Partnership aims to improve ICT in rural areas

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/25/partnership-aims-to-improve-ict-in-rural-areas/


by Ghaz Ghazali ghazghazali@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 25, 2011, Monday


WIN-WIN PARTNERSHIP: Fitri (left) and Captain Nawawi pose next to a VSAT unit at the Ba Kelalan STOL port.

BARIO/BA KELALAN: The collaboration between Maxis Bhd (Maxis) and MASwings Sdn Bhd (MASwings) is slated towards developing the information and communication technology (ICT) connectivity in rural areas of East Malaysia.

With regards to this, MASwings had installed a number of satellite system VSAT (very-small-aperture-terminal) units at several ‘short take-off and landing’ (STOL) port stations in the state as part of its plan to enhance MASwings operational capabilities towards better services to its rural customers.

MASwings’ managing director Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang said the facility would, amongst others, allow the airline to use on-line data and telephony communications that would make internet access, automated check-ins, load-sheet processing and other reservation as well as e-ticketing applications possible.

“Under the first phase of VSAT project development, MASwings will make these services available in Bario and Ba Kelalan and to extend to other four STOL port stations — Long Akah, Long Seridan, Long Lellang and Long Banga — under phase two in the immediate future.

“We have installed VSAT facility in Bario and Ba Kelalan since December 2009; by which the project had benefitted MASwings and the communities at these two stations,” he told The Borneo Post during the launching of these VSATs in Bario and Ba Kelalan.

Apart from MASwings online operations, the VSAT units would also be used to set up basic GSM services for voice and SMS for the people of these rural communities.

Meanwhile, Maxis’ senior vice president and head of business services, Fitri Abdullah believed that the collaboration was truly a ‘win-win’ proposition by both companies; at the same time, benefitting the communities in the rural areas.

“It has been two years since I met up with Datuk Seri Idris Jala (then the managing director of Malaysia Airline, the parent holdings of MASwings) to discuss about the idea to set up VSATs with nano-based station system at STOL ports in rural areas within Sarawak and Sabah, serviced by MASwings.

“In saying this, we are proud to partner with MASwings to develop the ICT infrastructure here,” he said.

Nonetheless, Fitri disclosed that setting up the stations in both Bario and Ba Kelalan had been a different ball game for Maxis as both areas, until recently, had no regular electricity supply.

“As such, both MASwings and Maxis have agreed to invest in solar power-generated system in both areas. On our side, we have invested over RM100 million over the last 18 months to upgrade the capacity of these stations in both states.”

To date, Maxis has built 96 units of nano-based stations in rural areas throughout Sarawak and Sabah.

“We are expanding. The plan is that by this year’s end, we will have a total of 120 stations. With MASwings, we have done STOL ports in Bario, Ba Kelalan, Mulu and a few other places. I believe that there are a few more STOL ports in the two states that can benefit from the facility, so that not only MASwings will be better connected but also providing basic GSM services to the communities,” added Fitri.

On the newly-installed KU-band VSAT powered by Ipstar from Measat-5 in Bario, Fitri added that there was also a wi-fi hotspot, ranging within 40- to 50-metre radius around Bario town centre.

The speed of this VSAT set would be at one-megabyte up and two-megabyte down.

“Maxis’ aim has always been towards developing good ICT infrastructure not only in the urban areas, but also within the rural areas as well. While we also have one nano-based station in Ba Kelalan, we are positive that due to network necessity in Ba Kelalan, the Maxis technical will come here and perform a review to set up another VSAT in Ba Kelalan,” he stated further.

Adding to this, Captain Nawawi remarked, “Our partnership with Maxis has and will be benefitting towards our operations in remote areas, in terms of facilitating e-ticketing and bookings data transmission between these rural stations and the main offices in Kuching, Miri and Kota Kinabalu, as well as other centres.

“In line with our status as a community airline, we want to contribute to the community here.”

Bario goes Hollywood

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/25/bario-goes-hollywood/
by Ghaz Ghazali ghazghazali@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 25, 2011, Monday

IDYLLIC: Village houses set a rustic scene with the mountain range as the background in Bario. Idris Jala hopes that if the Hollywood movie deal is clinched, it will further aid towards boosting Bario as a major tourist destination in the region.

Meeting to produce a Hollywood blockbuster from the picturesque Kelabit highlands to be held this week

BARIO: The small highland town of Bario may soon find itself listed as one of Hollywood’s exotic movie locations in Southeast Asia, alongside celebrated names such as Koh Samui in Thailand and Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala revealed this during the launching of ‘Nukenen Food and Cultural Festival’ here recently.

He told those present that he had been in touch with ‘Hollywood people’ to create a movie on Borneo called ‘The Borneo Headhunters’.

“This is the dream that I always have, and I am now taking the steps to do it.

“The story is, of course, fictional – involving many tribal myths and legends of Sarawakian origins – while its concept will move around epic settings like the ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ movies.

“The settings will be constructed here in Bario.”

Idris added that he was also in contact with the party who would finance the proposed film.

“When it comes to scriptwriting, we want to make sure that we hire only the best.

“We aim for this movie to become a Hollywood blockbuster.”

Idris said he hoped that should the movie deal be clinched it would skyrocket Bario as a major tourist destination in the region.

“I will also make sure that once filming is over, the building props and movie sets would remain intact so that it becomes part of what we (Bario) have here…a heritage of sorts for tourists to see when they come here.”

Sarawak is no stranger when it comes to being part of a Hollywood movie. In 1987, the first major US movie production ‘Farewell to the King’, starring Nick Nolte, was shot in the state.

Then in 2003, the state was chosen as the key setting for the 1930-era colonial drama ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’, starring Hollywood A-lister Jessica Alba.

Bario-Ba’ Kelalan road project to complete by next year

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/25/bario-ba%E2%80%99-kelalan-road-project-to-complete-by-next-year/

by Ghaz Ghazali ghazghazali@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 25, 2011, Monday

‘LET THE FEST BEGIN’: Idris Jala hits the ‘tubung’ – a traditional wooden instrument – to mark the launch of the annual Nukenen Food and Cultural Festival in Bario. Seen in the background (right) is Assistant Minister of Tourism, Datuk Talib Zulpilip.

BARIO: The construction of road connectivity between Bario and Ba’ Kelalan will run aggressively towards completion by the middle of next year, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

He added that many key projects to facilitate the rural development of Bario and Ba’ Kelalan had already been approved by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“Currently, the road from Ba’ Kelalan to Lawas is being built by our soldiers (Royal Malaysian Army) under the programme ‘Jiwa Murni’. Hopefully, it should be ready by the middle of next year, with the road construction from Bario to Ba’ Kelalan will go on from there,” he told reporters during the ‘Nukenen Food and Cultural Festival’ here, which ended last Saturday.

The annual four-day fair was launched by Idris Jala, with Assistant Minister of Tourism, Datuk Talib Zulpilip and MASwings Sdn Bhd’s (MASwings) managing director Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang were also present as guests of honour.

On investments for the road project, Idris Jala stated that the approved Bario-Ba’ Kelalan road project was valued at a total of RM40 million.

“Apart from the road, we have also received approval for the 24-hour electricity project for all of Bario. While I cannot state any offhand figures on the project value, I believe that the costs will be determined by the mode; either by solar or hydropower generation.

“What I can say is that some of it (project works) have begun this year, while most of it will go into full swing next year.”

Meanwhile, Idris Jala – also the chief of the goverment tranformation programme’s working vehicle, the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) – expressed his pleasure to see that the annual Nukenen Food and Cultural Festival had already garnered substantial interests amongst governmental agencies, foreign associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as tourists since its inception six years ago.

“I’m a Bario native. To see this festival being held independently by its own people really makes me proud. I understand that it had also generated interest amongst government bodies such as the Tourism Ministry as well as Fama (Federal Agriculture and Marketing Authority), especially on local produce such as the famous Bario rice and highland spring salt,” he enthused, adding that approved allocation for the Bario rice project had amounted to RM27 million.

Idris Jala was optimistic that with much basic infrastructure being implemented to date, Bario would emerge as a promising destination for many industries, amongst which would prominently include agriculture and eco-tourism.

“For instance, this food festival here – done by the community for the community – is one of many initiatives to fully commercialise the native products of Bario.

“Now with the air linkage provided by MASwings, which I regard as the ‘lifeline’ of Bario as well as the ICT infrastructure provided by Maxis Bhd, Bario can be linked to the world.

“Adding this to more infrastructure projects under the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) over the next few years, a lot more villages here will get good clean water supply as well as good accessibility by way of new roads,” he added.

Under GTP, allocation towards providing for the rural basic infrastructure programme throughout the country, including Sarawak, had been so far valued at about RM3 billion.

Conserving the Kelabit heritage

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/24/conserving-the-kelabit-heritage/

FMT Staff
July 24, 2011

Trekforce, a UK based organisation, is actively working on protecting and conserving the cultural sites of the Kelabit Highland communities.

KUCHING: Getting to Sarawak’s remotest region – the Kelabit Highlands – is no easy task. There are no boats and roads leading up to this vast plateau and if you miss the plane than it’s a two hour hike across the jungle until you reach a logging road and then hopefully catch a ride on a logging truck heading up.

The Kelabit Highlands is over 1,000 metres above sea level and lies between the Tama Abu Range and Apo Duat Range on the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.

Here too is where the mighty Baram, Limbang and Lawas rivers begin.

The region’s many valleys are peppered with cottage-like settlements often surroundeded by padi fields.

In fact Bario, which a major settlement in the Kelabit Highlands, is famed for its rice which is touted to be of ‘excellent quality’.

This remote region, which is home to the Orang Ulu communities, is also the project station of a UK-based environmental conservation and community development volunteer organisation.

Calling themselves Trekforce, the group is actively working in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’Main areas in the interior Kelabit Highland region.

The group comprises young self-funded volunteers between 18 and 30 years who are mostly from the UK, Europe, Canada and the US.

They work on six-week long projects which are both mentally and physically challenging, deep in Sarawak’s rainforest.

Trekforce’s key aims are to help protect and conserve the tropical rainforest ecosystems in Sarawak and to help the local people with community development projects in remote rural areas.

Burial sites

According to the expedition leader and country co-ordinator David Osborne, 30, Trekforce has, so far, carried out six successful expeditions in Sarawak since 2009.

He said the group has been working closely with the Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Association (RKS) and the community of Pa’ Umor on an ambitious cultural site and rainforest protection project and a wide range of community development projects including teaching English at SK Bario and Pa’ Dalih.

Osborne said that in 2009 Trekforce began efforts to protect ancient Kelabit cultural sites such as stone megaliths, burial grounds and dragon burial jars in the jungles of the Kelabit Highlands.

The Trekforce teams, he said, trekked deep into the jungles surrounding Bario, located the sites with local guides and GPS, identified them before cutting 400-square-metre boundaries around each site, and marked them with barricade tapes.

“The boundaries highlight these areas as protected to prevent logging operations entering and destroying both the invaluable cultural sites and the surrounding rainforests.

“So far, 105 cultural sites have now been protected in this way.

“After all of the cultural sites in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Main areas were marked and boundaries cut, the next phase of this long-term project began.

“This involved the development of a network of trails, bridges and shelters created to provide an infrastructure framework for sustainable eco-tourism in the area and the research of the cultural sites,” Osborne explained.

Jungle trails

He said besides creating a network of jungle trails connecting existing trails with many of the cultural sites, Trekforce also constructed numerous solid wooden and bamboo bridges across difficult river passes.

“With these eco-tourism infrastructure now in place, more tourists, trekkers, nature-lovers, scientists and the local people will be encouraged to visit the area and develop an appreciation for the human history, values and beauty of the rainforest environment and wildlife.

“And this, in turn, would benefit the communities of Pa’ Umor and Bario through increased eco-tourism to provide employment for local jungle guides and more business for the many homestays in the area,” he said.

Explaining further Osborne added that “the protection of the rainforest environment and the diverse vegetation, insects, birds and animal wildlife within them is one of the important environmental challenges of our generation.”

“Borneo has some of the most pristine and biologically diverse rainforests on Earth, but their existence is severely threatened by the obvious and immediate expansion of logging and palm oil operations.

“Many indigenous groups in Sarawak have similar cultural sites, not to mention outstanding areas of beautiful rainforest – and I hope the kind of multi-level project achieved in the Bario area could form a part of a new strategy for indigenous groups all over Borneo to protect and preserve their native lands, cultural heritage, rainforest areas and, indeed, generate income and employment through this kind of low impact sustainable development,” he told local daily, the Borneo Post recently.

Further information on Trekforce can be found on their website www.trekforce.org.uk

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/19/govt-dedicated-in-developing-orang-ulu-youths-%E2%80%94-rep/

by Samuel Aubrey, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 19, 2011, Tuesday

KUCHING: Despite the government’s efforts to send youths from ethnic minorities for skills training, there are still those few who chose to remain jobless, choosing to return to their villages after successfully completing their training.

Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau said that during his visits within his constituency, he met Orang Ulu youths who had returned to their settlements despite possessing skill certifications which guarantees good income.

“They were hesitant to venture into the job market, and some were even undecided giving the excuse that they wanted to make the decision at the village. Only a few took up the offer to stay with me while they looked for jobs.

“Some even blamed the government for not providing them with work. These youths should have the commitment to look for jobs because the skills certificates they posses can land them a job anywhere,” he said during a welcoming dinner for 36 participants of the Prime Minister Department’s sponsored Skills Training Programme for Ethnic Minorities (PLKEM) on Sunday.

On PLKEM, Dennis said this truly represented the BN government’s commitment to ensure ethnic minorities in the interior are not left behind from the mainstream of development.

He believed PLKEM would ensure a balanced socio-economic development and social wellness within the community and provide quality human capital for Sarawak’s Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).

“The PLKEM is a unique and exclusive programme for Sarawak’s ethnic communities in terms of capacity building for SCORE. As a representative of the ethnic communities, I want to express my appreciation to the federal government for providing allocation and opportunities for our youths,” he said.

PLKEM and other skills training programmes for school leavers are the most effective method to empower ethnic minorities to stand on their own feet he said.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Human Resource Development Council for School Leavers executive secretary Dr Zufar Yadi said the PLKEM has benefitted 915 youths from the state’s ethnic minorities since 2009, involving allocations of RM28.5 million.

He said the targeted groups are Penan, Tagal, Bukitan, Bisaya, Lun Bawang, Kenyah, Kedayan, Punan. Kiput, Kayan, Saban, Murut, Berawan, Kejaman, Kelabit, Bakong, Sekapan, Dusun, Sebob and other ethnic minorities in Sarawak based on the interpretation of the Federal Constitution. Under this programme, the youths are sent to six training institutes namely Pusat Latihan Pembangunan Belia (PLPB) Kuching, Sarawak Skills Development Centre (PPKS) Kuching or Miri, Pusat Latihan Kemahiran Yahos, Pelita Maslaut Maritime Training Centre, Kolej Yayasan Sabah and Kolej Yayasan Negri Sembilan.

He revealed that the youths are given financial assistance of RM6,000 to RM7,000 for every level of skill certification to cover training fees, accommodation, hand tools, sustenance allowance and return transportation.

“The allowance for transportation is for student who comes in from his village and when he returns, not just one way. It covers the costs of transportation even by 4WD vehicle from the village to the airport,” he said.

The 36 participants have come from Kapit, Belaga, Bintulu, Baram, Miri Limbang and Lawas. They would be enrolled at the PLPB Kuching managed by the Chief Minister Department’s Quality and Human Resource Management Unit.

Trekforce helps preserve Highlands heritage

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/17/trekforce-helps-preserve-highlands-heritage/

by Cecilia B. Sman. Posted on July 17, 2011, Sunday

TREKFORCE – a UK-based environmental conservation and community development volunteer organisation – has completed a major conservation project in the Kelabit Highlands, particularly in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’main.


CAPTIVATING: Scenic view of fish ponds and padi field in Bario.

The project – from November 5, 2009 to June 25, 2011 – has reinforced past and present researches by the agencies concerned in documenting and preserving the priceless cultural heritage in the areas, believed to contain the most dense assemblage of culture sites in Sarawak, if not in Malaysia.

Among the agencies involved were the Sarawak Museum (1986 and 2004) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) while other institutions included International Tropical Timber Organisations (ITT0). Also taking part in the project were researchers such as Sarah Hitchner (2007) and an academic from Pa’ Umor, professor Poline Balang of Unimas.

Trekforce comprises groups of young self-funded volunteers who embark on extreme expeditions to remote tropical rainforest areas. A large number of them – mostly from the UK, Europe, Canada and the US – are students, aged between 18 and 30 years, who have completed their education before entering college or university.

They are normally formed into mixed teams of around 10.

Their three key aims on each expedition are:

l To help protect and conserve the tropical rainforest ecosystems.

l To help the local people with vital community development projects in remote rural areas.

l To learn vital life skills such as teamwork, initiative and self-sufficiency during the physically and mentally demanding two-month expedition.

Survival training

Expeditions begin with a week of intensive jungle survival training where the volunteers are taught a wide range of survival skills, including fire-lighting, use of parangs, jungle navigation, building natural shelters, setting animal traps and collecting wild food.

Once trained to live and work safely and effectively in the challenging jungle environment, they trek into deep rainforests to set up basic hammock camps and begin the six-week conservation phase of their expedition.

On June 28, thesundaypost had the opportunity to interview the expedition leader and country co-ordinator, David Osborne, 30 (fondly known to the locals as ‘Os’ or by his Kelabit name ‘Berapui’ – meaning strong fire).

According to Os – along with close friends Al Davies, 31 (an English jungle survival expert) and Rian John Pasan, 40, (a local Kelabit guide and expedition leader) – Trekforce has, so far, carried out six successful expeditions in Sarawak since 2009, involving a total of 51 people, including Os himself.

He said since then, they have been working closely with the Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Association (RKS) and the community of Pa’ Umor on an ambitious cultural site and rainforest protection project, and a wide range of community development projects including teaching English at SK Bario and Pa’ Dalih.

He added that in 2009, work began with volunteer groups, protecting ancient Kelabit cultural sites such as stone megaliths, burial grounds and dragon burial jars in the jungles of the Kelabit Highlands.

The ‘pioneer’ groups trekked deep into the jungles surrounding Bario, located the sites with local guides and GPS, identified them before cutting 400-square-metre boundaries around each site, and marked them with barricade tapes.

The boundaries highlight these areas as protected to prevent logging operations entering and destroying both the invaluable cultural sites and the surrounding rainforests.

“So far, 105 cultural sites have now been protected in this way. After all of the cultural sites in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Main areas were marked and boundaries cut, the next phase of this long-term project began.

“This involved the development of a network of trails, bridges and shelters created to provide an infrastructure framework for sustainable eco-tourism in the area and the research of the cultural sites,” Os explained.

Besides creating a network of jungle trails connecting existing trails with many of the cultural sites, Trekforce also constructed numerous wooden and bamboo bridges across difficult river passes and two major camp sites – Hornbill and Silverleaf Camp.

The bridges made of solid wood can last about 20 years while the bamboo bridges about three years.

Other benefits

Os said he is proud to be part of such important, urgent and cutting-edge conservation work.

“The benefits are myriad. Protection and preservation of the Kelabit cultural sites will allow future generations to visit these fascinating sites, as well as allowing further anthropological and scientific research into their nature and origins.”

He stressed the eco-tourism infrastructure now in place will allow tourists, trekkers, nature-lovers, scientists and the local people to visit the area and develop an appreciation for the human history, values and beauty of the rainforest environment and wildlife.

This, in turn, would benefit the communities of Pa’ Umor and Bario through increased eco-tourism to provide employment for local jungle guides and more business for the many homestays in the area.

Background of Os

Os himself had spent a year in Central America working on similar conservation projects for Trekforce before coming to Malaysia and the passion he holds for tropical rainforest environments becomes more apparent as he explained what he considers to be one of the most important aspects of the project.

“The protection of the rainforest environment and the diverse vegetation, insects, birds and animal wildlife within them is one of the important environmental challenges of our generation. Borneo has some of the most pristine and biologically diverse rainforests on Earth, but their existence is severely threatened by the obvious and immediate expansion of logging and palm oil operations.

“Many indigenous groups in Sarawak have similar cultural sites, not to mention outstanding areas of beautiful rainforest – and I hope the kind of multi-level project achieved in the Bario area could form a part of a new strategy for indigenous groups all over Borneo to protect and preserve their native lands, cultural heritage, rainforest areas and, indeed, generate income and employment through this kind of low impact sustainable development,” he said.

The climax of each expedition is a major jungle trek. In the Kelabit Highlands, the groups put both their physical fitness and jungle skills to test by undertaking a completely self-sufficient week-long trek to key landmarks.

So far, they have twice trekked from Bario to the summit of the famous Batu Lawi (2,050m) and from Bario to Long Lellang and, most impressively, conquered Sarawak’s highest peak – Mount Murud (2,424m) – on an epic eight-day trek.

Future directions

Trekforce is already planning two expeditions in 2012 as well as running a ‘Trainee Expedition Leader’ course and UK school biology trip.

“There is a great deal more that can be done both on this project and by spreading our expeditions into new areas,” Os said as he contemplates returning to Sarawak for a further year to reinforce the existing networks of jungle trails, connecting the cultural sites.

The new proposed areas for conservation are in Long Lellang and Pa’ Dalih.

“Despite the logistical difficulties and natural hazards of operating in such a remote location, I love the intense daily challenge of running these expeditions. This is a truly worthy and innovative conservation project, and to be quite honest, I have fallen in love with Sarawak – the people, the culture and the rainforest,” Os enthused.

At the same time, he plans to document the project in a detailed report for RKS and professor Poline (Unimas) with the hope that the authorities concerned could later help conserve and gazette the areas before leaving his adopted Bario to travel to other parts of Sarawak and Sabah and finally back to the UK.

Os hopes to visit, among others, the two world heritage sites – the Mulu Caves (in Sarawak) and Mount Kinabalu (Sabah) and returns home at the end of August.

“It will be very difficult to leave. The people of Sarawak have made us feel so welcome, helped us in so many ways, taught me so much and we have become good friends.

“Without the help, advice, guidance and friendship of people like Rian, the Raja family and councillor John Tarawe, our expeditions here and their success simply would not have been possible. I hope to be able to return to conduct further expeditions next year,” he said.

Among the locals actively involved in the project were Dr Philip Raja (consultant doctor), Laila Raja (transport logistic) Peter Raja (accommodation), Pastor Siwa and other local leaders.

Os also hopes the conclusion of the Trekforce expedition can spur other relevant groups to intensify their conservation and rehabilitation efforts as the cultural sites face common universal problems such as neglect, abandonment, exposure to the elements, collapse, remoteness and bulldozing for logging or access roads to longhouses.

According to the ITTO Report, most of sites are located within licensed timber areas.

Official reports from the Sarawak Museum quoted Hitchner (2007) as listing over 350 sites, consisting of menhirs (batuh sinuped), burial sites, nabang, old longhouse sites, batuh narit (engrave rocks), batuh baliu (curse stones), perupun, salt springs and sacred sites.

Further information on Trekforce can be found on their website www.trekforce.org.uk

‘Heart of Borneo’ communities linked by traditional music

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/16/%E2%80%98heart-of-borneo%E2%80%99-communities-linked-by-traditional-music/

Posted on July 16, 2011, Saturday


FOR LOVE OF MUSIC: Elyas (centre) shows Ipoi (right) how to play the keng.

KUCHING: When Elyas Yesaya from East Kalimantan started knocking on a ‘tubong’ to create a series of harmonies, the handful of music enthusiasts and historians at the Sarawak Museum broke into cheers as the bamboo instrument, not more than two feet long, is proof that the communities living in the ‘Heart of Borneo’ share common roots.

Geographically located in the middle of Borneo, the name ‘Heart of Borneo’ was given due to the several ecological wonders of the place among them, the huge network of rivers which brought and sustained lives in both Malaysia and Indonesia.

Even though separated by borders, the cultures and traditions of the communities living on the highlands have created a bond shared for generations.

In 2003, the late Datuk Dr Judson Sakai Tagal, former state assemblyman for Ba’ Kelalan, mooted the idea to form a forum to bring both countries under one roof as a stronghold to sustain cultures and traditions without borders.

It took a year to realise the dream, when the Borneo Highlands Community and Culture Forum (Forum Masyarakat Adat Dataran Tinggi Borneo, Formadat) was formed in October 2004 among the communities of Sarawak, Sabah and East Kalimantan.

For the Sarawak side, it was formed from the Lun Dayeh, Kelabit, Lun Bawang and Sa’ban from Bario, Ba Kelalan and Long Semadoh while East Kalimantan was made up of the Krayan Induk and Krayan Selatan communities.

Sabah completed the forum with her communities living in Long Pasia, Long Mio and Ulu Padas.

“This musical instrument is unique as it sounds quite similar to the gongs of the Orang Ulu in Sarawak,” said Elyas who handcrafted the musical instruments with skills he picked up at a young age.

Among the bamboo musical instruments Elyas handed to the Sarawak Museum director Ipoi Dantan were the agung bulu, kelinang, sanang, keng, telingut and ruding.

“These instruments are made from several types of bamboo,” said Elyas who explained that some of the musical instruments are actually everyday items in their community such as the keng which is used to pluck fruits.

“The handle of the keng is cut short and a hole is drilled into the sides to produce a louder sound,” said Elyas who can speak the Lun Bawang dialect.

Each instrument, Elyas explained, can be played either in a solo routine or in a group, especially during a full moon.

The telingut is usually accompanied by the sape in a dance which can be rather seductive.

Elyas hoped more NGOs or private companies from both countries would give their support to Formadat and create awareness of the forum.

“This is to ensure that the relationship among the communities live on for future generations with continuation of their cultures and traditions,” he enthused.

Among the initiatives taken by Formadat was the setting up of a cultural fused school in East Kalimantan where workshops for traditional music were slotted in as co-curricular subjects, said Elyas.

Also making their presentation yesterday were representatives from the Brunei Museum who discovered beads in Sungai Manis on March 2002.

Bario Community Radio a possibility by year-end

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/13/bario-community-radio-a-possibility-by-year-end/

Posted on July 13, 2011, Wednesday

KUCHING: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) expects to launch its pilot project, Bario Community Radio, by end of this year.

Associate Professor Dr Alvin Yeo from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSIT) said the Kelabit-language station would allow Bario residents to communicate with each other.

“It’s like a one-stop centre for information. Let’s say someone out there don’t have Internet access they can call the station and ask for information about a certain topic. The person at the station can go online, look for the information and share it through the radio,” Yeo said.
The project, an extension of the e-Bario centre, is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

According to Yeo, they already had the licence to operate the community radio but they first needed to talk with the federal government, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture.

The university’s vice-chancellor Associate Professor Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid added that the project was the university’s initiative to bring technology into the rural area.

“E-Bario is a good lab for innovation. We’re now upgrading the infrastructure the first one since we introduced e-Bario. We have introduced a long range Wifi. From Bario, we can connect to a number of longhouses and villages in the (Bario) area,” he said during a press conference after the launch of the 7th International Conference on IT in Asia (CITA) 2011.

He added that Bario was very well aware of the available technology and were pushing for them to introduce those technologies into the area.

Green project to save interior folk from pollution set to become national model

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/12/sarawak/9081134&sec=sarawak

Tuesday July 12, 2011

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

MIRI: A pioneer project is taking shape in the mountainous interior of Bario to devise an environment-friendly method of waste disposal for rural communities without modern waste disposal system.

If successful, this first such project in the state and perhaps even in the country, may become the model for other rural waste disposal options nationwide.

The pioneer project in the northern region is impressive not only because of its significance but also because it was sparked off by a group of university students and the local communities in Bario.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, after getting wind of the effort, now wants to help make it a success and then use it as a blueprint for rural waste disposal and management for the nation, says Datuk Sebastian Ting, the political secretary of Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin.

Not so isolated anymore: The once pristine Bario highlands in the northern region is fast becoming polluted due to excessive human activities and development projects.

It all started when several students from Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus visited the Bario highlands recently and found the once clean and clear rivers there polluted due to blatant waste discharge.

Kelabit student Rachel Kedung Bulan decided to rope in a few mates from John Curtin Leadership Academy, a volunteer group to start a project called ‘Don’t Dump In Bario’ or in local Kelabit dialect — Ngebata Ngeribed Bario.

Rachel formed a team made up of Mohsen Taheri, Eze Oriekwo, Syed Jamal Kazmi and Joanne Liew to kick-start the project to carry out an education campaign to stop blatant rubbish and waste dumping into the rivers in Bario.

The group also set up a project to reduce, reuse and recycle, and then designed a proper system to dispose of human and household wastes in a green manner.

Rachel said the beautiful pristine image of Bario was getting tainted by too much development projects that had resulted in serious environmental repercussions because of the absence of rubbish or waste disposal treatment plant in the area.

“In the past, the rivers in Bario were so clean, people could jump in and swim any time. That is no longer possible. Rubbish are flowing down the rivers freely,” she said yesterday.

She attrributed this to the development taking place in Bario today and the freer movement of goods and people.

According to her, the once isolated settlements there were now accessible not only by air but also by road.

“Bario is facing unprecedented influx of people and tourists and this surge in human activities along with the construction of roads have resulted in a sudden increase in the amount of wastes and rubbish generated. We need to restore the beautiful image of Bario.”

Elaborating on the project, she said what they were undertaking would involve three phases.

“The first phase involves an education campaign against blatant dumping of wastes and rubbish in Bario.

“The second phase, to reduce, reuse and recycle while the third phase is to devise a sustainable long-term system to decompose biodegradable wastes and green disposal methods that will carry minimal impact on the environment,” she said.

Curtin Sarawak University Life manager Haslina Abdul Malek told The Star that Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Association and Sarawak Shell had joined in the effort, with Shell giving RM10,000 to help finance the project.

“An environmental expert from Japan (Naoko Sumiyoshi) is also joining in to give technical advice on how best to handle the project.

“We hope to come up with a green waste disposal system for Bario before end of this year,” she said.

Ting said the ministry was excited with the Bario project not only because it was the first of its kind but also because it could serve as a model for other rural communities, if successful.

“It is a well-known fact that rural settlements in the deep interior of Sarawak and other states do not have any modern waste disposal system or waste treatment plants.

“If Bario can come up a waste disposal system that is green, it can be used as model for other rural settlements as well,” he said.

Asked what his ministry could do to help the Bario project, he said it could seek specialist help for the Bario team and also get more funds from other relevant ministries such as Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

Ting said he would be visiting Bario next week to meet the team and to see for himself what sort of help the ministry could offer.

Trekforce completes conservation project

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/02/trekforce-completes-conservation-project/


by Cecelia B. Sman. Posted on July 2, 2011, Saturday

TOP OF THE WORLD: (from right) Osborne, Rian and Alan at the sunmit of Mount Murud.

MIRI: Trekforce, a UK based environmental conservation and community development volunteer organisation – recently completed a major conservation project in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Main in the Kelabit highlands.

Their effort reinforced research conducted by other agencies in the documentation and preservation of unique cultural heritage around the areas.

Their focus on these three places is because they are generally believed to have the most number of culture sites not only in the state but probably in the country as well.

Among the agencies and institutions involved in similar initiatives in the past are Sarawak Museum, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), International Tropical Timber Organisations (ITT0) and researchers such as Sarah Hitchner and a Pa’ Umor native Professor Poline Balang of Unimas.

Expedition leader and country co-ordinator David Osborne, 30, (known locally as ‘Os’) along with Al Davies, 31 (an English jungle survival expert) and Rian John Pasan, 40, (a Kelabit guide and expedition leader) had so far ran six successful expeditions in the highlands since 2009.

Their project this time around involved 51 self-funded volunteers from the UK, Europe, Canada and the US, aged between 18 and 30 years. They are mostly students who had just completed their secondary school education before entering university or college.

Osborne said the three key aims of the expeditions were to (a) help protect and conserve tropical rainforest ecosystems, (b) help local people with vital community development projects in remote rural areas and (c) help the volunteers learn vital life skills such as team-work, initiatives and self-sufficiency during the physically and mentally-demanding two-month expedition.

Thus far 105 cultural sites in Bario, Pa’ Umor and Pa’ Main have been cleared and protected.
“Once the cultural sites in these areas are marked and boundaries cut, the next phase of this long-term project will begin.

“This involves the development of a network of trails, bridges and shelters to provide an infrastructure framework for sustainable ecotourism and the research of the cultural sites,” Os told The Borneo Post yesterday.

He said the boundaries highlighted these areas as protected in order to prevent encroachment by logging operators.

Trekforce had also created a network of jungle trails stretching for miles throughout the primary and secondary rainforests (connecting to existing trails with many of the cultural sites), numerous bridges across difficult river passes and two major camp sites – Hornbill and Silverleaf.

Osborne said Trekforce would work closely with the Rurum Kelabit Sarawak Association (RKS) and Poline to document the project, and at the same time apply to the government to gazette the cultural heritage site as most were outside the community reserve.

“The benefits of this project are myriad. The protection and preservation of the Kelabit cultural sites will allow future generations to visit the fascinating sites, as well as allowing further anthropological and scientific research into their nature and origins.”

The Trekforce volunteers, apart from working on the cultural site and rainforest protection project, had also worked closely with RKS and the community of Pa’ Umor to carry out a wide range of community development projects such as teaching English and other subjects at SK Bario and Pa’Dalih.

So far, Trekforce groups have twice trekked from Bario to the summit of the famous Batu Lawi (2,050 m); trekked from Bario to Long Lellang and conquered Sarawak’s highest peak Mount Murud (2,424m) on an epic eight-day trek.

Trekforce is already planning two expeditions for next year, as well as running a ‘Trainee Expedition Leader’ course and UK school biology trip.

“There is a great deal more that can be done both on this project and by spreading our expeditions into new areas” said Osborne as he contemplates returning for a further year in Sarawak to reinforce the existing network of jungle trails connecting with the cultural sites. The new proposed areas for conservation are in Long Lellang and Pa’ Dalih.

PROUD MOMENT: Osborne (right) and his volunteers proudly present their camp which was built to complement efforts of conserving and protecting cultural sites in the Kelabit highlands.


CULTURAL BURIAL SITE: Osborne inspecting an imported jar used as a coffin by the native in the Kelabit highlands.