Miss Venezula, Ivian Lunasol Sarcos Colmenares Crowned Miss World 2011.

Kuching
Monday, 7th November 2011

A woman who spent five years living in a nunnery and once dreamed of becoming a nun has been crowned Miss World 2011.

Miss Venezuela, Ivian Lunasol Sarcos Colmenares, beat contestants from 113 countries to the coveted title after impressing the judges in the categories of beach beauty, top model, talent, sports, and beauty with a purpose - where the contestants must demonstrate involvement in a charity project.
Ms Sarcos Colmenares, 21, one of 13 siblings, was orphaned at eight and spent five years studying at a nunnery. She dreamed of becoming a nun but her life took a different direction, as she gained a degree in human resources and worked for a broadcasting company before becoming a beauty queen.

She was the favourite for the Miss World title going into the final at Earls Court, London, yesterday evening but reacted with delight and disbelief when she was announced as the winner of the famous beauty pageant. Now she said she wants to use her title to help other people.

She said: 'Winning means everything to me and I hope to take advantage of being a winner in a productive manner. I’m unbelievably happy to have won and there are some incredible girls. I first and foremost want to help people in need. I would like to help people like me. I am an orphan. I would also like to help the elderly and troubled teenagers. As many people as I can.

'Unfortunately I lost both my parents at a very young age which led me to study for five years in a nunnery. I spent my five years in there and my dream was to become a nun.'

Over a billion viewers from around the world tuned into see her crowned the winner, with runner up prizes going to Miss Philippines and Miss Puerto Rico. Fans who were unable to follow the final on television were kept up-to-date on the internet via live streaming and Facebook updates and tweets.
Representing the UK, Miss England, Alize Mounter, and Miss Scotland, Jennifer Reogh, both made it into the top seven. But Miss Wales, Sara Manchipp, and Miss Northern Ireland, Finola Guinnane, did not make it to the semi-final.

This was the 60th year of the beauty pageant and to celebrate its diamond anniversary, it returned to the city where it all began. The first was held in London in 1951 during the Festival of Britain on the South Bank of the River Thames.

But throughout its 60 year history, the beauty competition has attracted critics as well as fans.
This year was no different and campaign groups, including London Feminist Network, Object and UK Feminista, voiced their opposition to the 'sexist contest'.

A statement on the London Feminist Network website rallied women to join a protest they held at Earls Court while the competition was taking place.

A statement on their website said: 'Let the organisers and all those profiting from the event know that we are all angry that such an event is once again being held here in London.

'Bring placards, banners and raise your voice against this appalling offence against women's equality. Let them know loud and clear that this event has no place in London in 2011.'

But Miss England director Angie Beasley disagreed with their sentiments and said the contest 'had changed with the times' because it was no longer just about looking good in swimwear.

She said: 'There is a talent, sports and Beauty With A Purpose round, which is the fundraising round, in the contest and the girls love taking part.

'Yes they have to look great to win but it's so much more than a beauty contest. These people should give it a chance instead of thinking it's just a bikini parade.

I'm all for women standing up for what they believe in which is why I run Miss England but I'm fed up of these protesters trying to bully us and push us around.

'We live in a free society where women have the right to choose. The contestants in Miss World are quite capable of making up their own minds if they want to enter or not and protesters shouldn't keep criticising the same decision. If you don't like it, don't watch it.'

The message that the competition is now about brains as well as beauty was shown by figures that revealed out of this year's contestants, more than half are studying for a degree, one in four are graduates and more than half speak at least three languages.

The contest was also revealed to have the support of Nelson Mandela. He sent a message which was read out during the final sending his greetings to all the contestants and congratulating them on their efforts for charities.

TV presenter Bruce Forsyth also took to the stage with his wife, Wilnelia Merced, who was crowned Miss World in 1975, while dance group Diversity and boyband Blue performed for the worldwide audience.
In her new role, Miss Venezuela will now spend the year visiting and supporting a range of global charity projects supported by Miss World's Beauty With A Purpose programme.

Forbes List of America's Most Surprising Six-Figure Jobs

Kuching
Sunday, 6th November 2011


We often associate hefty salaries with corner offices, scalpels and law degrees – but it turns out you can pull in a pretty penny working outside the financial, medical or legal fields. In fact, writers, elevator installers and ship captains are just a few of the professionals who surprisingly can score six-figure paychecks.

Forbes combed through data gathered annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the Labor Department, to find the 15 most surprising six-figure jobs. The BLS culls its information from surveys it mails to businesses, and it releases its Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates Data each May. The report shares information about hundreds of occupations, including hourly and annual wages, total numbers of workers in the profession, and the states and metro areas that pay the best. To make the cut for our list, at least 10% of employees in the profession had to earn more than $100,000 a year.

Human resources managers are the only ones on the list where most, not just some, earn six figures. These professionals, who are responsible for everything from interviewing candidates to handling personnel and implementing strategies and policies, earn a stellar average annual salary of $108,600. According to the BLS’ Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates Data for 2010, the top 10% of H.R. managers earn more than $166,400 a year. The best-paying state for these professionals is New Jersey, where they pull in an average annual salary of $134,170.

An art director’s income isn’t too shabby, either. The mean annual wage for those talented professionals is $94,100. The top 10% make $163,430—almost four times the national average for all occupations, which is just $44,410. The top-paying state for art directors: New York. Those in the Big Apple earn a hefty $128,080 a year.

Some other surprising six-figure jobs, especially from the perspective of the fragile media industry, include broadcast news analysts, authors, and technical writers. Workers in the top-earning 10% of each of these professions earn more than $100,000, according to the BLS data. For broadcast news analysts, it’s $146,230; for writers and authors, $109,440; and for technical writers, $100,910.

Gaming managers, the people who supervise gambling operations, also make the cut, earning a handsome annual income of $73,940. Workers in the top 10% of that profession really hit the jackpot. These high rollers rake in $116,070 a year.

Pennsylvania pays its gaming managers better than any other state ($91,850 a year, on average), but it’s only got about 50 of them. In total, 3,230 Americans hold the job nationwide.

Water vessel captains, mates and pilots also make a boatload more than one might think. The top 10% earn an ample $117,310 a year, but on average they make $70,500. Boat captains in Tennessee earn $89,700, making it the best paying state.

The list doesn’t end there. There are plenty more surprising six-figure jobs that don’t require a necktie or lab coat. Astronomers, film editors and farm product buyers are some others we’ve singled out. Please see below for a complete list of the 15 most surprising six-figure jobs.

1. Human Resources Managers

Top 10% make over $166,400 Mean annual income: $108,600 Total employed: 67,700 
Top-paying state: New Jersey

2. Technical Writers

Top 10% make $100,910 Mean annual income: $66,240  Total employed: 43,990 Top-paying state: California

3. Detectives and Criminal Investigators

Top 10% make $119,320  Mean annual  income: $73,010 
Total employed: 110,640 
Top-paying state: Washington, D.C.

4. Animal Scientists

Top 10% make $117,150 Mean annual income: $68,170 
Total employed: 2,440 
Top-paying state: Maryland

5. Broadcast News Analysts

Top 10% make $146,230 Mean annual income: $72,710 
Total employed: 5,670 
Top-paying state: Florida

6. Art Directors

Top 10% make $163,430 Mean annual income: $94,100 

Total employed: 29,700 

Top-paying state: New York

7. Astronomers

Top 10% make $155,480 Mean annual income: $93,340 

Total employed: 1,840 

Top-paying state: Massachusetts

8. Captains, Mates and Pilots of Water Vessels

Top 10% make $117,310 Mean annual income: $70,500 
Total employed: 29,280 
Top-paying state: Tennessee

9. Elevator Installers and Repairers

Top 10% make $101,390  Mean annual income: $70,010 

Total employed: 20,430 

Top-paying state: New Hampshire

10. Gaming Managers

Top 10% make $116,070 Mean annual income: $73,940 
Total employed: 3,230 
Top-paying state: Pennsylvania

11.  Writers and Authors

Top 10% make $109,440  Mean annual income: $65,960 
Total employed: 40,980 
Top-paying state: New York

12. Transportation Inspectors

Top 10% make $107,790  Mean annual income: $63,050 

Total employed: 24,280 

Top-paying state: Washington, D.C. 

13.  Buyers and Purchasing Agents for Farm Products

Top 10% make $101,080 
Mean annual income: $63,540 
Total employed: 10,250 
Top-paying state: Kansas

14. Home Economics Teachers (Postsecondary)

Top 10% make $115,740  Mean annual income: $69,060 
Total employed: 5,910 
Top-paying state: California

15.  Film and Video Editors

Top 10% make $111,860 
Mean annual income: $61,890 
Total employed: 19,930 
Top-paying state: California 

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Sarawak Report Exposes Sean Murray’s Kuching Construction Connection

Kuching
Saturday, 5th November 2011

The latest article by Sarawak Report make me lost confident in MACC ( Or are this Commission really mean Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or just Malaysian Anti-Car and Cow?). Despite so many revelations being made but this Commission still not taking any action. Are they waiting for people power like in Egypt and Libya to punish this family?

Sean Murray and Jamilah Taib (Taib Mahmud's eldest daughter)

We can reveal that the husband of Taib’s eldest daughter, the Canadian, Hisham (Sean) Murray, has grabbed control of one of Kuching’s most lucrative property developments on the so-called Kuching Isthmus, a venture sponsored by the State Government.

The RM380 million luxury hotel and office complex was announced at the end of last year as a key initiative on the site, which has been designated by the State Government as a ’Special Development Area’ and is being touted as the new Central Business District for the capital.

CMS Land Sdn Bhd, a joint subsidiary of the largely Taib family-owned company CMS and the State Government, acquired ownership of the entire 240 acres of development land on the Isthmus, after it was alienated from local title-holders through a series of controversial forced purchases, in the late 1990s.

‘Ripe for development’ – the whole area just outside Kuching has been turned over to the Taib family firm CMS in a ‘joint venture’ with the state

If that was not favouritism enough, the company has now been granted numerous incentives to build through the injection of huge sums of public money into the area.

CMS Land has officially estimated that the project has a “gross development value of RM2.8 billion“!

However, we can demonstrate that this latest major construction project on the site is actually being driven forward by a mysterious off-shore company, run by an inner-circle of Taib’s immediate family.

The controlling share in the Joint Venture, which is situated on 10 acres provided by CMS Land, belongs to a company called Premier Cottage Sdn Bhd.  The Director of that company is Sean Murray, along with Taib’s other daughter Hanifah and his favoured sister-in-law, Gertie Chong.   However, the sole shareholder of Premier Cottage is an off-shore company, Pioneer City Enterprises Limited, which supplies no profile or country address, despite having been awarded a significant public project.

The planned Kuching Tower - projected to be the tallest building in Sarawak

This is not the first time that the Murrays have claimed a stake in the Isthmus. Their company City Gate Corporation (part of the Sakto Group based in Ottawa) also snaffled a $110 million dollar contract to design the much talked about Kuching Tower, together with another company called ZW Group.

ZW Group, interestingly, shares the same address as the Ottawa-based Aberdeen Project Facilitators Inc, who were formally awarded the management of the Kuching Tower project back in 2006.

The Director of Aberdeen Project Facilitators and the Project Manager of ZW both happen to be one Thady Murray.

Thady Murray also acts as the President of City Gate Corporation and is one of the many members of Sean Murray’s family, who work out of the Sakto/City Gate Headquarters in their Preston Tower building, Ottawa!

Fat contract – the Kuching Tower project is also being managed by the Murrays in Ottawa

 ’My family don’t do business in Sarawak!’ 

These discoveries make a further mockery of Taib’s claims that his family ‘does no business in Sarawak’.  During the recent State Election campaign the Chief Minister countered critics of his family’s wealth by claiming his children and relatives had earned all their money through business activities outside Sarawak and that he had never exploited his political position!

One of Canada's richest couples - but the Murrays claim it is all self-made !

What Taib Mahmud Said :

“I don’t want conflict of interest to haunt me all the time. [if] I do business inside the country, people will say I use my influence to enrich myself, so we did it outside the country” [Taib Mahmud]  

Taib went on to claim that the reason why his eldest daughter Jamilah and her husband Sean (Hisham) Murray are amongst the flashiest and richest couples in Ottawa, Canada, likewise owes to their business acumen in that country and not to wealth gained from Sarawak:

“Jamilah’s business in Canada is successful because she is good” [Taib Mahmud]

To the contrary, it is well known that Taib and his children each own scores of companies in Sarawak, all of which prosper owing to key monopolies, state contracts, timber and plantation concessions, which he himself has granted.

Taib & Sons - Chief Minister turns the earth for CMS Land with son Abu Bekir (CMS Chief) at his side

All Taib’s brothers and sisters have equally benefited from the same corruption, so it is small wonder that there is little opportunity left for anyone else.

Indeed, Taib’s statement that his family do no business in Sarawak is no more truthful than his claim that 80% of Sarawak’s jungle has been left untouched.  Clearly, the Chief Minister follows the principle that if you are going to tell a lie, you should make it a big, fat lie!

Murray family business?

It would seem that a similar approach is being taken by the Taib family regarding their explanations for the millions of dollars worth of property investment in Canada and beyond.  The multi-million dollar enterprise Sakto has been consistently portrayed as a ‘Murray family business’, which has expanded into the UK, US and Australia.

A Murray family company? – from Chris Murray’s Wikipedia entries

Numerous members of Sean Murray’s family now work in Sakto and Murray’s cousin, Christopher Murray, who runs the subsidiary Ridgeford Properties in London, told one journalist that the whole enterprise was started by a previous generation of Murrays and was a ‘Murray family company’.  This impression is maintained, for example, in Wikipedia entries like those above.

But, in fact Sakto was started by the Taibs in 1983 with an initial shareholder investment of over $4 million, all before Jamilah met with her future husband Sean.  Those interest-free and unconditional shareholder loans increased every year, amounting to over $9 million dollars by the time Sean gained a foothold in the company as a Director following his marriage to Jamilah in 198.  By 1993 those shareholders (who can remain anonymous in Canada) had incresed the investment to over $25 million and the company now has properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Shareholder loans rose each year in the first 10 years for Sakto, whose first Directors were Jamilah, Mahmud (Abu Bekir) Taib and Onn Mahmud

Likewise, the sister company Sakti was started in 1987 by three of Taib’s children and two of Taib’s brothers in the US.  And Ridgeford Properties in London was established by a company called Astar Properties in 1996, which operated out of the same BVI Trust as the CMS Trust Fund.

Ridgeford still benefits from a multi-million pound interest-free loan provided by a company called TESS Investments, which operates out of that same BVI office, even though formal ownership of the company has been transferred to City Gate International Corporation in Canada, which is directed by Sean Murray and his wife Jamilah Taib.

In fact, despite claims that Sean Murray ‘owns’ Sakto and related companies, available documentation indicates a pattern where he acts as a Director of these companies, while actual ownership remains with the Taib family into which he has married!

Early days – Sean married Jamilah in 1987, becoming Hisham Murry and earning his first Directorship in one of the Sakto Companies, which had been running since 1983

Thus, although he is a Director of Sakti in the US, court records in 2008 demonstrated that the company shares belonged to his wife and other Taib family members. Likewise Sitehost Pty in Australia, where he is a Director, but it is his wife who is the shareholder of the company that owns the Adelaide Hilton and the surrounding city centre shopping complex.

Profiting in Sarawak

Vision for a hotel to overlook the Borneo Convention Centre, whose Chairman is Taib’s sister Raziah Mahmud!

Given the claims about Jamilah and Sean’s ’self-made’ wealth, it is therefore surely surprising that they have taken such opportunities in Kuching’s biggest building project for the next decade.

Surely, to avoid those accusations of conflict of interest, they should be seeking to invest in projects anywhere else in the world, apart from their father in law’s own capital city on a state sponsored development?

Likewise, for a Chief Minister anxious to show that he is not favouring his family or allowing them to do business in Sarawak, is not it extraordinary to have awarded the latest multi-million ringgit project to a company Directed by his Canadian son in law Sean Murray?

However, of course there is no shortage of precedent . On the Isthmus, as elsewhere in Sarawak, all the money-making opportunities have been given to Taib’s family, with the full authorisation of his Planning Ministry.

Indeed the only projects that have been started so far have all been funded by the State, including the RM200 million Borneo Convention Centre, the only building so far completed, and the  RM 230 million Sarawak Energy Building.  Both contracts were of course awarded to CMS, whose Managing Directors are Taib’s son and son-in-law and whose largest shareholders are Taib’s children and late wife.

In the case of the Joint Venture Hotel project a CMS announcement last December revealed that the  new hotel project would be carried out by a private company Isthmus Developments Sdn Bhd. CMS Land (49% owned by the state body SEDC) would provide the land, but the controlling 51% shareholding of the Joint Venture would go to the previously unheard of Premier Cottage.

Isthmus Developments is the government-backed joint venture company set up by CMS and SEDC to build the major hotel complex

Premier Cottage is in turn owned by the mysterious Pioneer City Enterprises Limited, which is a non-Malaysian company that offers no details about itself in the Register of Companies!

Who owns Pioneer City, the company which has been given control over the state-backed hotel and apartment project on the Kuching Isthmus? Are they a suitable construction company? - there are many questions, but no answers given Sarawak's lack of transparency

Time for Murray to explain Sakto’s fortune

As one of the three Directors of Premier Cottag, along with Hanifah and Gertie, Sean Murray is one person who IS in a position to tell the people of Sarawak who owns the company that is now about to control one of Kuching’s major investment projects.  After all, it is taking place on land that was alienated by the government, in the name of the public interest and development.

Key man – Sean (Hisham) Murray has become the Director of a growing number of Taib’s foreign property companies

He and the Chief Minister should also surely explain, why they think this example of the Taib family doing business in a Sarawak Special Development zone, should not be considered a conflict of interest or an abuse of power by family members of the Chief Minister?

As this is a publicly backed investment, made possible by the alienation of land from its original owners and assisted by all manner of state support, the public is entitled to know about the suitability and track record of the company that has been entrusted with the job.

They are also entitled to know who is involved in order to ascertain whether dealings have been above board.

Furthermore, the shareholders of CMS, as well as the taxpayers funding the SEDC (Sarawak Economic Development Corporation), should also be entitled to know who owns Pioneer City Enterprises, because their Directors have provided the valuable building site in return for a joint shareholding with an anonymous venture!

Winners and losers

Taib & Sons – the Chief Minister and son Abu Bekir Taib (Chief of CMS) with a model of their planned CBD

While we wait for answers, it is worth remembering who loses and who gains from Sarawak’s so-called ‘Development’ projects.

The Kuching Isthmus was first earmarked for possible development back in 1973 and subjected to a notorious Section 47 Order under the Land Law.  However, for the following two decades nothing at all was done with the project and the government issued numerous long leases on the land to unsuspecting purchasers.

Then suddenly in the mid-90s Taib, in his role as Planning Minister, decided to revive the project and move on with alienating the land.  Under any principle of natural justice or good governance the original order should have lapsed, but Taib and his henchmen took the opportunity to demand the land at the original 1973 prices!

In one case a land-owner, who had invested all their savings in the district of Muara Tebas, was kicked off their land for a mere RM 6,628.78 per hectare.  This is land that CMS Land simultaneously evaluated at roughly RM 1 million a hectare, according to the details laid out in the Joint Venture Agreement - over a hundred times as much!

The dreary reality – So far virtually no development has taken place on what is now scrub-land, except for the public funded BCC and SEB building.

The Kuching Isthmus Development, therefore, represents just one more example in Sarawak, where development has meant fabulous wealth and opportunities for Taib’s inner-circle of family and cronies and destitution and disaster for the smaller people he has been willing to exploit.

Time and again DAP and PKR opposition politicians have demanded an explanation for the disgraceful treatment of the Malay and Chinese inhabitants of the Kuching Isthmus, many of them fishermen who have lived there for generations.

Now they have further confirmation that the continuing enrichment of the Taibs is the driving pattern behind this development, and that includes their overseas family members.

End timber corruption

Canada HQ – how many hectares of priceless Borneo jungle were sacrificed to build this?

Campaigners across the world are currently stepping up their campaign to force world governments to implement the UN’s anti-money laundering legislation and investigate the Taib-related multi-million dollar property portfolios in Canada, the US, UK and Australia.

Most of these investments are now directed by Sean Murray from his Ottawa base in Canada, through the companies he runs with his wife, Taib’s daughter Jamilah, and a string of his own family members. 

All of these companies can be traced to original investments by the Taib family, whose entire wealth has been founded on Taib Mahmud’s corrupt exploitation of the State of Sarawak.

Read More HERE

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James Masing Is Warned Not To Be Over Confident

Kuching
Friday, 4th November 2011


James Masing was confident  that PRS could Delivered All The Seats It is going to Contest to BN. He was saying this to Muhyiddin when asked about his party strength for the election.

Warrior in the Making or Ketua Lanun of the NCR Lands Robbery ?

Same all Masing. Last election he said the same tone but PRS lost it strongest seat to Independent Candidate. Even though PRS won the rest of the seats it contested but this time round it is not going to be an easy ride for him and his party.

Eventhought Iban maturity in politic is still far behind the other races like Malay, Melanau or Chinese, but after being marginalised by Barisan Nasional (BN) this coming election, I hope the Iban will not vote for BN especially the PRS. There is zero reason for Iban to vote for PRS. PRS severed its ties with the Iban the moment it taken the terabai and sangkoh from it logo.

Iban in the long houses (as majority of the town Iban had not voted for BN since the last state election) should teach this James Masing a lesson.

Other than the above reason, another point to consider why Iban should not vote for James Masing is because he is the "Ketua Lanun" (Pirates Chief) that robbed the Iban of our NCR lands. His Ministry is responsible with the introduction of the "Gaya Baru" Land Development Concept, a joint venture between private company with NCR land owners in planting the Oil palm. The JV has turned none land owner into those lived above the poverty line but it has cost Iban thousands of hectares of their lands.

To Masing, we and the rest of the Iban out there, who have lost faith in you, be prepared , as " You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time" ....

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