Tweets 10/10/2015

Tweets   10/10/2015

If China having the population of 1.4 billion can become self-sufficient in rice production, I really cannot understand why Sarawak cannot do it.

It is just like a student who has the ability to score 100% in the test but has no will to do so.  It  again is the ‘tidak apa’ attitudes and ends in so-so result.

What a shame to note that Sarawak can only produce about 53% of the rice needed for its 2.5 million population.  Is it correct to be so self-complacent in this respect?

I believe they know this proverb, “Where there is a will, there is a way.”   I wonder “when there will be a will to ensure the way “.  People are waiting.

A week or so ago, there was a newspaper news about the government going to give free land to people so much to our delight.  My son even went to the department concerned to ask about it.

We were all disappointed finding that there was no such offer to encourage people to opt for farming.  Farming should be a good option for many to get employed.

Rice is our staple food.  I must say I just like rice.  I might cry my heart out if I do not have rice for my meals.  We have rice and porridge for 19 meals.   

My husband and I have porridge, egg and a kind of vegetable for 5 mornings.  On Saturday evening, we often have porridge as we have lunch late. We have rice, fish or pork or both and 2 kinds of vegetables for lunch and  1 kind of vegetable for dinner.

On Saturday morning, I only boil eggs and  a kettle of water.  We are free to eat what we like.  On Sunday morning, we have long-life noodles in chicken soup.

Imagine if one day just in case we could not import rice from the rice producing countries like Thailand, Vietnam and so on, we had daily ration on rice.  Oh, mine, how could I survive?

For the past 33 years, ex-CM Taib Mahmud just issued a lot of licences for large scale oil palm plantations for his own personal gains and interests only.

He and his cronies had no heart for rice cultivation for the sake of food security.  Can we live on palm oil instead of rice to survive?  I surely die without rice as it tastes so nice.

About 40 over years ago or so, I remember there was a time when the rice in town all imported tasted terrible.  I complained loudly to my parents that I could not eat the rice.

I must admit that I have too sensitive tongue and nose to tolerate food that is not fresh or good anymore.  I am always so careful with the choice of rice.

Being able to produce own rice and other agricultural products for self-subsistence should be the hallmark to decide a good or poor governance.   A good government will guard the agricultural sector at all cost.

I am looking forwards to more dynamic leadership in every level to expect a better future and the right direction for development. 

No political will to achieve rice self-sufficiency — Masing (copycat)

No political will to achieve rice self-sufficiency — Masing

October 7, 2015, Wednesday Peter Sibon, reporters@theborneopost.com

Farmers till land for planting paddy on Masing’s land along Kuching-Serian Road. The rice he produces can last his family for a year at least.

KUCHING: There is still a lack of political will to strive for self-sufficiency in rice production in Sarawak which only manages to produce about 53 per cent of the rice consumed by its population of 2.5 million.

As such Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing urged the relevant authorities to put greater emphasis on rice cultivation.

“Food security should be among our priorities and not just submarines and aeroplanes for our defence. We have the land resources and our population is only 2.5 million so there is no reason not to be able to feed ourselves,” Masing told The Borneo Post here yesterday.

He was asked why China with a massive population of 1.4 billion is able to feed its people, whereas Sarawak with a small population depends on imported rice, especially from Thailand and Vietnam.

To become self-sufficient in rice, there was a need to provide better infrastructure such as irrigation in areas suited for rice cultivation such as the Bijat-Stumbin area, Masing said.

“Regular water supply is needed so we are talking about good irrigation network and schemes to develop areas for rice production.

“We cannot keep on importing rice from these countries because if one day they decide not to export rice to us, we will be in trouble,” he said.

When contacted, State Agriculture Department director Datu Lai Kui Fong said the government should put more money into irrigation and research and development (R & D) if it wanted to be self-sufficient in rice.

“We have fertile lands but they are too soft for mechanisation. We need a good irrigation system but implementation is very expensive – between RM35,000 to RM50,000 per hectare,” he said.

Lai said some 5,000 hectares of land in Bijat-Stumbin area had been planted with padi and it would take another five years for 60 per cent self-sufficiency in rice.

He said in the long run, the government also needed good anchor farmers to supplement its padi-planting efforts.

He said apart from Bijat-Stumbin, Bario Highlands had been identified as potential rice bowls.

According to Lai, one of the reasons for low production of rice in the state was the private sector’s lack of enthusiasm since it did not provide good returns.

This was despite the government giving farmers a subsidy of RM1,000 for each hectare of hill paddy planted.

The state government is also cultivating highland crops such as fruits and vegetables in Ulu Baram.

Sarawak currently imports most of its fruits and vegetables from Cameron Highlands and Kundasang in Sabah.

Lai disclosed that Padi Beras Nasional Berhad (Bernas) practises a policy whereby the country must have at least six months of holding stock of rice for emergency needs.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/07/no-political-will-to-achieve-rice-self-sufficiency-masing/#ixzz3o3w4siUI

My comments:

It is good of James Masing to tell the people frankly the problem of the BN government who has failed to prioritise the needs.  

 I believe we can reach 100% self-sufficiency in rice, fruit and vegetable productions for the population in Sarawak and surplus for export if the government has enough political will to help farmers and encourage youths to join in the force of farming.   

If there are enough incentives, I believe, many youths will be most willing to join in the force which someone said would be as hot as real estate business one day.

 

Bad blood cause of water problem (copycat)

Bad blood cause of water problem

October 7, 2015, Wednesday Lian Cheng, reporters@theborneopost.com

Local feud leads to choice of smaller river as water source resulting in constant water shortage

Martin Ben

KUCHING: Traditional feud has led to Kampung Sangai Empani (Kpg Empani) folk opting for a smaller river for their water supply project, which resulted in water shortage whenever the dry season set in.

According to Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben, there was an initial plan by Ministry of Health (MoH) to source the water from Sg Sangai, which would have provided them with a constant source of water.

“The plan was rejected because some villagers from Kpg Empani did not want to share the same water source with those at Kampung Sangai Mawang. That was the start of water shortage problem experienced by Kpg Empani,” Martin told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Initially, there was only one village – Kpg Sangai, named after the Sg Sangai that passes through the village. Due to traditional feud, the village was split into two – Kpg Empani and Kpg Mawang.

In 2013, MoH proposed the construction of a Steward Tray Filtration System (STFS) on Sg Sangai. Kpg Mawang (82 families) which is situated on the upper part of Sg Sangai accepted the proposal while Kpg Empani (86 families) situated downstream refused.

As a result, two dams were built. One on Sg Sangai for the Kpg Mawang folk and the other on Singok River (Sg Singok) as requested by Kpg Empani folk, though MoH had already predicted that water from Sg Singok might not be sufficient due to low volume.

Construction of both dams costing RM171,092 started at the beginning of October 2013 and was completed at the end of November the same year.

Due to high water usage by the villagers and the low water flow from Sg Singok, the system was insufficient to continuously supply water; after three weeks without rain it would run dry as was expected based on the initial assessment by MoH.

The shortage of water in Kpg Empani has prompted Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) Impian Sarawak to construct another dam and gravity feed pipe from Sg Sangai, which was the source originally proposed by MOH but rejected by the villagers two years ago.

After the new dam was constructed, water from the new dam however failed to reach the village. That led to a recent application for the new pipe system to be connected to the reticulation system of Sg Sangai dam built by MOH in 2013.

“The problem of water shortage in Kpg Empani is not due to political discrimination. It was the choice of the villagers. Geographically and facility wise, Kpg Empani and Kpg Mawang are one entity. They share the same road and the same school. They even vote in the same polling station. Social wise, they are inter-related. For the last four and half years, as much as RM600,000 worth of projects have been going to this area.

“However, traditional feud has split them and in recent years, their relationship has worsened due to the exploitation of the opposition,” said Martin.

Despite losing in the polling station of SK Sangai, Martin, who claimed to have grown up as a village boy, said he understood the hardship of living without water.

“In 2014, I requested for funds to build a new dam for Kpg Empani. It was approved by the federal government. And I am waiting for the funds to arrive. But at the same time, DAP’s Sarawak Impian has already built a dam for them. This dam DAP has built is an open dam which does not have any filtration system. The one I proposed is another STFS,” stressed Martin.

Although Impian Sarawak has completed the new dam at Sg Sangai, water from the new dam did not reach the village at all.

This resulted in the recent application for the new pipe system to be connected to the reticulation system of the Sg Sangai system built by MOH in 2013, which was turned down by the Health Department.

Meanwhile, Health Department state director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan explained the application to combine the two sources of water was turned down to avoid possible degradation of water quality.

“The site of the new dam is located just 48 feet above the village, which fails to provide enough pressure to distribute water to the 100 doors.

Secondly, the new dam did not include any filtration system to ensure good water quality compared to the sand filtration system installed by the Health Department, which is effective to filter debris to ensure clean and clear water.

“Mixing the two waters would result in poorer water quality. It could also impact on the reticulation system end points as blockages are prone to occur if the water is not filtered. Due to these reasons, the Health

Department recommended that the two systems remain separate so that the two waters do not mix,” he pointed out.

As he was also informed that Martin had allocated funds for a new gravity feed water supply project for the village, he said the department was ready to provide the expertise and technical know-how for the new project.

“We wish to put that on record that the people’s wellbeing and health remain uppermost in all the decisions,” stressed Dr Zulkifli.

Both Martin and Dr Zulkifli were responding to accusations by DAP state chairman Chong Chieng Jen that the Health Department had chosen a poor water source for the original dam and had denied permission to connect pipes from the new dam to the existing system.

The Rural Water Supply programme in Sarawak is provided by Sarawak Medical Department. It was started in 1963 under its Rural Health Improvement Scheme (RHIS). In 2000, RHIS was changed to Program Bekalan Air dan Sanitasi (Bakas) under the Sarawak State Health Department. The programme continues until today.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/07/bad-blood-cause-of-water-problem/#ixzz3o3deAEQQ

My comments:

What is what, I believe only the villagers from Kampung Sangai Impani can tell what has gone wrong in the first place.  One misstep can lead to a dumpling fall all the way down.  

I wonder why the authority concerned was not making the decision to insist the villagers from the area sharing the same dam and having the same water source for the water supply for the common good. 

I wonder why the authority concerned was not exercising the authority to make the right decision knowing that the villagers would face the said problem of water shortage when the dry spell happens.  

I wonder why the authority concerned fell victim to the indulgent plays of the villagers to build the dam at Sg Singok. 

 

Tale of two villages in Serian (copycat)

Tale of two villages in Serian

October 6, 2015, Tuesday Lim How Pim, reporters@theborneopost.com

Some villagers deprived of water due to break-up of settlements resulting from politics

This man thinks it is a good chance to take a bath as well while collecting water. — Photo courtesy of DAP

An elderly man waits for his turn to get water from the pipe in Kampung Sangai Empani.

KUCHING: The situation in Kampung Sangai Empani in Serian, where some 90 households are facing poor water supply, appears confusing because the villagers are divided due to different political orientations.

According to the DAP, the Ministry of Health (MoH) constructed a gravity feed water system in the village two years ago but the source selected by the ministry is said to have insufficient water, which led to dry taps and the problem escalated during the dry season. However, The Borneo Post learned from a MoH source that the matter was more political rather than an issue over water.

“The kampung (village) is now divided into two due to political orientation. The first water supply built by MoH is still functioning,” said the source.

Still, according to the DAP, as the selected water source failed the villagers, the only way for them to get water was to walk for two kilometres just to reach an alternative source.

They had been forced to fetch water by making the 2km walk until the DAP’s Impian Sarawak team figured out a way to construct another pipeline to bring the water to the village.

Just when villagers in Kampung Sangai Empani thought the water supply issue would no longer haunt them, the ministry issued a letter to prohibit the team from connecting the new pipe to the existing distribution network within the village.

The official letter, dated Aug 28 this year, informed the villagers that no connection could be done. A copy of it was also delivered to Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben.

At a news conference yesterday, state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen asked the government why people of Kampung Sangai Empani were denied the basic human right to water.

“This is a ridiculous scenario but it is happening. The DAP Impian Sarawak team has found a better water source with more supply and constructed the pipeline leading from the said water source to the kampung.

“However, when we were about to connect our pipe to the existing distributing network within the kampung, MoH issued a letter, saying that the connection could not be done. As a result, the people had to carry water from our pipe to their houses and then the taps in their houses had no water coming out.”

“You can see children, women and old folks carrying pails of water from the pipe to their houses,” he said in the presence of members of Kampung Sangai Empani Clean Water Supply Committee.

Chong, who is also Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, queried whether Martin had made a complaint and requested the health officer to order the prohibition.

If Martin did not make any request, he asked why the official letter was copied only to him, and not to Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot as well.

“Richard Riot is equally an elected representative in the area, why ADUN only and not MP? Based on what Martin told an online news portal, he supported the move of MoH, saying that villagers should request first. He is talking about irrelevant matter when people do not even have water.

“In the interest of people of Kampung Sangai Empani, Martin Ben should be the first person to jump with joy when the water problem of the said village is resolved by the Impian Sarawak project.”

He also pointed out that the DAP’s Impian Sarawak team spent less than RM50,000 to purchase pipes and other material for the project while MoH had doled out more than RM300,000 for it.

“I have checked with our team on the ground, even with the cost connecting our pipe to the distributing network which would be about RM40,000, the total cost would be less than RM100,000. And we were told that MoH spent more than RM300,000. How can there be such a great discrepancy of costs?”

Chong stressed that they would give Martin and MoH two days to resolve the problem, by issuing a letter to allow the connection.

Failing this, he said they would approach the higher authority for further action. He added seeking help from the World Health Organisation or even the United Nations would be their last resort.

Meanwhile, the MoH source said because of the break-up of the kampong, the new kampong, which is more inclined towards DAP, has no water supply when their water source was blocked by the other kampong.

“DAP Impian Sarawak is actually trying to connect the water to the existing distributing system which MoH fears would not be sufficient for everybody and that DAP’s project is not right to their homes.

“A feasibility study needs to be done before any connection to the existing distributing system of MoH,” the source said.

State health director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan when contacted said his ministry would issue an official statement today.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/06/tale-of-two-villages-in-serian/#ixzz3nxuUXciH

Tweets 5/10/2015

Tweets 5/10/2015

Please undo unnecessary paper work and so unnecessary burden for teachers so that they will have time for in depth and width studies of the subjects they are teaching.

华小有三语教学是100%好事.  如果三语可以[9种词类]串通，更完美了。 以BM讲什么东西，就马上连线华文和英文的对等的什么东西。这一来，不是[一石三鵰]吗？ 比如，[头梳]，英文是comb，那么马来文呢？句子做对比更好玩。 每堂语言课，就来玩玩一下子这种三语单字或句子串通的游戏。

句子做对比真的很好玩。Saya gembira.  (代名词+形容词)。我是快乐的。（代名词+静态动词+形容词）。 I am happy.  (代名词+Verb-to-be动词+形容词)。 我对英文词类有足够的认知。我很肯定只要花功夫去了解其他语言是没有什么难的。我对华文的结构了解没有很完整。因为我还没有真正去研究过。我对华语流利度完全靠接触/language exposure。这种频密接触后的所生产的语感/language sense/intuition.

如果我对华文的结构了如指掌，那会更完美的。我对马来文的认识不多，所以有欠缺单字的问题。 不然，我肯定运用马来文也不会是问题，因为我有相当强的英文语言的基本功来了解其他两语。我发现我对英文了解越多，我对它越有兴趣。同时，我也很想更了解华文和马来文的语言结构。语言只不过是一种工具，但是就是这么有趣。