For Marie Antoinette her faux pas was to say “let them eat cake”. Abang Jo’s moment of pampered ignorance came with this mocking of the interior communities of his state whom he has claimed cannot be nearly as poor as they are said to be because they use Hilux 4X drive vehicles to get around ………..

Whatever autonomies Malaysia’s federal government may feel obliged to offer the North Borneo states in return for their political support, the human rights of the denizens of Malaysia are its responsibility. If state governments are neglecting those rights by denying statehood the national government should take action…….

The key demands were Local Autonomy, a Dayak Development Fund, a Justice & Reparations Commission, and an Indigenous Council to scrutinise public projects involving state and NCR land areas……

Sheikh Sabah Jaber Al-Mubarak, the son of the Kuwait prime minister of the time, was first exposed as a co-conspirator of Jho Low by Sarawak Report in 2020. Last week the highest court upheld his ten year prison term along with that of his business partner and friend of Jho Low, Hamad Al Wazan, and lawyer Saud Abdelmohsan……

A Welcome Supper on Friday night attended by scores of delegates from native communities and civil society NGOs across Sarawak saw a barnstorming opening to the first Dayak Forum being held in Miri this weekend…..

US DOJ announces another huge tranche of 1MDB cash will be returned to Malaysia by Jho Low as a further settlement over assets seized in the largest ever civil forfeiture case. The 1MDB theft by Low was originally exposed by Sarawak Report, whose editor has been sentenced prison by Malaysia for so-called ‘criminal libel’ relating to the case…..

The dash for cash has always been the clear motive behind the constant demands by GPS for greater freedom from federal oversight… However, before this relentless hunt for extraction moves to its next phase, this state government should be brought to account over how the huge profits that have already accrued are being distributed in Sarawak….

Sarawak’s home grown ‘Asia Pacific Green Hydropower’ conference opens to a select few in Kuching on Monday. But is it merely a platform to announce MOUs behind a stealthy re-introduction of a whole new raft of planned, ‘cascading’ mega-dams across Sarawak’s remaining rivers? The signs say ‘yes’…………

According to the latest report by the Malaysian environmental group RimbaWatch, the vast majority of remaining rainforest under grave threat from timber concessions is based in Sarawak – where the ruling party are pushing harder than ever for autonomy to pursue their cash ambitions. The report released last week identifies that of 3.2 million hectares

1MDB has made its move to recover the $1.83 billion lost in the 1MDB joint venture with PetroSaudi. Success would appear to rely on a civil action that includes the white shoe law firm White & Case as defendants in the case. However, there is competition afoot from an continuing case in the United States to recover the bulk of the PetroSaudi assets made from Venezuela …..

Once again this week, the online Radio Free Sarawak has had reason to cover abuses of what ought to be the democratic appointment of village headmen in rural Sarawak. These strong arm tactics have notably occurred in situations where the headman has stood up for his community against intrusions by logging or other commercial interests into their area…..

The NGO Engage joined forces with press and freedom groups on Thursday to re-launch a fund to protect journalists and civil society campaigners from abusive and oppressive law suits designed to stifle public debate in Malaysia. Thomas Fann, the chairperson of Engage, reminded that the fund was originally launched in 2015 to support those who

The Terengganu Court has demanded Clare Rewcastle Brown should appear in person to make her appeal against a jail sentence that was passed against her in absentia after a trial she was never notified would take place for an alleged crime of defamation for which she is yet to be charged. Can Malaysia sentence you in your absence then challenge you to appear to appeal the sentence?……