Remaong negong mua lubang
Bujang berani pandai nengkebang
Ayun jari kanan, ngerarat ka bukit nyadi emperan
Ayun jari kiba, tawas kampung rawak temuda
Tuan Besai RumahDayak.com pemegai ulu lungga

Author by Dom Unggun at RumaDayak.com

Instead they imposed levy on rakyat who plant oil palm! Something must be wrong in the system.

If this road is located in ulu Pahang, I am very very sure it will appear on prime time news. But, unfortunately, it is located in rural Sarawak, where TV camera needs a written application and “permit” to enter Sarawak.

Again, today, the local media highlight this issue, and again, we get them same respond from Dato Jacon Sagan, and it makes me wonder, if, ever the Federal Government listen to the plight of the Orang Ulu, who is represented by Dato Jacob.

Or, probably the method use is still not effective.

Despite the call for the rakyat to be patient (what else can they do anyway, but to pray and hope), almost nothing have been done to that road since 20 years ago. Excuse me, the minor maintenance is nothing compared to the amount of revenue generated from the economic activities there. While we keep reading the annual audited account of public listed companies, the reality remains the same.

Now, comes another big development program - the building of a new hydroelectric dam in Ulu Baram, the people is being asked to be ready for the development tsunami. How to be ready? Isn’t that was mentioned when the government decided (without the rakyat knowing it earlier due to confidentiality and in the end the rakyat are look upon as fabricating lies) to build the Batang Ai Dam. And, after decades, and if we look at what Lubok Antu is today, is that considered to be a developed bazaar? The picture was painted perfectly but the deliveries wasn’t and the outcome is what it is today.

With all that, we hope the State Planning Unit will derived a better implementation program to physically, economically, and mentally upgrade the wellbeing of the rakyat in Lubok Antu and the other 12 identified sites of the new dams over the thirty years period.

I may not be able to gain from it, but my children will.. and we hope we are still one nation (by then).

Borneo Post, 23 July 2008.

The Ministry of Works should take into consideration that the road is being used to transport heavy load of timber, timber, timber, oil palm, oil palm and lots of timber and oil palm. Hence, I believe it is necessary to emphasize on that.

Jangan buat jalan yang nipis dan sesuai untuk kenderaan ringan saja. Make it an exclusive road for the timber companies and oil palm plantations. They are the ones who uses and continuously destroying (with their heavy load) it later on.

I would like to thank Ace Si Si and Audie Chua for highlight my blog in the Over a Cup of Kopi O column of the Sunday Post on 20th July 2008. You may download the full scanned article (in JPEG format).

I hope to contribute more towards the community through the blog.

Other readings:

• Sungai ASAP has “Parti Rakyat Sarawak in a quagmire”

How could the people who voted them be grateful? This odd 10,000 natives are not tycoon, businessmen or entreprenuers but there are just an ordinary Malaysian who need to survive in the current economic situation. Not only the subsidised diesel is snailing on implementation in Sarawak, this inhumane act is not something that they want most - today.

No compensation: Villagers cry foul
Tony thien | Jul 18, 08 12:14pm
Source: Malaysiakini

The multi-billion-ringgit Bakun hydro dam in central Sarawak has not only displaced 10,000 natives from their original homes in upper Balui but also deprived other natives as the original inhabitants of their native customary rights (NCR) land now occupied by the ‘new arrivals’ or resettlement people at Sungai Asap.

“The Sg Asap land of many thousand hectares which is the resettlement village site is actually ours and we’ve never been compensated for it,” said Jude @ Juda Anye, an educated member of the Kenyah community from Uma Sambop, the nearest of five longhouses in Sg Belaga, to the Bakun dam.

He said the Barisan Nasional’s elected representatives for the area, Hulu Rajang MP Billy Abit and Belaga state assemblyperson Liwan Lagang as well as the state land development minister Dr James Masing have not done anything about it despite knowing the facts of the case.

Several members of the village development and security committee (AJKK) have turned to Malaysiakini to highlight their predicament after a team from the land and survey department, armed with machineries, moved into their areas along the Bakun-Tubau road Tuesday to start demolishing houses said to be illegally occupying state land.

The eviction notice was issued about two years ago and was to be enforced before the March 8 parliamentary elections. But after intervention by some quarters, this was postponed indefinitely.

As if losing their NCR lands in Sg Asap, about 20km away, is not enough, what remains of their NCR lands of several thousand hectares nearer the village along the Sg Belaga near the Bakun dam itself has been included in two oil palm leases given out by the state government to two companies – Shin Yang Forestry Sdn Bhd and Ekran Plantation Sdn Bhd.

Court action
Jawa Lawing, 56, and seven other plaintiffs representing themselves and 72 families from Uma Sambop have filed a court action claiming their NCR on the land.

In his affidavit, Joseph Lejau, 55, a teacher, said it is not proper for the state government to issue the leases to the two companies to plant oil palm on their NCR land.

“As this is our NCR land, we should have been consulted and priority should have been given to us to carry out plantation projects,” he said, adding their main reason for instituting legal action is to ask for the land to be returned to them.

“We should also be compensated for the loss of our land and our resources for the last 13 years,” he said in the affidavit filed by their lawyer See Chee How of Baru Bian & Co Advocates. The case is set for hearing next month.

There are more than100 families in Uma Sambop - which has been in existence for more than a century, with the inhabitants originally from the Baram area in northern Sarawak..

The natives have produced evidence to claim NCR on the lands around them, including the existence of the present primary school first established in 1956, structures of old homes and grave sites.

Meanwhile, the natives have taken issue with a statement attributed to Masing which was widely reported in local newspapers yesterday. He said the structures erected on the land now being demolished by the enforcement team were illegally erected on state land.

“The houses have been demolished because that area, I believe, has been compensated and taken over by the government and the NCR on that land has been extinguished,” the minister added.

A spokesperson for the Kenyah group told Malaysiakini that the minister was wrong in saying that, adding that the affected land is clearly NCR and that no compensation has been paid by the government to acquire it.

Malaysiakini learnt that the government needs the land within 100 metres from the main Bakun road for the construction of the overhead transmission cable from the Bakun hydro dam as well as to clear the land of ‘squatters’ to make way for plantation activities by the companies.

We’ve kick start the 3rd Anniversary campaign this week. And, this year we’ll be celebrating our 3rd anniversary at Imperial Hotel Poolside! Yes…. Wet Wet Wet!

Check out the discussion here!

Finally we have the chance to see Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim live on national TV, and, debating with our Information Minister, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek on the topic of fuel price reduction. The debate is being organised by Agenda Daily.

What if Anwar managed to explain his ideas and ways to reduce the fuel price, will it change the way we perceive him? Will we vote for Pakatan Rakyat in the ‘next’ election? Will it be a viable idea then?

Of, ok Anwar managed to convince Malaysian on what he can do to reduce the fuel price.. but how will he be able to implement it the very next day? It is not as easy as we say it. Constitutionally, PR have failed (technically) to get the vote of no-confidence against our PM.

Will our perception change tomorrow… we shall wait tonight!

I was excited (at first glance) to read this piece of news this morning… and how nice it was written.. ahead of scheduled but delayed! Is that how the politicians see the progress of a project?

Extract: Borneo Post 12th July, 2008 Page 8

Extract from Borneo Post

Roads in all rural villages in 10 years
By Anthony Joseph

Participation of private sector needed to speed up process: Ose

MIRI: The government’s determination and seriousness in bringing development to rural areas was reflected recently in the federal government committing itself to ensuring that all rural villages would have roads in the next 10 years.

Miri Resident Ose Murang said this when briefing foreign trade representatives on a familiarisation trip of Sarawak yesterday.

It was jointly organised by the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) and Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC).

The government is committed to bringing development to the country including rural areas.

The development would be mainly driven by land development, industries, manufacturing and service sectors in a sustainable way, Ose said.

“We do this in order to improve the quality of life of the people and for this, we need to provide supporting infrastructure such as roads and information communication technology (ICT) in rural areas,” he said.

Ose admitted that the government needed the investment and participation of the private sector to speed up the process.

“We have a lot of challenges in the form of geography, physical constraint of topography as well as very small population.

“We need the effort on the part of the community to change their attitude and mindset,” he said.

In order to achieve development and progress, rural communities themselves must be receptive, proactive and discard some of their cultural and traditional values that were not conducive to development.

Apart from that, the government faced some constraint such as availability of adequate funding and environmental issues, he added.

Ose commended the effort made by logging companies that heeded the voice from the community not to be left behind compared to those living in urban areas.

He said the government acknowledged and appreciated the corporate social responsibility of the logging community such as their building longhouses, schools and other facilities for the comfort of the rural community.

Some logging companies had taught the Penan community how to farm, for instance, especially those in Long Jekitan.

Ose said among the efforts to get Penans into the mainstream of development was to resettle them in government-built longhouses and service centres such as those in Batu Bungan, Long Kevok and Long Jekitan.

“These service centres are provided with schools, clinics and agriculture centres. We also recruit volunteers to serve them, about 30 of them now; and more to be recruited.

“The government also provides assistance to students by giving free school uniforms and stationery including transporting them from the village to school.”

Ose said the efforts made by the government showed that the Penans were not neglected or made outcast. Infact the government was proactive in the measures and steps taken to bring the community into the mainstream of development.

And, if you are not a subscriber to CNET Tips and Trick, maybe you can have a go at the article below.

Tricks for close-up photography
By Leonard Goh, CNET editor
Source: CNET
Level: Intermediate

Getting extreme close-ups — also called macro photography — can provide amazing results, especially since many digital cameras feature a macro shooting mode that allows you to focus within inches of your subject.

It may sound easy to snap these close-ups, but there are several factors which could ruin your picture. We took these into consideration and came up with a list of tips for shooting great macro shots with your point-and-shoot.

1) Check your focus
A good close-up shot should be detailed and sharp to show the elements of the subject. So check the user manual of your shooter for the minimal focusing distance of the lens in Macro mode. Some point-and-shoots will give an indication on the LCD via a red box if your shooter cannot focus on the subject.

However, your best bet would be to zoom in on the image while in Playback mode and check if the area you focused on is sharp. It would be disastrous to find all the shots are out of focus when you view them on the PC’s display.

2) Hold your breath!
Unless you’re shooting in a controlled environment like a studio or room, otherwise you are pretty much at the mercy of nature when out in the field snapping macro shots. Gusts of wind or breathing too hard can make your tiny subject sway, causing motion blur. While there is no way you can stop Mother Nature, you can place your bag or ask your friend to help block and minimize the effect of the wind. For good measure, hold your breath while snapping the shot.

3) A flash of brilliance
Sometimes the weather gets cranky–one moment it’s bright and sunny, then just before you press the shutter, the clouds decide to come out and play. Flip the switch and activate the in-built flash, or if you are using a dSLR, attach your hotshoe strobe for better effects. Check your shot and take appropriate action like exposure compensation to reduce the harshness of the light.  Alternatively, wait for a sunny day and clear skies to shoot. Natural light provides the best illumination.

4) Clear up the mess
Try to keep the foreground and background clutter to a minimal because they might steal the focus of your shot. Human eyes are naturally attracted to bright colors, so shift your shooting angles or remove any objects to keep your snaps clean. If you’re snapping in a park or nature reserve, remember not to pluck or remove any flora.

5) Keep the ISO low, use a tripod
Besides keeping physical clutter to a minimum, you should also reduce digital artifacts which can be distracting. The color on a flower petal should appear as it is, and not littered with spots of noise. Use the lowest ISO sensitivity available in your shooter and pair it up with a tripod to counter the slow shutter speed. To further reduce handshake, use the self-timer mode.