Terdapat 4 rencana dalam mesej ini.

1) Malaysia Turki dikritik IPU.

2) Camerons losing its charm to development

3) Excavator driver wages endless battle against silt

4) Federal govt "has the right to take Putrajaya'

Saya terjemah bahagian penting sahaja dalam 2 rencana.

Malaysia, Turki dikritik oleh IPU kerana tahanan politik

JAKARTA: Seramai 505 ahli parlimen dari 108 negara meluluskan resolusi mengutuk keras layanan dan penahanan ahli politik di Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gambia, Guinea, Honduras, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Moldova, Sri Lanka dan Turki.

Mereka bersidang di Jakarta untuk menghadiri simposium International Parliamentary Union's (IPU) ke 104.

IPU mencela Malaysia kerana menghukum bekam TPM, Anwar Ibrahim dengan "tuduhan korup dan s*d*mi yang tidak berasas, serta penggunaan kekerasan untuk memaksa pengakuan palsu".

Resolusi tersebut melahirkan kebimbangan motif pendakwaan yang "tidak mengikut perundangan wajar" dan "dilakukan dengan prasangka sudah bersalah".

Seterusnya resolusi tersebut menyeru Anwar dibebaskan kerana keadaan beberapa lapuran menunjukkan kesihatan beliau terancam.

Selebihnya tidak diterjemah....

Kerajaan Persekutuan "mempunyai hak mengambil Putrajaya"

KUALA LUMPUR - Ketika ahli politik negeri Selangor mempertikaikan keperluan mengambil alih Putrajaya, seorang menteri kabinet memberi amaran pula bahawa tiada sesiapa pun berhak menyanggah isu tersebut.

Menurut pemimpin kerajaan negeri, satu sidang DUN diperlukan sebelum kerajaan persekutuan boleh bertindak sesuka hati mengambil Putrajaya.

Tetapi Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Rais Yatim mengatakan kerajaan Persekutuan lebih berhak.

"Tidak ada sebarang negeri berhak menyanggah atau menghalang cadangan tersebut" kata Rais kepada wartawan.

"Kerajaan tidak perlu menunggu sebarang pihak bila ia mahu menukar perlembagan". Ia boleh dilakukan bila2 masa. Saya pasti unit guaman negeri sudah arif dan telah menasihati semua ahli DUN akan isu ini" tambah Rais lagi.

Kontroversi ini tercetus bila ADUN Kajang, Dr Shafei Abu Bakar mengatakan Kerajaan Negeri Selangor dan Kerajaan Persekutuan telah tidak mengikut prosedur yang betul ketika mengistiharkan Putrajaya sebagai WIlayah Persekutuan.

http://www.lycos-asia.com/my/asia/indonesia/001021091726.65ayfabn.html

Malaysia, Turkey reproach IPU criticism over detained politicians

JAKARTA, Oct 21 (AFP) - 17:17 - International lawmakers wrapping up a six-day conference here Saturday rebuked 16 nations for their treatment of opposition parties and demanded the release of dissidents held in jail.

The 505 parliamentarians from 108 countries passsed resolutions attacking the treatment of detained and convicted politicians in Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gambia, Guinea, Honduras, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Moldova, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

The parliamentarians were meeting together in Jakarta for the International Parliamentary Union's (IPU) 104th conference.

The IPU rebuked Malaysia over the conviction of its former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and s###my charges, saying there were "reliable allegations concerning the use of coerced statements of witnesses."

In its resolution it expressed fear that the motives for his prosecution were "not of a legal nature" and that they were "built on the presumption of guilt."

It also called for Anwar's release, pending appeal against his convictions, on the grounds of reports that his health had deteriorated.

The Malaysian delegation contested the resolution, saying it did not "reflect the actual situation."

"As a matter of fact a number of politicians from the ruling party have also been prosecuted," delegation leader Husni Hanazadzlah said.

"We would like to place on record our reservation on this resolution."

Turkey was rebuked for the prosecution of 15 Kurdish MPs accused of separatism in 1994.

In its resolution the IPU said they were prosecuted for exercising their right to free expression and had been denied a fair trial and called for amnesties for all 15.

The Turkish delegation expressed its reservation on the grounds that the cases were being processed in the European Court of Human Rights.

"Whatever the circumstances, we're all parliamentarians, not judges," delegation leader Professor Ziya Aktas said.

"We believe the decision of this (European) court must be the only decision we have to consider. We have to wait for it," Aktas said.

Myanmar was rebuked over its treatment of 66 opposition politicians, around 50 of whom are in detention, and eight of which are dead.

The IPU resolution expressed "outrage" at the ongoing harassment, arrest and sentencing of politicians who were elected to, but have been denied, power in Myanmar in 1990.

It called for the immediate release of all detained politicians and a halt to the suppression of their political activities.

In its six-day bi-annual meet the IPU called for the lifting of sanctions against Iraq and a ban on including food and medicines in future sanctions, and urged Israel to cease military action in the Middle East.

Separately representatives of the Burmese government in exile released a petition signed by some 2,000 MPs from 85 countries calling for the immediate release of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

The exiled politicians were at the congress as guests of the Danish delegation. There was no official delegation from Myanmar.

From The Singapore Straits Times
23rd October 2000

Camerons losing its charm to development

Illegal land clearing by farmers, rising temperatures and decreasing forest cover are causing the destruction of the popular Malaysian hill retreat

By LESLIE LAU IN CAMERON HIGHLANDS

AT BEST, the waters of the Bertam river in Cameron Highlands can be described as brown in colour. But over the past few months, the river has become nothing but a stream of muddy water.

And it is this water that is at the core of the environmental disaster that is Cameron Highlands.

Illegal land clearing by farmers and uncontrolled development has caused the rivers to be heavily silted. There are now water shortages in an area where it rains nearly every day.

""It is not even as cool as when I was a kid. Some people have even installed fans in their houses,'' says Mr K.S. Rajoo, a tour guide who grew up in Tanah Rata, the main town in Cameron Highlands.

Concerned with rising temperatures and decreasing forest cover, the Cabinet decided last week to put a freeze on all highland development projects pending an intensive study on its effects.

Satellite data released by the government show that forest cover in Cameron Highlands has decreased by 2 per cent. In 1991, there was 54,597 ha of forest cover. This year, it has fallen to 53,484 ha.

According to the Meteorological Department, Cameron Highlands is now warmer by 0.7 deg C than it was 100 years ago. Many residents claim it has become warmer than that.

The uncontrolled clearing of hills is also causing power-generation problems. Sultan Abu Bakar dam in Ringlet is one of the oldest hydroelectric dams in the country, but its turbines cannot function properly anymore because of massive silt deposits.

Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia's national electricity utility, says silt deposits has increased from 0.4 million cubic metres in 1975 to 3.5 million cubic metres last year.

It will cost RM18 million (S$8.3 million) a year just to remove the silt.

The Ringlet lake is one of the major features of the dam and used to provide a scenic backdrop for the famous Lake House Hotel.

The only evidence of what it once looked like is the picture on the post-cards sold in the hotel's lobby. Not many people come anymore to sit by the muddy lake, once a popular picnic spot.

""Our guests tell us that it is a pity the lake is now muddy, but there is not much we can do,'' Lake House Hotel manager Krishna Badhur told The Straits Times.

The reason for the muddy lake is not just the illegal land clearing by farmers, but also the uncontrolled development that has taken place in the past 20 years.

From a quaint hill station of a few hotels and holiday bungalows, there are about 50 to 60 hotels now offering close to 1,000 rooms.

But one hotelier told The Straits Times that the average occupancy rate hovers around only at the 30-per-cent level. Yet, more new hotels were in the pipeline before the Cabinet freeze last week.

""We are not against development, but it must be sustainable. There is no proper masterplan. We do not even have a public library,'' says Mr Jason Chin.

Ironically, farmers whose existence depends on the environment are one of the major culprits for the damage being done to Cameron Highlands.

Excavator driver wages endless battle against silt

BY LESLIE LAU

CAMERON HIGHLANDS -- Robinson Falls used to provide a spectacular backdrop for Jungle Walk No 9, one of many beautiful hiking trails in Cameron Highlands.

But nowadays, hikers try not to look at the water because it has become muddy with silt caused by land-clearing activities.

At the beginning of the trail, the drone of an excavator has replaced the sound of birds singing.

""I can finish eating, but my work never ends,'' the excavator driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Wong, told The Straits Times.

His work is to clear the silt from the river that flows down to the hydro-electric dam in Ringlet.

He works 10 hours a day in a monotonous cycle clearing the river, but behind the excavator, fresh landslides continue to deposit soil into the river.

Fed up with illegal land clearing and uncontrolled development, local residents are now beginning to voice their concerns to the authorities.

Mr Jason Chin, 28, a resident, studied law in Britain but returned to his hometown and is now the assistant park officer at the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) centre in Ringlet.

He has been trying to get residents to join the MNS as a way to educate them in environmental awareness, but it is slow going.

There are only a handful of members so far.

""I love Cameron Highlands,'' he told The Straits Times. ""I just hope my children will be able to enjoy the place as it once was.''

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/

Federal govt "has the right to take Putrajaya'

But Selangor leaders have protested against the move, saying it will need approval of the state assembly to make the planned takeover official

KUALA LUMPUR -- While Selangor politicians question the need to take Putrajaya, the federal government's new administrative capital, out of the state, a minister has warned that no one has the right to object.

Selangor state leaders have protested against the move, saying it would need the approval of the state assembly before such a proposal could go through.

But the Minister in Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Dr Rais Yatim, has claimed otherwise, adding that all the federal governto make the takeover official.

""The proposal to make Putrajaya a federal territory needs the cooperation of the state of Selangor in terms of legal procedures to hand it over formally to the federal government.

""However, this can be in the form of a follow-up action after the proposal comes through. But no state can object to or obstruct such a proposal,'' he told reporters after opening the Malaysia-Palestine Solidarity and Friendship Association annual meeting here on Saturday.

""The government does not have to wait for any party when it comes to amending the federal Constitution.

""It can be done at any time. I'm sure the Selangor state legal adviser would have advised all his assemblymen on this issue,'' he said.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the decision to make Putrajaya a federal territory was based on its rapid development and its position as the government's administrative centre.

Meanwhile, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said the status of Putrajaya would only be made clear after a state-level meeting, due to be held on Nov 7.

He was commenting on a statement by Kajang assemblyman Dr Shafie Abu Bakar, who had said that the Selangor government and the Cabinet had not followed ""correct procedures'' when declaring Putrajaya a federal territory.

Dr Shafie asked the Selangor government to meet to discuss the matter.

In another development, the Selangor government will hold ""meet-the-people'' sessions soon to explain the impact of the decision on residents in the Sepang area.

This is to ensure they are not confused about the move and also to give them a better picture to prevent the opposition from making it a political issue. --The Star/Asia News Network