Sabah Chief Minister, Chinese New Year Message 2012

The Chief Minister of Sabah and the state cabinet members, wishing everybody a joyous and prosperous Chinese New Year 2012.

On behalf of my wife Faridah Haji Tussin, our family and the Sabah State Government, I wish to extend Chinese New Year greetings to the Chinese community in Sabah, and the rest of Malaysia. As we welcome the Lunar New Year, we are reminded of the goodwill and unity that is embedded in Malaysia. Our willingness and ability to work as one despite being so diverse has continued to become Malaysia’s pillar of progress and growth.

As we welcome the Year of the Dragon, I am pleased that we are able to celebrate Chinese New Year in a nation that continues to remain peaceful. As a melting pot of cultures and traditions, Malaysians are united and celebrate all festivities by extending greetings and by visiting one another at open houses. This is the true spirit of 1Malaysia, and I am pleased to note that this open house tradition is thriving despite us moving towards becoming a developed nation. By remaining true to our cultures and traditions, Malaysians will be balanced in their approach to progress and growth, which can threaten to erode age old customs and practices in the quest for modernity.

As we move into the New Year, we must take stock of our achievements in the past year, and evaluate how we can improve on challenges that we were faced with. This holds true for personal growth and also for progress of the various government, private and non-government establishments. On a larger scale, let us strive towards working together in bringing stronger growth for Sabah.

We are continuing to see progress in several sectors of the economy – notably oil and gas, palm oil and tourism. For us to succeed in these and other sectors of the economy, we must have the ability to be innovative and to think out of the box in driving investments. This includes creating a knowledgeable and skilled work force. I am pleased to note that tertiary education is expanding in Sabah via specialized institutes of higher education that are now spread out in different parts of the State. These include the Sandakan Education Hub and the Kimanis Petroleum Training Centre. I am confident that more skills centres will be introduced in the near future, offering locals quality education at their doorstep. I wish to encourage Malaysians in Sabah to take up opportunities at these institutes of higher education.

The Barisan Nasional Government is one that cares for Malaysians regardless of background. One fine example is the disbursement of a one-off payment of RM500 for households that earn RM3,000 and below through the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M). It is however unfortunate that some quarters choose to keep on criticizing the Government for all of its efforts, and I wish to urge Malaysians in Sabah to disregard allegations that the Government is insincere in helping the rakyat. The Government will remain committed in its plans to assist Malaysians through a number of initiatives.


I am also pleased to share that Federal Government led initiatives such as the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) are well on track and are showing the desired results. These programmes that encompass diverse sectors of the economy, and in the process strengthening the delivery system, are propelling our economy to compete globally. The Sabah State Government is committed to meeting aspirations of these initiatives, and I wish to call on Malaysians in Sabah to support these innovative programmes.

As we progress into the Tenth Malaysia Plan and the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), the Government will continue to plan and implement timely projects with the overall aim of uplifting standards of living. Emphasis on vital infrastructure, such as roads and schools, are always on the agenda as we strive to bridge regional imbalances within Sabah. We are also always open to listening to issues raised by the business and trade community in Sabah, and to work with them in finding solutions, some of which require consultations with the Federal Government. Let me assure you that the State Government is one that listens.

I would like to take this opportunity to reassure the Chinese community in Sabah of our continuous support towards the growth of Chinese schools, temples and cultural activities. The Federal Government had in the Budget for 2012 announced an allocation of RM100 million for Chinese schools, proving that the Government is fair to all communities. On its part, the Sabah State Government will continue to disburse financial aid for Chinese schools and temples, the way we have done for many years now. We also support Chinese non-governmental organisations such as the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) and the Sabah United Chinese Chambers of Commerce (SUCCC) for the advancement of activities and programmes that further strengthen Chinese culture in our state.

During this festive season, let us remember the less fortunate. I am pleased corporate organisations and other groups have shared festive cheer by visiting and assisting those in need. I also wish to extend my appreciation to security forces who work hard during festive seasons to make sure that our state and nation remains safe. We remain indebted to then for the sacrifices that they make.

Let us all remain united and continue to live in harmony as we celebrate Chinese New Year. I hope that the New Year brings more prosperity and peace to the nation. Gong Xi Fa Chai.

Thank you.

Happy New Year 2012, the inspiring story of Helen Keller, the most famous handicapped person in the world

Good Bye 2011 and welcome 2012. Happy New Year to everybody.

I wish Happy New Year to all visitors and readers of my humble blog. From zero pageviews in December 2008 when i first started blogging, now my Blog known as Malaysian Hollywood 2.0 and formerly known as Easy Comes Easy Goes 2.0 has attracted some 745,000 pageviews as of 31s December 2011. Thank You Very Much for The SUPPORT!!!

While ushering into the new Year 2012, let us be inspired by the incredible story of Helen Keller, the most famous handicapped person in the world.

Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, America on 27 June 1880, she was deaf and blind but rose on to become the most well known disabled activist, author and lecturer the world has ever seen.

She died on 1st June 1968 due to natural causes but her legacy lives on.

On September 14, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the United States' two highest civilian honors.

In 1965 she was elected to the National Women's Hall of Fame at the New York World's Fair.

In 1999, Keller was listed in Gallup's Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.

In 2003, Alabama honored its native daughter on its state quarter.

The Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama is dedicated to her.

There are streets named after Helen Keller in Getafe, Spain, in Lod, Israel and in Lisbon, Portugal.

Helen Keller was, for a time, the most famous handicapped person in the world. A severe fever at age 19 months left Keller blind and deaf and barely able to communicate.

At age six Keller met Anne Sullivan (later Anne Sullivan Macy), the tutor who taught Keller the alphabet and thereby opened up the world to her. Keller became an excellent student and eventually attended Radcliffe College, where she graduated with honors in 1904.

While at Radcliffe she wrote an autobiography, The Story of My Life (1902), which made her famous. (Her many later books included The World I Live In (1908), Out of the Dark (1913), and 1938's Helen Keller's Journal.)

In later life Keller became an activist and lecturer, sometimes in support of the blind and deaf, and sometimes for causes including Socialism and women's rights. She also founded and promoted the American Foundation for the Blind. During her lifetime Keller was regarded as one of America's most inspirational figures.

Keller's story was told in a 1957 television play, The Miracle Worker, which later became a Broadway play (1959) and then a 1962 film starring Anne Bancroft as Sullivan and Patty Duke as Keller; both Bancroft and Duke won Academy Awards for their work.



Keller's image appears on the quarter-dollar coin honoring Alabama, first released in 2003. According to the U.S. Mint, the coin is the first U.S. coin to feature braille.

Happy New Year 2012 Every One.

Is the world going to end on 21 December 2012???

Well come November, Roland Emmerich latest movie "2012" is hitting the cinemas.

Emmerich has directed other biblical scale mega disasters apocalypse movies such as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow.

His latest movie 2012 is based on the best-selling 1966 book "The Maya" by Harvard archeologist Michael D. Coe. Coe noted that the Mayan culture's famously complex "Long Count" calendar simply ends on 12/21/12, speculating that civilization might come crashing down on that date.

Other scholars argue, however, that the Mayan calendar would merely flip over like an odometer that reached 100,000 miles.

Astrologers have also pointed out that during the winter solstice of 2012, the orbital planes of the solar system and the twelve Zodiacal constellations will intersect with the "Dark Rift" -- a black bit of the Milky Way located next to Sagittarius.

Some argue this intersection is precisely why the Mayans -- who were brilliant astronomers -- ended their calendar when they did. But other astrologers believe that this conjunction will usher in a great shift in consciousness.

And then there's ounterculture thinker Terence McKenna whose Timewave Zero theory -- drawing off of elements from the "I-Ching," the teachings of philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and modern fractal mathematics -- which determined that 12/21/12 is, you guessed it, the exact date of a profound change in world.

Roughly speaking, the Mayans, astrologers and McKenna are all predicting global doom or the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

So if the apocalypse is set just in time for holiday shopping season three years from now, how exactly will the world end? One theory that actually has some traction in the scientific community is that a solar flare will cause a sudden shift in the magnetic orientation of the Earth's poles, causing all kinds of planetary problems like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. NASA is predicting strong solar activity around 2012 and there's evidence that the magnetic poles are slowly weakening, something that reportedly presages a reversal. Of course, most scientists think that this reversal will take centuries, not days, to occur.

So how does Roland Emmerich end the world in his upcoming epic "2012"? "Pole reversal," he said in an interview this week. "All kinds of stuff going on. But it's basically major earthquakes and volcano eruptions which kind of cause this global flood."

"We found this obscure theory of 'Earth crust displacement,' written in the '50s by someone called Professor Hapgood. Albert Einstein wrote the foreword to his book. It pretty much [says] every X number of years the whole Earth's crust shifts, all together. We thought that that was a great underlining theory that can explain why there can be a flood."

And what is the director going to do in preparation for that fated date? When asked he said, "I'm a pretty down to earth guy. Even [though] I made movies about aliens, I don't believe in aliens. And I don't believe that the world will come to an end in 2012, but it's a great scenario."

To get a peek at the devastation Emmerich is bringing to the screen in "2012," which he says has more visual effects than any of his previous films, watch the exclusive trailer below.


2012 Trailer