Miri Resort City.com - Special interests

9th October 2008 : Sarawak, Sabah For Asking For Open Sky Policy

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 14:00:25 +0800

KUCHING, MALAYSIA: Sarawak and Sabah are expected to submit a joint memorandum to the federal government soon to consider the two states as separate entities for the "open sky policy" in efforts to enhance air connectivity and promote their respective tourist destinations.

State Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Michael Manyin said the decision to collaborate to aggressively promote the two states' tourism industry was discussed when he visited his Sabah counterpart, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun in Kota Kinabalu Tuesday (7 Oct).

"Normally the open sky policy is only applicable for state capital to state capital destination but we took the cue from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had stated that Sarawak and Sabah should be treated separately in terms of development," he told an AirAsia media briefing here, which was also attended by AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

Manyin said he and Masidi agreed to work together on packaging each state's tourism products and destinations, including the Unesco-gazetted heritage sites of Mulu Caves and Mt Kinabalu, as well as indigenous festivals -- the Gawai Dayak in Sarawak and Kaamatan in Sabah.

The two states also proposed that the federal authorities include their tourism events in the national campaign to lure tourists as these were sometimes omitted in the past, he said.

As part of the cooperation in tourism, Manyin said Sarawak and Sabah had agreed to hold its ministerial-level meeting twice yearly.

On another note, he said, his ministry and its relevant agencies needed to work hard to ensure the industry's success, especially as the number of hotel rooms was expected to double by next year from the 5,000 available at present in all the major cities and towns.

He said four million tourist arrivals to Sarawak were projected this year from 3.6 million, including 2.4 million international tourists, in 2007.

Last year's figure was an increase of 23% from 2006, he said.

Following numerous requests from the people and industry's stakeholders, he was also confident that AirAsia would consider flying the Sibu-Singapore sector besides the Miri-Macau route in order to take advantage of the large number of tourists from Brunei visiting the nearby resort city of Miri.

Source

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.

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.

Public Presentation on astronomy this 2nd August, 2008.

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:40:13 +0800

Please be informed that there is an upcoming knowledge-sharing activity
to be organised by Pustaka Miri, in collaboration with our smart partner
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Miri Branch.
The details are as stated below:

Title: PUBLIC PRESENTATION on ASTRONOMY
Date: Saturday, 2nd August 2008
Time: 2:00pm
Venue: Auditorium, Pustaka Miri
Speaker: Mr. Lim Choon Kiat - An astronomy enthusiast from Penang

The activity is open to students, teachers, parents, working adults and
anyone who has keen or budding interest in astronomy and stargazing.

Admission is FREE and those who wish to pre-register may contact us via
this e-mail or call 085-422525 (Sofina or Mr. Tony Janin).

The Clocktower, 2 years on

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:54:42 +0800

So two years on, the flyover's been built, fuel prices skyrocketed, crime skyrocketed but where is our faceless clocktower?

Here it is: Unchanged since Day 1 when I first reported on it.

They even said in order to 'preserve' the clocktower landmark, they actually built the flyover AROUND the clocktower.

Preservation of old landmarks is all good except.. what use is to preserve it if you don't even keep it working and let its sorry state to view to the public and tourists? And what good is preservation to one small clocktower when all those really old buildings in Old Town are totally torn down to be built up instead of the more logical approach of just renovating them?

Coming 22nd June 2008 - 4th Sunday Recycling Activity

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:23:28 +0800

Miri Branch of Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia will be holding Recycling Activity at various locations in Miri on the 4th Sunday of every month.

Things we collect include newspapers, cardboards, paper items, aluminium items, plastic items, old clothes, toys, car batteries, and etc that are recycable. Sales from the recycling items are used for charity purpose.

Please be reminded polystyrene items cannot be recycled. As such, please do not send such items to our recycle points. Your co-operation will be much appreciated. And try to avoid using polystyrene items in your daily life.

Location:
1. Piasau Garden
2. Pujut 7 (in front the Pujut SUPP office)
3. Krokop 5
4. In front Faradale Shophouse
5. Morjaya

Date: 22nd June 2008
Time: 8.30 a.m. - 11.00 a.m

18th June 2008 - Malaysian Indigenous People Face Arrest at Logging Blockade

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:17:45 +0800

MIRI, Sarawak, Malaysia, June 17, 2008 (ENS) - A month-long blockade of logging roads by indigenous people in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia set to protest illegal logging on their communal lands is about to be broken up by police.

More than 100 indigenous Kenyah people gathered at the blockade site on the upper Moh River on the island of Borneo claim that the blockade is their only way of calling on representatives of a certain Company and government authorities to have a consultation and meet with them to listen to their problems and demands.

Otherwise, they say, the timber Company will continue to ignore their demands and plights.

Kenyahs blockade a logging road on the Upper Moh River. The banner says, "Do not rob the wealth from the poor people's land and give it to the rich in the city."

According to the Borneo Resources Institute in Miri, which issued a statement today on behalf of the Kenyah peoples, ever since the logging company started its logging operations in the upper Baram area, the indigenous communities have suffered the environmental impacts of logging.

They say the company simply encroached into their communal land and forest areas to carry out logging activities, without any consultation and consideration for their source of livelihood.

The Kenyahs have forwarded some "reasonable demands for social benefits and development of the community as they are the rights stakeholders that should be fairly benefit from forest resources in their area," the Borneo Resources Institute says.

The Kenyah say they resorted to the blockade action after the company and the state forest agency ignored their demands and their rights of access and claims to the benefits of their natural forest resources.

Since the blockade was erected, the company's logging activities have ceased. Hundreds of timber logs that had been felled are stacked up along the sides of the logging road because the Kenyahs have stopped all the logging trucks and other logging machines from entering the area and transporting timber from the area.

The Kenyahs have written a letter to the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, a state government agency, requesting that the agency carry out an urgent physical inspection of all logs that have been illegally felled by the company in the area.

They also called upon the Sarawak Forestry Corporation to stop them from carrying out its operation until all inspection of timber logs has been completed.

Their request has been ignored.

Believing that they have no other alternative and being compelled to bring attention to their plight, the indigenous Kenyahs of Kedaya Telang Usan area in Baram Region have resorted to staging this protest, which is still continuing.

On May 29, upon receiving complaints from the timber company, a group of personnel from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, went to the blockade site to remove the wooden barricades, but they were restrained from dismantling the blockade.

As a result, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation filed a court action requesting a Warrant of Arrest, which has been granted by the Magistrate Court in Miri.

Police personnel from the Marudi Police Station were ordered to the blockade site to enforce the Warrant of Arrest on June 14. So far, no arrests have taken place.

[ Source ]

Coming 15th June 2008 - International Dance for Humanity 2008

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:23:53 +0800

Red Crescent Society International Dance for Humanity 2008
Multi-ethic cultural dance performance

Date: 15th June 2008 (Sunday)
Time: 1pm - 6pm
Venue: Miri Indoor Stadium

Entry is FREE, but lucky draw tickets are available with donations of RM5 or above.

Car theft on the rise.

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:05:51 +0800

About 6-8 cars were reported missing last night alone (10th June 2008). Not sure of the exact figures but it was around that.

My parents' car was also stolen.

In fact, we had sort of expected this to occur - this says a lot about the crime problems in Miri. It's not that we think it 'only happens to someone else' but we expected it to occur. Th problem is just 'when'?

Few days back, a friend's friend's Perdana was also stolen, but he was lucky as the police managed to spot it and get it back. It's interesting to know how they stole the cars - they simply drilled through the key hole, open the door and - if the car had a gear shift lock - using a hammer or heavy object, hit it hard enough so the lock mechanism breaks, but makes it drivable.

Steering locks are a deterrent but if they really wanted the car they'd be able to get past it anyhow (looking at the above example, a gearshift lock didn't work).

Gayu guru gerai nyamai, lantang nguan menua - 2008

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:58:42 +0800

Gawai Day or Gawai Dayak is a festive celebrated only in Sarawak on 1st June every year.

Gawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a collective name for the natives races in Sarawak. Thus Gawai Dayak literally means "Dayak Festival". Dayak would visit their friends and relatives, known as "ngabang".

To learn more about Gawai, click here.

Selamat Hari Gawai, everyone!

Finally! Some breeze & light rain!

Wed, 28 May 2008 14:09:01 +0800

The weather had been an oven lately just right after the high winds. This lasted several days and thankfully it started to rain intermittently (just as I had the car washed! It had to happen!) and it poured a lot last night.

This morning, we're finally getting breezey winds! And no haze!

Orang Utans are in Peril!

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:35:28 +0800

First off, what are Orang Utans? Let's get to know the animal we're talking about here before we go any further about them being in peril. The orangutans are two species of great apes known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair. Pretty ugly by ape standards, but nevertheless we should not be bias about saving cute animals only.

They are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. These are the last places on Earth they are known to exist - these are cause for concern. Interestingly however, their fossils have been known found in Java, Vietnam and China.

Their name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase "orang hutan", meaning "Jungle Man". The orangutan is an official state animal of Sabah in Malaysia.

As far as I know, none exist in Sarawak. Right now you're probably thinking, "This Ian is a weirdo, why it be any of our concern if there are (apparently) none in Sarawak?"

Well, simply because - Sarawak is part of that Borneo, and as a whole, we needed to be aware of these things and help the effort in getting spreading awareness. The Bornean species of orangutans is endangered, and the Sumatran species is listed critically endangered.

It is this news article that got me thinking about the severity of situation.

Very shocking quotes from the article:

"For Central Kalimantan, the species will be gone as soon as three years from now"

"Experts believe the overall extinction rate of Borneo orangutans is nine per cent per year, but in Central Kalimantan they are disappearing even faster due to unchecked expansion of palm oil plantations."

So this is what got the conservationists jumping up and down three years ago when they accused Sarawak's oil palm plantation of destroying the orang utan's habitat (as mentioned before, none exist in Sarawak). They simply got bad geography and actually meant Central Kalimantan, where they are hunted as pests to prevent them eating palm seedlings!

Even though Sarawak does not have Orang Utan, we're still part of that Borneo, the island we share with the Orang Utans. It is this island that not only are they killing Orang Utans mercilessly, but deforestation and irresponsible field burning adds to not only the Orang Utan's demise, but probably ours very soon as well. Suddenly the border dividing Sarawak and Kalimantan becomes meaningless.

Please help spread the awareness, especially to our young children, so they'll grow up with this in mind, possibly even changing our world and treatment towards animals for the better in the future. The future lies in their hands, because the current generation of humans are such screw-ups when it comes to awareness of endangered animals.

To learn more about Orang Utans, please see the reference links

The News Article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangutan

http://www.orangutanprotection.com/

http://www.savetheorangutan.org/

Coming 17th May 2008: Miri Divisonal Gawai Dayak Celebration 2008

Sun, 11 May 2008 10:21:45 +0800

Miri Divisonal Gawai Dayak Celebration 2008

"UchuKeling" of RumahDayak.com informed me that they will be organising the Miri Divisonal Gawai Dayak Celebration 2008 on 17th May at the Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club from 6.30pm onwards.

Highlight of the event is the yearly Kumang Gawai Iban/Bidayuh and Kelegit Orang Ulu and the Keling Gawai competitions.

Date: 17th May 2008
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Eastwood Valley Gold & Country Club

Coming 16th - 18th May 2008: Boulevard's WonderLand Wedding Fair

Sun, 11 May 2008 10:01:45 +0800

Boulevard's WonderLand Wedding Fair

Date: 16-18 May 2008
Venuw: Boulevard Shopping Complex
Organizer: Boulevard Shopping Complex (Mr. Johnson Wee H/P:019-8845918)

Tua Pek Kong God Festival Parade (2008) Video

Sat, 10 May 2008 03:30:09 +0800

You've seen the photos of the Tua Pek Kong Parade, here is the video.

Please pardon the bad videography, image quality and the 5-minute editing, but hey - at least I got video from what was supposed to be a digital still camera. (My Olympus SP 550uz - now you know why I didn't go for an SLR, especially shooting for low resolution web). Utility is more important to me.