Reprinted from FREE MALAYSIA TODAY NEWS ONLINE PORTAL

You can forget about our votes, S’gor MB told

G Vinod | June 20, 2012

About 50 residents of Kampung KTM Railway Line issue an ultimatum after their request to meet Khalid Ibrahim to resolve their woes is turned down.

SHAH ALAM: Give us the land promised two decades ago or do not expect us to vote for you in the next general election, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim was told today.

Kampung KTM railway line residents action committee chairman S Muniandy said this outside the Selangor state secretariat today after a request to meet Khalid was rejected.

About 50 residents of the former squatter settlement arrived at the secretariat gates at about 11am, demanding a meeting with Khalid.

However, security guards prevented them from entering the premises by closing the gates.
Also present in support of the residents were Federal Territories and Selangor Community Association president Tan Jo Hann and coordinator Lena Henry.

In 1992, the 229 former residents of the squatter settlement were moved out from their homes for a development project.

They were initially promised plots of land to resettle but the then state government reneged on its promise when the land designated for them were sold off to third parties.

The residents subsequently took their case to the court but lost on a technicality.

Muniandy said that the residents had sent countless memorandums and letters to four menteris besar but received no favourable response from them.

“In April 2008, we met Khalid and he promised to resolve our woes but nothing has been done thus far. We met him again earlier this year and he bluntly told us that he cannot offer land to us because we had lost the court case,” said Muniandy.

Tan said: “Khalid should be more humane and just. He should not talk and behave like a businessman.”

After about an hour of waiting outside the gates of the state secretariat building, an aide to Selangor exco Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, met the residents and told them the state government is taking steps to solve their problems.
“We’ve been in power for four years. Rome was not built in a day,” said Abdul Razak, the aide.

Muniandy reminded Razak of Khalid’s promise to the residents in January and demanded the menteri besar come down and meet them.

Razak agreed to allow five representatives to meet exco for housing Iskandar Abdul Samad but he rejected a request by Muniandy for the rest of them to wait at the lobby.

“We have senior citizens here. You expect them to wait under the hot sun while we are having a meeting? It was never a problem before. Why is it an issue now?” Tan interjected.

Despite several appeals and promises from the crowd that they would behave, Razak stood by his decision and the crowd dispersed from the area.

“Pakatan leaders only want our votes but refuse to trust us,” said a frustrated Muniandy.

The community organising process

RECIPE FOR CHANGE

What does it take to make changes in the community you have been living in for the past many many years. Well to answer this question, we have to ask why the change? This will then lead us to discuss about the present reality.

All these sound heavy and complicated but yet it is not! Imagine your present community with all its imperfections and also the positive aspects. Then think about the ideal or dream image of your community.

If the the image is quite different from the present reality then its time to start thinking of how we can make the dream become a reality. Now you are planning an organising process.


It's actually like cooking...

Cooking a Dish	Organizing a community
You select a recipe	Identifying an issue
Imagine the end product	Projecting your dream
Start to make a plan based on your intended output	Analysis and strategizing for action
Then you start to identify the ingredients, and start to shop for them	Identifying strengths and weaknesses in the organising process
Finally you put all ingredients together and start to cook!	Taking action
Sometimes the final dish needs to be adjusted by adding salt, pepper or sugar or even to revise the recipe.	Reflection, evaluation and then plan action again

Recently my organisation PERMAS who has been working with urban poor communities in Malaysia for the past 20 years has been involved in a community called Kampung Railway (former railway workers housing and staff quarters). They are being evicted now to make way for commercial complex and hotel which are being constructed to give the are anew facelift!

The people have banded together (especially the younger members) and trying to negotiate for appropriate compensations especially alternative permanent housing. In the course of this struggle, they have faced many difficulties as expected, for instance a divided local community, political party interventions, an uncooperative city hall, and a desperate & powerful housing developing company with many strong connections trying to shake the community.


The key for the people to stand in this struggle is exactly that... "TO STAND TOGETHER"! They need to learn how to work together and go through a crash course on how to negotiate with the city hall, the railway department and the housing developer, all in the span of a few weeks or months.

The only thing that will hold them back is themselves. An organising process that fails is usually attributed to the disunity and unwillingness of a community to fight for their rights and seeing the process to the end.


But once the people have tasted the fruits of being organised and empowered, nothing can stop them, its like they have been given a new set of eyes, they will see and feel things differently. After all to build a new community, we have to be brave to dream and make sure it becomes our reality.



by TAN JO HANN, President, PERMAS Malaysia

SEAPCP RELIEF EFFORTS JAPAN

YELLOW UMBRELLAS TO THE RESCUE!

SEAPCP SUPPORTS JAPAN EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS



In may 2011, almost 2 months after the tragic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis hit Sendai and Fukushima City of Japan, SEAPCP contributed its support to the relief and rehabilitation efforts. Although in a small way but it was a meaningful contribution. SEAPCP network member in Japan, "SEAPCP HOKKAIDO" worked closely with SEAPCP Asia to buy 90 yellow umbrellas which was sent to Tsukitate elementary school (image below) in the disaster affected area of Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture, Northeast Japan. The City located about 300 miles northeast of Tokyo was one of the worst hit areas in the recent Japanese disaster. (see map below).




Our Hokkaido partners were wondering what small ways they could help the relief efforts and were informed by the local contacts there that the school children needed umbrellas for going to school and returning home whenever it rained. SEAPCP Hokkaido (based in Yullfuru Magazine office, Tomakomai City, Hokkaido) immediately bought the umbrellas, packed them in Hokkaido and sent them to the school children on may 24th 2011. In April and May, SEAPCP Hokkaido working together with the Asian Regional SEAPCP collected messages from almost 20 of its partner organisations in 12 countries. These were published in a local newspaper in Hokkaido and also yull furu's latest edition (Volume 28, 2011, see scanned pages below in Japanese language).



page 1-2cover

page3-4

page 5-6

Another interesting effort by SEAPCP Hokkaido and Asia was the production of a set of 20 over drawings with messages of hope by 7-12 year old children from the communities struck by the 2006 earthquake in Jogjakarta Indonesia. (see samples below). These were sent to different parts of the affected areas in Japan and they are being prepared for display and also for publishing in local newspapers and other print media. We are hoping for the local authorities to mount these into a mini exhibition in schools and even the evacuation centers to inspire the affected people.







We hope that this small effort of SEAPCP HOKKAIDO and SEAPCP Asian Network will inspire others to also do likewise, because we believe small steps like these go a long way. GAMBATE JAPAN! (MORE POWER JAPAN!).

Story by Jo Hann Tan, SEAPCP REGIONAL DIRECTOR

THE SPIRIT OF C.O. IS SWEEPING OVER ASIA

SEAPCP community organising network conducted its 2011 strategic planning and review meeting in Bali Indonesia from may 11-15, 2011. The participants represented 9 countries and 14 organisational partners.

The event was intesive and of course fun as the participants update each other and also exchanges stories, success stories and also challenges in the world of community organising. Most important of all the network decided some simple but effective approaches to continue to strengthen the network!


Photos: Nani speaks, Fitri explains, group work, Jo Hann presents SEAPCP gifts to local Bali Government officials, "fight to the end" participants in group dynamics.

Some of the immediate steps were to set up a special facebook group exclusively for members of the network! This has been done by Mr Son of AIDS Programme of Vietnasm and is already up and running with 23 members and constantly increasing. A system of file sharing on line will also be set up by KOMAS Malaysia represented by Prakkash.

A mapping of possible regional sharing of resources was also mapped out to track the movements of the members across the Asian region for the purposes of maximising these trips to benifit the local partner in each country. For instance, when Jo Hann gost to Vietnam in July, he will also hold sessions with the AIDS Programme, this way there will be minimal expenses used for the activity which is attributed as a SEAPCP effort working with local Vietnam partner.

Another interesting development was also the agreement to delegate Timorese Partner HABURAS and Bali partner Wisnu Bali Foundation to develop a proposal for "climate change and environmental impact on communities". This proposal will involve partners on a regional level and the activities will be closely coordinated by these 2 partners of course with SEAPCP guidance and support.




Photos: drawing the context of community organising, welcome dinner, Jo Hann draws a point, Zola shows a face, deep in discussion, making a point, singing in celebration, music of the heart

It looks like the partners of SEAPCP has once again taken the reigns and moving hard and fast towards to promotion and enhancement of community organising approaches in the region. Watch out Asia, the fire of community organising is sweeping across Asia to organise and empower the poor and the marginalised to rise up and change their situations!

SARAWAK ELECTIONS 2011

REPORTS FROM GROUND ZERO by Evelyn and Kath, KOMAS

Good Afternoon Niah!

The crowd at Ngu awaiting for DSAI, around 100 people waiting despite the rain. Spotted among the crowd was Nor Ak Nyawai, pejuang hak tanah NCR. All the way from Miri to Niah, i could only spot BN's flags at longhouses by the roadside. Only towards reaching Niah that I spotted 1 PKR's flag.

The foodcourt at Niah pit stop - Ngu side is full with PKR's flag. Supporters for BN are at the other side of the foodcourt. MP Kapar giving his speech as a start off, good response from the crowd, increasing to around 500 people, seems like very strong support from the locals.

Speech by Tuai Rumah Nor Anak Nyawai in Iban. He talks about his court case.

SARAWAK ELECTIONS 2011

REPORTS FROM GROUND ZERO!

Miri 8^th April Night

Tried to look for BN's campaign site but seems like there's

nothing there. SUPP campaign - only a few attended, orang yang makan di kedai dan pengikut SUPP.

At PKR's campaign at Morsjaya, waiting for Datuk Seri Anwar's arrival. Lim Guan Eng gave his speech earlier. Crowd is around 1000-2000 people, in front of Dr Teo's clinic. Datuk Seri Anwar is on the stage. The crowd seems to love his speech. Around 2000-3000 people are present. Some even brought their own benches. Some already heading back but crowd is still large. Besok YB Lim Kit Siang akan datang.

Reports from ground zero-Sarawak elections 2011

SARAWAK ELECTION

MONITORING DIARY

Today, we will stay at home and prepare reports from the field for the past 2 days from home. Tonight we will go watch the ceramah by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Morsjaya opposite the Merdeka Mall. Since Kath's condition is not really ok, we will go and watch somewhere nearby our house.

Tomorrow, we will travel to Marudi for few days. See how far we can go to the rural area. Then for next week, probably by Monday or Tuesday, we will travel to Niah. Ong's contact, Abun Lim we help us travel around at Niah area. The problem at Niah is internet connection. I will update by phone call or sms if there any latest news.

Our job is very clear, we will observe if there are any wrong doing by the any of the parties, we will analyze the problem and record it in a report. Some of our partners have already lodge police reports regarding the wrongdoings done by the BN parties like hanging banners at ulu baram before the nomination day.

Currently, one of our partners has agreed to help us photocopy the brochures of undisarawak.crowdmap.com. We will bring the brochure along and distribute it to anybody we meet. Till now, we have received positive responses from the crowd regarding this mapping way to record elections abuses. Even though we try to teach them how to submit reports on abuses, some of them are still confused on what is the considered wrongdoing/actions that is against the elections Act.

So far, Ong has been very helpful. Same goes to BRIMAS and TAHABAS groups. They are also very helpful by providing us with information, even though they are busy.

I think, that's all for now. Regards and Mee Kolo from Sarawak!

Evelyne & Kath

REPORTING FROM GROUND ZERO!

DAILY UPDATES FROM GROUND ZERO IN THIS BLOG:http://seapcpco.blogspot.com

Report by Tan Jo Hann, KOMAS Executive Director

The Malaysian Eastern state of Sarawak on North Borneon island will go to pools on April 16th. 2011, with 213 candidates fighting for 71 state assembly seats. Some are 3, 4, 5, or even 6 corner fights. This is a historical moment for Sarawak State elections because in the past decade since independence the state has never seen so many candidates fighting for these seats. There is also a strong challenge to wrestle control over the governance of the oil and timer rich state from the opposition front under the umbrella of Pakatan rakyat (PR).

Barisan National component parties and their allies in the Sarawak State continues to be led by the controversial Taib Mohammad, who has been the head of state for the past 30 years since 1981. He is also entanggled in many allegations of graft and corrupt practices especially involving the draining of the state's rich natural resources such as native land, oil, gas and timber.

Today the state remains one of the poorest in the country with little more than 50% consisting of the Dayak indigenous peoples, 26% Chinese population, 20% Melayu melanau population.

Since the campaign fever started to kick off on April 6th, many organisations, individuals and party members from both sides of the divide have flocked to the "land of the hornbill" engaged in the intensive and heated campaign trails.

PUSAT KOMAS, Malaysian human rights organisation has also fielded our very own "Anak Sarawak" Evelyne Tawan and Kath Livan to the field to monitor the activities and to document the incidence of abuse irregularities and generally to report the stories from ground zero!

Together with MEO-NET (Malaysian Election Observers Network), they will be delivering daily accounts of their findings from Miri, Bintulu and other parts of Sarawak into this blog.

Brave nurses of the Earthquake hit Tohuku in Japan

March 29^th 2011, Sankei web online newspaper. (translated from original article)

“We won’t leave here!!”

Filipino and Indonesian nurses choose to remain in the disaster area in Tohoku.

Many medical teams are working for 24 hours in the disaster area. These teams include Filipino and Indonesian nurses and trainee nurses who come to Japan under EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement).

“I cannot leave the elder people behind,” “I am not afraid of the earthquake. I want to help everyone,” said some of these heroic nurses. Their home countries have praise them as “the pride of the country” (Indonesia government), and “heroin of nurses” (Philippine Media) for their devoted attitudes. Their patients are equally impressed and proud of them.

When many foreigners started exiting Japan because of the Fukushima Nuclear crisis, 4 Filipino student nurses stayed on in an old folks’ home in Fukushima where 12 elderly persons had passed away after the Tsunami. They are nurse Mercedez Akino (27) from Nueva Vizcaya province; former NGO staff Ms. Juliet Tobai (27) from Baguio city in Luzon Island and another 2 Filipino nurses.

“I will protect them”

Ms. Akino’s family who is in the Phillipines has called her repeatedly to urge her to return home but she said “the grandmothers have always been kind to me and always giving me chocolates or note books to study Japanese all the time. We cannot just leave without them”

“Ignoring instructions to leave, from the Indonesian Embassy”

Ms. Rita Rutonanintias (35) is from Semarang, Java province in Indonesia and she has been working and studying to be a nurse in the Miyagi Hospital located in Yamamoto-cho. She had refused the instructions by the Indonesian Embassy for them to immediately go to Tokyo. She has remained and working in the area for 1 week since the earthquake had struck.

On March 11^th, she has a day off and had stayed at home when the big earthquake hit. She ran to the hospital and together with others witnessed the 10 meter high Tsunami smashing through their town. She also helped lead 120 patients to the higher floors of the hospital.

As there is a hill in front of the hospital it was not directly hit by the Tsunami. Right after the tsunami waves had hit the hospital, more than a hundred evacuees came to seek refuge in the hospital. There were no electricity, water and no communications with the outside world for a week.

Presently Ms. Rita has already been evacuated back to Indonesia to be with her husband and two children who has been very anxious and worried about her. But she has decided to go back to Yamamoto-cho in April.

“Each day after work, everyone teaches me Japanese language. They have shown me their kindness in so many ways. They are suffering now so I want to help them back.”

“Repay an obligation from Sumatra.”

Indonesian nurse Ms. Suwartie (32) came to Japan in 2008 and has been working at the Himeji Red Cross Hospital in Himeji-city, Hyogo prefecture and at the same time studying for the state nursing examination 8 hours a day. She managed to passed the examination this year (announced on 25^th March 2011).

After the announcement she held a press conference in the Hospital and said “please send me to the disaster area” with tears in her eyes. She was a member of the medical team during the Sumatra Aceh earthquake and tsunami in 2004.

“When Indonesia suffered from the disaster, many Japanese people came and helped us. So this time I want to repay them even though in a small way”