I'm Just Saying...

New Blog Site

2013-01-14T14:47:00.005+08:00

I am now blogging at borneonfarmer.wordpress.com . See you there!

First Blog Post to Start The New Era

2012-12-21T11:38:00.001+08:00

Photo : Wikimedia/Simon Burchell

Hey! What do you know? We're still here! Everyone was holding their breath at the stroke of midnight few hours ago for the impending doom according to some people who prophesied our end based on the Mayan calendar that ran its course few hours ago. Then again, we're ahead of the Americas by a few hours and I assume the Mayans made their calendar based on their time zone and the Mayan kingdom was in South America, so who knows, it might happened in a few hours from now hehehe...

Oh yah, History Chanel aired this documentary called “Countdown to Apocalypse” last evening and it carried these viewer discretion advisory, “This programme contains views from Non-Muslim perspective. Viewers discretion advised”.....................................*pin drop*............................................................... What? You're expecting me to say more about this? LOL. Oh ok! Just to clarify, History Chanel was not the one who put up the advisory, it was Astro.

Read the news this morning as I have been doing all along. I was instantly drawn to read this report title “M'sia a blessed nation : Mahathir.” When the Tun speaks, I will listen! Tun was reported to have delivered a speech at a function recently, attended by Parlimentarians. He was commenting on the country's remarkable transformation and sterling achievement. Tun helmed the country for 22 years! Good or bad, the man did influence directly on the course of our country. He did a lot of good (according to his supporters) and he did a lot of bad (according to oppositions), well, that's a matter of perspective. Someone once told me that another man's meat, is another man's poison. Am I his supporter? Well, I can't say so but neither am I one of his detractor. It's easy to be wise when you have the benefit of hindsight. He served his country and he has my gratitude for it.

Let me reproduced what he was reported to have said,

“From a British colony to an independent nation and from an agrarian economy to a highly diversified one. Malaysia has made a smooth transition in social, political and economic spheres with the exception of some minor hiccups.

Malaysia has been relatively peaceful over the years. The only significant period of turbulence came with the Japanese Occupation during World War II and the May 13, 1969, incident.”

Wait a minute!? The Japanese Occupation during World War II?! Malaysia, the nation that is called Malaysia, that Federation called Malaysia is in existence then?

“Closer to home, our ASEAN neighbours, such as Thailand and the Philippines, have witnessed street demonstrations.”

Hmm.. Didn't we just have a demonstration in West Malaysia and in Sabah albeit the latter in an orderly manner, in recent months?

“Dr Mahathir noted that Malaysians should count their blessings since the country is strategically located and the land is free from natural calamities such as earthquakes, typhoons and volcanic eruptions”

Again hmm.. Wasn't it recently reported that Sabah is susceptible toearthquakes albeit moderate?

Well anyway, that's all I have to say today. If the world doesn't end in a few hours time, I'd probably post more. Later!

Malaysia's Very Own Oktoberfest

2012-09-30T15:29:00.001+08:00

Hallooooo.... Long time no see! It's been a while since I last blogged, hasn't it? Been wanting to start blogging again but I had problem coming up with a topic. Guess I have one of those 'blogger's block'.

Anyway, drove down to KK on Friday to attend the launching of Borneo Eco Film Festival. Give support lah! After all, someone I know by the name of Dr Agnes Agama had a hand in organizing the event. Agnes is a passionate social and eco activist, I thought it'd be a shame if I didn't show my support. So off I went.I can tell you that the 100 KM drive was worth it! And to my pleasant surprise, the public turn up for what is to be a 3 day event was encouraging.

Some of the crowds at the lobby of the auditorium. That's June Rubis helping herself to some 'makan-makan'

The lady with the sunglasses is Caroline. She introduced her son who was a journalist with NST. Wow!

With Tom inside the auditorium. I said it's time someone took your picture instead of you taking all the pictures all the time hihihi

Opening presentation by LEAP

I didn't manage to take a lot of pictures of the event because the camera I brought with me (borrowed) was not up to the task(I left my Canon Powershot back in Beaufort). I regret this very much. The first film screening was a silent and black and white film shot in 1903 (if I'm not mistaken) called Trip Through North Borneo. Local musicians provided the live music background to the film. Truth to be told, I was more captivated by the music being played live by the three musicians than by the movie LOL. Wonderful musicians.

Unfortunately, Tom who works for Borneocolours.com had to cover the Oktoberfest at Shenanigan Fun Pub at Hyatt hotel and I promised that I would drive him to the venue. So off we went. At first, I told Tom that although I would drive him there, I would not be joining him because I have an early meeting with the folks from City Hall the next day and I wanted to have an early rest. I was rather tired because I haven't really rested since arriving in KK. However, when we reached Segama, I changed my mind. Seeing that there was not much crowd at the entrance to the pub yet (I hate crowded area these days), I thought why not hang out with Tom a bit.

Hanging out

I helped Tom take some pictures of the event for him but I'm not sure he would use them anyway LOL. Oktoberfest I was told, is an annual event held throughout Malaysia. This is the second year it is done in Kota Kinabalu. The company (Carlsberg Malaysia) that promoted the event dubbed it Malaysia's Own Oktoberfest.

The band, straight from Germany, doing sound checks. Yes, we were that early

Oktoberfest girls entertaining customers with a game of chess

Tourists enjoying themselves

They are doing the Chicken Dance. Done by men, it looked silly but done by these girls, it looked sexy LOL

Everyone got to do the Chicken Dance!

These sporting gals went on stage and danced with the band

You know I stood next to one of these girls and she was like a head taller than me LOL. A great way to crush your man ego :P

Customers were pulled and made to compete in pairs to see who could do the best Chicken Dance. Some even incorporated the Sumazau in.

One of the competing couples. No silly hats were going to keep them from the prize! By the way, the emcee decided that everyone won. So everyone went away with a prize.

This was a game but I couldn't remember now what game it was.

Winners of 'Towers'.

You can get away with being cheeky any day girl hehehe

Colin with one of the local Oktoberfest girls. They are equally eye candy as their counterparts on stage

This is Fiona. She told me she's a Dusun and from Papar.

This one I didn't get the name. I was there to work bah but she gracefully agreed to take one with me

Me and Fiona. Nice girl.

So that was my Friday night lah. We left around 10pm (I think) after the band finished their set. I drove Tom back to his home in Inanam and then back to my sister's place in Penampang. The Shenanigan Oktoberfest was fun but I was told it was only for a night. I think it is a great product but limiting it to one night only in KK, macam tidak shiok oh but I guess doing it for a month in KK would be a tremendous logistical problem to be solved by the company that promoted the event as to what I'm given to understand, they are doing this nationwide. Yalah kan, sometimes it's not good to have too much of a good thing.

Richard Sokial for Sindak Pangazou 2012 (Burning Warrior)

2012-05-15T20:20:00.001+08:00

This is my friend, Richard Sokial. I got to know him through my activities in North Borneo History Enthusiasts (NBHE). Granted that our 'friendship' (if he allows me to refer to it as such :P) is less than a year but I think I am a good judge of character. I have nominated him for the 2012 Sindak Pangazou, an award of sort given by Voice OUT Kota Kinabalu which is an annual youth art festival organized jointly by Youth-PREP Centre (YPC), Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) and Sabah Women's Action-Resource Group (SAWO).

This year their theme is 'Breakout'. To quote them about their concept:

"Voice Out aims to reach out to the young people through art as its medium. The music and art piece which will be contributed by both local talents and local artists will portray the social problems faced by the young people of today. We will also be conducting art events throughout the month of May in different locations and the Voice Out Concert will be the highlight and climax for all the programs."

And quoting them again about Sindak Pangazou:

Finding Huminodun is a search for one female youth who had contributed to the local communities and deserves an appreciation. Alongside the Finding Huminodun, we are also awarding another potential male youth as our Sindak Pangazou (Burning Warrior) The female youth will be awarded as the Voice-Out 2012 Youth Huminodun.Voting on facebook will close on Thursday 17 May 2012. 50% of the marks will be based on the likes in Facebook and another 50% will be decided by the judges during Voice-Out 2012 at Suria Sabah 19th May 2012 .The participants will be presenting a cause (eg. Indegenous Rights, Music, etc.) of their choice.Let's vote!!

Now, why did I nominate Richard for Sindak Pangazou. First thing you must know is that Richard spent his childhood in New York at a young age! However, when you meet him, you will not hear any American accent from him. He is a down to earth fellow of Dusun Tatana (Kuala Penyu) and Tambunan parentage.

He is an architect by training but chose social activism as his vocation. Sure, he could get a 9 to 5 job and sit in some air-conditioned office and get his fat pay check every month but an inner voice told him that there must be more in life than just money! Perhaps his thinking was partly influenced by his environment while growing up in a foreign country. He saw things perhaps, we didn't see while growing up! Anyway, he was deadset about what he will do with his life and he 'breakout'! He decided that he would go against the flow. The conventional thinking is, you slog in University and when you graduated, you get a high paying job, drive an expensive car and marry a beautiful wife. He could get a beautiful wife by the way, the guy is suave looking :D. But he went the opposite of Sabahan or Malaysian conventional wisdom for the matter!

He chose instead, to be involved with his community. To pay back to his community no doubt. He chose instead to fight to preserve his community's architectural heritage; Sabah's architectural heritage! He traveled extensively most of Sabah and record whatever he could on the subject. As a result, he has written and in some cases, commissioned to author a book or two on Sabah's architectural heritage!

He founded Heritage Sabah which was recently successfully registered as an NGO with our Registra of Society. Heritage Sabah is of course widely reported in our local papers for their mission to preserve the Atkinson Clock Tower. If anyone deserve the Sindak Pangazou title, I think Richard should be it! This is not only about him but also the people behind Heritage Sabah! This will validate their cause. They didn't do this for the money or glamour. Trust me, there's nothing glamourous about this activism. Plenty of long hours which extended beyond sanctioned working or overtime hours but they still doing it for us!

Therefore, vote for Richard. Click on this link and click LIKE.

*UPDATE*

Seems like I have erred in some of the facts that I presented. For example, Richard spent his childhood in UK and not New York! :P Now how did I got that two mixed up?? Since I'm very bad at telling his story, I'm just going to let him tell his story himself.

Astaga ging. Okay erm - I was in UK, not NYork. Sino Dusun but Chinese Hokkien from Kuala Penyu (not Tatana) and Dusun Tambunan...took up architectural heritage conservation cos in my final year at University I was shocked to find there were not many resources on Sabah traditional architecture at all! Additionally always got teased by West Malaysians about the lack of architecture we had in Sabah (tinggal atas pokok, etc). I did research on heritage architecture and documented it so that future young Sabahan graduates would not have to go through this kind of humiliating treatment from others, so that they could know their heritage and hold their head up proud. I believed (and still do) that those who have the privilege of obtaining higher education should use it to give back to the local community in some way. There are many forms of leadership, not just politics and i believe that through public awareness and sharing of information, we can empower young people to make the right choices for the future.

Richard has an impressive credentials too. Amongst them, being chose to represent Malaysia at the IVLP 2008 : Cultural Heritage Preservation Program in Washington DC! Read here for his experience at the event.

P.s/- The profile description about Richard in the Facebook Finding Sindak Pangazou page was written by me. I've also erred about his ethnicity which he already clarified above. My unreserved apology to Richard for the mistakes.

BERSIH 3.0 : The Sabah Experience

2012-05-01T14:31:00.001+08:00

Sia malas mau reproduce tu blogpost di sini. Jadi kalo ko mau baca tu post, pigi sini :D

An Omen? Mom remembers 48 years ago..

2012-04-18T21:04:00.000+08:00

It rained heavily this afternoon and the thunder was so scary! Whenever it cracked, the house reverberated! In once instance, I could have sworn the thunder exploded right above our house. I hate thunder... I turn into a wuss whenever there is thunder..

Having nothing better to do and to distract myself from the 'mayhem', I sat down with my mother. Then my mom started reminiscing. She told me to close the front doors. She said, "In the old days, the old folks say you must close the door whenever there is thunder. They say the thunder could come into the house in a ball of lightning. Betul bah tu. Old folks swore that it happened before and the house was burned down. Luckily the occupants escaped in time!"

"My mother, your nenek, said that during a thunderstorm. You shouldn't brush or comb your hair." She went on to say.

I interrupted her, "Static electric bah tu maybe..."

She continued, "your nenek said when they were still in Menumbok. That's when you grandfather was still posted there. There was this girl. She showered during a thunderstorm. After showering, she was brushing her hair infront of a mirrow. The lightning struck her and she died!"

"Your nenek also said you shouldn't be near cats when there is thunder. The cat's fur ada "karen" (current) bah tu. So whenever there is a thunderstorm, we would kick the cats away whenever they tried to get near to us. We were frightened."

"When we first relocated to Penampang, there was this man who was "meradu" (ploughing) his paddy field. He was shirtless and he wore a medallion made of metal around his neck. The "radu" was also partly made of metal. He was struck by lightning, he died bah!"

By now I just kept quiet and let my mom ramble on.

"I remember on the eve of North Borneo's independence on 31 August 1963. There was a terrible thunderstorm in KK. It was the worst thunderstorm we had experienced. We were so scared. It happened in the evening of 30 August 1963. The next day, I remembered there was mass at the Sacred Heart Church, so we went for the mass. When we reached the church, we saw that the cross on the roof of the church had been struck by lightning and broken in two!"

"Donald Stephen as he was known then, was at the service too. He was with his family. I remember that he and his family would always be seated at the front pew in every mass."

"Hmm..Bad omen kah tu?" I thought.

Cabo What Policy?

2012-04-18T16:36:00.003+08:00

A West Malaysian acquaintance of mine called me up this morning. He said, “Justin! I'm still in KL but I called up one of my friends who is in the shipping line and asked him whether he knows anything about the Cabotage Policy and he said he has no idea what it is!” Before I proceed further, allow me to give a shoutout to this West Malaysian acquaintance of mine who will remain nameless in this writing to protect his privacy. This man is in semi-retirement. He has been visiting Sabah frequently for the past 30 years and has decided to make Sandakan his retirement abode. He embedded himself among the Orang Sungai in some remote area in Sandakan and took it upon himself to learn their way of living, to research on their history and culture because he said most of the Orang Sungai he encountered did not know their own history and he wants to help improve their socio-economy! Kudos to you sir!

My acquaintance told me that something must be done about the high cost of living in Sabah and Sarawak. His zeal and conviction for the poor natives of Sabah moved me. So I went plunging in into the subject. I must admit that I do not have an in depth knowledge of this National Cabotage Policy (NCP). It is a dry subject and I am more of a history buff than a business policy kind of guy.

The first time I heard about NCP, I thought it was odd that the government had to have a policy on a vegetable and specifically a cabbage? What did they have against cabbage? Was there a cabbage epidemic? Encyclopedia.com explained the origin of the word as such:

“cabotage, the French name for the coasting trade. Many people believe that it is derived from cabo, Spanish for cape, as coasting ships generally sailed from cape to cape, but a more likely derivation is the French word cabot, a small vessel.”

NCP is a form of monopoly. It was introduced by the government on 1 January 1980 to protect the national maritime industry. Its purpose was, foremost, to make Malaysia into a maritime nation and not to be dependent on foreign shipping companies. To facilitate that end, Malaysian ship owners must be protected from open competition by more established foreign shipping companies. The policy stipulate that the transportation of goods from one point to another point within Malaysia could only be done by Malaysian owned or Malaysian registered shipping companies.

West Malaysians have not been affected by the negative aspect of this policy for the past three decades as we in Sabah and Sarawak had. Therefore, it is understandable how some West Malaysians could be in the dark about this.

For years now, political and business leaders in Sabah, namely from the Federation of Sabah Manufacturer (FSM) have been appealing for a review of the NCP. The Federal Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha's dismissal of Sabahan's concern over the NCP in March 2012, incurred the wrath of political leaders including Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders from Sabah. On the ground, most Sabahans that I had the chance to speak to on the matter viewed his comment as brusque and bordering to chauvinistic. Read what he was reported to have said here Borneo Post.

To be fair, Datuk Seri Kong, was not lying. Foreign ships are allowed to go direct to Sabah port now. He has his predecessor, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to thank for this. However, I find the former's choice of words in the said report rather amusing, an oxymoron. Somehow I do not think “very liberal practice” go well with the NCP in a sentence. NCP itself is a monopoly, there is nothing very liberal about a monopoly. At least former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was forthcoming about it in his interview with The Daily Express on 12 April 2012, he said;

“I am referring to it as so-called partial liberalisation because there is no such terminology of partial liberalisation. Either you have it or you don't”

Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was responsible for this so-called liberalisation, part of his road map to the eventual liberalisation of our country's aviation and maritime sectors. Unfortunately, he could not follow through with his plan when he had to step down in June 2010 due to MCA leadership tussle.

What Datuk Seri Kong failed to mention though, was that foreign vessels are only allowed to go direct to Sabah (or Sarawak) with unopened containers. Most foreign traders would repackage their goods together with goods from other companies to ensure enough load for shipping to Sabah *1. He was right to say that there was an element of business decision in the matter but it is no comforting words for the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

Datuk Seri Kong was also right to say that 'almost' all of the countries in the world practices Cabotage but again, he neglected to mention that some of these countries have actually relaxed their grip on the monopoly and how about the geographical differences between these countries and Malaysia. Well, that is unless he only considers the Peninsula Malaysia as Malaysia.

It was reported in the Daily Express dated 14 April 2012 that the President of the Kota Kinabalu Forwarding Agents Association (KKFAA), Johnson Dai, revealed that it costs RM3,179 to send a 20-footer container from Kota Kinabalu to Port Klang but RM4,122 to ship similar container from Port Klang to Kota Kinabalu. In his talk at the Public Lecture on Cabotage Policy at Sabah Trade Centre on 12 April 2012, Dai also revealed the disparity of the Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBC) imposed by our shipowners with that of foreign shipowners.

The EBC on a 20-footer and 40-footer containers from Port Klang to Kota Kinabalu are USD330 and USD600.97 respectively. In comparison, to ship similar containers from Guangzhou, China to Kota Kinabalu, the EBC are USD200 for a 20-footer and USD400 for a 40-footer!

Another speaker, the Chairman of Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Association, Sabah Branch, Datuk Alan Ang, concurred that the NCP does have an effect on Sabah's export. He revealed that the cost of shipping a 20-footer container from Kota Kinabalu to Auckland would cost RM5,033 but only RM4,197 from Penang to Auckland for a similar container. My geography knowledge is not that sharp but I could have sworn that Sabah is nearer to New Zealand than Penang. To prove it, I used this online apt to determine the distances www.searates.com.

Penang to Auckland Kota Kinabalu to Auckland

Distance : 5,206 nautical miles Distance : 4,455 nautical miles

Vessel Speed : 14 knots Vessel Speed : 14 knots

Time : 15 days 12 hours Time : 13 days 6 hour

On 17 April 2012, the Chairman of the Labuan Chamber of Commerce (LCC), Datuk Francis Tee Chee Hok, also came out and voiced out the plight of Labuan people and business community caused by the NCP. In Labuan's case, although they have a port of their own, they could not get direct supplies from Port Klang. This is because for the most part, their orders do not have the volume to fill up the space in a 20-footer container. Labuan only has a population of 83,500 (2005). As a result, Labuan has to source goods from mainland Sabah. Datuk Francis said that the situation is undermining Labuan's status as a free port. Goods sold in Labuan should be cheaper than those in Sabah but this is not the case.

I could agree with the Malaysian Ship Owners Association (MASA) argument that our national shipping companies could not be blame solely for the high price of goods in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan. I think it is plausible that the higher prices of goods in East Malaysia could be caused partly by profiteering activities by some rogue elements within our business community in East Malaysia and inefficient delivery system.

I also agree that Malaysia has to have a strong and viable maritime industry, one that is able to go head to head, toe to toe, against any heavyweight foreign shipping companies out there. However, it seems to me that East Malaysians are doing all the heavy lifting towards the upkeep of our maritime industry! NCP is not solely to blame for the higher cost of living here but it certainly is part of the problem.

Not only is the NCP contributing to the high cost of living in East Malaysia, it is also ridiculously illogical in logistical sense. Case in point, let's say I am importing some goods from China and let's say that I could not have my container shipped directly to Kota Kinabalu because it is an opened container, it then has to be shipped to Port Klang first before it is shipped to me in Kota Kinabalu.

Guangzhou to Kota Kinabalu

Distance : 1,128 nautical mile

Vessel Speed : 14 knots

Time : 3 days 9 hours

Guangzhou to Port Klang

Distance : 1,668 nautical mile

Vessel Speed : 14 knots

Time : 4 days 23 hours

Port Klang to Kota Kinabalu

Distance : 991 nautical miles

Vessel Speed : 14 knots

Time : 2 days 23 hours

With the current policy, the goods that I have imported from China would have to travel 2,659 nautical miles before reaching me in 7 Days and 22 hours! I am no shipper but I can hazard a guess that upon reaching Port Klang, the goods would be unloaded and reloaded unto a Malaysian owned ship. I am sure that entails service fee and I wonder what other fees would be incurred for my container to be handled in Port Klang. So how much should I sell these goods to recover my transportation costs and earn a decent profit margin at the same time? And that is assuming that I financed the whole importation in cash! What if I had to take an Overdraft to finance it? I must take into consideration the daily interest that is being levied on me by my financier. I would have been able to put the goods that I have imported, on the shelves for sale within a week if I was allowed to ship the goods directly from Guangzhou to Kota Kinabalu but that is not the case. Therefore now, I have incurred about 8 days of interest on my Overdraft as oppose to only about 4 days of interest had I been allowed to ship direct.

And what if the goods are perishable........?

While no one is questioning the NCP as a conventional tool applied by many countries towards the building of their maritime industry, the practicality of its application in East Malaysia is sometimes doubtful. Due to the location of the Borneon Island, circumstances has cast the NCP quite akin to a tool of oppression against East Malaysian. It is like we are back to being colonized. Working hard under the yoke of our colonial masters to fill up their coffers. In the old days, our ancestors were even required to pay taxes just to cross a river to trade. Presently, whenever East Malaysians need to trade be it importing or exporting, we must first stop by Port Klang, even when it is totally out of the way and help fatten its treasury. It is not like there is not already income tax imposed on our business activities. Is Kuala Lumpur our new colonial master?

NCP has inevitably became part of the problem that made doing business in East Malaysia challenging. Goods are generally 20% more than what it cost in West Malaysia. For example, the Straits time is sold at RM1.20 in West Malaysia but RM1.80 in East Malaysia, 50% more! Same number of pages, same news and no bonus gossip pages. Sabah and Sarawak are rich in resources but we could not do anything with it because we have all these roadblocks placed in front of us, making the viability of any venture questionable. Our competitiveness is suppressed. We cannot even compete with businesses in West Malaysia, much less compete globally.

An excerpt from United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Country Report of Malaysia in year 2000,

“Efficient, fast and cheap transport contributed directly to MNCs fragmented production. As such transport is considered as a unique service, which facilitates the international exchange of products. Thus it cannot be denied that liberalization of trade in services can bring down the real cost of trade. Liberalization of maritime sector has the potential to reduce the transport cost and by opening up the market to players with the best comparative advantage. But this also implies that we might be swamped by giant players, the mega-players with all their economies of scale. The Malaysian maritime transport related operators still do not have the capacity, skill and technological capabilities to compete in the so-called level playing field. Liberalization therefore may not allow for a free-for-all situation”

The following is what the Deputy Minister of Transport, Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, was reported to have said when asked about NCP:

“If the government allows foreign shipping lines to dominate or control the country's transportation system, our local shipping companies will go bankrupt and eventually the nation will have to depend on foreigners forever",

Abdul Rahim said many shipping companies that had received incentives under the National Shipping Policy were those from Sabah and Sarawak such as Johan Shipping, Hubline, Shin Yang and Chong Fui Shipping. - Bernama”

East Malaysians are not against our Malaysian shipping fraternity. Their success is of paramount concern but equally paramount, if not more, is East Malaysians god given right to pursue wealth and happiness in which present time, is impeded for the past 30 years! If the government could not even accede to such a basic human right, then East Malaysians would be compelled to think that there is something sinister behind its refusal to heed to our outcry.

I will end this post by inviting our esteemed Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, the Federal Minister of Transport, to have an open and four eyes dialogue with our business communities, in particular with FSM and with our respective state governments in Sabah and Sarawak. Explain to us how we have misunderstood the NCP.

*1 http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/shipping-costs-rile-sabah-1.65190

Size of States in Malaysia

2012-04-01T20:15:00.000+08:00

Someone said something yesterday that had me interested in the subject. It was about the size of our states. This is what I got.

Sarawak
Land area : 48,050 Sq Mile
Population : 2,420,009

Sabah
Land area : 28,429 Sq Mile
Population : 3,117,405

Pahang
Land area : 13,953 Sq Mile
Population : 1,443,365

Perak
Land area : 8,122 Sq Mile
Population : 2,258,428

Johor
Land area : 7,420 Sq Mile
Population : 3,348,283

Kelantan
Land area : 5,830 Sq Mile
Population : 1,459,994

Terengganu
Land area : 5,033 Sq Mile
Population : 1,015,776

Penang (Seberang Prai is not shown here)
Land area : 3,800 Sq Mile
Population : 1,520,143

Kedah
Land area : 3,700 Sq Mile
Population : 1,890,098

Selangor
Land area : 3,129 Sq Mile
Population : 5,411,324

Negeri Sembilan
Land area : 2,581 Sq Mile
Population : 997,071

Malacca
Land area : 642 Sq Mile
Population : 788,706 (2010)

Perlis
Land area : 317 Sq Mile
Population : 227,025 (2010)

Note : I have checked and rechecked the land areas to the best of my available resources. Admittedly, for example Sarawak, some claim its size is this size and some by that size. However, these differences are noarmally by 100 to 300. So I think it is safe to say we have at least very close proximity of its actual size.

Sarawak, at 48,050 Sq Mile, is the largest state in Malaysia. While Sabah takes second place. You could fit Pahang, Perak, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang and Kedah into Sarawak. That is about 64% of the Peninsula Malaysia! Did you know that? I didn't! I never thought of looking at it that way.

Meanwhile, Sabah at 28,429 Sq Mile, could take in the remainder four Peninsula States, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Perlis and still have extra room of 21,760 Sq Mile to wiggle. Therefore, Sabah and Sarawak combined, are bigger than the Peninsula Malaysia. However, according to TV1's display, the Peninsula Malaysia is bigger than the two Malaysian Borneo states :P

Note the map at the background?

Now let us look into the districts in Sabah.

Beaufort
The district of Beaufort is 670 Sq Mile in size with a population of 75,900 (2000). The district is bigger than present day Malacca and also Perlis. Malacca has 788,706 population and Perlis has 227,025!

Kinabatangan
Kinabatangan is 2,550 Sq Mile big! Population - 86,783 (2000). It is only about 31 Sq Mile smaller than Negeri Sembilan and definitely way way bigger than Malacca and Perlis combined!

Lahad Datu
At 2,562 Sq Mile big, need I say more?

Nabawan
2,351 Sq Mile.

So that concludes this post.

What is wrong with this picture?

2012-03-30T18:25:00.000+08:00

Woohoo. First it was that East Coast of Malaysia which was Terengganu yesterday and today what do I see?

Have we (Sabah and Sarawak) shrunk in size? Since when Pahang became almost half the size of Sarawak? Sarawak itself is about 80% of Peninsula Malaysia's size! Is this some kind of sinister ploy to send subliminal suggestions? What is the meaning of this?

Here, Pahang is only about a third of Sarawak's size

As though tv1 is saying, "Oh! They look bigger because of the distance. If we put them side by side with Peninsula Malaysia, you would see that they are actually smaller than they look!"

No, we are actually that big.

This is so maddening.

Bhut Jolokia: Hotest Chili in the World?! Whose world?

2012-03-29T21:20:00.002+08:00

Bhut Jolokia

Bhut Jolokia, is a chili pepper that used to enjoy the number one spot in the Scoville scale rating. It was touted to be the hottest chili in the world and this was validated by the Guiness Book of Record. This species of chili is native of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur in India.

As I am a chili farmer, imagine my delight when my British guests brought the seeds to me! I treasured them so much especially more so because from our calculation, each seed actually cost RM2.50/-! I am talking about a small seed, not the pod. Wah! How I nurtured it. I germinated it lovingly in the seedling tray. Gave it the best treatment. It has the best spot in the nursery. Sheltered from the punishing heat of recent weather in Sabah. My local cili padi became second class citizen in my nursery. After all, the Bhut Jolokia is an imported talent bah :P.

I gave it the best fertilizer and I told my help to pay special attention to the plants. I told her, "Those plants there are expensive ones! Take good care of it. Make sure you do weeding constantly!" And I was rewarded with lush green and healthy plants. I even talked to them, whenever I came to visit, I knelt down on one knee and said, "Vanakam my friend! How are you today? Grow healthy. I will reward you with better food!" They say if you talk to the plants and have positive aura, they could sense it and would be healthy. Who am I to go against conventional wisdom?

Then the first flower bloomed! Oh! Such beautiful petals! Then the pods started coming. Owh! So cute! The Bhut Jolokias became my mistress. My cili padi? I was too busy to entertain the local mongrels lah! Psst! Sometime I even urinate near them. Dusun tradition bah. Guarantee pedas punya! I would hold my pee before I went to the farm. Once I reached the farm, I would pee next to a plant that I had not urinated near it yet. Someone suggested fertilizing with human crap but I drew a line there! :P. Peeing was the farthest I was willing to go.

"Ni kali lah!" I thought. "Kalah lah my competitors!" I reveled in my good fortune.

Then the day of reckoning came. Some of the fruits had ripened. I approached the testing with trepidation! What if I ended up being hospitalized like what happened to the guy in YouTube? I chickened out and I made the excuse that I should instead dry them so that I could propagate more Bhut Jolokia seedlings. However, one night, after drinking half a bottle of 'montoku' I grew some courage to try it. Emboldened by my drunken stupor, I tried a whole pod! I mixed it with an egg and fried them. Then the first bite (hmm.. Where's the heat?), tried the second bite (I say? This is not even 3% as hot as the cili padi I'm growing?) and the third bite and the rest! Nothing eventful came of that exercise.

The next day, I consoled myself that maybe the alcohol had numbed my taste bud and that perhaps I had harvested them too early. So I decided for the second testing, I should let them ripen all the way on the plants. SOOO! Today, I harvested a fully ripened Bhut Jolokia fruit! Wow! It was brightly red! "Ni kali lah!" I thought. "I must be wrong!" I thought to myself. "Who am I to defy the wisdom of the Guiness Book of Record" I admonished myself.

Like the first try, I chopped a whole pod. And this pod was bigger and 'handsomer' than the first one I tried! Add some soy sauce onto it. Some writings did say that I should wear gloves when handling it. We don't want me burning my stomach lining after all. "Hmmm.. Tea spoon or table spoon?" I thought. "Ala.. Table spoon. Alang-alang" I said. Then I scooped the soy sauce together with the seeds and skin, put it in my mouth! (Nothing). Tried again (Still nothing!). Third try (Stillllllll nothing!). In the end, I poured the whole thing on my curry beef and finished my meal.

What a let down :(. Hottest chili in the world? Whose world exactly? Recently, a Mr Chin Teck Ming, suggested that I should look for Chili Porok from Kota Belud. Purportedly to be very hot. Anyone from Kota Belud?

RTM Bloopers.

2012-03-29T15:06:00.000+08:00

This just happened about half an hour ago, around 2:30 p.m. I was driving back from the bank and was tune to channel 99.10, I don't know which station it was but I just tuned in to the only English speaking channel I could tune in to. That's how it is with the signal here in Beaufort, sometimes I can get more than two English speaking channel, sometimes none at all.

Anyway, I came to a halt at a railway crossing because a train was on the tract. It was a long train, so it was a long wait. Then a program came on air. The lady broadcaster said that the program was a joint collaboration between RRI (Indonesian radio), RTB (Brunei Radio) and RTM. It is called Malaysia Delight.

Radio : .......today, we are going to talk about Ikan Lekor.....from the East Coast of Malaysia....

Me : East Coast of Malaysia? Hmm... Perhaps they going to talk about Semporna or Tawau. Ikan Lekor?

Radio : in the state of Terengganu....

Me : huh? *facepalm*

Beaufort - Venice of the East

2012-03-20T20:44:00.000+08:00

The town of Beaufort was founded in 1898 by the Managing Director of the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC), Mr William C. Cowie. This would make it about 114 years old this year. It is named after Sir Leicester Beaufort who was then the Governor of Labuan and British North Borneo (1895 – 1900).

W.C. Cowie and A. Cook with the Sultan of Sulu

There were of course existing settlements in the vicinity of Beaufort prior to 1898, mostly in areas like Padas Damit, Klias, Jimpangah etc. Prior to the arrival of the BNBCC to this part of Sabah, the people in these areas were ruled by local Chieftains. Cowie established the town of Beaufort at the banks of the Padas River that runs through the heart of the town. He probably did not know that this area was prone to flooding. Otherwise, he would have had reconsidered his choice of a site for new town. Despite the occasional inconvenience of flooding, the new township remained where it is. No doubt in part, due to the Padas River; the very same source of the inconvenience. The Padas River was the 'highway' of old.

Padas River Circa 1915

When people think about site seeing, Beaufort would probably be the least considered destination. That is what Beaufort is to most people; Just a transit town to them. People coming from Sarawak, Brunei and Sipitang have to drive pass Beaufort to Kota Kinabalu but only on a very rare occasion that you see them stopping at Beaufort to sample what it has to offer. Once a girl from Sipitang asked me whether Beaufort has any nightspots. It is to my knowledge that this girl always drive to Kota Kinabalu for the weekend. So I asked her, “You always drive pass Beaufort on your way to Kota Kinabalu. Hadn't you even once stop by and check out the town?” She replied me with a definite NO.

Kung Ming Primary School

Kung Ming Primary School 1953

Well, we from Beaufort cannot really blame them for their attitude towards Beaufort because we really do not have much to offer, in terms of interest and attraction. It is unfortunate because if we scrap the layers of perceived boredom off Beaufort, you would find loads of interesting facts about it. Beaufort has a rich cultural and historical heritage that has to be preserved and thrust to the public knowledge.

During World War II, Beaufort was one of a few towns that witnessed heavy fighting between the Imperial Japanese Army and our Australian liberator. The Australian took a two pronged attack against the Japanese in its mission to liberate North Borneo from Japanese clutches. One of the landing parties made their way to Mempakul while the other one, made their way to Weston. From Weston they made their way up to Beaufort and this was where the Japanese was heavily entrenched. In Beaufort, at a little road named Jalan Tugu next to the old Beaufort police station which presently houses a school for children with special need, there stand a monument to commemorate the bravery of one Private Leslie Starcevich which earned him the Victoria Cross. The vicinity of the site saw heavy fighting between the Australian and Japanese which was determined to hold on to their position.

Pte Leslie Starcevich who was awarded a Victoria Cross for his valor in Beaufort.

I remember vividly one day, as a youngster, a friend of mine told us that he had stumbled upon some bullets in some brushes behind the railway staff quarters next to SRJK St John. Being inquisitive, my friend and I asked our informant friend to bring us to the site. Upon reaching the site, we found some rusted bullets in a sack but what got our interest more was a small mount where the bullets were found. There were small tunnels inside the mount! Being superstitious then and being afraid of snakes even more, we decided against exploring the tunnels. Recently as an adult, I tried to find the tunnels with a friend from out of town but unfortunately, were unsuccessful. Most likely it is no longer there.

Beaufort also played a role in the survival of our Kota Kinabalu city, which was known as Jesselton then. The following is an excerpt from Sabah – A General Geography by Godfrey A. Chatfield:

“No sooner had Jesselton been chosen than it became, in 1900 and 1901, a railway boom town with a population of about 1,500 persons, mostly Chinese labourers. The population decreased, however, as the railway was pushed southwards towards Beaufort and this first phase in the development of Jesselton ended with railway being handed over to the Government on its completion in 1902.

Town Padang is still there but the buildings in the picture no longer there.

A railway without either passengers or cargo to carry is of little use so the coming of rubber to Sabah soon after was a godsend. As the export of rubber expanded after about 1910, so Jesselton slowly grew too. Everything going to, or coming from, the rubber estates had to be handled in Jesselton.”

The rubber producing towns in those days were towns like Tenom, Beaufort and Bongawan. So there you go, our quaint little town helped Jesselton stay afloat! Surely Beaufort deserves more mentions in our travel brochure. Fortunately, Beaufort is experiencing a resurgence of sort with the advent of the booming Palm Oil industry. There are a few development in the town, new hotels are slowly sprouting but how do we get people to come to Beaufort? How do we make Beaufort a tourist attraction? As of now, tourists come to the district only for our wetlands and the Proboscis monkeys while the town itself is most often, ignored. One area worth exploring is to develop our very own heritage attraction. Old buildings need to be preserved. Old buildings like the building that used to house the Kung Ming Kindergarten. It has to be preserved and its background explored.

We need to identify locations where important events took place and perhaps put up a board explaining what happened at the site. For a town as old as Beaufort and played a prominent role in the early economy of the state, it is disheartening that we do not have our own museum to showcase our rich cultural and historical heritage.

We cannot just leave it to the government to look into this, everyone of us has to do our part because at the end of the day, it is our heritage that is in danger of being forgotten.

An account of Mat Salleh by Fraser

2012-03-19T09:54:00.000+08:00

The following report was published by The Straits Time dated 4 July 1899.

Mat Salleh's sword which he surrendered to Cowie in one of their encounters

Mat Salleh, the rebel chief who has given no end of trouble to the British North Borneo Government until he secured easy terms for submissions has again taken on bad courses. He and the Tegahu tribe attacked several of the Sanswon tribe. Mr Fraser, a Government official, last April, went in person in search of Mat Salleh to call him to account. Mr Fraser met Mat Salleh in person, and had great difficulty in bringing him around. The following are extracts from Mr Fraser’s report:

I then spoke to Mat Salleh about attacking the Sanswon and told him Government expected him to stop that sort of thing and asked him to help me bring about a meeting of the chiefs of the Tegahus and the chiefs of Sanswon and Tambunan; to this he at once agreed and a meeting was arranged for next day. I pointed out to him that any question of compensation for loss of buffaloes or other property and for heads must be relegated to a future date, as both sides were too far sore for there to be any chances of a quiet settlement at present. Mat Salleh wished to dispense altogether with any question of compensation. I, however, pointed out that as he and his friends had seized upwards of eighty buffaloes and also other property, besides killing over thirty people and whereas he and his friends had lost no property and very few lives, his suggestion was rather one-sided and unfair; so he agreed to leave the question of settlement at a future meeting. On the day and place for the meeting, I went and met Mat Salleh and told him that, as we had come unarmed, he and his people must do the same and he gave orders accordingly. Before the ceremony of swearing peace began, Mat Salleh again opened up the question of compensation, and for nearly an hour gave me reason after reason why his plan was better, however, I did not see it in his light and so he gave in. All went off quietly till near the end when there was some slight trouble, a Tambunan man, dressed in loin cloth and a soldier’s scarlet tunic with white facings, suggesting that if a Bajow tribesman was caught stealing eggs or fowls, might all the curses rest on his head. Mat Salleh got annoyed and it was not until it had been pointed out to him that there was no reason to take it personally that he quieted down; still it rather spoilt the harmony which up to then existed. After the whole thing was over and having taken a photo of Mat Salleh, I returned to Nodoh. I wrote to Mat Salleh, impressing on him that in the future, if he had any complaint against the Tambunans, he must complain to the Government and not fight.

Note : Who were the Sanswon? What happened to the picture of Mat Salleh that Fraser took?

Kinabalu Guerillas : Lim Keng Fatt

2012-03-15T20:26:00.000+08:00

Lim Keng Fatt （林廷法）was a member of the Kinabalu Guerillas. In other literature, his name is also spelled as Lim Ting Fatt. Lim was a well established businessman in the business community in Bond Street (present Gaya Street).

He was the richest Hainanese among the Hainan community in then Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu). Lim was a partner of Ban Guan Company in Bond Street. He held agency right to Philip radios and donated a radio to Albert Kwok, the leader of the Kinabalu Guerilla. Of course, he did more than just donated a radio to Kwok. He acted as intermediary between Kwok and Lieutenant Colonel Alejandro Suarez, commander of the US Forces in the Philippines (USFP) based in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines.

Lim Keng Fatt was returning with a party of fresh fighters from the Philippines and consignment of weapons from USFP to reinforce the Kinabalu Guerilla. They arrived in North Borneo 29 December 1943 from Tawi-Tawi. Unfortunately, Albert Kwok and his men had surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on 19 December 1943. Lim was reported betrayed by the natives in Tuaran to the Japanese and was beheaded at the age of 51, weeks after the uprising. Based on this information, we can deduce that he was born in 1893. Country of birth, hitherto, remains unknown until further information surface.

With thanks to Mr Bartholomew Chua of Gaya Street

Nurul Nadirah Abdullah

2012-03-13T14:05:00.000+08:00

I'm blogging this for the benefit of my overseas followers. The missing 5 year old Sabahan child, Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, whom had been missing since 1 March 2012 has been found. However, the happy ending that most of us have been rooting for is not to be.

Dirang, as she was affectionately called, went missing on 1 March 2012 when she went to a nearby store to buy some eggs and instant noodles. The store was within walking distance from her home in the Seri Delima apartments, Bandar Seri Alam.

The mother, a Sabahan, had been criticized heavily for letting her child go out by herself, explained that she had been allowing her child wander about their housing area because a lot of her relatives stay in the area and she felt safe.

Dirang's charred remains were found in some Oil Palm estate recently and the police announced on Monday, 12 March 2012, that through DNA testing, they have ascertained that the remain was that of Dirang's.

Dirang's mother, Roselyn Alan, is understandably inconsolable; Who could? I won't criticize her for being too trusting of her neighbourhood. She is already paying the price it.

Nonetheless, let this be a cautionary tale to every parents out there. When it comes to the safety of your child, being extra vigilant is better than being sorry. How often have we heard that we should not turn our back for even a second when it comes to the safety of our child. A lot of thing could happen in a second! Especially if you live in the city. This is not the first girl that has been murdered. Couple of years there was another case which was highly publicized in West Malaysia. The girl was reported to have been sexually abused before being murdered. There are perverts out there who prey on children.

Investigation is ongoing and I hope the police apprehend the murderers soon. The full weight of the law should be brought upon the perpetrators of this heinous crime against a helpless child.

Rest in peace Dirang.

Crocodile Victim in Membakut in 1931

2012-03-09T20:08:00.003+08:00

17 February 1931, The Straits Time carried a news reported originally by The Sarawak Gazette. In early part of the day, the manager of Membakut Estate, Mr R.K. Hardwick, had gone fish bombing in one of the pools in Membakut River.

Having blasted one pool and secured what fish were 'put up', his party went on upstream to the next pool. Some Dusuns in the village in which he passed, hearing that 'tembak ikan' was afoot, at once, as in their custom it said, came uninvited to partake in the fish gathering.

Coming to the pool which had just been blasted, they reconnoitre its depths in the hope of picking up a few 'stragglers'. Among the party of uninvited guests, there was a Dusun youth who jumped first into the pool. The rest was about to join him when they heard him screaming for help. To their horror, they saw the youth in the jaws of a huge crocodile. In desperation, the youth's wife, a handsome looking Dusun woman (curious why the paper had to emphasize on this) jumped into the pool to rescue her beloved husband. Four other Dusun men followed suit. Their scream and shrieks apparently scared the crocodile away and it gave up its meal.

The youth was brought to the river bank, still alive but his chest badly wounded by the crocodile's bite and bleeding profusely. Mr Hardwick by now was alerted by the commotion came to his aid. He brought the youth to the estate hospital but the youth became unconscious and died on the way.

Source : The Straits Time 17 February 1931 - Crocodile's Victim : Young man dives to Death in Pool

A Fight to the Death

2012-03-09T19:32:00.000+08:00

An account by Mr R.K. Hardwick of his encounter with a Moro that almost ended his life. Hardwick was the Assistant District Officer of the Labuk and Sugut District in 1908 in the then British North Borneo.

In 1908, an appeal from the Panglima of the Tigabu Island was sent to the Resident of Kudat. Tigabu is an island about 20 miles north of the Paitan River. Hardwick described the inhabitants of the island as a mixture of sea Bajaus and Binadans.

In that same year, a Moro from Tawi Tawi group of islands in the Sulu Sea escaped from the American authority and fled to Tigabu. He was wanted for several murders by the American and a price was put on his head. He was wanted 'dead or alive'. This Moro's name was Si Kisi or just Kisi.

While in Tigabu, instead of being grateful for the islanders' generosity in providing refuge for him, Si Kisi started terrorizing the local inhabitants and reportedly committed more murders in the island. Apparently even the local chieftain, the Panglima, was not able to reign him in. Si Kisi had a few followers and supporters in that island. Perhaps this was why the Panglima was powerless against him. Nothing was mentioned of this followers, whether they were locals or Moros themselves.

Pak Musa's rebellion in Paitan

The Resident of Kudat gave the task of apprehending Si Kisi to Hardwick. When Hardwick received the instruction, he was already engaged in a punitive expedition against another local rebel, Pak Musa, in the Paitan area. Pak Musa was a rebel leader from the Orang Sungai community. He would be later, exiled and chose to resettle in Membakut, as a consequence of his and his followers rebellion in Paitan.

Pak Musa and his men raided the village of Paitan and killed four policemen. Afterwards, they went on a looting spree and burned Chinese shophouses. In the punitive expedition, Hardwick and his men, managed to surprise Pak Musa's camp and killed some of Pak Musa's men, including his second in command, Kalakau. Kalakau was said to be the cause of this conflict. It was reported that the altercations between the Government and Pak Musa were due to the former trying to arrest Kalakau.

In the punitive expedition, Hardwick, saved an infant girl from among Pak Musa's entourage whom had all scattered into the jungle. The baby's mother had been decapitated by the Dayaks from among Hardwick's men. The baby would have perished it seemed if not for Hardwick's intervention.

After the successful expedition, Hardwick proceeded directly to Paitan village, where he was told to board the government vessel, the S.L. Chantek. S.L. Chantek was a small vessel of some 12 tons. From Paitan, they launched the vessel towards the Tigabu Island. Accompanying Hardwick were his 'boy' (government official normally travel with a 'page' in those days) of about 14 years old, the baby girl which he had rescued earlier, a Chinese engineer and three Dayak policemen; two of whom were armed with rifles and all three carrying parangs.

Arresting Si Kisi

The following day, Hardwick and his entourage, set off from Janbongan Island where they had stayed overnight. They reached Tigabu Island at 8am and anchored offshore. The Panglima was summoned to the vessel to provide further intelligence. The Panglima arrived and appeared distressed. He reported that three men from Tawi Tawi had arrived and joined Si Kisi. He said they were in Si Kisi's dwelling which was heavily protected by a stout stockade.

The Panglima said they would never surrender and would go 'amok' in the village. The last thing Hardwick wanted was an inquiry into his conduct in the arrest should Si Kisi really went 'amok' and they had to use violence. Furthermore, the Panglima cautioned that Si Kisi did have sympathizers and he did not know what would happened if Hardwick was attacked. In other words, I think, the Panglima could not guarantee that he could assist Hardwick if the latter was attacked.

Hardwick sent his Dayak Orderly and Dayak policeman to serve the warrant of arrest on Si Kisi with strict instruction to never accept any invitation to enter Si Kisi's abode should he asked them so. Hardwick suspected if they had done so, they would be cut down by Si Kisi and his companion. A while later, the two Dayaks returned and reported they were indeed asked by Si Kisi to enter his home for coffee but they declined. They nailed the warrant of arrest on one of the timbers. As they did so, Si Kisi called out and told them that he and his three companions would board the vessel an hour later.

As they anxiously waited for Si Kisi and his companions, the Panglima became more and more nervous as the vessel was gradually surrounded by 'dapangs' – narrow double outrigger boats – filled with sullen and forbidding looking sea Bajaus.

Hardwick observed that the natives were gathering near the shorelines and many of them were carrying spears. To make matters worse, his policemen told him that there were not any handcuffs onboard. Si Kisi and his companions arrived about two hours later. Unarmed and wearing white suits. Their heads looked like they were recently shaved which to Hardwick's experience, was an ominous. Hardwick read out the charges to Si Kisi and told him he would shoot him right then and there if he was to create problem. Si Kisi told him that he alone should be arrested while his companions were to be released as only he did all the murders. Hardwick said Si Kisi was powerfully built but thought that his three armed policemen could handle four unarmed men. Hardwick ordered his men to tie the four with ropes since they did not have any handcuffs and he himself proceeded to the engine room hatch to have his breakfast.

Amok

In a flash, Si Kisi grabbed the 'ilang' of a Dayak policeman from its scabbard and slashed the policeman; He died instantly. The remaining two Dayak policemen unceremoniously jumped overboard and remained hanging to the rudder and anchor chain throughout the unfolding event.

Si Kisi's second kill was the baby girl which Hardwick had rescued from Pak Musa's party. The baby girl was lying in the deck and Si Kisi almost cut the girl in halves. Next he attacked Pak Musa's boy, severing his right arm from the shoulder. The poor boy jumped into the sea and died later through loss of blood.

Hardwick in a self deprecating manner described how a bad shot he was and how he managed to miss Si Kisi while discharging his revolver at a range of only a few feet. He fired six shots and all of them missed Si Kisi. Hardwick then turned to get his Carbine but Si Kisi caught up with him and slashed him at the top of his head, exposing his brain, he said. Hardwick toppled from the blow to his head and he credited Si Kisi's unfamiliarity with the 'Ilang' that kept him alive. Had it been a 'bolo' – a weapon of his race – Hardwick said he would had been cut to his chin.

Hardwick lay stunned on the floor for a few seconds and later gained consciousness when his hand touched the red hot door of a furnace. He staggered to his feet and armed himself with a heavy spanner. In the engine room with him then was the Chinese engineer. He proposed with the Chinese engineer that when Si Kisi came to finish him off, they should work together. A concerted attack by both of them might be able to overwhelm the 'amoker'. However, the Chinese man said he was a man of peace and why should he get involved in the melee when it was obvious that Hardwick was Si Kisi's target. The man than proceeded to hide himself inside a wooden bunker that could hardly contained his whole person, resulting in which, his buttock remained exposed.

Hardwick tried to get to the deck to get his carbine by climbing the steel ladder but Si Kisi stopped him in his track resulting in which, the top of Hardwick's index finger was sliced off. After forty five minutes of trying to stay conscious as by now he had lost a lot of blood from his head injury, Hardwick decided to make a run for it, his only concern was that Si Kisi who was at the lower deck would slash his legs from below. Si Kisi made a leap onto the floor of the engine room and as he did so, he got interested with the Chinese engineer's buttocks which were jutting out from the wooden bunker. He started slashing the poor man's backside. Hardwick took the opportunity to run out from the engine room and jumped into the sea where he drifted some 200 yards.

Si Kisi was unaware that Hardwick had jumped into the sea and continued searching for Hardwick onboard the vessel. After a while, he gave up and went into hiding inside the vessel. Perhaps thinking that he would ambush Hardwick should he decide to come out from his hiding place.

Hardwick regrouped with his Dayak Orderly, arming themselves with fresh ammunition and weapons, they boarded the vessel. Not finding Si Kisi, Hardwick took a random shot at a canvass covered bathroom fixed over the side of the vessel. A pure fluke he said but it worked well because out came Si Kisi wounded at the shoulder. More bullets were shot and it ended with Si Kisi dropping dead on the deck with a bullet in his head.

Hardwick by then was in a rage thinking of the senseless killing of his 'boy' and the baby girl. In his own word he said he was in a demented rage. He turned on Si Kisi's corpse and hacked off the head. He threw the headless body to the sea in full view of the onlookers on the shore, among them were some with evil intentions on him.

He then got the Panglima to come on board and had him tied up to accompany him to Kudat. Perhaps Hardwick was angry that the Panglima did not come to his aid when the whole exercise was due to his calling for aid from the government. In retrospect, Hardwick said it was unnecessary for him to do that but he said such was the condition of his mind then and that it was just senseless rage on his part. Exacerbated by fatigue, his wound and the excitement of the melee.

They steamed into Kudat that afternoon and were met by a great crowd. On board, three dead victims of Si Kisi and his head lying beside Hardwick's campbed. The Resident, Mr E.H. Barraut came on board the vessel and upon seeing Si Kisi's head, he flung the head into the sea with disgust. Hardwick said he lay semi-conscious and sometimes delirious while the district Medical Officer looked at his wound.

Such was the live of an Officer of the government in those dangerous days and to certain extend, I am glad that the British came. They freed us from pirates, slave traders and head hunters. The live of a human being was given scant regards in those days. They came and brought law and order to the land. And yes of course, they also left some of their mistakes which we are now left to clean up.

As to the Chinese Engineer, he was indeed a man of peace. For he offered his cheeks to the person who was out to do him harm. However, I think Jesus was thinking of a different kind of cheek.

Source : The Straits Time 12 October 1952 – A Fight to the death

The Politics of Federalism : Syed Kechik in East Malaysia

2012-02-26T19:27:00.000+08:00

North Borneo was granted its Independence on 31 August 1963(1). Sixteen days later it formed Malaysia with Sarawak, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya i.e. on 16 September 1963.

Donald Stephens, Tun Fuad as he was known then, was appointed Sabah's first Chief Minister while Datu Mustapha was appointed her first Head of State. Datu Mustapha had expected that as Head of State, he would retain many functions previously in the purview of the all powerful Governor. When he realized that contrary to his expectations, it was the Chief Minister who wielded power, he became frustrated and refused to co-operate with Stephens. It got so bad that the government was unable to efficiently go about conducting the business of governing. The Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, mediated and the solution was for Stephens to step down. Stephens stepped down on 31 December 1964 and took up the position of federal minister for Sabah Affairs and Civil Defense. Replacing him as Chief Minister was Peter Lo who previously held the position as Federal Minister without portfolio.(2)

In June 1965, Lee Kuan Yew who had been championing Malaysian's Malaysia, challenged the capability of federal leaders to govern and suggested that Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak as recent entrants to Malaysia, and perhaps Melacca and Penang as well in view of the high presence of Chinese in their populace, as well as being former Straits Settlements themselves, formed a partition. He said these states could form a new nation. He said those states that preferred a Malay's Malaysia could stay on their own. In mid-July, there were racial clashes between the Chinese and Malays in Singapore which led to the Tunku to decide that Singapore should be booted out. On 9 August 1965, a resolution was passed in the federal parliament to separate Singapore from Malaysia.(3)

Stephens, now a Datuk, claimed that he was not consulted upon with regard to the booting out of Singapore and he should had been consulted since he was the Federal Minister for Sabah Affair. Together with Peter Mojuntin, the Secretary General of United Pasok Momogun Kadazan Organization (UPKO), he toured the state telling the people that Sabah should re-examine the Twenty Points, the conditions of Sabah's entry into Malaysia. Recalcitrance in Sabah was the least that the Tunku wanted because during this period, the Konfrontasi was ongoing, the Tunku was afraid that this might give President Sukarno of Indonesia, the excuse to step in and annex Sabah into Indonesia.

There was also speculation that Stephens was going to pull Sabah out of Malaysia and link up with Singapore. If this happened, Sarawak would had followed suit. Hence on 13 September 1965, the Tunku flew into Jesselton and fired Stephesn as Federal Minister for Sabah Affair and Civil Defence. This, the Tunku hoped, would limit his activity in state level. At the same time, the Tunku was already thinking of ways to neutralize Stephens and Tun Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun became his prime candidate. Tun Mustapha was in Tunku's opinion, the only politician in Sabah with the stature to challenge Stephens. During this time, Tun Mustapha was still the Head of State.(4)

The Tunku encouraged Tun Mustapha to re-enter politic. Tun Mustapha was initially reluctant but agreed later when Tunku agreed to his requests for a fair degree of autonomy, logistical and economical assistance from the federal government and the help of a politically trained lawyer. Three days later, Tun Mustapha stepped down as Head of State to challenge Stephens in the incoming first election of an independent Sabah. Syed Kechik was sent to Sabah to help Tun Mustapha to neutralize Stephens.(5)

Syed Kechik engineered the coup to get Datuk Donald Stephens to step down as President of UPKO and retire from politic. He was also to convince UPKO members to force Peter Mojuntin into retirement and that his paper, The Sabah Times would run articles suggesting that USNO and UPKO should merge in the interest of bumiputra unity. In the book, The Politics of Federalism, it insinuated that Tun Mustapha would have sought alternative arrangement to save the face of a long-standing colleague. A passage from the book aptly described the situation, “The two were unwitting actors in a drama written by the federal government, and both felt compelled to play out their roles, however reluctantly”. The book further went on to say that had the encounter was between Stephens and other parties in the Sabah Alliance, he would have emerged unscathed, given his powers of articulation and pursuasion but this encounter was with Kuala Lumpur(6)

I will not go into detail on why Stephens agreed to these(you will have to get a copy of the book for more details), suffice to say that he was outmaneuvered. Meanwhile, Syed Kechik was aware that even with Stephens departure from politics, UPKO still posed a danger. Ganie Gilong, now the President of UPKO, was still calling for a re-examination of the Twenty Points and UPKO enjoyed popular support from the people. Syed Kechik cornered and coerced Ganie Gilong into making a public statement that UPKO would refrain from talking about the Twenty Points publicly but instead would discuss it internally. UPKO's apparent rapprochement with USNO made headlines throughout the country.(7)

Fast forward, Sabah had its first General Election and UPKO had a few Assemblymen elected. The following are a few excerpts from the book which painted the author's opinion of our early politicians:

“For them, to join up with the ruling government could be construed as a patriotic gesture in the interests of the nation. The real motivation for defection, however, was the accorded status of becoming a minister, the accompanying benefits of a line of credit with local banks, and the possibility of a timber concession. These were to be decisive. Neither Sabah politicians nor their public were noted for fidelity in the political arena, where personalities were more important than issues. And in the mind of a poorly-educated and essentially amateur politician, crossing over to USNO was not perceived as that treasonous a political act.

On 2 November 1967, Payar Juman, the UPKO member for Kiulu, resigned from UPKO to join USNO, accusing UPKO of creating political tension in the state and taking the party into the opposition without first having considered the consequences of this for the rank and file....”(8)

Stephens was by now financially drained because UPKO was practically bank rolled personally by him. By this and other factors, he acceded to Tun Mustapha's demand that UPKO was to be disbanded in the interest of bumiputra solidarity and its members absorbed by USNO.

Stephens was sent to his political exile in the form of a High Commissioner post in Australia. Out maneuvered and cut off from his power base in Sabah.

After the race riot on 13 May 1969, a state of emergency was declared throughout Malaysia. Tun Mustapha was appointed Chairman of the State Operations Committee (SOC) with the power to detain. Tun Mustapha used this power to detain his political opponent. Many opponents were detained including Yap Pak Leong, an independent Assemblyman who was the sole opposition in the Legislative Assembly and Khoo Tao Choon, the brother of Deputy Chief Minister Khoo Siak Chew.(9)

Meanwhile, Syed Kechik felt that the attachment of Sabah Muslims to Islam was more nominal than devoted and he worked on a concept of establishing an organization to promulgate Islam in Sabah. He felt that Islam could be a binding and rallying force in USNO as it is in UMNO in Malaya. There was also concern that if the majority of Kadazan Christians were to allign themselves with the Chinese, they could emerge as a new power base. He mooted the idea of setting up United Sabah Islamic Association (USIA) to Tun Mustapha who readily agreed to it since he had wanted Sabah to be Muslim and Sabah's language to be Malay, in order to bring the state closer to the situation in Malaya.(10)

The book said Syed Kechik did not anticipate the zeal of USIA workers in getting converts even to resort to pressure and intimidation. All he could do was put up with it tacitly. He also did not deny that there were missionaries being expelled in Sabah in that period but explained it away simply as their passes having expired and not renewed. Nonetheless, he admitted that there were instances where passes were simply terminated. He also conceded that there were instances where converts received rewards like money, promotion and timber areas from Tun Mustapha for their conversion.(11)

The Legislative Assembly's five year term was coming to an end in April 1972. Peter Mojuntin, USNO Assemblyman for Moyog, wrote a letter in 1970 addressed to the Prime Minister then, Tun Abdul Razak, accusing Tun Mustapha of persecuting Christians, running a police state and covering dishonesty with dishonesty. Hundreds of copies of this letter were in circulation in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. This was the first salvo initiated by Mojuntin to organize a challenge against Tun Mustapha. In February 1971, Mojuntin announced that he would form a new political party, Union of Sabah People (USAP), however, this did not materialize eventually and Mojuntin bade his time. (12)

Eventhough emergency regulations had been lifted for some months, Tun Mustapha was still wielding the detention powers. The book says this was an indulgence given by Tun Razak who was very well aware how the wealthy Chief Minister could personally play in helping out UMNO. One way to keep Tun Mustapha loyal was to give him the detention power.(128)

By 1974, Tun Mustapha had become an embarrassment to leaders in Kuala Lumpur who found themselves impotent to reign in the wily Chief Minister.

There were also rumour that Tun Mustapha was going to pull Sabah out of Malaysia. The rumour was taken seriously for Tunku Abdul Rahman, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia had issued a public plea to Tun Mustapha not to pursue secession. (A) The secession rumour was probably the final straw for Tun Razak. Tun Razak summoned Datuk Harris Salleh to Kuala Lumpur and told him that should Tun Mustapha declare Sabah's independence, he would declare emergency, send in troops and install Datuk Harris as Chairman of the SOC. Tun Razak also impressed on Datuk Harris that a new party had to be formed to challenge USNO. The book says Datuk Harris told Tun Razak that the only politician with sufficient stature to lead an opposition against USNO was Tun Fuad Stephens. A few weeks later, after a discussion with Tun Razak, Tun Fuad agreed to provide leadership.(16)

On the morning of 15 July 1975, Datuk Harris Salleh, Datuk Ghani Gilong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Datuk Salleh Sulong and Mohammed Noor Mansoor escorted by the police, announced at the main lounge of Borneo Hotel, the formation of Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah (BERJAYA).(14)

The rest, you must read the book yourself.

Source : The Politics of Federalism : Syed Kechik in East Malaysia

(1) Pg 8

(2) Pg 9

(3) Pg 11

(4) Pg 17

(5) Pg 18

(6) Pg 26

(7) Pg 27

(8) Pg 89

(9) Pg 101

(10) Pg 102

(11) Pg 108

(12) Pg 127

(13) Pg 128

(14) Pg 145

(15) Pg 146

(16) Pg 158

(A) Source - The Straits Times 24 July 1975 : Tunku's plea to Tun M: Don't Pull Out

Views of British North Borneo - Review

2012-02-23T15:36:00.000+08:00

I found this book which was published in 1899, about 112 years ago in London. It was digitized and can be read here. Its title Views of British North Borneo : with a brief History of the Colony and it was published only 17 years after the British North Borneo Charted Company (BNBCC) set foot in North Borneo. The book was published to show the progress of the BNBCC in North Borneo and also I think, to generate interest for the folks or businesses at home to come and invest in North Borneo.

North Borneo was telegraphically linked to the America, England and Australia among others as early as 1899

Picture on the left is the court of directors of BNBCC. Seated from left to right :

1) Mr Harrington G. Forbes, Secretary
2) Sir Charles J. Jessel, Bart., Vice Chairman
3) Mr Richard B. Martin, M.P., Chairman
4) Mr William C. Cowie, Managing Director
5) Mr Edward Dent

Standing in the centre is Captain W. Raffles Flint and standing at the far right at the back is Mr A.T Wardrop. Among them are Dayak (or Dyak as they spelled it in the old days) Jubilee Police Contingent who were in England to take part in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration.

Side note : Apparently, Captain W. Raffles Flint was well liked by his subordinates that when he retired and gone back to England, they wrote a letter of appreciation to him which was published in The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser on 18 February 1914.

British presence in North Borneo started with the occupation of Labuan island by the British government in 1847. It was made into a naval base for the British navy in its campaign against piracy in this part of the world. In Owen Rutter's book British North Borneo : An Account of its History, Resources and Natives published in 1922, he described how piracy, slavery and headhunting activities in North Borneo had almost depopulate the country and this was further aggravated by the shortage of food when peaceful tribes abandoned all agricultural activity for fear of raiding parties.

In 1865, the United States Consul to Brunei, Mr Charles Lee Moses, obtained a ten years cession [sic] of large territories from the Sultan of Brunei. Unfortunate for him, the United States government was not interested in North Borneo. Hence, the rights to these territories were transferred to the American Trading Company of Borneo(1) which was headed by Mr Joseph W. Torrey.

Torrey Source : www.the-eastern-window.com

Torrey and associates attempted to set up a settlement in Kimanis which they called Ellena. Their enterprise failed because of disease, desertion and lack of financial backing.

In 1872, "Labuan Trading Company" established itself in Sandakan. The partners of this company were Mr J.D. Ross, Mr Carl Schomburgk and Mr W.C. Cowie who would eventually become the Managing Director in BNBCC.

Mr W.C. Cowie was a Scott and an adventurer. It was reported in the Straits Time dated 30 January 1902 that at one time, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the peninsula of Muara to him for service rendered. He was the White Rajah over the territory but he soon found himself bored with inaction and sold the territory to Rajah Brooke(2).

In 1877, Torrey sold his rights to Baron Overbeck and Alfred and Edward Dent albeit that the lease had expired. Undaunted, the trio took over the lease and formed a syndicate to revive the lease. They successfully obtained in perpetuity 'certain' of the Sultan of Brunei's rights in North Borneo on 29 December 1877.

And then on 22 January 1878, through Mr Cowie's influence over the Sultan of Sulu whom he had extensive dealing before, the Sultan of Sulu 'transferred' all his rights to Baron Overbeck.

Mr W.C. Cowie, Mr A. Cook with the Sultan of Sulu

The entourage left Mr W.B. Pryer, Mr W. Pretyman and Mr H.L Leicester in North Borneo to take possession of their newly acquired country. Mr W.B Pryer chose Kudat as the seat of the government. Mr W.B Pryer is another interesting character worth reading. His widow wrote an interesting account of his exploits in A Decade in Borneo. Mr W.B Pryer managed to convince at least two headmen that by working with him, they could defend themselves against pirates and headhunting raiders. Initially they were weary of him but eventually they became his strongest allies.

Alfred Dent went back to England and went about the business of getting backing for their enterprise. Early 1881, the British North Borneo Provisional Association Limited was formed to take over all rights and properties. To protect themselves against foreign interference, a petition was made to the Queen for a Royal Charter and this was given on 1 November 1881. Apparently the granting of the Charter did not come easily. It seems that public opinion in England then was against any colonization of people by a company and then perhaps there were segment of the society who were concerned about the humane treatment of indigenous people(3).

The Charter was only granted when the government was concerned that should Alfred Dent went into financial difficulty, he might sell the rights to North Borneo to a foreign power which was highly undesirable. Hence, the British North Borneo Chartered Company was formed in May 1882.


Commandant and Staff of British North Borneo Military Police

In the book, it said BNBCC would acquire more territories, Putatan River (1 May 1884); the Padas District (November 1884) including the important rivers of Kalias[sic] and Padas, Tawaran and Bangawan [sic] rivers being included in the same deed of cession; the Kawang River (21 February 1885) and the Mantanani Islands (10 April 1885). It said its first governor, Mr W.H Treacher, negotiated these concessions. However, in reality, some of the territories were taken by hostile takeover. True to the case with Padas district where it was administered by Pengiran Shahbandar Hassan before the arrival of BNBCC. BNBCC waged war against him and his followers of which neither party won. The conflict was finally settled via negotiation.

Government offices in Sandakan

Barracks in Sandakan

First railway station in North Borneo at Bukau

Trees being felled to make way for railway

Railway sea terminus in Weston

Mat Salleh's sword which was surrendered to W.C. Cowie

Train carriage made locally

First Locomotive engine in North Borneo

(1) North Borneo - Wikipedia

(2) The Straits Time

(3) Borneo - The Straits Time

Help Nab Muhammad Saad Ali Hassan

2012-02-20T21:21:00.000+08:00

We need to help the police to apprehend a foreigner who was allegedly to have assaulted a fellow tourist from Canada and two local women recently in Kota Kinabalu. He is said to be an Arab, country unknown. His reported name is Muhammad Saad Ali Hassan.

The cause of the provocation was reported to be because the Canadian tourist gave his local Chinese girlfriend a kiss on the cheek on the lounge area of a Bed and Breakfast establishment. He was reported to have gone into a tirade about the couples' action having insulted his belief. Coverage is here.

To be fair to all parties, subject has to be apprehended to help the police conduct investigation to clear the air so that no party is maligned in this matter. To be able to do that, the police has to get him into their safe custody. I would advise that you do not apprehend him personally should you encounter him but to call the police immediately, that is 999. If not, call the President of Sabah Backpackers Association, Mr Tommy Chaw at 010 982 9693.

Do not endanger yourself or the subject by apprehending the subject yourself, let the authority do their job and have faith in the police.

Please help broadcast this so that we have closure and justice to all parties concerned including the subject.

Alleged video grab:

Bonding With Gaya Street - The Program

2012-02-05T23:44:00.000+08:00

About 5 more days to Bonding With Gaya Street(BWGS). The BWGS team has been working round the clock to make this event meaningful to the community in Gaya Street and the city of Kota Kinabalu and to larger extend, Sabah!

Briefly, there will be free movie screening on 10 February 2012 at Padang Merdeka, starting from 8pm to 11pm.

BWGS will be officially launched by the Lord Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir on 12 February 2012. Then in the evening, A Go Go concert by our local veteran bands. I've seen them practicing, I tell you they will rock your world!

Check out the details of BWGS program.

Follow BWGS at our Facebook Page or visit BWGS blog.

Pirates and Slave Trading - North Borneo

2012-01-26T14:20:00.002+08:00

I was reading A Decade in Borneo, written by Ada Pryer or Ada Blanche Locke. She is the wife of the first Resident of the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC) in Sandakan and in North Borneo, Mr William Burges Pryer. It was published in 1893; fourteen years after the founding of Elopura or Sandakan and about six year prior to the demise of William B. Pryer on 11 Januay 1899 at age 54 *1. Sandakan was founded by Mr Pryer on 21 June 1879 *2.


Pryer's monument in Sandakan. Souce : http://www.aboutsabah.com.my/?p=2549

It is an interesting book because it gives a glimpse to the past, North Borneo or Sabah of old. At the time of this writing, I do not know how long Mr Pryer stayed in North Borneo, perhaps 10 years as what the title of the book suggests and why he left North Borneo? Health issue? Politics? One thing is certain though, Mr Pryer brought law and order and medicine to North Borneo. In my opinion, if it were not for him, the present Sabah would be a much different place, not for the better I would imagine.

The writing by his wife intrigued me. For example, who were the Buludupies? She said they lived in Labuk, Segama and Kinabatangan and was almost extinct because of piracy and slave trading. The Buludupies she said, had round eyes, Caucasion features and loathed violence. She also mentioned that the North Borneo Armed Constabulary (NBAC) was formerly formed in May 1882. Present Darvel Bay used to be known as Looc Sabahan [sic]. I think she meant Lok Sabahan. Lok is Bajau word for Bay.

She also mentioned Dato Kurunding, the pirate chief of the Illanuns who reside in Tuncu (Tungku). I googled Dato Kurunding and stumbled upon this gem! ; a news article,

From the Daily Times, October 29^th.

Piracy In Borneo

The following communication on the prevalence of piracy along the coast of Borneo, with which we have been favoured, is deserving of a careful perusal and consideration. The writer is one who is entitled to speak with authority, and we believe he has been prompted to take up the pen by reason of remarks that lately appeared in our columns concerning the cruise of Her Majesty's ship Kestrel along the shores of Borneo :-

For many generations past the Illanuns have been known as a tribe almost entirely devoted to piracy. In the year 1845 their villages on the North West Coast of Borneo were attacked and destroyed by Sir Thomas Cockrane. On this account, which, according to M. St. John, they broke up their communities and most of them who are addicted to piracy retired to the North East Coast to Tungku and the neighbouring rivers; those that remained in Tampassak long bore an ill name but now under the able management of the Resident, they are rapidly being reformed, and show considerable promise of some day taking high rank amongst the inhabitants of this important land. Those that went to Tungku however still retained their old propensities, and have continued their raids down to the present time, their Chief Dato Kurunding, boasts that with one cruise he has murdered 120 people on piratical expeditions; for the last year or two nothing has been heard against this man and it was hoped that the Tungku people were giving up their former evil ways. The Illanun expeditions have usually been amongst the Philippine island and down the Straits of Celebes. In the year 1872, I myself was in a village, not above a hundred or fifty miles South of Manali, that had just before been burnt by them, several of the people and much more valuable property carried off, and in another village there were 2 men who had escaped from them and returned home, their tongues had been cut out so that they should not give any information as to the pirates haunts; on one occasion not so very many years ago the Spaniards were challenged to meet them at a certain place but did not go, and the seas were virtually in their possession for some time. The following extract from Professor Bickmori's travels in the East Indian Archipelago will give on account of the proceedings of the Illanuns to the South East :-

“Piracy is described in the earliest Malay romances, and spoken by these natives not as a failing of their ancestors but as an occasion for glorifying in their brave deeds. They continue to infest the Sulu sea and the Southern part of the Philippines; they came down here in the middle of the Western monsoon so as to have fair wind both ways. The Illanuns are now the most daring pirates in these seas. Last year the man-of-war on this station had the good fortune to surprise five boats, one of them carrying as many as sixty men. At first they attempted to escape by means of their oars, but her shot and shell soon began to tear them to pieces, they then pulled in towards the shore and jumped overboard, but by this time they had come near a village and the natives at once all turned out with their spears, the only weapons they had, and scoured the woods for these murderers until not one of them was left alive. They seldom attack European vessel, but when they do and succeed, they take revenge for the severe punishment their countrymen receive from the Dutch warships, and not one white men is left to tell the tale of capture and massacre. They prey chiefly on the small schooners commanded and manned by Mestizoes by which most of the trade between the Dutch ports in these parts is carried on. One of these vessels was taken last year. While I was at Kema two Malays appeared; while they were fishing they had been captured by a fleet of pirates but escaped by jumping overboard and swimming. They applied for food and as such cases are specially provided for by the Dutch Government their request was immediately granted. A few years ago these pirates sent a challenge to the Dutch fleet at Batavia to come and meet them in the Straits of Macassar and several officers assured me that five ships were sent. To the Dutch almost exclusively belong the honor of having rendered the navigation of these sea so comparatively safe as it now is.”

Large parties of Illanuns such as are spoken of here usually came from the Southern Coast of Magindanao.

The Baligninis are another tribe of freebooters. Formerly their expeditions were carried down as far as the vicinity of Singapore itself, and there is now in Campong German (Sandakan) a Singapore Lingeabo, and a man named Armie of Meimbong. Proceeding with the utmost treachery, the division under Otto made a complete haul of a lot of Bajaus collecting trepang off the Paitan river, murdering most of the adult males, and bearing the females and children into captivity. Tuan Imaum, one of the Chiefs of the Bajaus here, supplied the names of 27 people, his immediate friends and relations, who were thus dealt with. By proceeding almost alone, and pretending friendship, he being known to most of them, and then bringing the pirates up quietly at night, Otto managed to get nearly every Bajau in those parts. But the following is an illustration of the usual mode of proceeding of these pirates. 4 men, 2 Bajaus and 2 Lingeabo people were asleep in a boat, a pirate depong stole up and her men suddenly jumping on board, killed two of them before they could stir, the other two managed to escape into the mangrove, and the pirates then carried off the boat and all its contents.

Several times pirates have been reported as being off the coast and more particularly I was informed by a man named Hiranee, one of the three in company had been taken by them, (5 sail strong) under Armie, 2 men who escaped were slightly wounded by gun shots and 3 others, in the depong that was captured, were carried off. Armie called out that he was coming in another month with forty depongs to raid this Bay, and also he is the man that fired his gun which wounded one of the men.

On leaving immediately after this occurrence the “Far East” came across two depongs at the entrance of the harbour, one of which was identified as the identical boat captured by the pirates, and now turned into a cruiser by them. She was full of men, who had 7 rifles amongst them; the other a larger one, with a fort in it, made of ironwood, was said to be under charge of the Capitan Laout himself. The “Far East” retook the first with a loss to the pirates, it was said, of 2 men killed and 1 wounded, the remainder escaping into the bush in Balhalla. On the next morning one or two Balignini shields were found, and a parang besides one of the original men of the depong who had escaped from the pirates during the previous night. The sail of the depong had been changed for a Balignini one with a private signal in the centre of it.

After finishing at Paitan the pirates are said to have crossed to Pongutaran, capturing on the way a Labuan bound prahu belonging to Cagayan Shefiff, murdering him and all the Crew, and at Pongutaran they are said to have captured or murdered another lot of some people. Since then they have made their appearance in many places capturing and murdering whenever they could find an opportunity. The original lot of captures are all said to have been taken to Tungku in the early part of June and from there were sent down South for sale. I think it not unlikely some of them may be found at Seeganan but doubtless the major part were taken to Booloongan.

The last information I have about the pirates is that having disposed of their captives and bought fresh supplies of arms, ammunition with the proceeds, they are busy making preparations for operations on a larger scale and challenge any one that may come saying that, whether English of Spanish, they will not seek protection of their walls and forts, but come to sea and “mine mine” there (have a dance). This is probably merely an idle boast, as it is quite at variance with their character, as far as I have been able to learn, for from what I gather I should consider them a set of sneaking, cowardly rascals, who take the greatest care to avoid the slightest chance of endangering their own skins. It would be bad enough if the slaves sold there were acquired even in accordance with the very bad laws of these parts, by being bought amongst the islands or simply sent there for sale by their masters; but the matter is far worse, as , it present stands. Encouragement is given to piracy, murder and kidnapping, on a scale it is almost incredible should in exist the latter part of the nineteenth century in any part of the world moreover by the slave being bartered for arms and ammunition, the pirates are fitted out for the committal of further atrocities. It is also said as if all these horrors were not enough, that a good many of the slaves, sold in Booloongan, are bought by the headhunters (Sagais) for the purpose of being butchered in the most cold blooded manner that their murderers, may have possession of a head, without the possession of one of which, it is, I am informed almost impossible for any man to find favour in the eyes of the females of those parts.

I have read somewhere that oral tradition of the Rungus suggest that Dato Kurunding was actually Aki Kulindod. Kulindod was a Rungus warrior that opposed the BNBCC and to prevent his family being targeted as retribution for his aggression, he asked his people to tell the British that he was not one of them and that he passed by the village (his village) for business. It was said that Kulindod was mistaken to be an Illanun because during the time of his capture or execution (cannot be certain at this juncture), he was pictured wearing an Illanun clothing.

However, until documentary proof could be produced to back this claim, I am inclined to think that this was perhaps a case of mis-identity. Nothing in Mrs Pryer's writing suggested that Dato Kurunding was captured by the British. In page 53 of the book, she mentioned that the old Dato Kurunding had died and that his son, Dato Baginda Putih had taken up his position.

As mentioned in the above news article, Dato Kurunding had boasted that he had murdered 120 people on piratical expeditions. From what I have read about all the Rungus oral tradition, they were traditionally an enemy to all pirates. They had protected the northern part of North Borneo's coastal areas against pirates. Simpang Mengayau is said to be their "watch tower".

Photo : Sabah Tourism Board

For a community that loathed pirates, I hardly think that Kulindod would associate himself with such murderous bunch. But then again, the book was written by the wife of the Resident. Hence, she might be biased in her information.

A Decade in Borneo is available for download, legally and for free. Just google the word. Happy reading.

*1 Source : Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser
*2 Source : British North Borneo - An Account of its History, Resources and Native Tribes by Owen Rutter

Bonding With Gaya Street

2012-01-18T14:14:00.000+08:00

Phew! It's been a while since I write anything, I wonder whether this blog still have followers :P. Why the absence? If you read yesterday's Daily Express, you would have seen this :P

Yup that's me in the centre! LOL. I'm serving as the advisor of the Bonding with Gaya Street community heritage exhibition organized by our group North Borneo History Enthusiasts (NBHE).

Rather bombastic title kan? hahaha... Actually, they didn't know where to put me, so they just inserted me into that position. I'm working with a bunch of passionate Sabahans to bring Gaya Street's rich history to Sabahan! For the past few weeks, our committee members have been working tirelessly to collect old photographs and interviewing people to collect stories of Gaya Street.

We really need help! Loads of them! We need volunteers and we also need funding. So if you know someone who can help, please give us a heads up! This is a non profit community outreach by NBHE. For more information on the event, you can visit our website at http://nbhe.blogspot.com. Look at the Labels under Bonding with Gaya Street to get all the updates written.

Perang Si Gunting 1894 - 1901 (Gunting War)

2011-12-27T20:14:00.000+08:00

I think most Sabahans have not heard of this North Borneo rebel named Gunting. Gunting was a Dusun warrior who led a rebellion against the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC) in what was to be known as the Gunting War or Perang Si Gunting which lasted for seven years from 1894 to 1901.

Gunting's rebellion preceded another very much publicized rebel named Mat Salleh by about two years. The latter only started open hostility sometime in 1896 and was declared an outlaw by the BNBCC in August 1896. Whereas Mat Salleh rebelled to hold on to his rights to rule and collect tax, Si Gunting rebelled to hold on to his people's way of life.

Si Gunting was born in 1859 in Mumus which is now known as Serinsim, Kota Marudu. He died in 1905.

wanesweb.blogspot.com

The catalyst of Gunting's rebellion was a marriage proposal! A company clerk asked for the hand of a Rungus maiden but refused to pay the required dowry in accordance to Rungus tradition. Here we can deduce that Si Gunting is a Rungus. We can safely assumed that the company clerk was a westerner.

Si Gunting registered his displeasure with the breach of custom to a Dato Undok, an appointed community leader of BNBCC who conveyed Si Gunting's displeasure to the company but fell on deaf ears. Si Gunting was incensed with BNBCC indifference and reacted by attacking a police post in Mumus with his followers. Seven Sikh policemen were killed in the attack and the clerk who had wanted the maiden for free was also killed.

From then on, Si Gunting and his followers became wanted men, pursued by the BNBCC. A.R. Dunlop was tasked to capture him. Si Gunting and his followers fortified themselves atop a hill in Sayap. When their fort was attacked, they retreated into the interior and continued their guerrilla warfare. Si Gunting managed to evade capture throughout his campaign.

BNBCC offered Si Gunting amnesty in exchange for him to cease his rebellion. Some said that Si Gunting felt that he was too old to continue his warfare. Hence, he accepted the company's offer. However, I find that the age factor is an unlikely cause for Si Gunting's surrendering, after all, he was only 42 years old when he surrendered.

RCI is evil?!

2011-12-27T15:31:00.000+08:00

Dr Chong Eng Leong said it accurately when he described how a certain Datu Akjan Ali Muhammad's press statement stirred 'intense revulsion' among concerned Sabahans regarding foreigners who have obtained Mykad via dubious means; I am one of them.

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

This man and his antics really annoy me, intensely! How on earth would a Royal Commission Inquiry(RCI) "will only cause misunderstanding, ‘incite hatred’ and create disunity among the various ethnic groups in Sabah" as he said it?

He object to the calls for the establishment of the RCI to probe the extraordinary increase of Sabah’s population and the issuance of Malaysian citizenship to foreigners??

What????????

He totally distorted the truth on the matter! What is a Sabahan standing in the way of Sabahans of finally getting the truth about the alleged "Project IC"?

And what's with the veiled threat?! Excerpts from news report :-

“These groups of people have conveniently chosen to forget the historical facts of Sabah, that there are other ethnic groups who also possessed the equal rights as stipulated in the State Constitution,” he said.

Akjan warned those pushing for the establishment of the RCI to take a cue from the many cases of racial tension and unrest in other countries when certain ethnic groups try to deny the rights of the other ethnic groups.

He said that if the RCI promoters continue to push for it, it may one day backfire on them and they should instead spend some time studying the history of Sabah and the genesis of its various ethnic groups.

And why drag true blue Sabahans Suluks into the matter?

Pointing to natives in Sabah of Suluk origin, who he claimed were marginalized, Akjan said they had always remained loyal to the state despite their difficulty.

We don't need a lecture of historical facts from you, certainly not from someone who had been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) related to issuance of documents to illegal immigrants. Has he tried to clear his name regarding this? If there were no Project IC, why didn't he sue the federal government for tarnishing his good name by associating him with the whole fiasco? A businessman would certainly want to keep his name clean. He might be innocent but his action or rather inaction, certainly drew loads of questions. And now, here he is, objecting to the RCI?

I hope the local Suluk in Sabah do not get hoodwinked by this man. Historically, as far back as the golden era of the Bruneian Sultanate, there were migrations of Suluks from the Philippine islands to Sabah or North Borneo as it was known then. These early migrants settled here. In fact, the Suluks weren't the only fellow natives of the Philippines islands that had made Sabah their home prior to Malaysia day. During the colonial era, there were a Tagalog (some mixed Spaniards) community in North Borneo. They have all assimilated into the larger community. When Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963, they effectively became Sabahans and Malaysians respectively.

The RCI is not about a group wanting to diminish the right of another group. How did that come about? It's about probing recent migrants, post Malaysia day, that had acquired citizenship via dubious means! And it's not about us not wanting to grant citizenship to foreigners! Of course we would welcome any foreigners who wish to become Sabahan Malaysian. If you are industrious and/or of good standing and will contribute to Sabah's development, of course you are welcome. Remember, North Borneo's development was facilitated by migrants. One example, the British North Borneo Charted Company (BNBCC) sponsored the migration of the industrious Hakka Chinese to North Borneo. The best example of how a nation benefited from immigrants is the United States.

Why would you think that an RCI will diminish a certain group's rights? Exactly what rights are we talking about? Special position accorded to natives as enshrined in the constitution? I got news for you, RCI is looking into citizenship gained via dubious means, its not about whether your ethnicity has more or less privileges than the other natives of Sabah.

The only people who should worry about an RCI, are those who gained their citizenship outside of proper channels i.e. forged documents etc and those in the inside, who betrayed Sabah's sovereignty.

And what is this Sandakan-based Rantau Putra Association asserting that the RCI is unconstitutional and unfair. Since when forging documents is constitutional and fair? Please pray tell, I really like to know why you are against the RCI? If one's citizenship was properly obtained, why would anyone be afraid of the RCI? We are looking for forged documents, not genuine ones!

This is just a desperate attempt by some quarters in delaying or even rail roading the RCI by trying to pit another native group against another one; Sleight of hand to divert attention. Who would stoop so low as to use and mislead a community for their gain. I hope true Sabahans will not buy this crap.

No such thing as Project IC?

There's a report in Daily Express today which I find interesting. It was reporting on the recently launched mobile courts in Sabah. I'm reproducing it here:

Illegals keep trying luck at Sabah mobile courts

Kota Kinabalu: There are still attempts by illegal immigrants to take the opportunity of the recently launched mobile courts to get citizenship in Sabah.

These include requests for endorsements of late birth registration, the fact that many of these applications are made in large towns and the relative ease in which some foreigners are able to obtain a MyKad.

From 2009 until Nov 21, there have been 24,479 application for endorsements of late birth registration. Statistics show that magistrates have disposed of 7,638 cases. The remaining 16,841 are part heard or pending.

Of the 7,638 cleared cases, however, only about 10pc of the applications referred by the National Registration Department (NRD) were endorsed, meaning the magistrates were unable to confirm the truth of the birth particulars in close to 7,000 cases.

Next, most of the applications are in Kota Kinabalu (3,004) and big towns like Tawau (2,805), Sandakan (6,674), Semporna (2,868) and Lahad Datu (3,493) in the east coast.

This is despite the existence of big hospitals and NRD offices to facilitate early registration of births.

Under Section 22 of Sabah's Registration of Births and Deaths Ordinance 1953, which was declared a Federal law in 1965, every entry of birth made after 42 days of the birth is to be marked "Late Registration". An extract from the late registration registry must be certified by the magistrate's court before it is deemed legally binding and can be used in applying for a MyKad.

Many foreigners are also trying to obtain a MyKad via questionable means. "We take judicial notice that there are many cases of fake MyKads circulating in Sabah," said mobile court coordinator Duncan Sikodol.

"As such we cross-check with NRD and Immigration before endorsing the information in the late birth registration of the applicant's child as genuine. There is little doubt about the birth date itself but we need to be satisfied they are indeed Malaysians," he said after a mobile court trip to the interior mukims of Pagalungangand and Pensiangan.

Sikodol said the fathers often told the inquiry "they come from some kampung or the other but when we ask for details, they either can't tell us anything else or they say they are citizens by way of 'Project IC'. When we ask for supporting letters, they say they have none. We need to be careful because endorsing the extract of a late birth registration is in effect conferring citizenship," he said.

......."While the inquiries have made it more difficult to obtain an endorsement of the birth particulars, consequently making it impossible to get a MyKad," Pitrus disclosed : "Once, when we contacted an applicant to tell him the inquiry date, he said, tak payah, dah dapat IC'. (no need, I got the IC)"

That's part of the report. For further read, The Star also carried similar report on the matter here.

This issue has been plaguing us for more than two decades! The RCI may prove that Project IC is non-existence but what's wrong with getting a confirmation on it? Get this proverbial monkey off our back once and for all, so we can move on. It will benefit all parties and finally put a closure and start healing this open wound of ours.

This issue has nothing to do with being humane. I pity those illegal immigrants too, especially their often stateless children roaming the streets in their ragged clothes, living worse than animals. However, I for one would like to get an answer to this longstanding rumour about Project IC. Is it true that there are certain party out there that is 'giving out' citizenship to these migrants for their votes?