals.
"This SLA's Woman and Children's Right Committee hopes to continue being the leading voice in all matters relating to women and children through seminars, legal aid and forum participation and look forward to greater collaboration with the Government, enforcement authorities, the media and other NGOs," he said.
John said the judiciary had continued to embark on internal initiatives to redress the delay in the disposal of and expediting the hearing of cases in the courts with the installation of a Wireless Fidelity System which enabled practitioners to get onto the internet and do their research while waiting for their cases to be heard.
He further said the judiciary had also successfully introduced three mechanisms to save time and cost for practitioners in Sarawak with the use of video conferencing for hearing non-contentious cases and witness statements between the courts in Sarawak, the use of short messaging system to inform practitioners of the staggered time in their fixture of hearing and the use of bar coding system for court files so that files could be retrieved easily.
"We look forward in earnest for these measures to become a reality in a few months' time in our courts," said John, adding it is encouraging to learn too that the Electronic Case Management (ECM) system would soon be introduced in Sabah.
John also said 2007 was a momentous year for the court officers with the launch of the Mobile Court and Night Court.
He said the Mobile Court is an avenue to provide easier and wider access to justice for all strata of society, especially the rural folks.
"While this is an initiative we can be proud of, it is sad to note that its implementation has some imperfections. Its objective and purpose would have been better served if there had been more cooperation from the other stakeholders who are expected to facilitate this initiative," said John who hoped things will improve in 2008 to make the implementation of the Mobile Court more efficient and effective.
For the Night Court, he said although it is working well, it is felt that there should be stronger response from the public, especially those from Kota Kinabalu.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - TOO MANY SMOKY VEHICLES IN CITY

Too many smoky vehicles in City

Kota Kinabalu could soon become better known for the big number of smoky vehicles, especially buses, lorries and four-wheel-drive vehicles, than its alluring natural beauty.
As a concerned member of the public pointed out, the vehicles that belch thick dark emissions are one of the two most ugly things in this otherwise beautiful city, the other being the perennial cleanliness problem.
Public Hotline has received a number of complaints about the mobile air polluters, the latest coming from Kamal, who expressed disappointment at the lack of serious effort on the part of the relevant authorities to overcome the problem.
Kamal pointed out that far too many of these polluters are allowed to operate freely in the City, posing a serious public health hazard and tarnishing the image of the City.
He said the buses in particular are pouring out awfully large volumes of smoke, and pedestrians and motorcyclists are most affected by the toxic emission.
He said he was behind one of the polluting buses recently when the driver revved the engine while waiting for passengers, leaving an elderly woman and a pregnant woman coughing while walking past it.
"This situation is totally unacceptable but the polluters are allowed to continue flouting the regulations," he said.
Kamal said the public generally feel that not enough has been done to deal with the problem and get such vehicles off the roads.
The integrated enforcement operations carried out by the relevant authorities are just too few and far apart to deter the commercial vehicle operators who knowingly pollute the air and cause discomfort to other motorists, he said.
"It appears that only a handful of the great number of buses operating in the City, including minibuses, would pass the smoke emission test because they are far too old and poorly maintained," he noted.
A spokesman for the Road Transport Department, when asked to comment on the matter, said they will usually hold a joint operation together with the Environment Department to catch the irresponsible road users such as bus drivers and motorists found to have violated the laws.
"The drivers of smoky vehicles will be compounded or brought to court if caught," he said.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008-WIDER USE OF MEDIATION

WIDER USE OF MEDIATION

Alternative Dispute Resolution among approaches in bid to clear backlog by April

KOTA KINABALU:

Officers of the courts have been urged to make full use of the recently introduced Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in settling civil cases that allow a win-win situation for both parties. Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, in making the call yesterday, said the ADR by way of mediation is now part and parcel of judicial process. Speaking at the opening of Legal Year 2008, Richard said that for the last few months, there were 26 civil cases disposed of through mediation in the High Courts while 19 in the Subordinate Courts. He said the ADR is one of the approaches taken by the judiciary to dispose of cases speedily in the courts. He hoped that by the end of February this year, the Subordinate Courts (Sessions and Magistrate’s Courts) will dispose of all their outstanding cases while the High Courts will attempt to do so by the end of April this year. “I urge all judges and judicial officers to be familiar with mediation process and technique as this is one way we can clear our backlog expeditiously,” he said. Richard said that for this year, he expects wider use of this process in civil cases, and in order to better equip judges and judicial officers in mediation process, there will be courses organized for them in the next few months. He expressed confidence that by the end of this year, the waiting period for hearings of both criminal and civil cases would be reduced significantly. He said that by September this year, the waiting period for hearings of criminal cases in the Subordinate Courts will be reduced to six months while civil cases will have a waiting period of 12 months. “By year end, the period will be further reduced to three and nine months respectively,” he said. Richard said that for the High Courts, he hopes to see the waiting period for criminal cases to be only six months while civil cases will have 24-month waiting period by September this year. “Thereafter we will reduce them to three months and 12 months respectively come the opening of next legal year,” he said, adding that it is an ambitious target, but with better case management techniques and the wider use of mediation process, it is not impossible to achieve it. On the pending cases, Richard said that in the High Courts of Sabah, there are 1 14 pre-2007 criminal cases and 475 pre-2005 civil cases, while in the Subordinate Courts, there are 7,450 pre-2007 criminal cases including 3,543 illegal immigration cases and 376 pre-2005 civil cases. “As at January 1, 2008, there are still such cases pending. In the High Courts, there are 83 pre-2007 criminal cases and 245 pre-2005 civil cases. It means for the last 12 months, the High Courts in Sabah disposed of 31 pre-2007 criminal cases and 230 pre2005 civil cases,” he said. In the Subordinate Courts, there are 349 pre-2007 criminal cases and 109 pre-2005 civil cases,which means that the courts have disposed of 7,101 pre-2007 criminal cases, including 3,503 illegal immigration cases and 267 pre-2005 civil cases. While clearing the pre-2007 criminal cases and pre-2005 civil cases, Judges and Judicial officers were also hearing current cases, especially the urgent ones and interlocutory applications, said Richard. “That is why overall for the last one year, the total number of cases disposed of by the High Courts in Sabah comprised 1,644 civil cases and 112 criminal cases. In the Subordinate Courts, the overall total clearance of cases included 23,855 criminal cases and 12,227 civil cases,” he added. Richard urged the head of prosecution in Sabah to ensure there are sufficient prosecuting officers appearing in the Subordinate Courts as it is now just a matter of months when the outstanding cases will have to be cleared. Meanwhile, he said the Mobile Court has had successful outings in the rural and remote areas of Sabah. “For the past nine months, 1,152 cases were dealt with. Most of thee cases involved certification of late birth certificates and attestation of documents. Simple legal advices were also given to those in need,” said Richard, who also invited members of the Bar to assist the Mobile Court in the project. “The Night Court, since its inception in May 2007 until the end of December 2007, managed to dispose of 130 cases. More will be heard by the Night Court,” he said. Richard said the Traffic Court in Kota Kinabalu disposed of 10,315 cases in the last 12 months, leaving a balance of 371 as at Jan 1,2008. As at Dec 31, 2007, Kota Kinabalu City Municipal Court, which was established in May last year, managed to dispose of 35 summons cases and 140 civil cases, leaving a balance of 53 and 265 cases respectively. “Although we have not cleared all the pending pre-2007 criminal cases and pre-2005 civil cases, nevertheless I wish to thank all judges, judicial officers and staff of the courts in Sabah for the good work done,” he stressed.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - RM500,000 THEFT

RM500,000 theft: Guard is put behind bars for 30 months

KOTA KINABALU:

A security guard was jailed for 30 months yesterday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing RM500,000 cash, while a mechanic claimed trial to the charge. Magistrate Zaini Fishir @ Fisal ordered Frederick Anggang, 36, from Kampung Suak Nosoob, Taman Kepayan, to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on Jan 11The court fixed Feb 26 to set the date for hearing the case against mechanic Justin Uisu 38, from Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru, and released the latter on RM6,000 bail with RM2,000 deposited under one local surety.
Frederick and Justin were accused of stealing the RM5 00,000 cash which belonged to Bank Rakyat, Kota Kinabalu branch at about 10.50 am on Jan ll in front of Eon Bank at Api-Api Centre here.The offence under Section 379 of the Penal Code read with Section 34 of the same Code provides a jail term up to seven years or a fine, or both. Counsel Hamid Ismail represented Justin while Frederick was not represented. According to the facts of the case, Jamlin b Vomilis, who is a security guard of Eon Security company, lodged a police report, stating that a bag containing RM500,000, which was put in a van belonging to his company, went missing and he suspected it was stolen. Police investigation revealed that during the incident, the complainant together with his two colleagues were instructed by their company to take a cheque worth RM500,000 from Bank Rakyat to be deposited at Bank Islam. At about 10, l5am, the complainant with his colleagues collected the RM500,000 cheque from Bank Rakyat and cashed it before putting the money in a bag and placed it on a seat at the back of the van. After that, they went to Eon Bank to collect RM600,000 which was to be deposited in Bank Muamalat in the State. When they arrived at Eon Bank, the complainant with one of his colleagues entered the bank to withdraw the RM600,000 while the other colleague waited in the van. When the transaction was done, they proceeded to the Bank Muamalat. However, when they reached the bank, they found that the bag that contained RM500,000 was missing. The CCTV at Eon Bank showed that their colleague who was waiting at the van was seen standing outside the vehicle and smoking a cigarette without properly guarding the van. There was also a man talking to the security guard. Meanwhile, the court set Jan 24 for fixing the date to hear the case of Ronie b Jasmie and a juvenile after they pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to steal a motorbike. Ronie, 21, and the 16-year-old juvenile were accused of committing the offence at about lam on Jan 13 at Lorong Sinsuran 4, Blok J. The court released Ronie on RM2,000 bail with RM1,000 deposited under one local surety while the juvenile was released on RM1 ,000 bail with RM500 deposited under one local surety.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008- SABAH WANTS CERTAIN FEDERAL STATUTES

Sabah wants certain Federal statutes

KOTA KINABALU:

The State Attorney-General’s Chambers is presently working with the Federal Attorney-General’s Chambers to extend to Sabah certain federal statutes, such as the Second-Hand Dealers Act 1946 and the Moneylenders Act 1951 (Revised 1989). Disclosing this yesterday at the opening of Legal Year 2008 at the High Court here, State Attorney- General Roderic Fernandez said Sabah requires such statutes to curb rampant scrap metal thefts and better control the activities of moneylenders in the State. Roderic said the Chambers is also working on amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. According to him, over the past one year, the Chambers had its share of an array of legal challenges notably in the field of civil law. Owing to the peculiar legal landscape in Sabah which is as an aspect of legal pluralism, he said, the Chambers faces an increasingly arduous task in dealing with cases arising from administrative laws and Native laws. It is concerning native customary laws that litigation appears to be incrementally burgeoning due to a growing public awareness of this aspect of civil law, especially among the natives, he said. “Of particular interest to the Chambers is the increasing number of Native court cases going to the Native Court of Appeal, which is the highest court in the native judicial hierarchy,” he said. “Therefore, this is the right time for the Chambers to initiate steps to review the provisions of the Native Courts Enactment 1992 and all the Rules made under it in 1995.” Roderic pointed out that the Enactment and the Rules have to be revised so that whatever existing lacunae may be remedied.
“Native legal principles as propounded by the Native Courts, District Native Courts and the Native Court of Appeal must be taken into consideration and if appropriate, incorporated into the Enactment and Rules when the revision commences,” he said. “Such revision is very important because customary law provides a given social group with a reason for convergence rather than a stimulus for divergence. And in the context of the legal pluralism in Sabah, this is most relevant.” On the Mobile Court, Roderic said the recently introduced service has brought Court delivery system into the interior regions of Sabah and benefited the entire rural folks.
Meanwhile, Senior Federal Counsel of Sabah, Suhaimi bin Ibrahim said the Attorney General’s Chambers might appoint Assistant Public Prosecutors to conduct criminal prosecution in lower courts. “We conducted a survey to see how the appointments could be posted in lower courts in Malaysia,” he said. “The appointments are in line with the plan of the Honourable Attorney General of Malaysia to improve the conduct of prosecution in lower courts.” On the Night Court, Suhaimi said it has received positive response from the public,. and he hoped it will, be continued in the years ahead ‘This year, we will also see the full implementation of the new amendments to the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code which took effect from Sept 7 last year,” he said. Among the important features of the Code is the shortened period of remand from 14 days to 7 days if the punishment for the offence committed is not more than 14 years imprisonment. A directive by the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak to dispose of pre-2007 cases by February this year has seen a decrease in the number of detentions without trial and will improve the administration of the criminal justice system.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - TOO MANY SMOKY VEHICLES IN CITY

Too many smoky vehicles in City

Kota Kinabalu could soon become better known for the big number of smoky vehicles, especially buses, lorries and four-wheel-drive vehicles, than its alluring natural beauty.
As a concerned member of the public pointed out, the vehicles that belch thick dark emissions are one of the two most ugly things in this otherwise beautiful city, the other being the perennial cleanliness problem.
Public Hotline has received a number of complaints about the mobile air polluters, the latest coming from Kamal, who expressed disappointment at the lack of serious effort on the part of the relevant authorities to overcome the problem.
Kamal pointed out that far too many of these polluters are allowed to operate freely in the City, posing a serious public health hazard and tarnishing the image of the City.
He said the buses in particular are pouring out awfully large volumes of smoke, and pedestrians and motorcyclists are most affected by the toxic emission.
He said he was behind one of the polluting buses recently when the driver revved the engine while waiting for passengers, leaving an elderly woman and a pregnant woman coughing while walking past it.
"This situation is totally unacceptable but the polluters are allowed to continue flouting the regulations," he said.
Kamal said the public generally feel that not enough has been done to deal with the problem and get such vehicles off the roads.
The integrated enforcement operations carried out by the relevant authorities are just too few and far apart to deter the commercial vehicle operators who knowingly pollute the air and cause discomfort to other motorists, he said."It appears that only a handful of the great number of buses operating in the City, including minibuses would pass the smoke emission test because they are far too old and poorly maintained," he noted.
A spokesman for the Road Transport Department, when asked to comment on the matter, said they will usually hold a joint operation together with the Environment Department to catch the irresponsible road users such as bus drivers and motorists found to have violated the laws.
"The drivers of smoky vehicles will be compounded or brought to court if caught," he said.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - OWNER OF DEMOLISHED HOUSE SEEKS EXPLANATION

Owner of demolished house seeks explanation

Chong disappointed house torn down for river expansion in Telipok

KOTA KINABALU:

Chong Yun Shin had never expected his house where he brought up his three children to be demolished yesterday.
And the worst part was that he did not even have the chance to see it being torn down.
"They (contractors) demolished my house without waiting for me. I wanted to show them documents to support my rights ... this is my land and I have proof. In fact, there is a case still pending in court to back me," said the 47-year-old from Kampung Sukuli, about three kilometres from Telipok town.
Yesterday, the houses belonging to Chong and his brother-in-law, Lajumin Ladas, were dismantled by the local authorities due to the river expansion to overcome floods in the Telipok area.
Chong claimed that notice of evacuation was issued to them on December 29 last year, and he

reacted fast by writing letters to the relevant authorities to explain the situation.
"This case is being appealed in court and we are still waiting for a decision. I have followed every procedure and have been a law-abiding citizen, but unfortunately I am not treated well. I am very disappointed with what has happened and demand an explanation from the Government," said Chong.
He admitted that the whole family moved to a new place to be closer to their children's school here but would, once in a while, return to the house which he described as a `kampung home', for a break from the busy city life.
"I love this place, it is so peaceful. My children grew up here and my wife's family members are so close by. I do not understand why they have to tear down our houses without even checking with us. What happened to all the letters I sent? No one replied so how do they expect me to react?" he asked in full desperation.
Chong said he had even contacted the Tuaran District Officer (DO) to demand an explanation but instead the latter had asked him to engage a lawyer if he is not satisfied. "Maybe I will do that and bring this matter to court. I do not think the DO can overrule the court's decision. Those who came to tear down my house told us that we were paid compensation but I never received anything from the Government. Show us proof to say that we have received the money ... if money has been paid, where has it gone to?" he asked.
Apart from demolishing their houses, the contractor, which is believed engaged by the Drainage and Irrigation Department, also disconnected the water and electricity supply to the house of Chong's sister- in-law, Ombotoi Turik.
"There are 11 people staying in my house, the youngest is my 20-month old grandson. How are we going to survive without electricity and water," said Ombotoi, who begged for a week to vacate the house, which was also scheduled to be demolished the same day.
The 58-year-old grandmother claimed that they were promised to be relocated and given a house at Bukit Payung, but to date, there has been no news on the offer.
"There is no compensation and no news whether we will be getting the house. Now, we are left with no water and electricity ... we are already suffering and this is adding to our problem," she stressed.
Asked on their next cause of action, Chong would be lodging a police report and hope the relevant authorities would provide him with the explanation.

FRIDAY-18TH JANUARY 2008 - BIGGER TOURISM GROWTH FOR SABAH THIS YEAR

Bigger tourism growth for Sabah this year

KOTA KINABALU:

Sabah tourism is heading towards a stronger growth and on the right path to reel in more tourists, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.
Masidi in expressing his confidence, said the tourist arrivals, especially for international visitors, have recorded a very healthy increase while current indications are pointing at even a bigger growth this year.
He pointed that a total of 861,491 foreign tourists visited Sabah from January to October last year, representing a staggering increase of 29 percent compared to 665,308 visitors for the same period in 2006.
Domestic tourists remain the main tourists group visiting Sabah after more than 1.3 million visitors from Sarawak and Peninsular spent their holidays in the State. This represents an increase of 10.7 percent compared to 1.96 million visitors recorded in the previous year.
Up to November last year, the total tourist arrivals recorded were 2.09 million, 17.4 percent higher compared to 1.68 million recorded in 2006, said Masidi.
This year, the figure is expected to continue to soar with more tourists, particularly from the Asian region planning to visit Sabah, he said.
For this coming Chinese New Year celebration, he said Sabah is expecting higher number of tourists especially from southern China, Taiwan and Hong Kong who are eager to spend the festive season in Sabah.
To cater for visiting Taiwanese and Chinese tourists, he said Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) will be handling an additional of 22 chartered and five regular flights from these countries.
"We are expecting the arrival of some 5,000 Chinese visitors for the Chinese New Year alone. We thank Malaysia Airport Berhad (MAB) for loosening the flight restriction schedule and allowing more flights to come in. This will translate into higher tourist arrivals, especially those from China," he said.
Apart from China and Taiwan, Filipino tourists coming to Sabah via Manila are also showing an upward trend, he said.
To further strengthen its tourism sector, he said Sabah is looking to position itself as a shopping destination in addition to eco­tourism destination.
"In addition we are also working towards bringing more high-end tourists. Now we are not only concerned about the number of tourists but also the amount they spend," he said.
With nine major shopping complexes being built and expected to be ready for operation soon, he said Kota Kinabalu will be an interesting shopping destination and it is only a matter of how tourism operators can capitalise on this new facilities for their benefit.