Saturday, 18 July 2015

Death of a white elephant (copy&paste)

Death of a white elephant

July 17, 2015, Friday Lian Cheng, reporters@theborneopost.com

Tourism Ministry has no plans to revive Pelagus Resort spelling the end of the ill-fated project

Some locals believe the huge rocks responsible for creating whirlpools that drowned many boats and lives were part and parcel of the package that made Pelagus Resort special.

KUCHING: The State Tourism Ministry has no plans to revive the Pelagus Resort which has ceased operation since Oct 2010.

Its minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg told The Borneo Post that at the moment, the ministry did not intend to revive the resort which is situated in the midst of a rainforest about one hour boat ride from Kapit town.

The RM6-million resort which was built based on classic wooden Iban longhouse style has been abandoned for five years – a giant white elephant in the middle of lush green setting in the upper reaches of the mighty Rajang, reachable only after passing treacherous rapids.

Former Pelagus assemblyman Larry Sng when contacted said he hoped to see the resort revived as it was an important tourism attraction in Kapit.
“There has been a lack of tourism attraction in Kapit and the little that we have is forgotten,” said the Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) president. He said if the resort were to be abandoned, the government had to come up with a new tourism product to replace it. When The Borneo Post

Adventure Team 5 was there, some locals pointed out that the Pelagus Resort became a tourist attraction because of the notorious Pelagus Rapids but with the boulders blasted away, the resort had lost its edge.

The argument was countered by other locals who pointed out that the 40-room resort had been losing visitors due to the lack of promotion as it had long lost its charm even before the blasting of the huge rocks in the river.

The resort also suffered from poor accessibility as the only way to reach the it is from Sibu by taking a three-hour express boat ride to Kapit. From Kapit, one has to take another hour boat ride to reach this resort that a visitor had described as ‘delightfully remote’.

A check showed that some of the most popular online travelling advisory websites still mention Pelagus Resort in their recommended list under hotels in Kapit though there is a reminder that reservation cannot be made through the websites. The reviews were all outdated – the earliest ones in 2009 and most of them said Pelagus resort had great potential but lacked activities for visitors to participate.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/07/17/death-of-a-white-elephant/#ixzz3gHj9bmm1

My comments:

典故：[江山易改，本性难移]。我认为是【江山易改，习性难移】。你们说贪官怎样能不贪污。习惯真的会变成自然。习惯是人的第二个本能（It is said “Habits are the second nature”. So a complete change is a must, turning or like somersaulting M into W ）。 Or corruption and collusion go recycling in a vicious cycle and we will all in the whirlpool of helpless and frustration as well as desperation. We shall see the Greek situations happen here in no time.

It is assly stupid to staunchly support the BN government when the leaders 95%, I see, are rottenly abusive and corrupt .

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

Teacher’s innovative dam project saves the day (copy&paste)

Teacher’s innovative dam project saves the day

July 8, 2015, Wednesday

Councillor Bakat points to the frontage of SMK Balleh.

Speedy Bena Albert Luna

Wilson (right) points to the new coffer dam. Looking on are (from left) teacher Casey John, Manggai, Councillor Bakat and PRS Balleh member David Sanggau.

KAPIT: The innovative idea of a teacher at SMK Balleh, Wilson William, 27, has saved the school from running out of clean treated water.
About two weeks ago, he went to see the principal Speedy Bena Albert Luna with his proposal to build a small dam at Sungai Sekara, about a 25-minute walk from the school.

“When the principal said yes, he quickly mobilised the teachers and students to carry out the project on a ‘gotong-royong’ (work party) basis.
“The principal approved a grant of RM500 from the school’s parents-teachers association (PTA) fund and we managed to complete the project in two days, about a week ago,” Wilson told BAT 5 at the school yesterday, which is about two hours’ boat-ride from here.

He was beaming with pride when asked what had prompted him to come up with the innovative idea.

“It’s due to our needs that I came out with the idea and I am used to this kind of situation as I also come from rural Pakan,” Wilson said.
C_PC0006659

He said if the dam had not been built on time, the school would have run out of treated water by now.

“With raw water from the new dam, it is then pumped to the water treatment plant for processing to ensure that we have clean and safe water for consumption,” said Speedy, who then had to rush to Sibu due to work commitment.

The school’s chief warden Manggai Entu, 29, said he was instructed by the principal to get the teachers and students to carry materials such as sand, gravels and cements to the site.

“When we do things on ‘gotong-royong’ basis, it’s easier to complete any given task,” said the shy Wilson.
However, he hoped the dry spell would not affect the transportation of diesel needed to run the school’s four generator sets, which are running round-the-clock.

“If fuel cannot be sent here when the Balleh River is too shallow, then we have no choice but to get our water supply directly from Balleh River. But we hope that we wouldn’t have to reach that critical stage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, when contacted, said he was very happy with the innovative efforts of the school and promised he would assist the school financially to build a stronger coffer dam at the present site.

“I will assist in whatever ways to ensure that teachers and students of SMK Balleh have clean and treated water for consumption,” Masing, who is Baleh assemblyman, said.

SMK Balleh is built to cater to students from longhouses in upper Balleh River. The school has about 300 students in Form 1 to 5, and 36 teachers. All the students are boarders.

The school operates only in the morning as the students’ population is small.

Bravo! That’s right! Improve the conditions you can through “gotong-royong” and remember to claim the expenses incurred for any projects to improve the lot of the students or people from the assemblyman of your area.

Don’t forget each of the BN state assemblymen is allocated RMONE million for MRP. It’s 52 years since Sarawak joined the Malaysia Federation and what a shame to see the lack of this vital element in life.

Monday, 6 July 2015

Call for a new wakil rakyat, basic infrastructure in Katibas(copy&paste)

Call for a new wakil rakyat, basic infrastructure in Katibas

Posted on July 6, 2015, Monday

TR Sunning Sigon (left) and TR Jabu Braok.

Toh Tze Hua

SONG: The voice of the grassroots here is very clear – BN must field a new face for Katibas in the coming state election.

“It’s not that we are against the incumbent, but he has been there for too long. We want a new face for Katibas to lead us with new ideas,” Tuai Rumah Suning Sigon, 60, told BAT 5 here yesterday.

He described the livelihood of his people at Rumah Suning in Nanga Nayai, Ulu Katibas, as ‘merinsa’ (tough and challenging) as they depended solely on river transport to get to Song and send their children to schools.

“We really need a road to Ulu Katibas area, one that will connect at least 100 longhouses. For now, just to go to Song town by boat will take at least six hours. We need to spend at least RM360 on fuel alone and a return trip would double the cost.

“During dry spell, like now, we might sometimes have to spend the night at the karangan (pebble beach) because some parts of Katibas River are too shallow for navigation.”

He pointed out that it was high time the government come good with its promise to develop the rural areas and improve connectivity.

“When there is a road, it could open up more land as well as provide better mobility for those living upriver.

“Now, even if we have products, such as vegetables, fish and meat, we can’t sell it in Song town because by the time we reach the town, our products will be spoilt.

“On top of that, if there were a road leading to the longhouses, we can easily send our children to school either in Song town or to SMK Katibas.”

For Tuai Rumah Jabu Braok, 59, of Rumah Richard Taggong in Ng Chemerong, Ulu Katibas, he hoped the BN would field someone who has the heart to serve the people.

“We have the same assemblyman for the last 35 years. I personally think we need new blood to lead us so that we can have better infrastructure such as electricity and water.”

Jabu said his people had to depend on generators and gravity feed.

“With the fluctuating price of fuel, it’s very difficult to depend on own generator sets because it would be too expensive to maintain, and with the increasing cost of living, life is tough because our income remain stagnant. That’s why we need electricity supply from the government.”

Former councillor, Toh Tze Hua, too, hoped the BN would field a new face to bring the necessary infrastructure to the whole district.

“We need more roads and infrastructure, especially to link us to Ulu Katibas. The people of Ulu Katibas have been supporting the government, but they do not have the necessary infrastructure to improve their livelihood.

“The government must take care of them as they have been strong supporters of the BN.

“If they have roads, at least they could open up more land for agriculture and large scale plantation. Now, even if they have agriculture products, they can’t market them at Song town because it not economically viable.”

Toh also hoped the ‘missing’ link from Temalat, some 7km from here, would be linked to Ngemah soon with the approval of RM87 million as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently.

The so-called ‘missing’ link is about 9.6 km, which is between Temalat and Ngemah – not far from Kanowit.

Toh also hoped the government would construct a new wharf in Song as the present one was very dangerous for passengers of express boats as it had no metal railings.

“Besides that, the government must also improve electricity and water supplies as well as communication services, especially the Internet in Song town. Presently, these basic necessities are unreliable and often broke down.

“As a result of that, the only bank we have here is also not reliable. This has caused us a lot of inconveniences.”

However, he commended Kapit MP cum Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi for being very helpful to the people of Song and Katibas constituencies.

“But he also can’t do much as he has to respect the local elected representative. So, the only logical move for the BN leadership is to have a new face in Katibas in the coming state election.”

Toh was optimistic the BN could easily defend Katibas in the state polls as it has been its stronghold all these while.

Katibas has been represented by Datuk Ambrose Blikau of PBB for the last 35 years.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/07/06/call-for-a-new-wakil-rakyat-basic-infrastructure-in-katibas/#ixzz3fBFA1KVj

My comments:
Don't be stubbornly/assly stupid to insist for the BN leadership when you have the choice for a better one to choose from. In the past, you were so helplessly tethered by the situation called "no choice ". Now, you have the choice. So, consider the opposite pact for a choice for your own good. Change for your own good!

The opposite pact may not win the whole election but it is the beginning to towards better life conditions. It is only when threatened, the BN government /agency/political thugs may come to their senses to serve the people with due care. Believe in me.

Back to square one(copy &paste)

Back to square one

Posted on July 6, 2015, Monday

Recent solution to SMK Katibas’ power and water woes was good for about a month only

SMK Katibas.

SONG: The situation in SMK Katibas has reverted to its miserable state, barely a month after the issue of lack of power and water was said to have been addressed.

Students of this boarding school now survive on two 500ml of bottled drinking water each day, rationed by the school. Longhouse headman Jabu Braok, from Ulu Katibas, claimed these two bottles of water were insufficient for his granddaughter, a Form 2 student of SMK Katibas. It gets worse for his granddaughter when there are extra co-curriculum activities.

“Water is still a problem in SMK Katibas. This is the situation that she had to endure for the last two months.

“It is quite hard for many children, but since they wanted to study, they remained in the school,” Jabu told the BAT 5 team when met at a local coffeeshop yesterday.

On April 24, the last of four generators powering SMK Katibas – a boarding school located about an hour’s boat ride from Song town – broke down. Since that day, the school was not only plunged into total darkness whenever the sun sets, but it had no clean water supply as the water pumps needed electricity to work. Without electricity and water, SMK Katibas’ student population dwindled from 350 to 20 on May 8 because the students preferred to stay home in their longhouses rather than attend school.

After the issue was highlighted in The Borneo Post, Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah responded by explaining that the whole situation should not have happened as the government had given a contractor, Icon Enterprises Sdn Bhd, RM21 million to maintain the generators of 14 schools in Katibas including SMK Katibas.

The contract period is from from Jan 1, 2015, to Dec 31, 2016, and the contractor was duly informed of the electricity supply failure on April 28 and 30.

The Education Department then instructed the company to take action to ensure no interruption of power supply and to repair the broken generators. The contractor, however, did not budge.

The Education Department then instructed the Education District Officer and the principal to identify companies in Song or Sibu to rent generators as a temporary measure to solve the problem.

A total of RM15,000 for diesel and RM13,000 for the rental of the generators per month were allocated to any quarter that could help solve the problem.

SMK Katibas Co-operative of Song responded by taking the initiative to rent three sets of generators of 3,000kw, 4,000kw and 650kw, two pumps, and two filter drums for RM13,000 per month.

The Borneo Post was told then that SMK Katibas got back to its feet and continued to serve students from 140 longhouses in Katibas area.

Jabu said all the students and staff now had to go to the streams nearby to bathe and do their laundry.

“Parents and grandparents like us are frustrated and angry, but we can’t do anything. We don’t want the school to close as we can’t pay for our children or grandchildren to go to the school in town.

“It costs us RM350 one way to go to Song as my longhouse is a six-hour boat ride from Song. A return trip would mean RM700. Who has that kind of money?”

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/07/06/back-to-square-one/#ixzz3fBDoYqIp

My comments:
It is due to the abuse and corruption that turn the situation into such a sour state. Be aggressive enough to demand for your rights to counteract your plights to right the wrongs this good-for-nothing thug-like leaders done to you.

Song hardly a song in so many aspects (copy & paste)

Song hardly a song in so many aspects

Posted on July 6, 2015, Monday

Work on the Katibas Bridge in progress. Once completed, it will provide the necessary link between Song and Kapit.

Sibu Express Boat Terminal buzzing with people.

Jalan Takan is still a gravel road.

The abandoned SMK Song II project. Toh hopes the project can be turned into a technical centre to train locals from Song, Kapit and Kanowit.

Toh points to the waterfront, which lacks proper railings, while some parts of the jetty are in bad shape.

Disembarking from express boats at Song wharf is a balancing act.

Temalak Road leads to a dead end.

Enjoying the fresh air and the magnificent view outside the moving express boat.

Development has been slow in Song.

SONG: Issues of accessibility and development remain central among the people of Song District, whose population has shrunk from over 22,000 in 1999 to about 14,000 only at present.

Song is isolated as it is only accessible by express boats along the Rejang River. Our journey from Sibu to Song took about two hours, passing a number of small riverine towns and longhouses.

The Sibu Express Boat Passenger Terminal, where we boarded the express boat, was noisy and busy. It was crowded with people embarking and disembarking from vessels.

Express boats that ply the routes to small towns like Song and Kapit lined the harbour, while the terminal’s waiting area was cluttered with luggage and baggage as passengers wait for boarding time.

Toot! Toot! The vessels blew their horns to signal for us to leave the dock. Two hours later, we were at Song town.

Its wharf was cramped with people as every vessel that landed there will drop and carry passengers in and out of this town. After grabbing a simple lunch, we met up with former Song Councillor, Toh Tze Hua, who was very helpful. He willingly shared his experiences, views and speaks up for the people of this town.

Toh said there was an urgent need to either build a new wharf or at least refurbish and upgrade the present one for safety reasons.

“It is dangerous for passengers as the stairs leading up the jetty are not railed, and the platform is in a bad shape. Numerous repair works have been done, but it is still not good enough,” Toh told BAT 5 yesterday.

“The condition is, I dare say, critical.” On life in Song town, he said the unreliable electricity and water supplies were quite often unbearable. He claimed power trips due to fluctuating electricity supply were frequent, sometimes once or twice a day.

“This problem brings so much inconvenience, making life even more difficult than it already is for the people here.

“When the power is down at night, we would have to grope around in complete darkness.”

Apparently, this town sometimes does get an ‘overdose’ of power sometimes.

Toh revealed that the polyclinic caught fire recently after the refrigerator used to store medicines malfunctioned due to excessive current. Fortunately, volunteers at the Fire Department managed to put it out in time.

The unstable electricity supply also triggered a domino effect in Song town, cutting off water supply and causing the system at various facilities, especially the bank, to go bonkers.

“When there is no electricity, there will be no water.” During our short stay in Song, we were worried as there was no water running through the tap for a couple of hours. Locals also complained they had been experiencing dry taps since 11am, which caused the kopitiam where we met Toh and other kopitiams in town to close at about 2pm.

The fact that there was no water definitely worries us since we are dying for a bath after a long day under the scorching sun.

As if these problems were not bad enough, we were told that the ATM in the only bank in town was always out of service due to the unstable electricity supply and poor internet connection.

How can we, immeasurably blessed city folks, survive here? Just listening to the list of problems gave us a headache.

Vision 2020 is a mere five years away, but Song is still only accessible by river.

This definitely decelerates any development or economic growth here in Song.

“I hope the government can build a road to link Song bazaar and Ulu Katibas to help improve the lives of the natives there.

“We would be happy enough if the Song-Kapit road can be completed by 2020.” Toh said the long-awaited Song-Kapit road, which is slated to be completed in 2017, was only 11.9 per cent completed even though the project started last October.

To improve connectivity between Song and Kanowit, he also hoped the Temalat-Ngemah Road, which is considered the ‘missing link’, could be implemented soon with the allocation announced by the prime minister recently.

Despite all these, Toh said the locals would continue to support the BN government, but they hoped the BN would field a new candidate to replace the incumbent, whom he described as having “long overstayed”.

“We just want a new person to bring us much more development so that we can catch up with other towns and cities in the country. We cannot be left isolated here forever. Something must be done.”

And as it is, life stops completely after 4pm, after the last express boat departs Song’s wharf for Sibu and Kapit.

What a shame to see such poor facilities and services. I wonder if the representatives be they state / national feel ashamed of themselves for not working hard enough for the people. Have they been vocal enough to request for the basic amenities for the peoples who have been the staunch support of the BN government?

I hope the people will stand firm in 2016 in their determination to change for good.

Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Unfulfilled promises bog down assemblyman

Posted on July 2, 2015, Thursday

Yussibnosh pointing to the site of the new SK Tellian which is located opposite the old school. Seen with him is his wife Elizabeth Nelson.

The new petrol station in Mukah town.

MUKAH: Yussibnosh Balo, the assemblyman for Balingian, is a frustrated person as most of the promises to improve the livelihood of the people in his constituency have been slow to materialise, especially from the federal government.

Among the seven wishes of the constituents, only one has been fulfilled which is for more petrol stations to be built in Mukah town.

Before the by-election which was held in March last year, Mukah had only one petrol station but now it has three and Yussibnosh believed more petrol stations would be set up soon.

“The people from Tellian village have been waiting for 12 years for a new primary school to be built. And now even their adopted school at SK Mukah is also getting crowded. This makes the villagers feel very frustrated,” Yussibnosh told BAT V here yesterday.

On his part, he said he had been working very hard to get these projects through and hoped the new SK Tellian could be completed by 2018.

“The site has been identified and it’s going to be cleared soon. The tender will be opened in August and hopefully the project could begin by end of this year,” he said.

As for the proposed SMK Balingian, the site has been identified but the funds have yet to come.

“For these two schools, the education ministry should play a much bigger role by putting in more urgency into the projects. But I have been following up with the ministry so that it could speed up these projects,” he said.

Yussibnosh who won the Balingian by-election in March last year revealed that earthworks on the proposed new Mukah Airport were now about 30 per cent completed.

“As for the new water treatment plant for Mukah, works are now in progress. The whole project would involve three packages. We really want the new water treatment plant to be completed soon because the need for water here has really increased tremendously especially for the industries as Mukah is the headquarters of SCORE projects.

“We still face shortage of water now and again especially during festive seasons and school holidays. The Mukah water treatment plant also caters to the needs of consumers in Dalat,” he said.

As for the sixth wish, which is to build three concrete bridges for the Melanau villages near Balingian town; only the one located at Kpg Baru is currently under construction.

“There are at least two more new bridges that need to be built soon as the present ones are already old and unsafe for use especially for heavy vehicles,” he said

He added that the perimeter survey to determine boundaries of native customary rights (NCR) land, especially among the Ibans, was on-going.

On the seventh wish, which is for more development for Balingian sub-district, Yussibnosh said he would continue to push for more as currently there was no development in Balingian bazaar.

Before the Balingian by-election last year, The Borneo Post came up with a wish list for the people of Balingian constituency comprising Mukah district and Balingian sub-district.

The list included the building of two schools – SK Kpg Tellian and SMK Balingian – clean water supply, new Mukah airport, development for Balingian sub-district, an additional petrol station and the rebuilding of Kpg Baru bridge.

Other wishes later raised by the people and approved by the government included changing temporary occupation permit (TOL) to permanent land titles and financial assistance for the Chinese school in Mukah town.

My comments:

Nowadays, it is not easy for the political thugs to fool around without being condemned for the products not delivered in time and in quality.

Labahua

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Saturday, 18 July 2015