Gunshots fired at Sarawak Minister’s residence BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo |
- Gunshots fired at Sarawak Minister’s residence
- The land of the Kelabits beckon visitors with wonderful hospitality
- Shophouse razed and damaged by early morning fire
- Motorcyclists crash in attempt to avoid pothole
- Store owner catches thieves with help of CCTV images
- Drug abuse in Miri at a ‘worrying’ level — Gan
| Gunshots fired at Sarawak Minister’s residence Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:45 PM PDT SIBU: Shots were fired at the residence of state Minister of Local Government and Community Development Datuk Sri Wong Soon Koh which is situated at Ipoh Road here between 8.15pm and 8.30pm Wednesday night. His wife Datin Sri Leong Poh Ling said the shot hit a window on the first floor of a bedroom facing the road. Although all family members, except for Wong were at home, nobody was hurt. Leong said the incident was only discovered in the morning when her son saw pieces of broken window panes below the curtain on the floor. Speaking to reporters in Miri, Thursday, she said she infact heard a very loud explosive noise between 8.15pm and 8.30pm. "I looked out the window but saw nothing. So I thought somebody's car tyre or laptop had exploded," said Leong, a retired school teacher in her 60′s. She said upon discovering broken window panes and a hole that had pierced through another window pane, the police were called in to check. Wong's son Datuk Andrew Wong Kee Yee said he was not sure who was the intended victim or the person who fired the shot. Andrew Wong, the deputy chairman of the Sibu Municipal Council said he believed it was related to his work, which involves solving problems of hawkers in the town. "But whatever it is, it is just not right. We will leave it to the police to investigate," he said adding that the timing was however, very suspicious since his father would be launching the United People's Party (UPP), Sarawak's latest political party, in Kuching on Saturday. The senior Wong is to lead the party after a bitter quarrel with leaders of his previous party, the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), quit SUPP in May this year and joined another new political party called Teras (Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak) but left it for UPP in July. Meanwhile, Sibu deputy police chief, Supt Martin Koo when met at the scene confirmed shots were fired at the house using a shotgun. "We found a spent slug and nine pellets in various places of the house compound, just below the bedroom. We are still investigating." he added. — BERNAMA   |
| The land of the Kelabits beckon visitors with wonderful hospitality Posted: 13 Aug 2014 08:48 PM PDT by Norshazlina Norazman. Posted on August 14, 2014, Thursday This is the first of the two part series based on the writer's recent visit to Bario, Sarawak. BARIO: Bario? Where is this place? This is what crossed this writer's mind when told her next assignment would be in Bario, Sarawak, located close to the border of Indonesia's Kalimantan. The writer arrived there with several other media fraternity members to follow the 1Malaysia Media Tour organised by the Information Department recently. Bario is the home of the industrious Kelabit community and where the Bario fragrant rice originates. Apart from that, Bario is also known for its sweet pineapples. Bario, a highland, with a scattered population of 1,500 is also the home for a small group of Penans, Malays and Chinese. A FRIENDLY COMMUNITY The once feared Kelabits are today friendly and hospitable people. It is hard to believe they are the descendants of fierce warriors and head hunters. The hospitality and the politeness of the indigenous people there was clearly felt by the media members who stepped into the Bario Asal longhouse. At the door, all the dwellers greeted their guest with their never ending smile, as they waited in a long line. The visitors were served with what Bario could best offer to any visitor, the sweet pineapple juice that the visitors eagerly gulped through a straw. Some of the guests were garlanded with bead strings before called to join in a traditional dance, with the hands holding one another's waist or shoulders and the legs swung gracefully according to the soft rhythm of the Kelabit traditional music. The 'Makasor' or 'long dance' dance is often performed to welcome visitors to the longhouse that was built in 1963. SEEN AS A HERO The women who were seen donning their traditional 'Sapa Arit' dress complete with the 'Peta' headdress sang the epic song of the Kelabit, 'Adih' as a welcome gesture to the visitors. According to Pun Ngalinuh Karuh, who is on the verge of becoming a centenarian, the song narrates the story of the great Kelabit warrior, Angan Tandun, a revered figure in the community. "The Kelabit community appreciate visitors who come to Bario and thus they are given a hearty welcome, like given to Angan Tandun, because getting into Bario is never easy", she said. This long house has 23 living quarters with an average of six people in a family living in each of the quarters. Despite of the traditional look and design, the long house boasts for many modern amenities. At each of the entrance door, there is the portrait of the family right from when they were young, and each of the quarters have its own rooms, hall and also kitchen where cooking is still done using firewood. THE YOUNGSTERS HAVE MIGRATED The headman of Bario Asal, Laju Balang noted that the Kelabit who now remain in Bario were from the older generation and they could be easily identified through their tattoos and the heavy metal earrings hanging from their stretched earlobes. "The youngsters mostly leave Bario after form three to continue with their studies in major towns like Miri and Kuching as higher secondary education is not available here", he said. He pointed out that though Bario residents have been isolated from the mainstream development, it did not deter the younger generation of the Kelabits from achieving success in life. The testament to this is that many of the community members hold professional positions – doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and administrators. Among the notable personalities from Bario include Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Idris Jala and Sarawak's Immigration Director Datuk Robert Lian Balangalibun. Laju noted that the Kelabits' main economic activities were planting crops, especially the Bario rice and pineapples. "They also plant vegetables for their own consumption", he added. TRADITIONAL GAMES The Kelabit also have their own traditional games that was once used to put to test the masculine strength and win over women. The 'Melakut Karat' that literally means 'pull and push' tests a man's strength, where the man has to pull as far as he could a log that has been embedded into the ground. The further one could pull the greater is his strength and stands a good chance of winning a fair lady. The other manliness test is 'Matitiew Batuh', similar to the discus throw in the conventional sports, where the young man has to throw a big and heavy stone as far as he could. And then there is this games called 'Tebpak Apo', where one as to jump as high as possible and puncture the nipah (pandanus) roof above using a spoke but the media members who tried this game organised by the teachers and students of Sekolah Menengah Bario found it impossible to jump that high to reach the roof. THE NATURAL SALT WELL The visit to Bario is incomplete without making a stop at the place where salt is extracted manually from the 'Main Kerambut' (salt well) in Kampung Pa'Umor, located 1,100 metres above sea level. The salt is said to contain numerous nutritious properties unlike the ordinary salt, as it contained natural iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium and this salt has been traditionally used for treating thyroid problems. The natural salt well is covered by a shed but to get to the place one has to traverse through muddy and undulating jungle terrain for at least 30 minutes. The salt well provides income for the locals. Families take turns each week to make the salt and sell the product to Bario an Miri, apart for own consumption. A TEDIOUS WORK According to a salt entrepreneur, Rian John, 50, to extract salt from the well is not as easy as it may seem. It takes a number of tedious process that may take a whole day to complete. The brine has to be bailed out from the well and then into the half drums where it is heated up using firewood. Interestingly, even though the brine is bailed out continuously, the water level returns to the original level within a week. "The brine is boiled in six half drums for at least 12 hours under medium fire and the water dissipates leaving behind the salt crystals. "The salt is then filtered and left to cool down before filled into 30 centimeter long bamboo stems", he said. Rian said the bamboos were then burned on amber heat, similar like cooking the lemang, for about 30 minutes to ensure the salt is really dry and has turned into a solid cylinder block within the bamboo. The solid cylinder blocks are then removed from the bamboo and wrapped using the 'Ilad' leaves and fine rotan strings. The salt is then taken to the town on a buffalo and sold for RM15 to RM20 per pack. — BERNAMA |
| Shophouse razed and damaged by early morning fire Posted: 13 Aug 2014 12:45 PM PDT BINTULU: The first floor of the shophouse along Jalan Law Geek Soon was razed while the second and third floor badly damaged by fire around 2.30am yesterday. Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) dispatched two fire engines with 14 firefighters to the scene after being alerted to the incident around 2.36am. According to Bomba investigation officer Hamdani Madon, firefighters took more than an hour to completely put out the flames around 4.16am. "The first floor was totally destroyed while the second and third floor were badly damaged by the heat. "No injury was reported and we are still investigating the cause of the incident," he said. We encourage commenting on our stories to give readers a chance to express their opinions; please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. While the comments here reflect the views of the readers, they are not necessarily that of Borneo Post Online. Borneo Post Online reserves the right not to publish or to remove comments that are offensive or volatile. Please read the Commenting Rules. |
| Motorcyclists crash in attempt to avoid pothole Posted: 13 Aug 2014 12:44 PM PDT KUCHING: A last-minute attempt to avoid a pothole landed three students of a technical institute in Matang in hospital after they crashed their motorcycles yesterday. The victims, all aged 21, were heading to the institute to attend class when the incident happened around 8am near Sungai Cina. The trio, riding their respective bikes in single file, apparently spotted a large pothole along the road at the very last moment and swerved to avoid hitting it. The manoeuvre, however, caused each of them to lose control and crash on the road, leaving one with a broken leg and two others with scrapes. All three were subsequently taken to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for treatment. In another incident, a 31-year-old motorcyclist sustained cuts on his head after crashing at Jalan Muara Tuang early yesterday. The victim was heading back to his house at Mile 10 Kuching-Serian Road around midnight after visiting a friend when he lost control of his machine on the wet road and crashed. He managed to contact his friend who sent him to SGH for treatment. Separately, two middle-aged men suffered head and chest injuries after the four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle they were travelling in overturned down a slope at Jalan Diplomatik in Bako yesterday. The victims, in their 40s and 50s, were heading towards Petra Jaya around 3.45pm when their 4WD struck the central road divider and crossed to the opposite lane before plunging several metres down a slope. A team from the nearby Civil Defence Department headquarters was despatched to the scene to help extricate the trapped victims, who were then sent to a private hospital in Petra Jaya for treatment. Members of the public who were at the scene said the driver was still conscious following the incident while the passenger appeared to be badly hurt and was lapsing in-and-out of consciousness. Their immediate condition was not known. |
| Store owner catches thieves with help of CCTV images Posted: 13 Aug 2014 12:43 PM PDT SIBU: The owner of a food company on Tuesday hunted down two thieves who had stolen canned food and chilli sauce from his store at Ding Lik Kwong Road. The owner discovered the break-in when he went to the store last Friday morning. The CCTV revealed that while one thief entered his store, the other waited in their car. The two sped off after loading two boxes of 144 cans of foodstuff and two bottles of chilli sauce into their car. The owner was able to identify the two and their car from the images captured on the CCTV. He and his friends searched for the two thieves whom they found at Rantau Panjang on Tuesday and arrested them. On being questioned, the thieves revealed that they had left the car at Alu Alu Road. The owner and his friends went there and seized the car. After being held up by the group from the foodstuff company, the thieves pleaded to the owner to let them go. They said they were willing to compensate for the losses but the owner wanted them to be handed over to the police. We encourage commenting on our stories to give readers a chance to express their opinions; please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. While the comments here reflect the views of the readers, they are not necessarily that of Borneo Post Online. Borneo Post Online reserves the right not to publish or to remove comments that are offensive or volatile. Please read the Commenting Rules. |
| Drug abuse in Miri at a ‘worrying’ level — Gan Posted: 13 Aug 2014 12:42 PM PDT by Jenifer Laeng, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on August 14, 2014, Thursday MIRI: Drug abuse here has increased to 374 cases as of Aug 10, compared to 285 cases in the same period last year. This is an increase of 31 per cent. The number of arrest also increased in the same period, from 308 last year to 409 this year. Miri police chief ACP Gan Tian Kee said the Chinese formed the highest number of those arrested this time, at 162, followed by Malays (124), Ibans (42) and other races (81). On drugs, he said Syabu was the most commonly and widely abused drugs in the period until Aug 10 this year. A total of 311.15 grams of Syabu were seized, compared to 84.44g in the same period last year. On the other hand, only 110.05g of cannabis was seized in the period until Aug 10, compared to 942.96g last year. On arrests made, Gan said 88 people were arrested under Section 3 of the Drug Dependants (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act 1983 in the period up to Aug 10 this year, as compared to 42 in the corresponding period in 2013. "All of them have been sent to drug rehabilitation centres." Gan, who took over as the new police chief earlier this year, said the drug situation here was at a worrying level and urged all parties, including the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK), National Drug Abuse Prevention Association (Pemadam) and non-governmental organisations, to work closely with the police to curb the drug menace. |
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