http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/10/16/focus/12271670&sec=focus
Sunday October 16, 2005
Prominent Kelabit
IF there is any Bumiputera community that can be proud of its achievements, it has to be the Kelabit of Sarawak. Ask Henry Lian Aran and he will tell you that the Kelabit are probably the most literate indigenous in Malaysia.
“I would say that at least 90% of the Kelabit are literate. This is because most attended adult classes well after they left school,” he said.
Based on some estimates, about 10% of the estimated 5,000 Kelabit have obtained diplomas, degrees, post-graduate degrees and professional qualifications. At least another 1,000 have sat for their Form Five examinations.
Apart from Henry Lian Aran, the other notable veteran Kelabit are Pemanca Ngimat Ayu, the first qualified “Ulu Dresser” (hospital assistant), Penghulu Henry Jala, a veteran teacher, Inspector Bala Palaba and Inspector Kuda Ditta, the first Sarawakian to compete in the Olympics (in Tokyo) and Police Sgt Ngalinuh Bala, the only Kelabit to be awarded the Seri Pahlawan (SP), the nation’s highest medal for bravery during the Communist insurgency in Sarawak.
Over the last 30 years the Kelabit have produced their own bona fide doctors including gynaecologist Dr Roland Dom Matu and Dr Philip Raja, a paediatric cardiologist (the son of Sina Raja Ngatan), Dr Samuel Walter who is working in Ireland, Dr Paul Ngalap who is with the Miri General Hospital and Dr Bawih Raja Puun, the first female Kelabit doctor. Dr Philip's sister Luli is a chemical engineer.
Jane Lian Labang – general manager of the Sarawak Cultural Village in Damai and married to Tillai Bala a Universiti Malaya graduate attached to the Sarawak Education Department – said: “A growing number of Kelabit have taken an interest in medicine. My niece Sasha Mohan (the daughter of Datuk Dr A. Jai Mohan and Datin Pearl Masna) will qualify as a doctor in a year or two.”
Four of Inspector Bala Palaba's daughters are graduates, namely Supang (a judge in Kuching), Mary (a Universiti Malaya graduate), Doris (a Universiti Malaya graduate and MBA from Curtin University, Australia) and Poline (a master’s graduate with Unimas who is pursuing her PhD). Another daughter, Esta, is completing her bachelor’s degree in filming at Unimas.
Another police Inspector Walter Wak has also done his community proud as his son Dr Samuel Walter is specialising in emergency medicine in Ireland while Dr Gabriel Walter has a PhD in electrical engineering and is specialising in the development of lasers.
The top Kelabit Sarawak civil servant is Miri Resident Ose Murang from Long Peluan. The late Datuk Marcus Raja who was killed in a helicopter crash near Bario in July 2004 together with six others, was a successful businessman and former President of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak.
TAMAH BULAN
A war veteran who was honoured with the Chief Minister’s award four years ago for having produced the largest number of graduates — Dr Rami who is a law lecturer at Universiti Malaya, Lucy who has a master’s in education, Lipang and Laura who have forestry degrees from UPM, and Solomon, a theology graduate who is now deputy president of the Sidang Injil Borneo (formerly called Borneo Evangelical Mission).
HENRY JALA
The penghulu or headman of the Kelabit (left) is the father of Idris Jala (inset), the new MAS managing director who will head the airline from Dec 1. Henry, a veteran teacher, and wife Pu’un Midang Aran (right) also have two other children who are graduates. Robin Jala is a Shell executive in Perth while Datin Garnette Jala (centre), is a former lecturer and MA graduate from the University of York in UK. She is married to the former Speaker of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Datuk Robert Jacob Ridu.
GERAWAT GALA
A top lawyer and the first Kelabit law graduate. The former Shell Malaysia general manager and general counsel is now practising on his own and is also the President of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak.
PEMANCA NGIMAT AYU
THE octogenarian, who was born in Pa Main, wanted to become a teacher but was sent to Kuching where he worked as a collector under Tom Harrison. However, after attending night classes, he decided to become a hospital assistant, and in 1953 set up the first clinic in Pa Main where there were 40 families (the village has since been abandoned). Ngimat, who was regarded as the ‘Doctor’, said: “We did everything, walking for days from Pa Main to Lio Matu (Baram) to collect medical supplies on a monthly basis. We brought along 20 Kelabit porters to help. “I also trekked to remote villages to treat patients for ailments such as dysentery, pneumonia and malaria. I prescribed antibiotics, gave injections, pulled teeth out and stitched wounds... but rarely had to operate on a patient.”
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Friday, July 16, 2004
Officials puzzled how copter went missing
http://thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/7/16/nation/8450837&sec=nation
Friday July 16, 2004
Officials puzzled how copter went missing
KOTA KINABALU: Department of Civil Aviation officials are working on several theories why the seven-seater Bell 206 helicopter went missing in the thick forest of the Sarawak-Kalimantan highlands.
The Sarawak state-owned helicopter went missing after it took off from the Bario airfield at 12.53pm on a 17-minute flight to Bakelalan.
The helicopter, which can fly for three hours on a full tank at a speed of 180kph, was piloted by experienced ex-RMAF officer Capt Samsuddin Hashim, 45.
He joined Hornbill Skyways in 1995 and knew the terrain well.
The helicopter was equipped with an Emergency Location Beacon (ELB) that could send signals of up to eight kilometres in the event of a crash.
There were also two satellite phones in the hands of the six passengers, including State Assistant Minister Dr Judson Sakai Tagal.
The weather from 10am that day was described as bad, with rain clouds over the highlands.
Aviation officials said the helicopter made its last contact from Bario to the Kota Kinabalu control tower to inform them that it was airborne.
“We are puzzled why its ELB signals were not picked up by four full satellite searchers and other aircraft if the helicopter had crashed.
“Normally, on impact, the ELB will be triggered off,” said an official.
The officials said the helicopter could have encountered technical or engine problems and crashed through the thick canopy of trees of about 50m high, making any wreckage difficult to see from the air.
Another possibility was that the pilot might have encountered a down draft during bad weather and could not pull the helicopter up, forcing it to crash.
Due to thick clouds, the pilot could have taken a southerly direction towards Kalimantan instead of flying a straight path from Bario to Bakelalan.
It was also possible, they said, that the pilot could have tried to land at an abandoned airstrip such as Pa Lungan near where some villagers initially claimed they saw a low-flying object and heard a small explosion.
They also said the pilot might have failed to make contact if the helicopter had crash-landed in an inaccessible area.
But they could survive as there were abundant water sources, the officials added.
They said Dr Tagal, a Lun Bawang native and another passenger, Datuk Marcus Raja, a Kelabit, were familiar with the terrain in the Bakelalan and Bario highlands as both their indigenous communities originated from there.
Friday July 16, 2004
Officials puzzled how copter went missing
KOTA KINABALU: Department of Civil Aviation officials are working on several theories why the seven-seater Bell 206 helicopter went missing in the thick forest of the Sarawak-Kalimantan highlands.
The Sarawak state-owned helicopter went missing after it took off from the Bario airfield at 12.53pm on a 17-minute flight to Bakelalan.
The helicopter, which can fly for three hours on a full tank at a speed of 180kph, was piloted by experienced ex-RMAF officer Capt Samsuddin Hashim, 45.
He joined Hornbill Skyways in 1995 and knew the terrain well.
The helicopter was equipped with an Emergency Location Beacon (ELB) that could send signals of up to eight kilometres in the event of a crash.
There were also two satellite phones in the hands of the six passengers, including State Assistant Minister Dr Judson Sakai Tagal.
The weather from 10am that day was described as bad, with rain clouds over the highlands.
Aviation officials said the helicopter made its last contact from Bario to the Kota Kinabalu control tower to inform them that it was airborne.
“We are puzzled why its ELB signals were not picked up by four full satellite searchers and other aircraft if the helicopter had crashed.
“Normally, on impact, the ELB will be triggered off,” said an official.
The officials said the helicopter could have encountered technical or engine problems and crashed through the thick canopy of trees of about 50m high, making any wreckage difficult to see from the air.
Another possibility was that the pilot might have encountered a down draft during bad weather and could not pull the helicopter up, forcing it to crash.
Due to thick clouds, the pilot could have taken a southerly direction towards Kalimantan instead of flying a straight path from Bario to Bakelalan.
It was also possible, they said, that the pilot could have tried to land at an abandoned airstrip such as Pa Lungan near where some villagers initially claimed they saw a low-flying object and heard a small explosion.
They also said the pilot might have failed to make contact if the helicopter had crash-landed in an inaccessible area.
But they could survive as there were abundant water sources, the officials added.
They said Dr Tagal, a Lun Bawang native and another passenger, Datuk Marcus Raja, a Kelabit, were familiar with the terrain in the Bakelalan and Bario highlands as both their indigenous communities originated from there.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Bario – a remote rice-growing highland known for its people
http://thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/7/15/nation/8442623&sec=nation
Thursday July 15, 2004
Bario – a remote rice-growing highland known for its people
KUCHING: Bario, which is 1,128m above sea level, is a fertile rice-growing plateau in the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
The only way to get to the highland – the homeland of the Kelabits who are a close-knit ethnic group – is by the 18-seater Twin Otter aircraft operated by Malaysia Airlines.
The warm and hospitable Kelabits are known for their sophisticated wet-rice culture and they produce several varieties of high-quality rice.
Many Kelabits still live in longhouses and are evangelical Christians. They have great knowledge of and respect for the virgin forests.
Records have it that during the Japanese Occupation of World War II, a group of Allied Armed Forces parachuted into Bario to organise resistance.
Outside attention was again focused on the area during Indonesia’s confrontation with Malaysia in 1963, and in the 1970s when communist terrorists hid out in the surrounding jungle.
The Sarawak Government has an ambitious plan to develop Bario into a niche tourist destination with the growing of temperate flower gardens and the introduction of horse-drawn carriages.
From Bario, tourists can trek through the forests and visit several settlements along the way before reaching Bakelalan on the Indonesian border.
There is an airstrip in Bakelalan, which is connected by air to Lawas by Twin Otter aircraft.
Thursday July 15, 2004
Bario – a remote rice-growing highland known for its people
KUCHING: Bario, which is 1,128m above sea level, is a fertile rice-growing plateau in the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
The only way to get to the highland – the homeland of the Kelabits who are a close-knit ethnic group – is by the 18-seater Twin Otter aircraft operated by Malaysia Airlines.
The warm and hospitable Kelabits are known for their sophisticated wet-rice culture and they produce several varieties of high-quality rice.
Many Kelabits still live in longhouses and are evangelical Christians. They have great knowledge of and respect for the virgin forests.
Records have it that during the Japanese Occupation of World War II, a group of Allied Armed Forces parachuted into Bario to organise resistance.
Outside attention was again focused on the area during Indonesia’s confrontation with Malaysia in 1963, and in the 1970s when communist terrorists hid out in the surrounding jungle.
The Sarawak Government has an ambitious plan to develop Bario into a niche tourist destination with the growing of temperate flower gardens and the introduction of horse-drawn carriages.
From Bario, tourists can trek through the forests and visit several settlements along the way before reaching Bakelalan on the Indonesian border.
There is an airstrip in Bakelalan, which is connected by air to Lawas by Twin Otter aircraft.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Experts to help tap Bario agro-ecotourism potential
http://thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/4/19/nation/7795067&sec=nation
Monday April 19, 2004
Experts to help tap Bario agro-ecotourism potential
KUCHING: The Bario Highlands in northern Sarawak, known to produce Sarawak’s famous rice, will be explored further for its agro-ecotourism potential.
Experts will gather to discuss research findings and exchange views on opportunities in the agro-ecotourism sector in a first-ever Bario seminar in Miri on May 11.
Papers to be presented include Bario Rice: Potentials and Constraints; Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats Analysis for Bario; Culture and History of Bario and the Kelabits, and the highland’s agro-eco-tourism potential.
The event will be followed by a two-day Bario Festival at the highlands, which will showcase the colourful culture and craft of the Kelabits in their homeland.
Bario is accessible by twin otter aircraft from Miri. The fertile rice-growing plateau is located 1,128m above sea level.
Its cool climate and the warm hospitability of the Kelabits have made Bario a favourite tourist destination for foreigners.
The seminar and festival are jointly organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Bintulu campus, state Tourism Ministry, Miri Resident’s Office, state Agriculture Department and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.
The organisers said the seminar would compile research, survey and inventory data, evaluate opportunities and constraints, and encourage new ventures and promote eco-tourism in the highlands.
During the festival, there would be demonstrations on rice processing and salt making, displays of Kelabit and Penan craft, an exhibition on the floriculture industry and sale of agro-products.
Monday April 19, 2004
Experts to help tap Bario agro-ecotourism potential
KUCHING: The Bario Highlands in northern Sarawak, known to produce Sarawak’s famous rice, will be explored further for its agro-ecotourism potential.
Experts will gather to discuss research findings and exchange views on opportunities in the agro-ecotourism sector in a first-ever Bario seminar in Miri on May 11.
Papers to be presented include Bario Rice: Potentials and Constraints; Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats Analysis for Bario; Culture and History of Bario and the Kelabits, and the highland’s agro-eco-tourism potential.
The event will be followed by a two-day Bario Festival at the highlands, which will showcase the colourful culture and craft of the Kelabits in their homeland.
Bario is accessible by twin otter aircraft from Miri. The fertile rice-growing plateau is located 1,128m above sea level.
Its cool climate and the warm hospitability of the Kelabits have made Bario a favourite tourist destination for foreigners.
The seminar and festival are jointly organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Bintulu campus, state Tourism Ministry, Miri Resident’s Office, state Agriculture Department and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.
The organisers said the seminar would compile research, survey and inventory data, evaluate opportunities and constraints, and encourage new ventures and promote eco-tourism in the highlands.
During the festival, there would be demonstrations on rice processing and salt making, displays of Kelabit and Penan craft, an exhibition on the floriculture industry and sale of agro-products.
Thursday, January 2, 2003
Bario to be made highland garden to attract tourists
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/1/2/nation/kchhorse&sec=nation
Thursday, January 02, 2003
Bario to be made highland garden to attract tourists
KUCHING: The Bario plateau in northern Sarawak will be turned into a highland garden for nature-loving tourists.
State Tourism Minister Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg said different temperate flowers would be planted along the roads in the plateau and a special horse carriageway would be built to ferry tourists to the cottage area from the recently-upgraded Bario airfield.
“Non-motorised vehicles will be used there,'' he told reporters after welcoming more than 100 passengers on Flight MH684 from Singapore at the airport here on the first day of “Visit Sarawak Year 2003'' yesterday.
Johari said about RM3mil was expected to be spent to develop the Bario highland garden project, which would be a unique environmental-friendly tourism product for upmarket tourists.
Bario, which is 1,128m above sea level, is the homeland of some 8,000 Kelabits of Sarawak.
It is a fertile plateau where the Kelabits produce several varieties of high quality rice.
Johari said tourists could stay at the Kelabit traditional longhouses, and could visit the various attractions such as natural hot springs, waterfalls and salt springs there.
Thursday, January 02, 2003
Bario to be made highland garden to attract tourists
KUCHING: The Bario plateau in northern Sarawak will be turned into a highland garden for nature-loving tourists.
State Tourism Minister Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg said different temperate flowers would be planted along the roads in the plateau and a special horse carriageway would be built to ferry tourists to the cottage area from the recently-upgraded Bario airfield.
“Non-motorised vehicles will be used there,'' he told reporters after welcoming more than 100 passengers on Flight MH684 from Singapore at the airport here on the first day of “Visit Sarawak Year 2003'' yesterday.
Johari said about RM3mil was expected to be spent to develop the Bario highland garden project, which would be a unique environmental-friendly tourism product for upmarket tourists.
Bario, which is 1,128m above sea level, is the homeland of some 8,000 Kelabits of Sarawak.
It is a fertile plateau where the Kelabits produce several varieties of high quality rice.
Johari said tourists could stay at the Kelabit traditional longhouses, and could visit the various attractions such as natural hot springs, waterfalls and salt springs there.
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