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.

‘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.

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

Documenting the exploits of our unsung heroes

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=93651

Documenting the exploits of our unsung heroes

by Terry Justin Dit.

Posted on February 15, 2011, Tuesday

History has always been a passion of mine as it involves the study of events in the past, many of which had a huge impact on humanity.

In recent years, there has been a shift in the study of history. Not only are the roles played by illustrious politicians, scientists, generals, philosophers and other personalities in a historical time period examined; the contributions of common folk are now also increasingly given prominence.

The Second World War (1939-1945) was a momentous period in 20th century world history given its unprecedented global proportions and scale of conflict and destruction.

Borneo was not spared because of the strategic importance of its oilfields in Miri, Seria, Balikpapan and Tarakan. Indeed, it was amongst the first strategic targets for expansion by the invading Japanese.

While the coastal areas were easily overrun and then administered by the Japanese, the hinterland of Sarawak was a different matter. The sheer expanse and impenetrable nature of the virgin forests of Sarawak in the 1940s made it possible for some of Sarawak’s tribes to be isolated from the war and the Japanese administration.

It was this remoteness and isolation that attracted the attention of the Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), also known as Z Special Unit or Z Force, an Australian special operations unit that included a small number of New Zealand and British personnel, as it lay the groundwork for the Allied re-occupation of northwest Borneo.

As it was free from Japanese patrols, the Allies planned to use Bario in the Kelabit Highlands as a training area for indigenous guerrillas as well as a staging point to harass and tie up the Japanese forces in Borneo.

Such activities contributed to the success of the Australian landings (codenamed Oboe 6) at Brunei Bay and Labuan in June 1945.

The brave exploits of these mixed teams of Europeans and indigenous tribesmen have been written about by several of the soldiers who commanded the various guerilla groups (codenamed Semut 1, Semut 2 and Semut 3).

But in spite of this, much is still unknown about their activities as the number of official documents and reports pertaining to the SRD available to the public in archives are scant due to the clandestine nature of SRD operations during the war.

An ongoing project of mine is to document the contributions of the indigenous members of the Semut guerilla groups to the Allied cause during the war. While the exploits of the European members of Semut have been widely documented and publicised, the experiences and recollections of the indigenous tribesmen from various communities such as the Iban, Kayan, Kelabit, Kenyah and Penan have not been formally documented at all.

There is a compelling need to record their stories as many are very advanced in age, and sadly, many have already left us. Since only a few of them can read, let alone write their own stories, their histories are largely oral histories.

Oral histories are stories that living individuals tell about their past, or about the past of others. To avoid Sarawak losing an important chapter of her history and to provide a balanced account of an important event in our country’s history, it is imperative that the exploits of these men are properly recorded and documented so that future generations will learn and treasure the sacrifices of our Sarawakian heroes.

Since the project is ongoing, I seek assistance from the public, especially those with elderly relatives who participated in the Semut teams, to contribute to this project. Here is the chance to record and document what was truly an important event (the Second World War) through the perspectives of an indigenous person.

• Terry Justin Dit is a lecturer in the School of Foundation and Continuing Studies at Curtin Sarawak. He wrote his theses on ‘British Counterinsurgency Operations in Malaya and Borneo’ and ‘Maritime Piracy in East Asia, 1990-2000’. He currently teaches Borneo Studies and 20th Century World History at the university. Terry can be contacted on 085-443939 extension 3209.

Bario’s inspiring tribute to WW2 fighters

http://tribune.my/prime/890-barios-inspiring-tribute-to-ww2-fighters.html

Bario’s inspiring tribute to WW2 fighters

Wednesday, 14 July 2010 10:30

KUCHING: A unique Bario Memorial Sculpture Monument set up on the Muloon Hill, Bario Asal to commemorate the parachute landing of British and Australian commandos into Bario during World War II was unveiled by Minister of Tourism and Heritage Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam recently.

The monument was jointly built by the Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF), the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage and the Bario community in conjunction with the 65th anniversary of World War II and the landing of the commandos, led by Tom Harrison, in Bario.

During the simple unveiling ceremony, Dr Chan, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, laid a flower wreath and paid tribute to 200 tribal warriors from Baram and Rejang Basins, who sacrificed their lives to support the commandos during the Semut Operations to liberate Sarawak from the Japanese occupation in 1945.

Later, the Bario Commandos Liberation trail proposed package was unveiled.

Memorial of the reconnaissance mission built in Bario

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/7/5/sarawak/6606183&sec=sarawak

Monday July 5, 2010

Memorial of the reconnaissance mission built in Bario

By YU JI
yuji@thestar.com.my


A MEMORIAL that commemorates the landing of Allied Force paratroopers in Borneo against the Japanese occupation has been erected in Bario.

Located on a foothill in the hinterland, which is about 50 minutes by flight from Miri, the memorial will become the start of an eco-tourism trail that will eventually stretch all the way to Sibu town.

The trail will retrace the route of the reconnaissance mission, Operation “Semut”, 65 years ago by the British and Australian army. While the memorial was launched last Saturday, the trail packages will proceed in stages due to the lack of infrastructure.

Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) Heritage Development Committee chairman Lim Kian Hock said without the success of Operation Semut, the founding of Malaysia may have been thwarted.

“When the Allied Forces landed, headed by Major Tom Harrison of the British Army, who later became the Sarawak Museum curator, the locals welcomed them. They did not report the troops’ presence to the Japanese,” Lim said.

Other Allied personnel, who landed across the border in Dutch Borneo (now Indonesia), were not so lucky. “They were reported and were beheaded,” Lim said.

“The people of Bario were intensely loyal to the Allied paratroopers. Bario paved the way for operation Semut towards the liberation of Borneo, and in particular, Sarawak.”

On the memorial, located on a foothill of undulating mountains, Lim said: “The design follows the theme on the spirit for freedom and unity. This is an artwork produced with stainless steel based on the form of the Orang Ulu musical instrument, “sape.”

STF president Wee Hong Seng said the new memorial at Bario has already created interest overseas.

“We have received communication from the descendants and friends of the former commandos, from as far as the UK and Australia,” Wee said.

“These tourists were keen to retrace their forefathers’ wartime footsteps, and to get to know the valuable assistance and friendship given by the local interior communities.”

Meanwhile, Tourism and Heritage Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the memorial would be “a manifestation of what we can do in the future”.

Speaking at a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial, Dr Chan said the state government would continue to emphasise on tourism products that are owned by locals.

“I think local ownership and community based tourism is very important, because sometimes outsiders may not fully understand what should be done,” Dr Chan, who is also deputy chief minister, said.

“City planners may have other ideas, or worse, some may just run away after money is made. Furthermore, I’m convince that local communities will emphasise more on nature, which is where Sarawak’s tourism potential really is.”