Radio Free Sarawak 15420 khz. 1300* UTC April 12, 2016

[Ron - Calif.]

15420, Radio Free Sarawak, per Aoki via Palauig-Zambales (Philippines),
1240-1300*, April 12. A rare reception for me, as normally when I daily
check on this, all I hear is a well below threshold level open carrier, as the
higher bands are mostly dead about this time period, but today well above
threshold; in vernacular chatting via phone; 1258 ID for "Radio Free Sarawak"
and pop song till off. BTW - Aoki schedule for RFS is incorrect (his dated
April 13 1100UT shows 1230*.

Ron, listening at Asilomar State Beach (near Monterey), California

[fpeconsultant]

Nice catch Ron.
I will add them to the certain list and assume 1200-1300z

[Ron - Calif.]

Nice catch Ron.
I will add them to the certain list and assume 1200-1300z

Tuned in April 14 at the same time on 15420 and nothing heard; no open carrier heard; the band was dead; a black out

[fpeconsultant]

Confirmed today but 1100-1300 on 15420pug in Iban only Mon-Sat

[Ron - Calif.]

15420, Radio Free Sarawak, per Aoki via Palauig-Zambales
(Philippines), 1231-1249, April 27. Normally this band has a
black out during their broadcast, but today was a rare exception;
usual chatting on the phone in vernacular, but what was not
usual was a conversation by announcer in the studio in
vernacular with candidate Simon Tiong on the phone, who
responded in English; talking about "All the people of
Sarawak" and about the duties of the Chief Minister to
serve all the the people.

Back in 2014, RFS often had to change frequencies to try to
evade the heavy jamming, which proved to be so persistent
that RFS took a long break (about a year?) from broadcasting
on SW. Since they returned in 2015, I have not once heard
them jammed or seen reports of any jamming. Why did the
jamming not start up again during the past year? A major
policy change by Malaysia? Anyone have any thoughts
about this? Thanks for any comments.

Ron, listening in San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, Calif.

[Ron - Calif.]

15420, Radio Free Sarawak, per Aoki via Palauig-Zambales
(Philippines)..... Why did the jamming not start up again during the past year? A major
policy change by Malaysia? Anyone have any thoughts about this? Thanks for any comments.

Ron, listening in San Francisco, at Ocean Beach, Calif.

Sent an inquiry directly to Timm Breyel, who resides in
Malaysia, asking if he had any insights regarding the RFS
and non-jamming issue. As always, Timm has a very
informative response:

"1) As you probably know Sabah and Sarawak are
autonomous states in East Malaysia. In the last
Malaysian General Election these two states helped
the ruling party retain power. The states are also rich
in natural resources, i.e. oil, natural gas, timber, and
mineral deposits. They need these states for political
and financial clout.

2) My guess is the ruling Malaysian government does
not wish to provoke and draw attention to RFS and the
opposition parties there. The ruling government needs
assistance from the people to keep pirates and Islamic
extremists at bay around the Sulu and South China seas,
near Sabah. In this way, the government can show their
is 'Freedom of Speech' (at least for now) and defend their
eastern borders.

3) Having said this, the Malaysian government last year
issued an arrest warrant for Clare Rewcastle Brown, the
founder of RFS. Interestingly the warrant had nothing to
do directly with RFS and their activities, but rather had
more to do with a report she published about the 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The Wall Street
Journal filled a similar report, and again the PM and ruling
government attempted to squelch it. Nothing came of either
charge: Interpol dropped Malaysia's request and the lawsuit
against WSJ will be tied up in the US courts for years. If
anything, the PM and Malaysia's financial image is
tarnished. So, the Malaysian government needs to put
up a good show to her eastern states.

4) You may have noticed RTM only relays Wai FM [11665],
Sarawak FM [9835] and possibly Asyik FM [6050] (all
indigenous-related) broadcasts on short-wave. Gone is
Klasik Nasional, TRAXX FM and a few others. Again, it
looks like the ruling government is demonstrating their
interest and commitment to the people in Sarawak and
Sabah.

In other news, I read the new NBC Bougainville station
was constructed partially to shore up the politics there,
especially after the separatist movement tried to take
control of the island.

Papua Barat, on Borneo, is another place to watch. Like
Sarawak and Sabah, there is talk of succession too. These
places are so far removed from their respective central
governments and the dominant cultures, they are flexing
their muscle. In Sabah alone, the government policies are
very flexible and arbitrary compared to the states in West
Malaysia (where I live)."

Greatly appreciate Timm taking the time to give me such
a detailed analysis of the situation. Very nice to be able to
get a local perspective.

Ron
San Francisco