Chan keen to defend Sri Tanjong seat
TAWAU: Sri Tanjong assemblyman Chan Foong Hin wants to defend his seat in the coming 14th General Election but subject to the decision of party leaders.
He said the decision will be made by state party leaders and not the national leaders as Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sabah has autonomy to decide the candidates.
However, he said the decision has not been made yet but he wished to inform the public of his intention to retain the Sri Tanjong seat.
On his reason to defend the seat, he said firstly he is a Tawau boy and he believes Sri Tanjong is the pioneer for democratic practice in Sabah.
“Ten years ago we have Jimmy Wong and five years ago I successfully got the mandate from the rakyat here. I believe I have done my part in serving the constituency for the last five years,” he said yesterday. PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) has foiled a human trafficking syndicate involving Bangladeshis with the arrest of a Bangladeshi man, known as 'Abang Bangla', who is believed to be the mastermind, in a raid on a house at Section 28, Shah Alam, early yesterday.
JIM director general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said Abang Bangla, whose real name is Abdur Rauf, 43, was arrested together with a 49-year-old man, believed to be his assistant.
During the raid, he said, the Immigration team found 50 Bangladeshis, aged between 20 and 45, believed to be victims of the human-trafficking syndicate, at the premises.
”The syndicate is believed to have been operating over the past eight months and is involved in smuggling in of Bangladeshis who had committed offences and served their sentences in the country and then deported to their country of origin,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Mustafar said the victims had to pay between RM15,000 and RM20,000 to the syndicate , which arranged their filghts from Dhaka to Indonesia before using the 'tekong' service to help them to sneak into Malaysia, either by sea or land.
“Once in the country, they will be placed at a house until they settle the payment, and only after they have fully settled the payment will they be handed over to the agents or employers who need foreign workers,” he said.
He said the two suspects were being detained under the AntiTrafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, while the others would be held held under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Also seized during the raid were RM13,400 and 48 passports, he added.
Chan said during his term, the water dam phase was just launched and was a very hot topic.
“I would bring up the issue at almost every state assembly sitting. And recently the ground breaking ceremony was launched. I wish to continue my role as the check and balance if we are still in the opposition to ensure this water dam is built on time according to the schedule,” he said.
“However, if a Sabah tsunami comes, if we become the state government, I pledge to ensure this water treatment plant is implemented and built according to efficiency and fulfill the requirement for Tawau people and on top of this, this issue is not only about the water dam. If we talk about Tawau water issue, the water dam is just to store 6-months of water. In order to complement the water dam construction, we need to complement it with the upgrading of the Cintamata water treatment plant. Because if you increase the water capacity storage but not increase water production, water supply will still remain the same. We need to meet the demand for water. Tawau population is increasing. Any breakdown at the treatment plant Tawau will face water disruption nevertheless,” he pointed out.
Immigration Dept busts 'Abang Bangla' human trafficking syndicate