The Mentality of........

The mentality of………….                                 4Nov2012

          Why is our beloved state, Sarawak, 20+ years behind Peninsular Malaysia, our colonial power?  My affirmed answers are, for sure, because of the poor, lousy, apathetic, self-denial and lackadaisical attitudes of our representatives.  Besides, our chief ministers especially Taib Mahmud and his cronies have not been doing their work.  They are too indulgent and self-interest minded to care about the proper and good  development of the state.

          So, “Difficult to maintain roads, drains in Sibu ------Tiong”  (Tuesday, 30Oct2012, Home, The Borneo Post).  How can we expect improvement to have the representatives like Tiong Thai King?  That is why for years at least 16 years, we constant faced floods, small ones, medium ones and big ones all the time.  And our representatives like late Robert Lau, Tiong Thai King, Wong  Soon Koh……………told us continuously that it was because our beloved town, Sibu was in low-lying area to beat the floods.  

Many Ah Gou and Ah Mau Sibuans like under hypnosis or spell.   They believed so.  Until one after another became enlightened and aware that water forever and ever flows downwards.  It is forever and ever possible to channel the mass of water properly with some proper actions to be taken.  Hence, we roared up and down in anger for being betrayed, tricked and cheated for so long.  We expressed our anger in the 2006 state election and in the 2010 state election, we were even fiercer and more daring.  70% of the people as far as I have observed have broken off being tethered by their leaders.  They have adopted independent and critical attitudes towards their leaders and different policies.

          Hence many people like me started to find out the reasons for floods in Sibu which after all is not so low-lying below water-level like Holland. Why was it flooded like Holland?  We discovered that it was due to the poor drainage and we had identified the causes for them and forced them to take actions to mitigate floods.  Our chief ministers, ministers and high ranking officials had not been doing their work properly.  With so much uproar and down-roar,  they were finally forced to some actions.  Hence, we do not see floods like those we saw before 2011.  They have resolved about 60% of the woes of flood in Sibu.  When it rains, I still see the rise of water ‘Kopi-coloured’  the stagnated water in the monsoon drains.  For the water, “Teh tarik” in colour, it is the spilling over of the water from the Rejang River.  We learnt these facts through sincere and honest observations for our own good for the improvement of our beloved town, Sibu.

          For roads, well…………… is Sibu so peaty as claimed by our representatives / ministers?  Like floods, they have also intrigued me so much so that I was prompted to investigate.  Being a very curious and inquisitive person, I set out to study all those tall and tall buildings in Sibu.  Of course, the first building came to mind was Wisma Sanyan, one of the important landmarks in Sibu.  When was it built?  ………built in 199?.  Is the building 10+.  I have no idea.  How many floors does it have?  I have no idea, either.  But I know it is a very tall and tall building.  Is it the tallest building in Sibu?  I am not sure.  But one thing I am sure is that it is still standing tall and straight.  It is not tilt at all like Pica Tower in Italy (?).  Why (waI/ hwaI)?

I hope Tiong Thai King will answer for us.  Then he will understand why the row of the low-cost, single-storey-terraced houses at Lane 3 along Jalan Poh Yew, Sibu, Sarawak that collapsed a week ago.  Alamat! What a curse!  What a pity!  What a shame!  But those poor Ah Gous and Ah Maus still do not know who are to blame for their plights.  These people have been treated as fools because they have behaved like………….. so, so, so….. what to say.  Face the wall and think as hard as the wall of Wisma Sanyan or Kingwood Hotel to find out the truth. 

          Another good example of good tall buildings in Sibu is Kingwood Hotel which I would like to share with all generously as far as peaty soil and land of Sibu is concerned.  I seldom go to this place.  I have been to this place a few times only to attend feasts of one kind or another.  I have the impression that some of the legs of the building are built in the Rejang River.  Am I right?  Find it out for us.  This building is also really impressive to me / holds me at awe.  What the fear of peaty soil / land to good and honest and sincere constructors, I often think happily for Sibuans. 

          With the easy access to modern technologies and equipments, what is impossible to accomplish.  Is it so difficult to gauge and access each inch of the land in Sibu to find out how peaty it is?  Is it a responsible behaviour to be seated in such a high chair and tell all it is difficult to maintain roads and drains in Sibu when you have only blurred and blurred ideas about the general soil conditions in Sibu.  Be specific to tackle the problems once and for all or step down for his own good.  It is really not nice if he is forced to be unseated, right? 

If it is really “People first!” as sloganed blasting all over Malaysia.  Prove it.  The first proof is being able to get the right amount of allocation funds to upgrade the roads and drains.  As MP for 20? Years, how much has Tiong Thai King voiced out strongly without fear for us and how much has he done for us?  Being a Christian, he should touch the Bible and declare himself.

          To prevent road sinking, the first and foremost step is to build concrete drain retention wall properly.  99.9% of Sibuans are convinced of this hard fact to prevent road sinking in Sibu.  For those areas which are really soft, we know where and people, I am sure, are so very clear how our SMC should do and what suggestions to give to improve and solve the problems once and for all. 

          The 100% land at the Sibu bus terminal  is soft and unsteady.  But the 2-storey terraced shop-houses with the strong foundation  are standing straight and tall.  The roads on the other hand, are sinking and so uneven.  Thus many people say driving there  is just like horse-riding there.  waI………………………? 

Tiong Thai King, the chairman of SMC let go of the developer so easily without the proper treatment of the roads.  The roads there, knowing that the land is soft and unsteady and I wonder why the roads are not reinforced properly to allow the permit.  Why is Tiong Thai King so good and kind to the developer?  Is it as what people say that corruption and collusion make things so easy for the developers to make do for what they have not done well.   

Since this place is really so soft and peaty, reinforcement platforms should be demanded by SMC to guard for the interests of the public in general.  But our SMC chairman, Tiong Thai King who has been seated there for too long to think well and right for us.   The road conditions in this place no doubt is a good proof of the quality of the SMC led by Tiong Thai King.

Now let’s me show you another place called Fortune Commercial centre at Chiew Siik Hiong (developed by Joseph housing design and co.).  Our general impression of the place here is also soft and peaty, for sure.  But Joseph Ting (of Joseph housing design and Co.) has built the roads and shop-houses on reinforcement platforms!   I think this is the first place which initiated to build shop-houses on the reinforcement platforms.  I always hold so much respect for this developer who is so responsible and wise as he did not take the place for granted and built the shop-houses that would collapse in the course of time without any forewarning like the single-storey terraced houses at Lane 3 Jalan Pow Yew, Sibu, Sarawak.  I wonder who was the developer and the ministers and high ranking officials who signed the approval and the SMC chairman giving the permits?  What a curse and shame!

Those low-cost houses in Sibu Jaya, Sibu

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Those low-cost houses in Sibu Jaya, Sibu, Sarawak               28Oct2012

          Those low-cost houses in Sibu Jaya, Sibu, Sarawak are one of the live evidences and proofs of the poor quality of the BN government led by Taib Mahmud and his cronies.  Who are the “ wolf-hearted and dog-lunged” (狼心狗肺) ministers who signed the documents to approve and permit such kennel-like houses to exist?   These houses are well-evidenced of corruption, collusion, cold, apathy and greed of the developer(s) and Taib Mahmud and his cronies, blind and deaf,  as well as the high ranking officials in the ministries concerned.  We people are indeed at the mercy of these greedy and hyena-like political thugs.

          With such low and poor quality of houses, people, no doubt, have to resort to renovate and extend their houses to alleviate uncomfortable housing  living conditions.  Some more daring and desperate ones, of course, extend the houses upwards/ vertically as they can’t extend the houses horizontally much with limited space allocated by the authorities concerned. 

          Now we have a case exposed in the See Hua Daily Newspapers (27Oct2012).  The Siahs at No. 1J Lane 7D  Sibu Jaya housing estate has extended the house vertically and jeopardised the next-door in many ways in their attempt to detach their link.  Is it not the curse Taib Mahmud and his cronies who brought to us people?  I often imagine how desperate I would feel living in such a poor quality lousy house.  Dear brethren, young and old, male and female, let’s feel for them in heart and mind. 

          Of course, the affected next-door neighbour, surnamed Liu feels upset, frustrated and exasperated, too when the Siahs next-door has dis-stablised her house in one way or another and dis-array the electricity cables.  Hence she lodged a complaint to the District council but no action has taken so far.  I think Mdm Liu was ignorant of the real culprit of her plights and distress.  Actually, the district office is in dilemma as they know very well they should ‘beat up’ the developer, the ministers and those high ranking officials for  the plights, menace, distress and anguish they created for the people. 

          I hope someone capable who is kind, good and truthful will form a house buyer association and I promise I will be the first member to join it.  This association is  to help organise protests or sue the developers and government for not setting the right measurements for the houses for the people especially, the poor.   We should rally for our own good.

          Lately, I have also come across a case in Bukit Lima Timur.  My friend Lau and her husband, Siah live in a double-storey terraced house.  I went to their house for a look as I am a very curious person.  I wanted to see the housing conditions there.  The double-storey terraced houses where they live were built with so much saved/ stolen cost of labour and materials (偷工减料).  They are poor but they were forced to borrow money from a relative who was also not rich to extend the canopy outside the kitchen as Lau has to do cooking outside the kitchen.  With the limited money borrowed, she only has the canopy and some simple structures constructed for the stove and gas tank. 

          The door and windows downstairs of their house have just been barred up with the advanced money from Siah’s boss.  Their house has been burgled 3 times as they opened a window  downstairs to ventilate but it let in the burglars.  They are too poor to afford an air conditioner in the house.  To avoid the heat upstairs, they room downstairs.  Hence the sitting room is their sitting room and also their bedroom (multi-purpose).  Luckily, they only have a son to support.

          For 10 over years, they have been disturbed again and again when their 3D next-door  neighbour extends and renovates the house every now and then.  The noise and dust from drilling can be so nerve-racking.  Hence my friend and her 3 D neighbours are not in good terms.  These poor people, I think, are too ignorant to know whom they should band up to fight against.  Hence, I can only comfort her and tell her the truth of her plight hoping that she could bear her nasty neighbour a bit more.

          All in all, I really think that a person does not need too much right to give births more than three.  I really think a person must have his full right to demand for a standard living housing conditions with the right measurements for  houses in the so called ‘planned housing development’.  Don’t ever exploit and plunder the people, especially the poor.  Before you sign the approval and permits for any housing projects, always think of your palace-like mansion and thus ensure the right and decent measurements for houses for  people.  Please guard the interests for the people, not yourselves and the developers!

          What actions do you think our district councils or Sibu municipal councils can take to those 90% of house owners in Sibu who extend their houses horizontally or vertically or both?  I have even heard that some people rich enough even knocked down their houses to rebuild to their taste.  

          What would happen if the small kitchens and poor living  housing conditions make the women so angry that they start to revolt against the BN government.  It is when they have come to the full awareness whom to blame of their plights.   When women start to revolt, they might think of tearing down the palace-like mansions of Taib Mahmud, Wong Soon Koh, Tiong Thai King  ……………