A Sarawak sob story
MW GohPublished: Jan 4, 2001 7:01 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
I must congratulate Tony Thien on his well-expressed article regarding the needs of Borneans ([#1]RM8 billion bailout: A Borneo perspective[/#], Dec 23).
When I first arrived at Sarawak 10 years ago, many of my indigenous friends take days just to make a trip from Miri to the interior - by bus, express boats, then on foot for about one and a half days through logging camps before they finally reach their kampung. Such trips for them are not only time-consuming, but also costly and dangerous.
Furthermore, basic necessities in their kampung are costly - even ordinary foodstuff like condensed milk and sugar - because of the high transport charges.
Many of the villagers do not have electricity and piped water. At night, lightbulbs are powered by generators and they use rainwater for drinking and cooking. Their main source of water is the river. But alas, excessive logging has destroyed the beauty of Sarawakian rivers. My indigenous friends have to make do with the muddy rivers!
Sarawak is rich with resources - from beautiful trees to oil and gas. But how much of the revenue generated from the state is actually ploughed back to benefit Sarawakians? As many of my indigenous friends, especially those affected by the Bakun project, would express: "You take away part of our lives when you remove the trees, pollute our rivers and 'snatch' our lands. The only land title we have now is the little cubicle in the longhouse built from cheap timber."
Many in high places would say: "Oh, we are trying our best to upgrade their lives by moving them to the towns." But these people fail to realise that the very lives of these indigenous peoples - the Bumiputra, the real peoples of the land - lie not in the towns but in the heart of the jungles! Therein lies peace!
If our government can dish out so much money to help one man (Tajudin Ramli), what about the millions living in the jungles of Sarawak? Please do not rationalise your selfish agenda for what it is - it certainly is a bailout!
State elections are due soon - maybe our Works Minister should seriously consider coming to stay in our kampung for a few days and draft out some speedy plans to get highways built at double-speed time.
When I first arrived at Sarawak 10 years ago, many of my indigenous friends take days just to make a trip from Miri to the interior - by bus, express boats, then on foot for about one and a half days through logging camps before they finally reach their kampung. Such trips for them are not only time-consuming, but also costly and dangerous.
Furthermore, basic necessities in their kampung are costly - even ordinary foodstuff like condensed milk and sugar - because of the high transport charges.
Many of the villagers do not have electricity and piped water. At night, lightbulbs are powered by generators and they use rainwater for drinking and cooking. Their main source of water is the river. But alas, excessive logging has destroyed the beauty of Sarawakian rivers. My indigenous friends have to make do with the muddy rivers!
Sarawak is rich with resources - from beautiful trees to oil and gas. But how much of the revenue generated from the state is actually ploughed back to benefit Sarawakians? As many of my indigenous friends, especially those affected by the Bakun project, would express: "You take away part of our lives when you remove the trees, pollute our rivers and 'snatch' our lands. The only land title we have now is the little cubicle in the longhouse built from cheap timber."
Many in high places would say: "Oh, we are trying our best to upgrade their lives by moving them to the towns." But these people fail to realise that the very lives of these indigenous peoples - the Bumiputra, the real peoples of the land - lie not in the towns but in the heart of the jungles! Therein lies peace!
If our government can dish out so much money to help one man (Tajudin Ramli), what about the millions living in the jungles of Sarawak? Please do not rationalise your selfish agenda for what it is - it certainly is a bailout!
State elections are due soon - maybe our Works Minister should seriously consider coming to stay in our kampung for a few days and draft out some speedy plans to get highways built at double-speed time.
View Comments0