From sleepy hollow to fast growing town BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » thesundaypost - New 2 Borneo |
- From sleepy hollow to fast growing town
- ‘Dream ride’ comes true for cyclist
- Limestone homes that boggle the mind
- Part 1 of the story on drug addiction: Ordeal of a reformed addict
- Age-appropriate chores
- Celebration of family
| From sleepy hollow to fast growing town Posted: 01 Feb 2014 11:47 AM PST by Lian Cheng, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 2, 2014, Sunday THERE are many towns or settlements along the Kuching-Serian Road, competing for the attention of travellers. Over the last five years, Tarat, traditionally known simply as Mile 35, has progressed by leaps and bounds to outshine its competitors. The town, named after the Tarat River, had a humble beginning. Like most towns in Sarawak, it grew out of a shanty settlement with only one attap grocery store — even as late as 1970. Tarat's Kapitan Chai Ming Bong, 80, is impressed by the rapid development. "I was born here and am already 80. For a long time — between 1945 and 1970 — there was only one attap shop called Chop Lee Choi Joo, owned by a local named Lee Sze Fong. It was only in 1978 that the shop was expanded into a block of four shops. It is the first block you see coming from Kuching. "Now you look at the number of shophouses and facilities here. Things are so different from the past. Surge in development Although change had been taking place over the last four decades, the last five years or so saw a sudden surge in development," Chai noted. Tarat used to be a settlement of pepper planters. Through the initiative of the Brooke government, the Chinese settlers migrated from Batu Kawah and Engkilili to cultivate forest land in Tarat and turned the surrounding areas into pepper plantations. Life was hard back then. But with the influx of local migrants, schools and other facilities were built. According to Chai, the population of Tarat, an area between Miles 33 and 37, is about 4,000, half of whom is Chinese and the other half, Bidayuh. While the Chinese occupy mainly the town areas and Luk Foo Village, the Bidayuh live in villages scattered between Kuching-Serian Road and the mountain ridges in the area. The Bidayuh villages include Tarat Mawang, Tarat Sibala, Tarat Melawi, Igom and Rayang. In Tarat today, there are three primary schools, and one secondary school with 1,800 students. There is already a kindergarten but a new one, costing RM1.2 million, will open soon. There is also a clinic and an agriculture experiment facility, well known for its Empuraus, one of the most expensive fish in the state, fetching between RM350 and RM400 per kg. Tarat is also known for large-scale pig, chicken and vegetable farming. The farm produce are sold to Kuching while poultry products are supplied to places like Miri and Sibu. Attractive new look From a humble attap store, Chop Lee Choi Joo grew into a belian-made shop. Not only that, Sze Fong's grandson, Philip Lee Koi Chee, has diversified the family business into real estate development, building materials supply and even eateries — apart from selling groceries. Development had been gradual until the last five years when it suddenly picked up. And recently, new fibre-glass shophouses were built along both sides of Kuching-Serian Road. This newly-acquired progressive look has not gone unnoticed. More than 10 long-distance coaches from Indonesia stop by the town daily. With busloads of tourists flocking in, the town is booming despite lacking tourist attractions. When travellers start stopping by, the local economy stands to benefit. Koi Chee is seizing the opportunity to provide what travellers and the town folks need. When there was no public toilet, he built one and when there was a need for shophouses and residential homes, he quickly built more. "Tarat has become a preferred stop-by place for all long-distance coaches from Indonesia. The reason is that our town is the right size tour guides prefer. "It isn't so big that Indonesian tourists might wander off and could not find their way back. But it's big enough for them to shop what they need," Koi Chee explained. Basic amenities like public toilets, shops and eateries are important to foreign tourists and Koi Chee has invested in some of them. His confidence in the town's progress is not unfounded. He started with a small shophouse project and to his surprise, the units were quickly snapped up. He built some more and all were booked even before construction begun. He finally realised the town was ready for development. He attributed this to the general increase in income of the people in the surrounding areas as well as their confidence in the property market. Most shophouse buyers are locals from both the Chinese and Bidayuh communities. Future of Tarat An experienced businessman, Koi Chee has a vision. He noticed Kota Sentosa, situated at the outskirt of Kuching, is getting saturated and slowly merging with Kuching to be part of the city itself. Foreseeing further development of Kuching will run along Kuching-Serian Road, Koi Chee believed if Tarat were developed properly, it could become a township that serves an expanding Kuching. "That's how I see the future of Tarat. There are many settlements or towns along the way to Tarat such as Mile 32 (Baki). But somehow, they are not taking off as fast as Tarat. Perhaps, it's because they are low-lying and more prone floods," Koi Chee said. He is hopeful Tarat will become the big town along Kuching-Serian Road after Kota Padawan (Mile 10) and Siburan (Mile 18). While local private businessmen such as Koi Chee see the economic significance of turning Tarat into a stopover point for Indonesia tourists, Tarat assembyman Datuk Roland Sagah has a bigger vision – a proper terminal for these long-distance coaches and turning it into a transit town for travellers to stop over before continuing their journey. "If I can identify a good piece of land in town, I hope to build a proper terminal for buses from Indonesia to stop over and have a short rest," he said. The Deputy State Assembly Speaker said the town area along the main road had been experiencing fast growth with a new township in the making. Attributing the growth to private initiatives, he commended the industry of the local businessmen. Effort from government Apart from private initiatives, development of Tarat also reflects much of the government's effort to turn it into a modern town. The present SMK Tarat now stands proudly by the roadside. Other basic infrastructure improvements such as provision of villager feeder roads are also evident. "The land at Tarat is known to be fertile. That's why an Agriculture Research Station has been set up for studies on crops and inland fisheries, including breeding Empuraus," Roland added. Envisaging an even brighter future, Roland urged the local youths to take advantage of the opportunities from the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) by going for technical training. "With technical training, they can participate in SCORE. And if they don't want to leave Tarat, their training will allow them to set up small industries in this growing town." On the direction of the town's development, Roland sees the potential of Tarat in relation to Serian (Mile 40), about four miles away. "Serian is saturated and expanding into Tarat. I see the future of Tarat tying up with that of Serian. Since Serian is now lacking space for expansion, the people are heading to Tarat." With Sarawak heading towards becoming a higher income state, opportunities for development abound. For Tarat, situated between the two expanding areas — Kuching and Serian — its location has been its strength but above all, its progress has been due to the enterprising spirit of the local businessmen who are quick to climb on the development bandwagon. With the positive attitude of its aggressive private sector, it's no wonder Tarat is booming and expected to catch up with Siburan or Padawan in no time.  To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.  |
| ‘Dream ride’ comes true for cyclist Posted: 01 Feb 2014 11:40 AM PST by Marilyn Ten, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 2, 2014, Sunday FOR many years, Ahmad Jumry has devoted much of his time to his passion for cycling. The 44-year-old from Kuching has been cycling for more than two decades — be it a short pedal around the block within his neighbourhood or a long distance tour from Tebedu to Pontianak with a group of friends. Recently, his cherished dream of doing a long distance solo tour came true when he cycled all the way from Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) to Kuching — and finished the journey one day ahead of schedule for good measure. "I've always wanted to go on a long distance cycling trip alone because I want to test of my physical strength and mental fitness. "I had done long distance cycling before — in June last year at Singkawan, Pontianak, and a few years back from Tebedu to Pontianak — but never on my own, so the KK-Kuching ride was a challenge for me," he told thesundaypost. "I like to promote safe cycling and road safety awareness to road users and also show them we can go on long distance bicycle tours here. "No doubt, there are risks but if you don't embark on this kind of activity, you will get nowhere in raising awareness of safe cycling," he said. In December last year, Ahmad boarded a plane with his specialised 29-inch bicycle — known as a twenty liner — to Kota Kinabalu. "Apart from my bicycle, I took only the basic necessities such as clothing, water, medication as well as simple equipment, including a spare tyre and three inner tubes," he said, noting that this was perhaps the first time anyone had go on a long distance journey on a bicycle fixed with 29-inch wheels. "Usually, most people would use bicycles with 26-inch wheels for long distance rides. But I decided to take the risk and try it out." On Dec 19, Ahmad set off from Kota Kinabalu city centre — and would cycle everyday — rain or shine. "As it was end of the year, the weather was quite bad — raining 90 per cent of the journey due to the Monsoon," said the sports & recreation officer from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak campus. Among the challenges he faced was having to complete the day-to-day-destination, covering an average of 100km per day on challenging terrains. "I also had to keep my time in check, especially when it got dark because the roads had no street lightings and could be very deserted, which was quite unnerving. "But I was prepared for the obstacles I might face. I had a safety vest while my bicycle had brake lights and two front lights," he said, "The terrains were very challenging, especially the steep hills." Ahmad also found most of the places he stayed at did not have rooms on the groundfloors for touring cyclists. "For instance, when I was Selangau and Limbang, the accommodation was mostly on the upper floors and I had to carry my bicycle all the way up to the third floor." After passing through various towns and districts in Sabah and Sarawak, Ahmad found himself on familiar grounds, reaching the Kuching Old Courthouse at 12.15pm on Dec 29 where his family and friends were on hand to cheer him on his arrival. What made his achievement all the sweeter was that he arrived with 24 hours to spare. "At first, I though I would arrive in Kuching on Dec 30 but I arrived a day earlier — so it was quite an achievement for me," he said proudly of his feat. Asked whether the trend of cycling tour would catch on in the state, Ahmad acknowledged right now, the activity was not popular among locals compared to Peninsular Malaysia where there are many passionate cyclists doing inter-state tours. "However, I have come across a lot of foreigners from Europe and the US who came to explore Sarawak on bicycles. This is also a form of tourism for us." He urged the government to put up road safety signs and provide special pavements for tourists travelling around the state on bicycles. "They should also look into putting up milestones along the road so that road users — and not just us cyclists – can gauge the distance to their destinations." So what's next for Ahmad? Hopefully, a tour of Peninsular Malaysia or Jawa, Indonesia, within the next two years, he said. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Limestone homes that boggle the mind Posted: 01 Feb 2014 11:35 AM PST In Alberobello, South of Rome, Phyllis Wong finds the enchanting fairytale-like trulli and the streets on which they stand too perfect that they lack real life. "DO Snow White and the seven Dwafts stay in these houses?" a little girl asked me at the eye clinic the other day while I was browsing through the pictures I took in Italy on my iPad. Not getting an immediate reply, she asked again, this time, a little impatient: "Why is there nobody? Do you stay there?" Oops! She must be thinking I am Snow White's stepmother who looks into the mirror everyday in these white little houses. An impatient little girl, I thought, but so was I the impatient traveller in Alberobello – home of the trulli – traditional Apulian dry stone huts with conical roofs — (a single house is called trullo). However, I must admit the little girl's inquistiveness did set me thinking: why am I still not fully convinced of the charm of these quaint-looking abodes even two weeks after my return from Italy? Could it be due to the paradox of the trulli's physical appearance? The best way to put it, I think, is that they look a little too perfect – at the same time, imperfect and surreal — that they seem to lack any real life. Some would say their roofs like the teradak, a Melanau headgear. Who copied who is, of course a matter of conjecture. Anyway, walk with me into a labyrinth of 15th century streets with seemingly endless rows of trulli on both sides. From Sorrento, we drove eastwards through the spectacular Abruzzi Mountains to the Alberobello region near the Adriatic Coast where the unique 15th century limestone houses are found. It was an almost four-hour drive but I had my mind set on the dome-shaped buildings along the way – it also helped to break the monotony of the journey. Arriving at our destination, Trafalgar tour director Giacomo, pointing to the buildings (scattered all around us), said: "These are tuilli." At the town of Alberobello, we were met by the local tourist guide Katia who told us about the truth of trulli. Italians joke that in their country, tax evasion, not football, is the number one national sport. But we know it's a current universal phenomenon and our country is no exception. What I do know now though is that avoiding tax payment dates back to the 15th century! Trulli, dotting the Alberobello countryside, are actually a product of this pervasive practice. At the time when the construction of stable dwellings were highly taxed, the inhabitants of the region boasted a great capacity to adapt by coming up with the idea for the Trulli, temporary houses built with local limestone. Exceptionally clever, indeed! It lives up to a Chinese saying — shan gao huang di yuan – which translates into when mountains are high, the king is far. It means the king and his laws are just too far away to control what is happening locally. And talking about obstacles to control or enforcement, if you like, I couldn't helping telling myself Mount Abruzzi in the wild, mountainous region east of Rome, is lofty enough to cover the acts of tax evasion. But more than this, the evils of oppression and exploitation are also etched on these limestone dwellings. Katia said the first houses were built in the second half of the 1500's by peasants working on the land for the Count of Conversano. The peasants worked hard but had to hand over almost all the produce of the land to the landlords or the Counts. The Counts allowed them to build houses of stone but not mortar, nails or other devices that might make the construction more durable and permanent and above all, attract taxes. These houses were quickly dismantled if the King sent in the tax inspectors. So the peasants molded the dry wall structure into shape "that was something but not a house." "Something" could not be taxed while a house was heavily taxed. This exploitation went on until 1797 when a group of peasants finally took courage and went to the see the King of Naples, Ferdinando IV, who granted the people of Alberobello a charter and made it a royal town and more permanent trulli were subsequently built with mortar and limestones. That also brought the feudal rule to an end and the name of Alberobello was adopted from the medieval Latin name of the region — siva arboris belli. Katia said most of the people had moved into larger homes in the main part of the town while maintaining their medieval trulli for visiting friends, weekend hideaways, rentals to tourists or probably also retirement. There are still about 400 trulli and 1,500 residents, but these buidings are not occupied everyday. "Note that there is more than one dome-shaped roof top in one trullo, so it's not 400 domes you are seeing. One trullo may have more than one dome," Katia clarified, probably after sensing some doubts in the air. I got very impatient when I did not meet any local residents, even strolling along the neat and clean streets flanked by rows upon rows of trulli. Then, walking a little away from the group, I saw an elderly man sitting outside his trullo and graciously welcoming me into his home. Finally, a local resident around, I thought aloud. I took a peep from the door but was hesitant to enter although the elderly owner did not look anywhere near evil! After making sure it was safe, I walked in. The sitting room was nicely decorated with a bedroom on the left. Then I saw a woman walking down the street and I went out to strike up a conversation with her. She told me she used to be a resident at the trullo but before I could ask further, she shut her little door in front of me. These were two of the three locals I met during the hour-long stroll alongside the characteristic trulliare small, round, white-washed houses with gray cone-shaped roofs, seemingly perfect homes for the Hobbit, trolls, elves and other heroes from the fantasy universe of a children's book. The declaration of Alberobello and its astounding trulli as a World Heritage Site by the Unesco back in 1996 certainly played a role in how the town was preserved and how its global appeal was enhanced. Still, to me, it's too perfect to be real, too neat and fairytale-like for the real world. We wandered through the heart of Alberobello, across the square and behind the town's splendid cathedral to see the TrulliSovrano, the town's only trullo with two storeys built in the 18th century for the local priests. It is now a museum that holds religious relics. We walked the streets of Alberobello where I began to see local people. Some at the trulli-church, some sipping coffee at a trulli café or shopping for trulli magnets and trulli souvenirs while I grabbed an interesting model of a trullo-in-a-trullo-in-a-trulli-town. It's trulli here, trulli there – truly very confusing. In the evening, we were guests of a local family in a farmhouse under Trafalgar's exclusive Be My Guest programme. We learned to make terrali, a traditional Italian biscuit, using the farm's extra virgin olive oil, enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts and savoured food, using fresh local produce and regional red wine. The night ended with our Malaysian yam sang (toast) to our hosts Luciano Rotolo and his family. The Rotolo family was truly amazed at our yam sang tradition. It seems we left a part of Malaysia in Alberobello while bringing home a part of Italy. Never mind the trulli did not tug at heartstrings of this impatient traveller — it is still truly a thought- provoking reflection of past and present. And it boggles the mind, to say the least. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Part 1 of the story on drug addiction: Ordeal of a reformed addict Posted: 01 Feb 2014 11:25 AM PST
A former junkie says the support of the people at a rehab centre and the strength of his Christian faith have helped him overcome the demons of addiction and to live a life free from drugs. FOR more than a decade, Lim Chee Shyan has been a prisoner of his narcotics-fuelled lifestyle. Drugs had almost destroyed him after he started popping pills at the age of 18. The addiction not only messed up his life but also affected his family in a way he could not have possibly imagined. Drugs numbed his feelings for his loved ones and impaired his judgment. "Mum kept nagging me and I was very angry all the time but I did not understand that either. Why I did it, why they kept stopping me from doing the things I liked," said the reformed addict from Penang. Relating his ordeal to thesundaypost, Lim, now 43, said it was out of curiosity that he started doing drugs. Due to peer pressure, he came to believe the "small substances" he was taking would not be as damaging to health as people thought. Initially, he was right. After a while, addiction took hold but he said he was not aware of it at the time. "I didn't feel anything at first. I thought it was no big deal. I continued taking drugs — up to the point where I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. "I didn't see it coming. My terrible habit affected not just my life but my whole family's as well," he recalled. After taking drugs for two to three months, Lim realised something was not right. He was always hungry for the very thing that was killing him. He said he changed a lot (for the worse) even as his family was doing everything to get him off drugs. While his family members meant well, most of the time, he felt they were trying to interfere with his life and he resented the "intrusion". "They kept telling me to stop taking drugs, stop destroying my life but I didn't like what they were saying – I found it annoying. "I told them my life had nothing to do with them – how I lived my life was my own choice." At that time, Lim was running a small business, selling DVDs — and he could get by. But he knew he had a serious drugs problem and if he were to get well, he had to take matters into his own hands. So he visited places like Thailand, China and Hong Kong and checked into various rehab centres – any place he said he could think of to get out of the environment he was living in. He thought he could kick his addiction in a short time but soon found it almost impossible. "I seriously thought I could sort out my problem in two to three weeks but the rehabs didn't work. At that point, I realised I was in very big trouble." While agonising over the gravity of his situation, he also felt remorse for hurting his family deeply. "I was like a sick man and I knew it was painful for them to see me suffer. They wanted me to continue living and told me it was for my own good to stop taking drugs." After numerous stepbacks, his mother stepped in and suggested a rehab centre he could enter. Through a friend, she got to know about 'Victory Home' at Sungei Bidut, Sibu. Lim said as his family practises Buddhism, his mother, at first, had second thoughts about sending him there. That's because Victory Home focuses on the strength and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ to help addicts recover. However, believing it could be the last resort for his son, she asked Lim to enter the home anyway. "She was as desperate as I was. If it could help give my life back, she knew it was something she had to do." Lim agreed to enroll in the programme. He said it was the best decision he had ever made. Victory Home saved his life. After years battling the demons of addiction, he was finally drugs-free. At the time of his recovery, he was 33. According to Lim, it was not just the programme that saved him but the support of the people at the centre. He said they made sure he would not fall off the wagon. All inmates, he added, had a team to motivate and encourage them. Apart from the people, Lim said the strength of his Christian faith is also the reason he is able to live a life free from drugs. "I've always thought I could do it alone – I was so wrong. It was like lighting a fire on one stick — it won't burn bright or last long. "But if you have many sticks to burn, then the fire will last long. You need people to support you, to remind you about why you are here," he said. After the craving and hunger had stopped, he began to see a new purpose in his life — to become the person he always wanted to be — an ordinary but a good man. Lim said he had made a lot of mistakes and drugs were the biggest, adding that he did the right thing by going to Victory Home. "It was the grace from God to turn over a new leaf and lead a good life." Today, Lim is a staff member of Victory Home, using his experience to help the inmates overcome their drug addiction. He said only those who had gone through the same dark moments could help others in the same situation out of their drug-induced nightmares. "Nobody will understand the real pain and suffering. These addicts will definitely drive you crazy if you don't have the experience. They will try to manipulate you. "That's because you don't understand their feelings. They suffered, felt sick and wanted to stop but to them, the only remedy was getting high. So they would try anything to find the drugs to get high," he pointed out. Lim said he could not be grateful enough to be able to live a life free from drugs. "I think if it weren't for Victory Home, my life would have gone to waste, or worse, I would probably be dead." He is now looking to the hopes of the future more than the regrets of the past. He said he will not be tempted by drugs anymore even if they were offered in front of him. "Why should I take something that almost killed me? More than 10 years of my life had been wasted because of it. "No, I worked so hard to break free and I will not give my life away to drugs anymore," he said. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2014 11:20 AM PST by Sheila Seifert. Posted on February 2, 2014, Sunday Do you know which chores your child can do? WHAT chores are important for your children to learn, and what are they capable of doing? First, recognise the difference between a chore (an ongoing task that benefits the household) and a life skill (an activity that children should know how to do before living on their own, such as managing a bank current account). The following list does not include life skills. It is a list of chores. Second, remember that every child matures at a different pace. Adjust the chores to what you know about your children's skills and talents, and realise that no child should do all of the chores listed below every day. With those two qualifiers in mind, here are some general guidelines for personal and family chores. This list is only meant as a guide and reflects the types of chores that many children in these age ranges are capable of completing: Ages 2 and 3 Personal chores
Family chores
Ages 4 and 5 Note: This age can be trained to use a family chore chart. Personal chores
Family chores
Ages 6 and 7 Note: This age can be supervised to use a family chore chart. Personal chores
Family chores
Ages 8 to 11 Note: This age benefits from using a family chore chart. Personal chores
Family chores
Ages 12 and 13 Personal chores
Family chores
Ages 14 and 15 Personal chores
Family chores
Ages 16 to 18 Personal chores
Family chores
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| Posted: 01 Feb 2014 11:15 AM PST by Dato Sri Ang Lai Soon. Posted on February 2, 2014, Sunday
New Year is not just about throwing out the old calendar. It is a time for reflection. Family can be described as the foundation of society; the basic building block of a community and of every nation on the planet earth. The New Year is the time to reinforce peace, harmony, and understanding within the family, settle any differences that may have arisen in the pressures of everyday life, and accept each member of the family as an individual with his or her own personality, aims, ambitions, ideas, and even flaws if these are not outside the norms of society. This inherent element of differences in any family usually only affects the family itself, for good or ill. It is a different matter for the United Nations, which can be described as a family of nations, reflecting on a global scale. For the United Nations, this inherent family element of dysfunctionality seems to lead all too often to inability to take positive pre-emptive action to avert widespread destruction of property, wholesale slaughter, widespread starvation, and a flood of refugees when political, ideological, and religious differences erupt into uncertainty, political unrest and warfare. Of recent years well within living memory, Rwanda, Kosovo, Cambodia, and now Syria stand out amongst the plethora of daily news of 'minor' mayhem and destruction. Whilst as individuals we may not have much influence on such events, collectively we do have a voice on the world stage at the national level through elections, choosing the party we vote for and the individuals we elect to represent us at state and national levels. This a very heavy responsibility, as each of us needs to ensure that those we elect have an immaculate record, are motivated by service to the public and not self- interest, and are driven by the concept of serving the public, not ruling. This is our collective responsibility on which we need to reflect as we change the calendar and celebrate the New Year. Whilst the 31st of January is designated the Chinese New Year, with a strong diaspora of ethnic Chinese people throughout the world, there will be few places where it is not celebrated. And I am sure that all these brothers and sisters of ours will join me in inviting each and everyone of you irrespective of who you are, where you come, where you live and where you pray to join in celebrating this occasion with a family gathering. And it is also the time when we will not forget the millions out there who are less privileged than ourselves. The poor, the deprived, the weak, the sick, the oppressed, and the downtrodden. Together we all should resolve to make this planet earth a more bearable place to live in. Let's resolve to be more friendly, more caring, more gentle and be kinder, less troublesome and compassionate to all we are around us. Happy New Year. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
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