Bario rice enjoying new lease of life

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/10/06/bario-rice-enjoying-new-lease-of-life/

by Samuel Aubrey, reporters@theborneopost.com. 

Posted on October 6, 2013, Sunday

THERE IS HOPE: A rainbow over a rice field in Bario.

KUCHING: The Bario Paddy Development Project has helped open up more areas with Bario rice in the Kelabit Highlands.

At present, more than half of the project area is well irrigated and padi has been growing for nearly two months, said Thomas Hii, managing director of Bario Ceria Sdn Bhd – the joint venture company undertaking the project.

He added that the project was almost 90 per cent completed, and the total area of padi field already planted is 145 hectares, which is larger than the area ever planted over the last 10 years.

The only shortcoming, he lamented, was insufficient quality seeds for good quality crop to make this project benefit the farmers more.

“Before this, Bario padi planting was in the downward slide, with more and more padi fields being deserted year after year. Before this project started, less than 60 hectares remained cultivated. With this project, it is obvious that we are seeing ‘life’ being re-ignited in the Bario (Kelabit) Highlands,” he said yesterday.

Hii was responding to The Borneo Post’s Oct 4 report where it was alleged that the harvest of Bario rice, rated as best in the region and is rich in minerals and vitamins, is expected to be poor this year due to delay in completing the irrigation system.

Bario Ceria is a joint venture between Ceria Alliance Group and Rurum Kelabit Sarawak to undertake the ‘National Key Economic Area (NKEA) Bario Paddy Development Project’ at a cost of RM17 million.

The project, Hii said, was initiated by and fully supported by the Bario community, especially the farmers. The community appreciates the government’s commitment to help them restore abandoned rice farms and to help increase the farmer’s yield and income.

The project includes the construction of seven irrigation dams with irrigation pipes to the fields, construction of farm roads, levelling of rice fields, ploughing, planting and harvesting services for 200 hectares of padi land in Bario, and the construction of a drying and milling factory.

“The drying and milling factory located not far from the project site is complete with modern drying and milling equipment of a capacity of 20 tonnes per day of drying facility.

“This factory has been rushed for completion as well as commissioned with power for the sole purpose of accommodating the large quantity of padi expected to be harvested this coming season.”

Hii admitted there were problems with the delivery of water to irrigate some of the rice fields, but Bario Ceria should not be faulted for this problem.

He said the existing irrigation system that should continue to irrigate the padi fields had not been well maintained, and it was unable to irrigate all the fields as mentioned in the Oct 4 news report.

It was further compounded by the farmers’ assumption that the new irrigation system being built by Bario Ceria would be completed in time for this year’s planting season, which started in August.

“The new irrigation system built by Bario Ceria Sdn Bhd is ready for more than 70 per cent of the total project area, and the contractual completion date is December 2013.

“The maintenance of the existing/old irrigation system is not within Bario Ceria Sdn Bhd’s contract scope, but we did help to repair two of the existing/old dams. All the seven irrigation dams and the installation of the irrigation pipes are progressing on target to deliver water to the whole project area by December 2013.

Hii said Bario Ceria would continue to do its best to assist the farmers, including providing water pumps to pump water into those rice fields that are not adequately operated.

“However, we need the farmers’ co-operation to inform our site office, bring our men to the site, and to oversee the pumping operations in their affected rice fields. We have five 6” water pumps on standby in Bario to assist the farmers.”

Hii added that Bario Ceria had been working non-stop to address issues highlighted by the farmers in relation to the project, and would continue to work closely with the local community leaders and block leaders, who are appointed by the farmers from among their group.

“Bario Ceria is a joint venture entity, so our partnership is for the long term. It will not end just because construction had been completed. That, we believe, will make us more unique than all previous projects implemented by government in this highland areas (sic).”

Delay in completing irrigation system spells doom for Bario rice farmers

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/10/04/delay-in-completing-irrigation-system-spells-doom-for-bario-rice-farmers/

Posted on October 4, 2013, Friday

KUCHING: The harvest of Sarawak’s premium Bario rice, rated as the best in the region and rich in minerals and vitamins, is expected to be poor this year.

This was expressed by Rurum Kelabit Sarawak vice president Dr Roland Mattu on his return from a recent visit home in Bario.

He said this was because there is no irrigation for the padi field and farmers are relying on rain water only, but with very little rain in the last month of September.

He pointed out the problem came after an agricultural development contractor was given the contract by the government to provide for irrigation.

This resulted in the traditional farm dams being abandoned in anticipation of the new pipe irrigation under construction. Unfortunately, technical problems arose and as yet there is no irrigation which means the lack of running water and this is going to lead to a poor harvest, he lamented.

“I have been following the farming for many decades as my parent have been farmers, I have never been more concerned about a seasonal failure than this year.

“Many of the farms that have not been planted and those planted are without water and all are doomed to failure. There is urgent need for action and farmers are at a loss as where to turn. There is a chance of salvaging some of the farms but this will need immediate action to get water onto the paddy field in Paramapuh, Maraiw, Arur Laab, and Arur Dalan,” he said yesterday.

He also said he has met Pemanca Philip Lakai who has highlighted the problem to the authority concerned but who also now feels helpless.

“One of the most important part of Bario Rice cultivation is to have abundant fresh water from the mountain (flow) into the bunds especially after the planting season (but) as this is not happening, the planted fields for harvest is doomed to fail.

“There is an urgent need for corrective action and on behalf of all of the farmers in Bario. As vice president of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak, I appeal to all concerned for your help,” he pleaded.

On behalf of the Bario Asal farmers, he said they are all looking forward for the new irrigation and mechanised farming as the way forward but the delay is making them very anxious.

“Our ancestors have been cultivating wet padi for generations, surely some of what we have been practising is of great value rather than a revolution with modern methods.

“There should be a careful conservation of our farming methods that are good and merge with modern methods to take it to greater heights. The irrigation may take another year to complete and we cannot afford to have poor harvest two years in a row,” he said.

Based on news reports, RM17 million was allocated for the Bario Rice Industry Development Project under the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) in January 2012.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu was quoted as saying the implementation of the project, between 2011 and 2015, involving 800 hectares of highland in the Bario area, had been offered to Syarikat Bario Ceria Sdn Bhd.

Don: Rural folk want map to determine land ownership

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/09/25/don-rural-folk-want-map-to-determine-land-ownership/#ixzz2ftFwDR60

by Eve Sonary Heng, reporters@theborneopost.com. 

Posted on September 25, 2013, Wednesday

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE: Sean Chai of Santumn Enterprise with the helicopter.

INNOVATIVE ICT APPLICATION: A Ba Kelalan photo-montage map.

LOW-COST: Unimas campus trials with the helium-filled balloon.

KUCHING: Rural communities are showing increasing interest in grassroots initiatives to develop maps of their territories.

In a statement yesterday, a visiting professor from the Institute for Social Informatics and Technological Innovation at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Dr Roger Harris said in a recent Global Conference on Community Participatory Mapping on Indigenous Peoples’ Territories held in Samosir, North Sumatra, indigenous groups from countries including Malaysia, Nepal, Panama, Mexico and Brazil, explained how they had adopted affordable, high-tech mapping technology to retrace the history of their land ownership and to catalogue their natural resources.

He said in Sarawak, eBario Sdn Bhd, the organisation that operates the multi-award-winning eBario telecentre, has initiated the eBario Innovation Village Project as a living laboratory to incubate innovative grassroots applications of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) capable of stimulating development within Malaysia’s isolated rural and indigenous communities.

In partnership with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and with funding support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the project is testing low cost aerial photography for community mapping, using digital cameras attached to tethered helium-filled balloons and radio-controlled model airplanes.

“The resultant photographs are stitched together by computer to form an aerial view covering a wide area which is then geo-tagged with global positioning co-ordinates to form detailed maps.

“Such maps can be used for a range of applications including land-use planning, claims for land rights, eco-tourism, development of agriculture, hydrology, animal migration plotting, indigenous knowledge inventories, environmental surveillance, documentation of climate change impacts, dispute resolution, road mapping, forest management and cataloguing of cultural sites. Low cost technologies and the skills to use them bring these applications within the reach of grassroots communities,” he said.

The eBario-Unimas team is working with Sean Chai Ching Loong of Santumn Enterprise, a local firm that specialises in aerial photography with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Using both helium-filled balloons and UAVs, the team has begun to generate high-quality photo-montages that form the basis of detailed maps.

This month, the team visited Ba Kelalan in the highlands of northern Sarawak to test their approach in the field.

Community representatives expressed their interest in the results and have asked the team to return to extend their coverage into surrounding areas.

“Detailed maps are generally not available to the general public, or they are either prohibitively expensive or insufficiently detailed for the purposes that rural communities would wish to use them.

“Modern maps are based on aerial photographs but with low cost technologies and contemporary computer software, rural folk need not be excluded from their use. Actually, aerial photographs provide a truer representation of reality than even the most detailed maps,” he explained.

As more ICTs become available to Malaysia’s rural communities, and especially to those in isolated and remote locations, as with the eBario initiative and its sister projects in Ba Kelalan and other locations, so the residents can be facilitated towards more activities which they themselves prioritise and which cater to their specific needs.

Sarawak pays price of 'third world maintenance'

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/242094

25.09.13

By Dukau Papau

Several water treatment plants and windmills in rural Sarawak are “not functioning”, according to state PKR head Baru Bian, who wants the government and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to step in.

The projects, which have cost millions of ringgit to build, install and operate, are under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

Bian cited the example of a water treatment plant in his constituency of Ba’Kelalan in Lawas, which had cost the government more than RM3 million to build.

“The plant is (meant) to pump water from Sungai Muda into tanks where it is then filtered to supply clean water to the Budur Nur village of more than 70 households. But untreated and murky water has (been) supplied to the households.

“Now there is no money to buy diesel - costing about RM1,000 a month - to run the plant, which is not maintained at all. I’m told there are a few of these in Sarawak, and there are similar problems at each.”

Bian also highlighted the case of windmills, including three in Bario, which are not working and therefore unable to generate electricity for villages.

“Each windmill is worth RM6 million. Imagine, these were constructed at the foot of a hill where there is no wind ... one has (even toppled over),” he said, noting that windmills in other countries are either located on a hilltop or in an open area.

“The construction of (all) these projects (in Sarawak) is a clear waste of public funds. The amount spent could well run over RM100 million.

“This money should have been used to repair schools or teachers’ quarters in my constituency that are badly in need of repair.

“In one primary school in my constituency, the teachers and parents came up with their own money to repair the teachers’ quarters, as their request for funds was not met.”

Bian said he believes the projects were implemented to pacify the rakyat who have been angry that they have been neglected.

“This tactic was done during election time,” he said, accusing the BN government of wasting public funds as well as “cheating the people”.

Curtin, eBario, association ink MoU

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/09/07/curtin-ebario-association-ink-mou/

Posted on September 7, 2013, Saturday

MIRI: Curtin Sarawak is extending its expertise in the development of student learning activities, training, research and collaborative projects with eBario Sendirian Berhad and Rurum Kelabit Sarawak.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the project was signed recently between eBario chief executive officer Councillor John Tarawe, Laila Raja for Rurum Kelabit and outgoing Curtin Sarawak pro vice-chancellor Professor Ian Kerr.

Present to witness the signing were incoming pro vice-chancellor Professor Jim Mienczakowski, Curtin Sarawak Research Institute (CSRI) director Professor Aaron Goh, CSRI senior research fellow Dr Lisa Marie King and Supang Terawe of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak.

Mienczakowski said the MoU marked an important milestone for Curtin Sarawak and demonstrated its commitment to engage with local communities in its pursuit of academic excellence.

King, who was instrumental in establishing the cooperative relationship between the different parties, echoed Mienczakowki’s sentiments.

“As a member of CSRI, I am keen to apply my knowledge and expertise to enhance the well-being of communities in Sarawak. Our close engagement with eBario and Rurum Kelabit Sarawak will lead to significant activities and joint projects that can have a positive impact, both on the university’s learning experiences and the communities,” she said.

eBario Sdn Bhd is an award-winning initiative that runs projects and activities such as the eBario Telecentre, eBario Innovation Village, Radio Bario, eBario Knowledge Fair, Bario Slow Food Festival and eBorneo Research.

Remote communities now into high-yielding rubber planting

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/08/16/remote-communities-now-into-high-yielding-rubber-planting/

by Karen Bong, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on August 16, 2013, Friday

KUCHING: The Penan and Kelabit communities in the most remote settlements in Baram have already started with the planting of high-yielding rubber.

This was disclosed by Modernisation of Agriculture Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr Alfred Jabu yesterday, who also said a total of 72 Penan families in Long Beruang and 60 Kelabit families in Long Peluan participated in the scheme on 520 hectares of land. Jabu, who is also Rural Development Minister, pointed out that the project is part of the state government’s Rural Transformation Programme to eradicate poverty.

“The government’s aim is to help lift people out of poverty, especially those in the remotest interior of Sarawak, through agriculture,” he added.

Jabu was at the Kuching Borneo Convention Centre (BCCK) here to open the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) Farm Development Committee Members Seminar.

“Backed by biotechnology advancement, we have now started planting the high quality rubber trees,” he said.

“We hope that the participants can generate sustainable income through the rubber plantation after four years (maturity). It is hoped that they can earn at least RM2,000 per month per family once the rubber trees reach maturity for tapping,” he emphasised. The project, introduced early last year, was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The first phase of the project involved the clearing of land, building of infrastructure such as road to the estate and nursery for rubber saplings, followed by planting.

As rural development minister, Jabu said he would not be deterred by the unique challenges and difficulties faced in the rural interiors.

“Understandably, Baram located about 15 hours drive from Miri in good weather, is hardly accessible but despite the difficulties, I still choose to start the project,” he said. Thus, Jabu hopes that the participants can see the fruits of their hard work after four or five years and in turn change their negative perception of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

“We hope to give the opportunities to the nomadic Penans, especially those who have been negatively influenced by certain non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to see the commitment of the BN government,” he said.

Proposed township to benefit Telang Usan — Rep

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/08/15/proposed-township-to-benefit-telang-usan-rep/

Posted on August 15, 2013, Thursday

MIRI: The proposed Baram Hydroelectric Project (HEP) new township will bring many benefits to the Telang Usan constituency such as increasing the people’s standard of living.

Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau told The Borneo Post yesterday that the plan showed the government’s willingness and effort to develop and transform Baram into a better and more developed constituency by 2020.

“Personally, I agree with the proposal to turn this constituency into a modern one, while still reflecting the culture and traditions of the multi-ethnic people living in Baram.

“The people must understand that the proposed Telang Usan new township will also become a boost for tourism that surely will improve the livelihoods of the people in Baram,” he said.

Dennis pointed out that many members of the Orang Ulu community from Ulu Baram have achieved success in life, but did not return to the longhouses and contribute to the community.

“If this Telang Usan new township is built one day, it will also open many doors for job opportunities for these young people to go back to their roots and contribute something to the people and our country’s economic growth,” he said.

He urged Baram folk, especially the younger generation, to look at the positive side of the proposal which would benefit them and their families.

“Many opportunities will be given to them, especially job opportunities such as in the tourism industry,” he added.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the proposed township would have elements reflecting the rich history of the Kayans, Kenyahs and Kelabits, who migrated from East Java to Batang Kayan in Indonesia before settling in Kapit and Baram.

Association receives funds in memory of Ngimat Ayu

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/07/25/association-receives-funds-in-memory-of-ngimat-ayu/

Posted on July 25, 2013, Thursday

THANK YOU: Association representative Jacqueline Buri (back fifth right) receives the donation from Ngimat’s youngest daughter Nancy Daun in the presence of family members.

MIRI: The Miri Palliative Care Association received RM2,000 donation from the family of the late Kelabit paramount chief Ngimat Ayu recently.

His daughter Enne said the family will also donate all profits from sales of the book ‘A Tribute to a Kelabit Paramount Chief’ as a sign of appreciation for the association.

“The people from the Miri Palliative Care Association visited our family, particularly my late father, once every two weeks after he became very sick last February.

“We were so thankful to the association for helping us to go through the moment where they taught us more on how to care for our father,” she said.

Enne explained that Ngimat was diagnosed with cancer about three years ago and the family had been terrified when they first heard the news.

“Apart from our own family, friends and relatives, we have the people from the association visiting us and giving us the moral support we needed,” she said.

She urged those who wished to help those in need, especially cancer patients, to become association members or volunteers, adding she will also register as a volunteer.

“I was driven to become a volunteer because I have seen how they cared for my late father. He was well-taken care of and why not I do something for other people as well, especially for cancer patients,” she said.

Tribute to a Kelabit paramount chief

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/07/20/tribute-to-a-kelabit-paramount-chief/

by Lucy Bulan. Posted on July 20, 2013, Saturday

DEEPLY ROOTED: A family portrait.

Ngimat Ayu

A PIONEER, innovator and paramount chief of the Kelabits, Ngimat Ayu passed away on July 18, 2013 at the age of 92, leaving a legacy of immense love and kindness, outstanding leadership and tremendous wisdom.

Surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren as he breathed his last, Ngimat Ayu was one Kelabit who had lived a full life and stood tall and strong amongst all odds.

As news of his passing began to reach people, especially Kelabits in Malaysia and those living in other parts of the world, condolence messages began pouring in to his immediate family members and relatives.

Many recalled fond memories of Ngimat Ayu and how much he will be missed.

Indeed, this man whom his grandchildren call a legend had left a lasting impression on everyone – young and old – who were fortunate to have met him.


Family history


Born on July 15, 1921 in Pa’ Main, Bario in the Kelabit highlands, Ngimat Ayu, whose given name was Gerawat Aran, was one of four children of Tagung Aran @ Ngemung Sakai and Sineh Tagung Aran.

His siblings were Lu’ui, Muda and Dayang (Tepuh Luyuq dedtur). Because he was quite sickly as a child, and according to Kelabit custom of meman anak, Gerawat was adopted and brought up by his uncle (his father’s youngest brother) Tekapen Raja and Edteh Kedieh Aran.

In 1955, he married Martha Padan from Long Pupung, Kerayan. In those days, he was one of the rare ones to get a bride from Kerayan, Kalimantan, a marriage arranged by their relatives. And as is the Kerayan custom, he had to pay a huge dowry for this beautiful, hardworking maiden of noble ancestry.

They were blessed with seven children – Abel, Anne, Felicity Ruran, Linda, Evelyn, Nancy Daun, and Scott Apoi. They became adoptive parents to three children of Gerawat’s sister and brother-in-law Tepuh Luyuq, both of whom had died early from sickness – Datin Sri Mariam Balan, Maria Peter Lu’ui and the late Tony Ngimat Ayu.

Following the birth of his eldest child, Abel Ngimat, Gerawat changed his name to Ngimat Ayu according to Kelabit tradition. Then on the birth of his first grandchild, Stephen Baya Peter (the son of Maria Peter Lu’ui), Ngimat Ayu changed his name to Belaan Tauh.

Meantime, Ngimat Ayu had adopted five other children. Today, he has 31 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

Before going to school, young Ngimat Ayu (known then by his given name Gerawat) worked with the Allied Forces in the Japanese Resistance Army.

He remembered being in Ba’Kelalan and Belawit when the Japanese surrendered, and helped the Allied Forces to escort the Japanese out of Belawit.

He also fearlessly assisted Major Tom Harrison to fish out the Penan and the Iban from Indonesia who were believed to have murdered Hardin, the Resident of Marudi at the end of 1945.

Gerawat attended the first school set up by Major Tom Harrison in Pa’ Main Longhouse at the age of 24.

“Many parents were reluctant to allow their children to go to school,” he said.

“They insisted that they themselves had done very well without schooling —why waste time in school?”

But young Gerawat’s father was one of the chiefs responsible for the introduction of the first school in the community, so Gerawat became one of the first of 19 students to attend school when the school first opened in 1946.

The school Tom Harrison started had one teacher, Paul Kohuan from East Timor.

He taught Gerawat until Primary Four in Pa’ Main School, after which Tom Harrison brought Gerawat to Kuching to work in the Sarawak Museum.

His job was to collect and record artifacts for the Museum.

While working, he continued his Primary Five and Six education in Merpati Jepang through night studies.

Young Gerawat and his peers went to school with one vision in mind: to return to the Kelabit Highlands and serve the community (nuuh bawang), and to uplift their living condition.

So on completion of his primary school education, Tom Harrison told Gerawat he was to go into the medical line as there were enough Kelabit teachers already.

He acquiesced without question.


The medical assistant-dresser


Gerawat started his training as a medical assistant (then called dresser) in Kuching in 1951, and was the first Orang Ulu to be trained as a dresser.

“When I began my practical training in Kuching, I still had my Orang Ulu haircut and elongated earlobes, and the patients always asked to see the medical assistant, not knowing I was the one.

“I always told them ‘he is inside his room’ but treated them myself and only referred complicated cases to the senior medical officer,” he said.

Gerawat’s training was so comprehensive that he knew how to stitch wounds, conduct simple surgery like cutting off elongated earlobes, treat leprosy, pull out teeth, order and disburse medication and even deliver babies.

On his initial return to the Kelabit Highlands, Gerawat was accompanied and introduced as a dresser by SAO Kusil Tingang and Tom Harrison.

He was based in Pa’ Main, but made regular monthly trips to each outstation village in the highlands — from Long Banga in the south to all the villages in the Kelapang and Debpur basin, and to Kuba’an, Long Lellang and Seridan villages.

Even after being joined by other dressers later, he continued to be the travelling ‘medicine man’ for years, organising groups of porters from each village in making monthly trips to Lio Mattu to collect and carry medicine sent from Marudi for him to disburse.

He came up with the idea of using used cooking oil tins as storage containers for his medicine.

He stored them at each village so that he could reduce the number of porters to go around with him.

“I worked alone as the only dresser in the highlands for years. I never ran out of medicine. I made sure there was regular supply all the time even though transportation was very difficult.

“Everything had to be transported by boat from Marudi to Lio Mattu, and by land from thence to Bario. Today, you people have aeroplanes and helicopters to carry medicine to Bario, and you still have not enough stock of medicine! I cannot understand this,” he lamented.

Gerawat @ Ngimat Ayu served as ulu dresser altogether for 15 years (1951-65).

The effectiveness of his service, assisted afterwards by other health assistants, can be seen from the rapid disappearance of leprosy, skin diseases, malaria and fatal epidemics (kedta in Kelabit) that had plagued the Kelabits for generations and almost wiped out the tribe at one point.

One of his achievements had been to inculcate clean habits among the people.

“I got people to drink only boiled water and remove their livestock from under their longhouses and to disallow dogs from living together in the longhouses. I faced a great deal of opposition especially in this but with support from Tom Harrison and the missionaries, we succeeded in changing peoples’ lifestyles,” he said.


The paramount chief


In 1965, Tom Harrison arranged for an election of a new Penghulu to replace the then Penghulu Lawai Besara.

Four contestants stood for the post (Inan Mulun, Ulit Mattu, Galih Balang, and Ngimat Ayu) and Ngimat Ayu was elected.

He had to quit his post as medical assistant and thence began his long history as the paramount chief of the Kelabit.

Ngimat Ayu served as the only Kelabit Penghulu from 1966-1997.

And then in 1998, the government decided to appoint a Pemanca as the new paramount chief of the Kelabit.

Penghulu Ngimat Ayu was appointed and he served as Pemanca until 2005 with three new Penghulus as his assistants: Henry Jalla of Bario, Tulu Ayu of Long Seridan, and Gan Tuloi of Long Peluan. Ngimat Ayu was a visionary and an innovator.

During his tenure as the paramount chief, he witnessed the opening up of Bario Lem Baaq to rapid development, including the Codification of the Kelabit Customary Laws (the Adet Kelabit 2008), the building of an all-weather-airport, the introduction of ICT through e-Bario, the building of the inter village road within Bario and the road connecting Bario to the outside world, to name a few.

He strongly supported the idea of Bario Ceria and the provision of power supply through the solar farm in Bario, especially after the failed hydro-hybrid project.

His magnificent art of negotiation, extraordinary hospitality to guests and locals alike and his tremendous leadership skills have enabled him to gain much favour from people in authority on behalf of the Kelabit community.

His special ability to identify with young and old, educated and uneducated, strangers and family alike has endeared him to a multitude of people, making him easily approachable and loveable.

As far as he was able and available, he visited every sick person he knew, went to every funeral, attended every wedding he was invited to and was able to laugh and cry with people he knew.

In a nutshell, Ngimat Ayu made time for everyone.


Straddling two worlds


Ngimat Ayu has straddled many eras and was a pioneer in many fields.

He served as the first Orang Ulu medical assistant (ulu dresser) from 1951-65 and left his job to become the first elected Penghulu of the Kelabit from 1966-97.

He was then promoted to become the first Kelabit Pemanca from 1998-2005.

Ngimat Ayu was born (in 1921) before the Japanese Occupation and before the impact of the rule of the White Rajah had been fully felt by the Kelabit.

He had personally experienced the hardship under the old way of life but understood the value systems, the customs and traditions that gave the Kelabit their identity.

He lived through and fought during the Japanese Occupation and helped bridge the gap between our Indonesian neighbours and our people after the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation in the 1960’s.

He embraced Christianity as a first generation Christian in the highlands and witnessed the extraordinary impact their faith had on the Kelabit community.

He participated in the resettlement exercise whereby the neighbouring villages were relocated to Bario Lem Baaq during the Confrontation.

Thus, he experienced the hard work and excitement of opening up new horizons and fresh boundaries as well as the pain and loss of leaving the familiar.

As Penghulu, he was instrumental in settling many legal issues related to this relocation exercise in a peaceful manner.

Ngimat Ayu was a student pioneer of the first school in the Kelabit Highlands, and lived to see even his grandchildren finish university education.

He saw the schools in the Kelabit Highlands grow from the first primary school to lower secondary school level.

Before he died, he said: “My dream and vision is to see the secondary school in Bario reaching Form 5 level so that more students can reach Form 5 level instead of dropping out of school. Please don’t give up on the vision.”

Ngimat Ayu is one Kelabit man who has lived a full life, faced countless challenges and still stood tall and strong against all odds.

Clothed with God’s full armour, he was able, having done everything, to stand (Eph 6:13).

He leaves behind a legacy of immense love and kindness, outstanding leadership, and tremendous wisdom.

He is greatly missed by family, friends, the whole Kelabit community and all who knew him.

Farewell our father, cousin, uncle, grandfather. Rest in Peace. Until we meet again.

Highlanders nationwide show unity through sports

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/06/28/highlanders-nationwide-show-unity-through-sports/

Posted on June 28, 2013, Friday

LET’S ROCK: The Gangnam style presentation by the KL contingent during the dinner.

MIRI: Highlanders living in various parts of the country displayed a strong spirit of unity when they returned to Miri for the 20th Kelab Sukan Highlanders or Highlanders Sports Club Sports Carnival at the beginning of the month.

About 1,500 members of the Kelabit community, including some from overseas, got together to participate in this year’s event over the three days (June 1 to 3).

The competition programme at Kelab Rekreasi Petroleum (KRP) was declared open by Deputy State Secretary Datu Ose Murang while Assistant Minister of Sports Datuk Lee Kim Shin officiated at the closing ceremony.

Lee also contributed RM3,000 for the club’s activities.

Among those present were the club’s patron, councillor Robert Ayu, advisor Ricky Ribuh, president Joseph Radu Rurum, Kelabit president Dato Isaac Lugun, forum president Gerawat Gala, director of Immigration Department Datu Robert Lian (club member) and community leaders.

The opening ceremony saw the bamboo gong struck and cheers from the participating eight contingents — from Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Bintulu, Limbang, Miri, Bario, Kelapang and Long Banga-Peluan.

The competitions included football, futsal, badminton, volleyball, golf, pool, dart, blowpipe and a few social games. Most were held on June 1 and 2.

“The number of players and spectators this year outnumbered that of the last carnival in 2011 but what is most important is not the competitions but participation that unites the Kelabit community through sports” Joseph said.

“While the main objective is to develop new talent in sports, the carnival is also a good way to unite the Kelabits in a fun way. It is also one of the best times to meet as many highlanders or Kelabits as possible in one place over the three days,” he added.

Due to the large attendance of highlanders at the carnival, some club members took the opportunity to organise reunion gatherings with former classmates as well as celebrate engagement or wedding parties.

“This trend is becoming very popular — like killing two birds with one stone as the saying goes,” Joseph said.

Family members, supporters and friends turned up in full force to cheer their teams in the various competitions.

The dart and pool contest attracted a big crowd of spectators at the Rigs (KRP’s bar). They cheered and danced to the country music from the resident band.

Traditionally, football is the most popular game among the highlanders who have produced state and national players like Pengiran Bala, Herman Bulang, Bobby Pian, Stephen Kiben Tingang, Wesley Bala, Robert Paran, Keryer Maria and Frankie.

The Kelapang team emerged champion in football while Kuching were the runners-up with Bario third.

Long Banga-Peluan won the junior futsal competition for 15 and below youths comprising mainly primary school pupils. The runners-up were Bario with Kuching third.

The boys senior category for secondary students went to Bario with Long Banga-Peluan and Miri second and third respectively.

In the women’s open futsal, Miri contingent emerged champions with Long Banga-Peluan and Bario second and third respectively.

The Long Banga-Peluan team won the men’s volleyball with Kuala Lumpur and Kelapang second and third respectively.

In netball, played for the second time at the carnival, Miri successfully defended their title with Kuching and Long Banga-Peluan second and third respectively.

Other results: Kelapang — tug-of-war champion; Scott David, Pery Muris and Edward Ngitunn — men’s pool winners, and Betsy, Pauline Bennet and Roney Sagau – ladies’ pool winners.

Isaac presented the overall champions trophy to Tommy Agan, the Long Banga-Peluan contingent manager, and other sports awards to Deborah Henry, a Sukma medallist, and golfer Sigar Tidan who successfully defended the Sarawak Senior Golf Open for the third consecutive time.

The carnival is one of the activities organised by KSH. The upcoming event is the KSH Jogger-ton-cum-Family Day in September.

KSH, set up in 1983, has over 5,000 members.

Aussies and Kiwis attend Bario Asal anniversary

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/06/27/aussies-and-kiwis-attend-bario-asal-anniversary/

Posted on June 27, 2013, Thursday

GOLDEN JUBILEE: Kijan (standing fitfh right) with some of the guests at the anniversary celebration.

MIRI: Nearly 100 Australians and New Zealanders attended the 50th anniversary of Bario Asal Kelabit longhouse in the highlands of Bario recently.

Councillor Kijan Toynbee, a political secretary to the chief minister, said guests enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Kelapang River and the green pasture of the highlands.

“Guest were amazed by the beautiful countryside with friendly people,” she said yesterday.

“It was a memorable time for the Kelabits of Bario Asal as they celebrated their 50th anniversary with guests from Australia and New Zealand.”

She said they also had the opportunity to taste the local delicacies including rice wrapped in leaves.

The foreign guests also took part in a church service as well as cultural night, where Kelabit dances were performed.

Bario Food Festival at the Tribal Stove a huge success

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/03/bario-food-festival-at-the-tribal-stove-a-huge-success/

Posted on May 3, 2013, Friday

FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE: Sabrina trying out the ‘sape’ with members of ‘Anak Adi’.

KUCHING: The Bario Food Festival held recently at the Tribal Stove, the only Kelabit restaurant in Kuching was a success.

Hundreds of people donated generously by purchasing coupons in exchange for a traditionally cooked meal.

Long lines formed during lunch and dinner hours and the response to the food was certainly encouraging.

Organised by the Women’s wing of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak, members of the community presented a smorgasbord of delicious organic food from the Kelabit Highlands which included dishes such as ‘busak keluduh’ and ‘ubud tubu buen’ which is ginger flower and wild ginger pith salad and ‘launau’ which is local asparagus grown in the highlands.

For many of the guests, this was a first-time experience in savouring Kelabit cuisine.

Among them were Adeline Ong, from Singapore who came with her husband, Eugene Chin and a host of friends.

“I think the food is just incredible.

“This is my first time savouring food from the Kelabit highlands and I just can’t get over how fresh and organic everything is. The whole environment felt so authentic with traditional music and dancing in the background,” she enthused.

Also enjoying the unique culinary and cultural experience was Sabrina Bujang who came with Jiman, a guest from Kuala Lumpur.

“The event was really fun and unique. I enjoyed the food tremendously and we stayed on for quite a while to enjoy the performances and meeting people from all over. I think we overstayed and we had so much fun that unfortunately my friend missed his flight. He has no regrets though as we all had a great time.”

Apart from food, the event also showcased the wonderful dance and music from the Kelabit highlands, featuring cultural dances by ‘Anak Adi’, a griup of young members of the community accompanied by the amazing sounds of live sape’ music played by accomplished musicians such as Julian Cottet from Paris who gave a wonderful rendition of contemporary ‘sape’ music and Desmond Junek who gave an equally awesome rendition of traditional Orang Ulu music.

The food fair was organised to raise awareness of the Bario and Kelabit Food and Cultural Festival or Pesta Nukenan, which is a yearly event, held in Bario, organised by the Women’s Group (Kaum Ibu).

Now in its eighth year, the event will be held from July 25 – 27.

Rurum Kelabit Sarawak president Datuk Isaac Lugun was on hand to greet the guests.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/03/bario-food-festival-at-the-tribal-stove-a-huge-success/#ixzz2Xo6XEFtc

World Harvest Festival’s play based on Kelabit folklore

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/01/world-harvest-festivals-play-based-on-kelabit-folklore/

Posted on May 1, 2013, Wednesday

KUCHING: This year’s World Harvest Festival’s play will be ‘The Fish Princess: A Highlander Love Story’ based on a Kelabit folklore to be set at the heart of the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) from May 3 and 4.

The play will be utilising SCV’s lake, ethnic houses and trees as natural props.

It aims to promote Sarawak as the land of folklores and legends.

In a nutshell, the play will tell the story of a water world princess who is turned into a fish and sent to earth.

The fish princess is then raised by a poor childless couple called Abing Lian and Sigang Aban who resided in a village called Pa’ Labid.

As time goes by, the couple is shocked when the fish they raised turned into a young and beautiful lady whom they named Dayang Abing Lian.

With magical powers bestowed upon her, Dayang was able to turn her poor family into a very wealthy family in the village.

The wealth of Dayang’s family became news and also her beauty.

Conflicts arose when young men fought one another over her.

Dayang became the envy of young women in the village when a handsome noble man named Berapoi fell in love with her.

Eventually, Dayang and Berapoi were married in a grand wedding celebration according to traditions and they lived happily ever after.

The original story is adapted from the story book, ‘Kumpulan Cerita Rakyat Sarawak’, compiled by Jiso Rutan and Abdul Kadir Yunus and published by Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka in 2010.

The play will involve 120 people from SCV, students of Sekolah Seni Kuching and apprentices of SLDN Sarawak Cultural Village.

Reigning Miss Cultural Harvest Festival 2012, Magrina Awing George, will also make a special appearance during the play.

Among highlights of the three-day and two-night festival are the grand finals of Miss Cultural Harvest Festival, Ironman, an international cultural concert from Mayuzumi Foundation, dance and music workshops as well as the Sarawak Kitchen Food Festival.

Tickets for the play are sold at RM60 per person.

For more information, contact Grace or Arnida at 082-846411 or 082-846108.

Antlers bring Malaysian shop owner luck

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20130428-418967.html

Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 

MIRI - They are more than 40 years old and still growing. A pair of unique looking deer antlers is attracting visitors to Tiang Heng's antique shop in Malaysia.

"It wasn't this big when I bought it some time back in the 70s," said Tiang yesterday.

The antlers with the cranial skull intact were found in a bamboo grove in Kelabit Highlands in Pa'Mada.

"I remember there was a strong wind that day and children were playing near the bamboo. Suddenly, the deer head fell from the bamboo bush," said Tiang.

Amazed at the physical structure of the antlers, Tiang decided to buy them from the land owner at RM4,000 (S$1,629) but there was a condition.

"I was told never to hang the antlers on the wall as it would bring bad luck.

"The Kelabits told me to put them on an open clay jar instead. I was sceptical at first but I followed their advice. Maybe that is why the antlers keep on growing till today."

Unlike normal deer antlers which look like a branch, these looked entwined above the head like a knot.

Many have come to Tiang's shop and some offered to buy the antlers for as much as RM1 million but he told them they were not for sale.

Even the Barisan Nasional candidate for Miri, Datuk Sebastian Ting, visited Tiang's shop recently.

"I told him to touch the antlers so he could get all the luck he needed for the election. The antlers have helped me and my business all these years. Maybe they can help him, too."

Wired to the world

http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Features/2013/04/22/Wired-to-the-world.aspx

Published: Monday April 22, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Friday April 26, 2013 MYT 12:30:24 AM

Spark! by ALVIN UNG

Aishah working on her blog. The Internet has given her new opportunities for growth.

The amazing untold story of how broadband was made accessible to rural Malaysia, thanks largely to the initiative of a quiet man with a big vision.

ONE hot afternoon in March, I bought a woollen hat woven by a young woman living in Felda Jengka 24, an oil palm plantation in the heart of Pahang.

The brown-and-yellow hat was adorned with a three-dimensional white flower. Aishah took eight hours to crochet the hat. It was for sale for RM18.

“Can I buy this hat online?” I asked, as we chatted at a rural broadband Internet centre which began as a Pusat Internet Desa, or PID.

“Yes, I’m on Facebook,” said Aishah, smiling shyly, as she sat on a tall chair. “Just let me know the size, colours, and how many flowers you want on the hat. You can also contact me on Yahoo Messenger.”

I fished out two red notes from my wallet. I wasn’t sure how to hand her the money.

“Thank you for buying the hat,” Aishah said in Bahasa Malaysia, as she raised her leg high. She took the two bills from me using her big toe and second toe.

Nur Aishah Ariffin, 26, the youngest in a family of six children, was born with stumps instead of arms. The school teachers did not allow her to enrol in school, so she stayed at home watching television everyday until she turned 18, when she joined a community centre. She taught herself how to crochet. Using her feet, she used scissors to snip yarn, wrapped the yarn around the crochet hook, and began pulling loops. She made beautiful hats and bags.

But what use was it to sell a woollen hat in the middle of an oil palm plantation? Who would buy Aishah’s foot-made products? How would this motivated, bright young woman find opportunities for growth and learning?

Aishah’s story of untapped potential could be repeated thousands of times in rural households all across the country. Even for people who do not face the daily challenge of living without hands and arms, the rural poor face other kinds of invisible disabilities. For example, they spend far more time and money to do the things city folk take for granted, whether it is reading the news, writing an e-mail, or applying for entrance into universities.

The Internet is the great leveller. Global research has shown that the rollout of Internet services in rural communities can reduce urban migration while generating new income and home businesses in villages.

Getting there has been a challenge for Malaysia. Less than 15 years ago, Internet penetration in the country was less than 10%. None of the primary or secondary schools were wired to the Internet.

Access in rural areas was zilch. Most villagers had not seen a computer.

Since then Malaysia has been playing catch-up. The biggest game changer is the Communications Multimedia Act (CMA 1998) introduced as one of the Bills of Guarantee for the Multimedia Super Corridoor (MSC). This Act encourages the building of civil society. Less known, but equally important, is one of the 10 objectives: “to ensure an equitable provision of affordable services over ubiquitous national infrastructure.” In other words, rural folks should also get access to affordable Internet technology.

But creating sound policy and passing laws is only the first mile in a marathon. It is the ability to implement simple, scalable and sustainable solutions that will ensure whether the change effort endures or withers away.

Therein comes the rub: It is not in the interest of private telecommunications to spend billions to lay out broadband for so few people across jungles, rivers and mountains. And even after you build Internet centres in villages, it is an even bigger challenge to educate the people to use the Net.

Last month, a Felda settler and village chief told me that when he first sighted a desktop PC, he grabbed the mouse by its “tail” and swung it like a lasso.

So who were the people who helped to build the foundation for rural broadband access in Malaysia? And years later, has that made a difference?

“Dr Halim is the man you’re looking for,” declared Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek, the NKEA director at Pemandu. “He’s the spark who made broadband accessible in the rural setting. During a time when broadband was not available, he was persistent in pushing for the idea. He convinced the telcos to join in. And he always went down to the ground to make sure things were happening. It’s an amazing, untold story.”

A few weeks later, I found myself sitting in a Proton Perdana with Datuk Seri Dr Halim Shafie, the chairman of Telekom Malaysia (TM), as we drove along the Karak Highway to visit a community broadband centre in Jengka, a two hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur.

In 1999, when Halim was appointed as deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications, there was no broadband outside the city. Today there are hundreds of rural broadband centres. More than a hundred are being set up this year. All 10,000 schools and hundreds of rural libraries are broadband-enabled. Halim helped to kick-start these initiatives.

“How did you even get started?” I asked Halim.

“We started by asking a question,” Halim recollected as our car motored past trucks going uphill on the Karak Highway. “How do we push communications and the Internet into rural areas?”

“If you can put Internet access into Bario, you can put it anywhere,” said Leo Moggie, the then energy minister from Kanuwit, Sarawak.

Bario was a Kelabit village in the highlands of Sarawak near the Kalimantan border. As a kid, Idris Jala (now CEO of Pemandu) recollected walking one week through jungle and travelling another week by boat to reach Miri.

Halim enlisted Telekom Malaysia, Mimos and Unimas to install a VSAT facility and an Internet centre so that villagers could access voice and Internet services via satellite. When the service was launched in 2000, the headmistress in Bario spoke, in tears: “For the first time in our history, we can make a phone call from Bario.”

Halim was almost in tears, too. “We saw how the Internet opened up the whole world for rural folks, particularly kids,” Halim told me.

Now the challenge was scalability: how do you do this again and again in hundreds of obscure villages in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia? And how do you put in place the systems and structures to make such an undertaking sustainable over the long-term? Or to put it bluntly: how do you avoid building glorified cyber-cafes left to rot in the jungle?

Interestingly enough, Halim’s childhood prepared him to tackle these perplexing questions.

Halim grew up in a rural village in Kuala Ketil near Sungai Petani, Kedah, where he walked or cycled 5km to an estate primary school called Batu Pekaka English School, led by the then headmaster David Raman.

“David was the best teacher I ever had. He knew we all came from very poor families,” said Halim, who grew up selling rubber, bananas, chickens and flowers from the backyard in order to buy rice, flour and kerosene. When Halim entered Standard Six, the headmaster applied for Halim to enter Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) even though Halim had not heard about the famous boarding school.

“David was extraordinarily kind and committed to us. He gave us opportunities we never had. I could never repay the debt I owed him,” Halim said.

Halim went to MCKK without a school uniform during the first week but he made the decision to work harder than anyone else. He woke up in the pre-dawn hours and walked alone across a dark field (where the “Green Lady” was rumoured to haunt) so that he could study in a lit classroom.

Halim subsequently read Economics in Universiti Malaya, graduated in the top 2% in the Masters programme at Pittsburgh University in Pennsylvania, the United States, and obtained a PhD in Information Transfer from Syracuse University (in New York, the United States) in 1988.

“I am not intelligent,” Halim said. “Coming from a rural school, I did not get much exposure to the world. But I realised I could go somewhere in life because I made the decision to work harder than almost anyone, almost anywhere.”

Hard work drew him across the divide from rural poverty to the urban middle class where he spent nearly three decades climbing the ranks in several government ministries until he became secretary-general of the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications in 2000.

At this point, unknown to him, all the pieces of the jigsaw were now in place for Halim to repay the debt he owed to his primary school headmaster.

Halim’s reminisces were interrupted by our arrival at Felda Jengka 24 – a squat building with a dozen PCs, WiFi, a living room area and a training room. The TM chairman was given an official welcome.

Amid the speeches, I found myself drawn towards Muhammad Shafudin, manager of the community broadband centre, which was recently rebranded as Pusat Internet 1Malaysia. As we chatted, I discovered that Shafudin’s essentially a tech evangelist who transformed the broadband outpost into a community hub.

Since starting his job in 2010, he has trained more than 1,400 people on how to use Word, access the Internet, assemble computers and set up a blog. He has educated home-makers on the dangers of cyber crime. He has helped grassroots entrepreneurs set up blogs and e-commerce sites to sell products such as coins, rings, keris, frozen food, apple vinegar, olive oil, papaya seed extract, and virgin coconut oil.

“We try to give our best using the existing infrastructure in this centre,” Shafudin told me. “We do everything from sweeping the rubbish to recruiting volunteers and emceeing community events.”

If the elderly cannot come to the centre, Shafudin and his assistant manager will bring computers to their homes to educate them. Last year, Shafudin made a video on Aishah’s story which won a U-Pustaka 2012 national award.

What keeps Shafudin, a Gen Y university graduate, motivated to work in a rural place? Shafudin said he is allowed to earn extra income when he opens the centre after hours or when he provides a service, such as installing Windows into a PC.

“I use the centre to help the community, but the community also helps me. My work here has given me the business opportunities to improve my life,” said Shafudin, the father of a one-year-old son.

Ongoing efforts to bridge the urban-rural divide are being coordinated under Pemandu’s Economic Transformation Plan – in an Entry Point Project called “Extending Reach.” The first initiative is building community broadband centres such as the one I visited; 162 new community broadband centres are expected to be set up this year. The second initiative provides wireless access to selected villages through an initiative called “Kampung Tanpa Wayar.” There were 2,489 rural wireless spots built in 2012; 689 more wireless sites are planned for 2013.

Of course, transforming any community requires a combination of high-tech and down-to-earth initiatives, including revamping the local Saturday market.

One of the projects which Pemandu is coordinating with the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) is to modernise local markets into a 24-hour community market called Pasar Komuniti in Jengka.

Azlin Abdullah, a Felda manager, told me the Jengka community – comprising 70,000 people who live in Maran, Jerantut and Temerloh – were fortunate to have four Internet centres. “With these centres, the kids don’t have to go to cybercafes. During school breaks, hundreds of children come here everyday. The older kids use the centre to fill in online applications for universities,” Azlin said.

“When I was in the city, I didn’t dare to touch a computer,” said Samad Arshad, the ketua peneroka of Felda 24. “Now I dare to hold a mouse.”

On our car ride back to Kuala Lumpur, I found Halim in a reflective mode.

“When we put Internet access in rural areas for farmers, housewives and kids, we are opening up their world. I really believe in that. There are kids with potential everywhere. What we need to do is provide them opportunities and facilities to realise their potential,” he told me.

At that moment, something clicked for me. I realised there wouldn’t be a Shafudin or an Aishah talking to me today if not for the foundation that Halim built a decade ago when he was secretary-general of the Ministry of Energy.

“You built a foundation of success for these people just as David Raman built the foundation for you,” I told Halim.

“What I’ve done is nowhere near what David has done for me and so many others,” Halim said immediately. After a while he nodded slowly. “But, yes, I suppose I am now doing it for others.”

Aishah herself is a recipient of Halim’s – and David Raman’s – legacy.

Since meeting Shafudin at the community broadband centre in Jengka, Aishah has begun sharing her story through her Facebook page and selling hats, bags and origami items through the Internet.

Aishah’s now downloading YouTube videos to learn beading which she hopes will make her products more saleable.

“If I could, I would come here everyday. I’m learning so much by studying what other people do in art and craft,” Aishah said, as she keenly observed me taking notes on my iPad.

Now Aishah sells only a couple of hats or bags a month. But that’s not the point. The point is that the Internet has connected Aishah to the world.

She now has the opportunity to contribute her talents in ways she could never have done before. Who knows where this will lead her? So if you are able to connect tens of thousands of Aishahs to the rest of the world, then you are, in the words of Steve Jobs, making a dent in the universe.

“There are thousands of people in the most rural areas who will flourish when we give them opportunities,” said Halim as our car re-entered Kuala Lumpur. “Even under the most extreme circumstances, we can discover human potential.”

■ Alvin Ung is a facilitator, executive coach and author of the bestselling book Barefoot Leadership. To view more videos, photos and insights on Datuk Seri Dr Halim Shafie, please visit www.businesscircle.com.my. The column and multimedia content are a collaborative effort between the columnist and the Economic Transformation Programme.

Community leaders voice support for Barisan Nasional candidate Anyi Ngau

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/04/19/community-leaders-voice-support-for-barisan-nasional-candidate-anyi-ngau/

Posted on April 19, 2013, Friday

MARUDI: Several community leaders here have pledged their support for Anyi Ngau, the new face to defend Baram parliamentary seat for Barisan Nasional (BN).

Kenyah paramount chief Temenggong Pahang Deng said the Orang Ulu community both in upper Baram and Tinjar should back Anyi, as he was appointed and entrusted by BN’s top leadership to continue bringing development to the constituency.

“He has been chosen and thus I urge the Orang Ulu community in Baram, especially voters, to give their full support to him no matter what,” he said yesterday.

Pahang said Anyi has a lot of experience from his time as a civil servant.

“He has a long history of working as Sarawak administrative officer (SAO), district officer in a few areas in the state and has served as a district officer for nine years in Limbang.

“He has what it takes with that background. He is not someone new to the people in Baram,” he said.

Meanwhile, Penghulu Freddie Abun, a Kelabit community leader from Long Lellang-Long Seridan said his community would continue to support the BN.

“Overall, we are satisfied with the nomination of Anyi Ngau as BN’s candidate for the seat. We will support him,” he said.

Freddie said should Anyi win the seat on May 5, he should continue all the projects underway and bring even more development to improve the standard of living of the people in the area.

‘Bario forever in our hearts’

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/04/02/bario-forever-in-our-hearts/

by Mary Francis, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on April 2, 2013, Tuesday

RECALLING THE PAST: Judi shares stories about her father.

ONLY SURVIVOR: Jack Tredrea (left) and Judi (right) with a school staff in Bario.

GET TOGETHER: Judi (second left) with Soh (fourth left) and Soswe members. Chong is standing on the left.

MIRI: Bario, in the famed Kelabit Highlands, is deeply etched in the hearts of many foreigners whose fathers had served the special allied forces there during the Second World War (WWII).

One who has fond memories of Bario is Australian Judi Wigzell. She recently shared with Society of English Writers Northern Sarawak (Soswe) members here about her father, the late Sergeant FA Wigzell, a New Zealander, attached to the Special Operations Australia ‘Z’ Special Unit.

The Special Unit, which is also known as the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Special Operations Australia (SOA) and the Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), was an allied special force formed to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia during the WWII.

Comprising Australians, British, Dutch, New Zealand, Timorese and Indonesian members, the ‘Z’ Special Unit operated as a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage body. They largely operated in Borneo and in the islands of the former Netherlands East Indies.

“My father was so emotional even after so many years away from the battlegrounds,” said Judi at the Gymkhana Club here.

Judi flew to Bario with three other Australians on March 25, 2013, to hand over memorial tablets of eight Australians and 23 New Zealanders to a school library there.

They went there on March 25 as it was the day these fallen heroes parachuted into the jungles of Bario back then.

Judi was accompanied by 93-year-old Jack Tredrea, the sole survivor from the Australian ‘Z’ Special Unit, Linda Sanderson Burr (daughter of the late QX11361 Sergeant C.L. Sanderson) and Bob Pinkerton (son of the late NX43707 Lieutenant R.J.D. Pinkerton).

Not wanting to miss this rare occasion, Soswe secretary Jennie Soh flew to Bario to witness the handing over of the tablets.

Soh said Judi’s story tugged at her heart strings.

“It’s great to know that the children of these fallen heroes are preserving their stories and passing them to their future generations.

“We highly value the contributions and sacrifices of these fallen heroes,” Soh told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Soh hoped that locals whose parents were also involved in the ‘Z’ Special Operation as messengers or porters treasure the stories told to them by their parents.

Story-telling is one of Soswe’s monthly activities. Soswe will be holding a book sharing session at its president’s residence at No.264, Piasau Garden, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on April 6.

For enquiries, call president Luke Chong at 012-8515105/lucas8@cheerful.com or Soh at 016-8883679/jsohyankhoon@gmail.

Swiss NGO warns Taib’s London lawyers

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/29/swiss-ngo-warns-taibs-london-lawyers/

FMT Staff | March 29, 2013 

 

Bruno Manser Fund is also urging the Companies Commission of Malaysia to deregister two companies mentioned in the Global Witness video.

KUCHING: An international NGO has challenged Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s British lawyers to explain their statement that the Sarawak government “issues licenses for land under very controlled circumstances”.

The London-based lawyers had, in response to an article published earlier this week in British daily The Independent, linking Taib to the massive deforestation in Sarawak, said: “The government of Sarawak issues licences for land in very controlled circumstances… This is an administrative exercise, not political patronage.

“Our client never demands or accepts bribes for the grant of licences and leases.”

Mishcon de Reya represents Taib, his Canadian son-in-law Sean Murray and their extensive global businesses network.

But Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), which is in the forefront of the ‘Freeze Taib’s assets’ and ‘Stop Timber Corruption’ campaigns, today challenged Mishcon deReya to clarify what it meant by “government of Sarawak issues licences for land in very controlled circumstances…”

BMF research had shown that Taib and his family members are reportedly sitting on 31 companies in Sarawak and have been allotted 200,000 hectares of land – equivalent to the size of Singapore.

“(We) challenge Mishcon de Reya to explain why, in these “very controlled circumstances”, close to 200,000 hectares of Sarawak state land ended up in the hands of oil palm plantation companies in which Taib family members have a known business interests.”

BMF noted that in the wake of Global Witness ‘sting’ video release exposing the level of corruption linked to Taib, Mishcon de Reya “is coming into the spotlight over their dodgy role”.

“The Bruno Manser Fund calls on Mishcon de Reya to drop the Sarawak Chief Minister and his family members as their customers,” it said in a statement.

Deregister companies

Earlier this week BMF had also urged the Companies Commission of Malaysia to deregister two Sarawak companies for their alleged involvement in criminal activities.

The two companies – Billion Venture Sdn Bhd and Ample Agro Sdn Bhd – were exposed last week by Global Witness in a secretly recorded video.

In the film, Taib’s cousins – Fatimah and Norlia Rahman Yakub who owned Ample Agro – and two Sarawak lawyers “blatantly admitted that the two companies are being used to illegally” enrich the family and a Taib crony by selling off state-owned land to foreign investors.

Billion Venture which was issued a provisional lease is currently being sued by natives who are claiming that the land is their native customary right.

“Billion Venture is a defendant in Sarawak’s biggest land rights litigation which was jointly filed by Kelabit, Penan and Lun Bawang plaintiffs in March 2011.

“The natives’ land claim has been struck out by the High Court of Sarawak on formal grounds but is currently on appeal.”

In view of this, BMF said the “companies should be deregistered immediately to prevent their assets from being sold off to third parties by illegal means.”

Commando Semut Ops, part of Bario’s history

 http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/28/commando-semut-ops-part-of-barios-history/#ixzz2OrfC8e18

 Posted on March 28, 2013, Thursday

KUCHING: Commando Semut Operation, undertaken by the Z Special Unit on May 25, 1945 during World War II in Bario, was one of the most important events that has shaped the history of the Sarawak, according to an Australian war veteran.

Jack Tredrea, a 93-year-old retired warrant officer from South Australia and the only surviving member of the unit, said that the landing was a significant step by the Allied forces against the Japanese army in Borneo during the war.

“Back then, Bario was an ideal place for the attack as it was a low key and unassuming place to for us to be in,” he said when relating his war experience during the Bicara Warisan, organised by the Sarawak Museum, here yesterday, on the secret Semut Operation.

That historic day when he parachuted down to the plains of Bario, off the plane in the early hours of the morning, he recalled being pleasantly surprised by the warm reception received from the locals there.

Following the first landing, more than 80 operations were carried out with the help of more than 2,000 indigenous people, including the Kelabits, Ibans and Penan, who killed more than 1,846 Japanese soldiers, he said. — Bernama

Isaac dipilih nyadi presiden Kunsil Rurum Kelabit S’wak

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/20/isaac-dipilih-nyadi-presiden-kunsil-rurum-kelabit-swak/

Posted on March 20, 2013, Wednesday

MIRI: Dato’ Isaac Lugun mujur dipilih nyadi presiden baru ungkup Kunsil Rurum Kelabit Sarawak (RKS) renggat 2013-2015.

Iya dibantu Dr. Cr. Philip Raja (sapit president) enggau Prof. Dr. Ramy Bulan ke nyadi mandal presiden kanan.

Empat iku udah kena pilih mangku pengawa sapit presiden, sida nya  Osart Jallong, Cr. Robert Ayu, Wendy Trang enggau Dr. Roland Dom Mattu.

Chairman bagi indu nya Jane Lian Labang enggau  KK Laju Balang ke nyadi chairman nembiak kunsil nya.

Nelson Kebing dipilih nyadi sekretari besai  ditangkan enggau Roland Tarawe (sapit sekretari besai), Ricky Wen (pemantu  sekretari besai), Ennis Gabar (tukang wang), Panay @ Panai Aran (sapit tukang wang), Gungkang Raja (pemesai pelajar), Datin Pearl Masna Ulun (pemesai main asal), Lucy Bulan (pemesai pengelantang pendiau), pemesai lumba enggau main  (Joseph Radu) enggau Lilla Raja (pemesai publisiti).

Enam iku kaban komiti nya Kijan Langit, Charles Edmund, Cr. John Tarawe, Agan Maran, Ricky Solaiman Agan enggau William Abeng.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/03/20/isaac-dipilih-nyadi-presiden-kunsil-rurum-kelabit-swak/#ixzz2PJ9SwEDu

Undercover sting exposes Malaysia land-grab

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/2013318131755948174.html

Allegations of corruption get louder following secret tapes showing plunder of resource-rich Sarawak province.

 

Florence Looi Last Modified: 19 Mar 2013 09:12

 

(video)

 

Long Napir, Malaysia - Plantations and logging are ravaging Malaysia's majestic Borneo region and indigenous people who have lived for centuries here say they are increasingly being uprooted from their once-pristine lands.  But as the timber and palm oil companies swarm over the rugged landscape of resplendent rivers and ancient rainforests, villagers in Long Napir in the country's biggest state Sarawak have vowed to thwart any further land-grabs.  The village is a settlement of longhouses, the traditional communal housing favoured by indigenous people in eastern Malaysia's Borneo island. Under the Sarawak Land Law, indigenous people have rights over areas as long as they can prove they have lived in or used the lands prior to January 1, 1958. "We have no land to farm, our rivers have become muddy, there's hardly any fish left anymore." - Tamin Sepuluh Ribu, villager But the surrounding ancient rainforests that are so essential to their traditional way of life is under threat because of logging and plantation companies. Over the past 30 years, Sarawak - one of the richest Malaysian states - has become one of the largest exporters of tropical timber.  Despite its wealth, profits have failed to trickle down, and the people here are some of the poorest in the country. Long Napir villagers lay the blame for their plight squarely on one man: the state's powerful chief minister, Abdul Mahmud Taib, who is in charge of all land classification and the allocation of lucrative forestry and plantation licenses.  "He lives, the rest of us suffer," Tamin Sepuluh Ribu, a former village headman, told Al Jazeera. "We have no land to farm, our rivers have become muddy, there's hardly any fish left anymore."  'Coterie of cronies'  Global Witness, a non-governmental organisation working against environmental exploitation, has investigated and exposed the situation in remote eastern Malaysia.   An undercover Global Witness investigator posing as an investor was offered several opportunities to purchase land in Sarawak by company officials linked to Chief Minister Taib. In each instance, the land in question was occupied by indigenous communities, who have valid claims to ownership rights under Malaysian law.  Global Witness said the indigenous areas were being sold by companies with close personal or political ties to the chief minister.  Taib has held the post since 1981, and has been repeatedly accused of corruption during his nearly 32-year rule. The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur noted in one cable released by WikiLeaks: "Chief Minister Taib Mahmud … doles out timber-cutting permits while patrolling the underdeveloped state using 14 helicopters, and his family's companies control much of the economy."  The American cable added that, "All major contracts and a significant portion of land to be converted to palm oil plantations [including on indigenous 'customary land rights' that the state government has refused to recognize] are given to these three companies." People in Sarawak are "fed up" with Taib's administration, "seen as only enriching his family and a small coterie of cronies", it said. A Penan girl deep in the Borneo rainforests [EPA] Under investigation Global Witness released a November 2012 report titled, "In the future, there will be no forests."  "Taib's powerful executive position and personal responsibility for the issuance of lucrative logging and plantation licences has enabled him to systematically extract 'unofficial payments' from the state's timber tycoons for the enrichment of himself and his family," the report said. Taib, meanwhile, denied the corruption allegations as "wholly untrue and malicious", said the report. In 2011, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission launched an official investigation into Taib, which continues at present. In secretly taped negotiations provided to Al Jazeera, the Global Witness investigator discussed buying land with company shareholders Fatimah Abdul Rahman and Norlia Abdul Rahman - Taib's first cousins. Fatimah admitted the parcel of land under discussion had been transferred to them by Chief Minister Taib. "Yeah, he's the one who gave us the land. He's my cousin," Fatimah said, laughing.  In 2011, Taib gave his cousins 5,000 hectares of land for about $300,000 dollars, according to leaked land registry documents. Having secured agriculture and timber licences, they were trying to sell it a year later for more than $16mn. Later, discussing the ease of receiving a forestry license, Fatimah told the Global Witness investigator: "The Land and Survey Department, they are the ones that issue this licence. Of course, this is from the CM's [Chief Minister's] directive, but I can speak to the CM very easily." Fatimah and Norlia did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment. 'Naughty people' Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is accused of graft [Reuters] Over the years, Taib's government has sought to limit the exercise of indigenous land rights. More than 200 land dispute cases are now before Sarawak courts, brought on behalf of claimants from indigenous communities. Jannie Lasimbang, Malaysia’s National Human Rights Commissioner, told Al Jazeera that numerous amendments have eroded indigenous land rights over the years. “The commission is concerned about the high degree of frustration, anger and desperation among indigenous peoples,” Lasimbang said.  In 1994, the Sarawak government gave the minister in charge of land the power to extinguish Native Customary Rights to land. Two years later, it was legislated that land dispute cases were automatically to presume the land belongs to the state, and the burden of proof was shifted to the claimant. In 2011, the definition of "native" was amended to include "any party entering into a joint-venture plantation deal with the Land Custody and Development Authority".  In the secretly recorded conversations with Global Witness, Taib's cousins Fatimah and Norlia showed disdain and contempt for indigenous rights, describing local villagers as "naughty people".  "So the minute they hear this land has been given, has been titled to this company to do oil palm and what-not, they'll plonk themselves there," said Fatimah.  Her sister Norlia added, "They may harass you, that's all. They are actually squatters on the land, because the land doesn't belong to them. It's government land. So they're squatting." Scratching the surface The secret dealings caught on tape only scratch the surface of the Taib family's business interests. "I know people are talking about him [Taib] being corrupted and all, but I think who isn't in this world when they're leaders?" - Fatimah Abdul Rahman, Taib's cousin Leaked land registry documents analysed by Swiss non-governmental organisation Bruno Manser Fonds suggest that companies linked to Taib's family control about 200,000 hectares of land in Sarawak - an area twice the size of Hong Kong. Global Witness estimates it has a market value of $500mn.  Divorce settlement proceedings in Malaysia between one of Taib's son, Mahmud Abu Bakir Abdul Taib and his first wife Shahnaz Abdul Majid, also highlight the vast wealth of the family. The ex-wife testified that Mahmud had an estimated $233 million deposited in more than 100 bank accounts around the world.   In June 2011, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said it had launched an investigation into Chief Minister Taib, but gave no further details.  When Al Jazeera inquired about the progress of the case last month, the commission said it had "no comment on the matter".  Taib's office did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for an interview, but he has consistently denied allegations of corruption.  The family appears not view the accusations with much seriousness. As Taib's cousin Fatimah declared on tape: "I know people are talking about him [Taib] being corrupted and all, but I think who isn't in this world when they're leaders?" One villager in Sarawak promised not to allow the status quo to continue.  "We will fight on at all costs,” farmer Vincent Balingau told Al Jazeera. “We let them take timber in the past, but we had no idea they were planning to take our land."

Source: Al Jazeera

 

Global Witness video:  http://www.globalwitness.org/insideshadowstate/index.html