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!