Miri Resort City.com - Eyes on Miri

29th September 2008 - Villagers up in arms over eviction order

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:11:33 +0800

MIRI - Some 10,000 villagers from 13 Kedayan-Malay villages in northern Sarawak are up in arms over a move to evict them from their century-old settlements. They received the eviction notices from the Land and Survey Department recently asking them to move out by today, The Star reported.

The villages are located some 40km south of Miri City, along the Sarawak Second Coastal Highway near the Miri-Bintulu division boundary.

Yesterday, scores of villagers staged a demonstration by the road to tell motorists about their plight.

They unfurled banners and placards denouncing the eviction.

The crowd grew as passers-by joined in the protest. Two elderly Kedayan chieftains, Penghulu Sahar Pusha and Bengkil Bangkol, joined in the demonstration.

"This move to evict us is a huge shock. We have been living in these villages since 1910. We were told that they have plans to build a sawmill and develop oil palm plantations. We were informed that 1,800 hectares of our land had already been allocated for a sawmill. Where are we to go? This is our ancestral home. We have been here for almost 100 years," said Sahar.

Bengkil claimed that the developer had already cleared four cemeteries to build access roads. "We have sought urgent meetings with the relevant authorities to help us. We recently met Miri Land and Survey Department officials but they told us we have no right over the land because we only have provisional leases," said Bengkil.

"We protested saying that we have native customary rights because our ancestors have been there since 1910 but they refuse to withdraw the eviction notices," he added.

[ Source

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:54:48 +0800

MiriResortCity.com wishes a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Selamat Berpuasa to everyone.

Miri Job Expo 2008 - This 27-28 Sep 2008 (Sat- Sun)

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:37:37 +0800

27-28 Sep 2008 (Sat- Sun)

09:00 am - 06:00 pm

Miri Indoor Stadium

Entrance: Free

22nd September 2008 - Sexual abuse of Penan girls

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:54:03 +0800

MIRI: Sarawak police have called on non-governmental organisations or human rights groups that have information about sexual abuse by timber workers against interior Penan and native girls to lodge official police reports immediately.

State Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh said Sarawak police are prepared to launch an immediate investigation into these serious allegations.

“We need official police reports to facilitate an immediate probe. Any NGOs or natives who know of such cases should lodge a report at the nearest police station.

“If there is an official report, we can commence investigations immediately,” he said.

Mohamad said Miri police have told him they had not received any official report on the allegations, adding that he would also check with the police chief in the interior division of Baram.

Mohmad, here on a working visit, was presenting donations to widows and orphans at the Miri police headquarters when asked about allegations circulating in cyberspace concerning the sexual abuse of Penan women by timber workers in interior Baram.

The allegations were highlighted by the Bruno Manser Foundation on its website.

“Sometimes, the problem with NGOs is that they highlight complaints through their websites and the media. They don’t come to us (the police). They should come to us first,” he told a press conference here on Tuesday.

The website claimed that young Penan women in Baram had been sexually abused by timber workers in logging camps and in their settlements.

The foundation, based in Switzerland, is an environmental and human rights grouping set up by environmental activist Bruno Manser, the Swiss who made a name for himself in the 1980s when he organised huge anti-logging protests among the nomadic and semi-nomadic Penans of interior Sarawak.

He went missing in the interior of Sarawak in 2001.

A large part of Baram district, and other parts of interior Sarawak, have been alloted to private consortiums for logging and plantation development. Many of these areas are still populated by indigenous and minority groups, including the Penans.

21st September 2008 - Welding possible cause of Miri blast

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 14:11:39 +0800

MIRI: The explosion that ripped apart a fuel-laden vessel in the Miri River and killed two crew members last week was possibly sparked off by human carelessness, initial investigations revealed.

A spark from welding work being done on the ship could have triggered the fire which resulted in a huge explosion at about 9am on Sept 13.

The ship, Ark 2, was berthed along the bank of the river, adjacent to a petrol-station, for servicing.

It was supposed to ferry hundreds of drums of fuel for people in the deep interior settlements.

State fire chief Mohd Shoki Hamzah said yesterday investigations and testing was still being carried out on board the wreckage to pinpoint the cause.

Miri police chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim said the initial probe showed that the fire and subsequent explosion happened when maintenance workers were carrying out servicing on board the ship.

“There must be strict compliance with safety measures on board such high-risk vessels,” he said.

Experts from the Sarawak and Brunei forensic departments were trying to identify a corpse found in Brunei’s Seria district, 50km from here, to determine if it was the vessel’s missing crew member Ting Huang Ung.

Ting went missing after the explosion and was believed to have been thrown into the river from the impact of the blast.

Brunei police found the body near Kuala Belait.

The other crew killed in the blast, Richard Emang, was found floating near Bintulu, 250km south of Miri two days ago.

Source

Original news of the explosion here.

747 over Miri

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:09:52 +0800

Royal Brunei 747-400 flying circuit over Miri. They've been doing this on and off for quite some time. Apparently, they're practicing over here because Miri Airport airspace is so sparse.

15th September 2008 - Robbery!

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:12:44 +0800

At about 10am today (15th September 2008), just about less than an hour ago a snatch-and-run occurred from the bank in town center. The 2 snatch thieves ran off on bike, but crashed into a (or possibly several) cars, before fleeing on foot.

One was caught, the other ran away with the money. At this moment, the other one is still on the loose, and is said to be wearing an orange shirt. The stolen cash is said to be RM10K.

This pic was taken just right after the robber was caught.

Please note: most of what was written above were from hearsay from members of the public and some of what I saw myself. This information may not be entirely accurate.

13th September 2008 - Explosion!

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:32:39 +0800

Video captured by "SagaRaptor" and put on youtube.

Explosion on river-barge kills one
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: An explosion ripped apart a fuel-laden river-barge in the heart of the city here, killing a crew member of the barge and injuring several others.

The barge, similar in size to a 60-tonne fishing vessel, was torn apart by the blast which occurred at about 9am Saturday.

The barge was docked along the banks of the Miri river adjacent to a petrol-station near the Krokop Industrial Estate.

It was loading several hundred drums of fuel for transportation into the interior when an explosion occurred.

Luckily, the vessel was docked inside the river and was more than 20 metres away from the petrol station.

The explosion caused a massive fire on board the vessel. The impact of the blast rocked nearby buildings, but did not cause any other serious injuries.

Workers on board the barge jumped into the river, but one of them, a youth, was found drowned at about 1pm. Another suffered burns while the rest were slightly injured.

Miri Police chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim said the cause of the blast was still being investigated.

In Sarawak, river-barges are used to transport fuel to interior outposts for sale to longhouse, sawmills and riverine towns and villages.

[ Source ]

About 20+- years ago, Miri town was rocked by another early morning explosion - the infamous Public Bank Gas Leak Explosion in town center. There were many similarities to today's incident - the explosion occurred during morning, near the busy town, and some casualties.

This morning I was driving and saw an odd column of smoke rising from town and thought nothing of it - until a friend from near the explosion called me up and informed me about it.

Today is Unlucky September 13th. Condolences to the families of the victim and injured.

30th August 2008 - Massive sweep against crime, illegals in Miri

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:44:55 +0800

MIRI: More than 400 personnel from the police and other enforcement agencies carried out a massive offensive in northern Sarawak against criminals and illegal immigrants.

The operation headed by the police also involved immigration officials, the army and general operations force personnel.

Miri police chief Asst Comm Jamaluddin Ibrahim said that police stepped up anti-crime operations after Miri registered a sharp jump in the crime index lately.

“We carried out house-to-house searches and found it effective in flushing out crooks.

“We carried out raids in places where we identified our targets.

“Police personnel on foot patrols were deployed in the city to beef up our presence,” he said.

ACP JAmaluddin said that highway patrol units, tourist police and traffic police were used in areas short of staff.

“We searched 625 vehicles, 783 homes and dozens of entertainment outlets and made more than 200 arrests.

“The suspects are believed to be involved in various crimes in and around Miri,” he said after a recent briefing for Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh here.

ACP Jamaluddin said the police wanted to reduce the crime index of 15% to 5% by the end of the year.

He considered the 15% rate as high, noting that it had increased because of difficult economic times faced by certain people, which prompted them to resort to crime.

[ Source ]

My take:

Please keep it that way, not only just because crime skyrocketed. Thank you, Mr. Police.

28th August 2008 - Borneo yachting challenge growing in size and stature

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:56:35 +0800

MIRI: The Borneo International Yachting Challenge (BIYC) has grown in size and stature since it was launched five years ago, paving the way for spin-off events in Miri and throughout Sarawak.

The number of participants this year was four times greater than during the event’s debut.

The number of participants this year had surpassed even that of the more established Raja Muda Mahkota Cup in Peninsular Malaysia.

As a tourism spot, Miri is ideal for yachting events because participants are usually well-to-do members of society and retirees who can afford to sail round the world and spend up to two months in a particular port of call.
Lee hoped this would lead Miri to eventually become a yacht manufacturing hub.

This year’s BIYC participants include those from Denmark and Austria.

In the past the competition has attracted participants from the Philippines, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Source

19th August 2008 - Putting an end to corruption

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:32:45 +0800

MIRI: An unprecedented number of Sarawakians have come forward to lodge reports and to give information to the State Anti-Corruption Agency concerning corrupt practices and irregularities in government departments and private companies here.

More than 800 cases of official reports and tip-offs had already been received throughout Sarawak so far this year, double the number for the whole of last year

Source

Doubled of last year? Assuming for every case that was reported - another 5 were not, that's probably a really high number of cases of corruption going on.

Shophouses in Old Town being demolished today

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:24:45 +0800

The Old Town Miri shophouses were being demolished starting today (18th August 2008). Heavy machinery were brought in this morning and started tearing into foundations, beams and concrete walls.

If you happen to be touring the area, please take care walking in between Centerpoint Phase 1 and High Street, as a lot of de-construction work is being done at the shophouses there.

10th August 2008 - Blackout in Sarawak

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:52:06 +0800

By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: A state-wide power cut in Sarawak on Saturday evening (9th August, 2008) saw the blackout affect more than two million people over a distance of 1,000km from Kuching to Miri.

Cities and towns in the state were plunged into total darkness causing massive chaos as everybody was caught by surprise.

The power failure started in Kuching at about 6.30pm Saturday and rapidly spread northward to Sibu then to Miri by 7.30pm.

{...}

Meanwhile, thousands of people who were caught up in the massive traffic jam and in commercial complexes were reportedly evacuated without any incidents so far.

Source

It's got a much more serious effect on many things than they think.

What are the chances we get a public apology explanation from SESCO? Very slim - because usually, they don't.

9th August 2008 - Miri City Mayor To Retire By Year End

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 17:46:29 +0800

MIRI, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Miri city mayor Datuk Wee Han Wen Friday announced that he would be retiring by the end of this year.

Speaking at a news conference at his office here, he said, he felt that it was about time for him to step down after serving as mayor for over three years following the elevation of Miri as a resort city on May 25, 2005.

{....}

"Personally I feel that everyone in Miri had worked very hard to achieve the city status. By the time we achieved it, I was already thinking about retiring," he said.

Asked on his biggest disappointment, he said, it was the mindset of the people here which had not been developing up to his expectation even after the elevation of Miri as a city.

Source: BERNAMA

That depends, whose mindset had not been developing up to expectations? When I asked a certain party member why pedestrian bridges are still not being built, he retorted with, "why build them when the people are not willing to use it?"

Who are we to say that people will use it or not? Build it, then people will use it.

So, I ask again, whose mindset?

7th August 2008 - Leak along pipeline causes oil spill off Miri

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 17:15:03 +0800

MIRI: Petronas Carigali has suspended decommissioning works on a network of disused pipelines offshore Miri in northern Sarawak after detecting leakage along a 13km pipeline that lays between an oil platform in the South China Sea and the inshore Miri Crude Oil Terminal.

The company's contractor and staff from the Department of Environment are now in the midst of an operation to contain the spill and to clean up the oil sleeks that had washed ashore, causing pollution to a stretch of beach along an exclusive housing estate occupied by oil and gas industry expatriates in Lutong town, some 20km north of the city here.

DOE Miri chief Dayang Norbani on Thursday confirmed that the leakage has been contained and that 90% of the spill had been recovered.

"We are now in the midst of trying to recover the other 10%. Petronas' contractors are also cleaning up the beaches to ensure that the pollutants are removed.

"We are still trying to determine how the leak occurred and how much of the shoreline has been affected," she said when contacted.

To a question, she said the DOE is still trying to find out if any populated riverine villages were affected by the oil pollutants.

Dozens of workers from the oil company had been deployed at various points along the affected zones to ensure that the oil sleeks do not get washed back to the sea.

Petronas on Thursday issued a statement saying that "about 15 barrels of oil" trapped in the pipeline had leaked into the South China Sea, and the leakage was spotted at 7.40pm on Tuesday.

The company said that air surveillance had been carried out and it was found that there were no additional signs of leakage.

"The company had deployed divers to detect the exact location of the leakage on the pipeline for repair works to be done," said the statement.

The pipeline was installed in 1984. A new pipeline was installed last year.

The decommissioning works on the old pipeline started on Monday and was supposed to go on for three weeks.

Source