Miri Resort City.com | MiriCity.my - Rants

A Miri Math Quiz

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:45:57 +0800

Math quiz: Parking coupons in Miri are supposed to cost RM4.25. They take RM5 and give you back RM0.70. What happened to the RM0.05?

The person in the parking booth claims they do not have 5 cents left (this early in the morning at 9am!)

So what do they do? Don't return the 5 cents, of course. Well of course to make excuses for laziness for not preparing enough 5 cent coins. We all know that if theyare to 'fix' this problem they will probably round the price up to RM4.30 or RM4.50, not issue more 5 cent coin changes.

Miri, the 5 year old City.

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:14:40 +0800

A blogger reminiscents about Miri City in his post, on how the city today is compared to the past how the city has basically forgotten much of its its history and some of its citizens' less than stellar attitudes towards tourists from neighboring countries, not to mention some of the somewhat mediocre infrastructures.

He puts it best here, and I quote him:

"There is so little around us to remind us of its golden glorious history and the bad past when ambitious egomaniac Japs ruled the Asian region and the many past heroes and founding fathers of the ex-town seem to be conveniently forgotten and unrecognised. Case in point: just take a walk to the oldest Mission school in the city and you will soon realise not a single street is named after its Asian founder or the many pioneers who established the first oldest educational institution."

More at link.

What're your thoughts? Please comment.

Parking Along Bendahara Road is Being Removed

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:54:04 +0800

Parking along Bendahara road is being removed to make way for road widening. If you're turning into town from Melayu Road / Kingsway Road along China Street, there will be absolutely no parking for you, until you turn left along Cassia Road, turn into Anatto Street, make a turn into Raja Road adjacent to China Street, to find a parking space. Normally you'd find a spot along Bendahara, but this isn't possible now.

View Larger Map

Or you could park in the new parking area along the riverside just off Bendahara Road (as designated in these signs), which is quite a distance away.

As can also be seen in the pictures, the removal of the parking lines will only make people park in their own invisible parking spots. This road will be packed, parking or not. Is this a good idea?

1st October 2009 - Rape of Penan Women by Rural Timber Workers did NOT Occur - say what now?

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 08:58:13 +0800

A 22-year-old Penan woman has lodged a police report claiming that she was tricked into going to Kuala Lumpur and telling the police that she had been raped by a logger.

The woman, from Long Item, said two men approached her at home last October and offered to bring her to Kuala Lumpur to seek treatment for her daughter, who was ill at the time.

...

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) said there was a strong possibility that some Penan women from Ulu Baram who were said to have been raped by loggers were living under tremendous pressure.

SAM field officer for Sarawak said the women might have been pressured to make public statements that they have not been raped or victimised.

More at Source

My take:
So which is it?? There's always things happening like this when the cases are huge - claims of one thing and suddenly another claim that it wasn't true, it was all a conspiracy.

This is a follow up to the previous news.

11th Sept 2009 - Rape of Penan Women by Rural Timber Workers did Occur

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:23:31 +0800

Rape of Penan women did occur

It has been confirmed that Penan girls and women were raped and molested by timber company workers in Sarawak’s Ulu Baram district.

A special committee, set up by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, revealed that sexual abuses against Penan women and girls by timber workers as reported by The Star last year did take place in the Baram district.

More at Source

Miri Air Quality "Unhealthy"

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:34:42 +0800

Air Quality In Miri At Unhealthy Level, Other Areas Good Or Moderate

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Only Miri is recording unhealthy air quality with an Air Pollution Index (API) reading at 101, while most areas in the country have good or moderate air quality.

The API classification is as follows: 0-50 (good), 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 300 and above (hazardous).

Source

As a side note, considering that I was in Kuching in 1997 when the API reading went up to 890+ and visibility 20m, this is probably not going to shorten my lifespan any more than it already is.

In a Haze

Sat, 8 Aug 2009 09:59:39 +0800

Pictures don't really do it justice. Visibility was less than 200 meters in some areas.
It's that hazy!

However, a few drops of rain *just now*, but it stopped as soon as it started. Is that the cloud seeding we've been hearing about?

H1N1 Flu Facts (Update)

Sun, 17 May 2009 12:34:36 +0800

What is Swine Influenza?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.

How many swine flu viruses are there?

Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

Swine Flu in Humans: Can humans catch swine flu?

Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. For example, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.

How common is swine flu infection in humans?

In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?

No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How does swine flu spread?

Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What do we know about human-to-human spread of swine flu?

In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine.

In follow-up studies, 76% of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.

How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed?

To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 7 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.

What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans?

There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent H1N1 influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine.

What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there?

Probably the most well known is an outbreak of swine flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The swine influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).

Is there a vaccine for swine flu?

Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

To read more about H1N1, please read here courtesy of National Geographic.

13th May 2009 - Call to make Miri safe for tourists?

Tue, 12 May 2009 09:38:56 +0800

News article: Call to make Miri safe for tourists

KUCHING: Sarawak's Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng has called for quick action to stop criminals in Miri from targeting visitors from Brunei.

"The theft of tourists' cars from a neighbouring state is worrying," he said when he opened the first sitting of the state assembly yesterday.

"If this crime is not checked, it will affect the image of Sarawak as a prime tourist destination."

Abang Muhammad called on police to beef up security in places visited frequently by tourists.

State Tourism Minister Datuk Michael Mayin said in response that the situation in Miri, which had 1.5 million visitors from Brunei last year, had improved greatly.
"The police in Miri only told me last Friday that there was not even one theft of Brunei-registered cars in the last few months," he said outside the assembly.

"Crimes committed against Brunei citizens had also declined. Security has improved tremendously and I am going to Brunei after the sitting of this assembly to give our guarantee that the security in Miri is doing well.

"It may be the case a year or two ago but but not any more," Mayin said.

He blamed envious Brunei businessmen, who see their countrymen heading to Miri every weekend to do their shopping, for continuing to fan stories that Miri was dangerous to visit.

Stories of Miri being unsafe had impacted tourist arrivals from Brunei. Miri recorded a drop of about 10 per cent in arrivals last year compared with 2007."

Source

My take:

"Quick action to stop criminals in Miri"? Where have we heard of this before? Oh yeah, last year. And the year before that. And before that.

And the fact that the Bruneians are using chartered BUSES to come to do their shopping instead of driving their cars (or driving really old cars to Miri) had A LOT to do with not one case of stolen car.

Please see the emphasized sentence in bold: What a preposterous response. The only reason why Bruneians so fear this place called "Miri" is because it really is a crime-infested city! Otherwise why would they have reason to fear it?

As I've posted in the previous blog post, even Mirians get victimized, not just Bruneians. I've had my car broken into when not parked 20 feet away from me before, and nothing was stolen because nothing was inside! And my parents' car, even in the form of a rundown old Proton, got stolen too! Soon after that, THEIR friends' office got ransacked.

If this occurs to MIRIANS, then what more the BRUNEIANS?

If there is a significant drop in crime today as compared to "a year or two" ago, then "a year or two" ago crime must've been insanely high.

...and there's still no police presence in and around town! Full of talk, no action. Show us more of what are being done, less on excuses and make us feel safe enough to go shopping or even stay at home without worries about robbery or cars getting broken into. Currently, I am not about to take it easy just yet, as I am sure others would be feeling the same as well.

5th May 2009 - Miri Victim Testifies: Shame On Them!

Tue, 5 May 2009 17:01:53 +0800

Last month I went with my wife and daughter to Miri. We went there to send our German friend to a guesthouse near Imperial Hotel.

Realizing that there were few cars parked not far from the guesthouse (15-20m away), I did not hesitate to park my car there. After helping our friend to check in, we decided to have our lunch at Imperial Foodcourt. Since it was not that far, we walked. After lunch, we found that it was raining heavily. So we had to stay a little while longer hoping that the rain would eventually stop.

After an hour, I told the rest that I would just take the car and pick them up in front of the shopping complex. Soon as I got to the place where I parked, I found to my horror that rear window (back seat) had been broken into. Without wasting any time, I hurried back to my family and my friend. I told them what had
happened and asked them if there's anything valuable that they had left in the car.

Yes, my daughter left an HP laptop with her school books and pen drive together in a bag. She hid it under the seat. Unfortunately, it was gone. We also noticed that by the time we reached to the area of the incident, not even a car was parked near ours! They had all mysteriously vanished! Was this some kind of trick???

Also, there were few people who were standing next to our car. They told us that they saw our car window had been broken. A guy wearing a shirt labeled 'Kastam' introducing himself as Karim, who came from Sibu helped us to make a police report.

Few minutes later he told me that the police rang him and asked us to bring our car to the police station. My wife was curious of as to why would we should be the one who send the car. Supposedly the police should came by and investigate what’s going on! And so my wife didn't believe this guy.

We insisted to just stay where we were. A few minutes later, the police came by. So, was this guy just pretending to be a good person? We're not so sure and we can't just blame him without proving. Still, he looked like a guilty person. We know we were careless. But this should serve as a warning to others. Unfortunately a few unscrupulous people are brining shame on Miri.

Source

Even the Mirians get victimized every now and then too. The lackluster security enforcement to blame. Sigh. It's always the same story. These things never change for the better in Miri.

Disappointment Yet Again: Miri not on List of Direct Flights to Singapore.

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:26:46 +0800

S'pore, Malaysia add air travel destinations

SINGAPORE - Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to increase air travel between the two Southeast Asian neighbours amid a regional slump in tourism.

Under the new agreement, carriers from both countries may operate between Singapore and six new destinations in Malaysia - Ipoh, Kuala Teregganu, Kuantan, Malacca, Sandakan, and Tawau, Singapore's Transport Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

It also allows for more flights to Penang, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, the ministry said.

'The enhanced connectivity further boosts economic and tourism linkages between our two countries,' said Choi Shing Kwok, the ministry's permanent secretary. 'This is especially important in the current economic climate.'

Source

Once again, a complete disappointment. Miri Airport retains its "Non-International" status.

April 15th, 2009 - Paying high prices for diesel

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:28:00 +0800

Paying high prices for diesel
Wed, Apr 15, 2009

MIRI, MALAYSIA: Diesel is still being sold at unreasonably high prices in rural Sarawak despite a recent announcement by the Government to fix the rate to be at par with urban areas.

Rural folks have complained to The Star that the fuel - used to power vehicles and generator sets in homes and farms - is being continuously sold at four or five times the price set by the Government.

Checks found that diesel is priced at about RM7 (S$2.92) per litre in many places in the Ulu Baram district, some 200km inland from here.

In mountainous regions like Bario and Ba'Kelalan, diesel is being sold at between RM7 and RM8.

The continuously high price of diesel in rural Sarawak also affects government agencies, including the running of Mulu Airport at the World Heritage Site Mulu National Park.

Miri Airport Bhd manager Kamaruzaman Razali said airport authorities in Mulu had to buy diesel at RM6.80 per litre, not at RM1.70 per litre sold in Miri.

When contacted, Miri Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs chief Zakaria Awang confirmed that he had received many complaints from rural folks about the high fuel price.

"Many rural folks want to know why the price of the fuel is still so high. Our ministry has done some ground checks and found that many rural outposts are plagued by this problem.

"When former minister Datuk Shahrir (Abdul Samad) launched the scheme, it was meant for all rural regions.

"The transportation subsidy scheme is being handled by the Residents' Office, not by our ministry," he said, adding that rural folks were right to expect the prices of the vital fuel to be considerably lower now.

He hoped that the relevant authorities would take note of these grouses and act fast to resolve them.

Shahrir had announced in Batang Ai in March that the Government would subsidise the cost of transporting diesel into rural regions so that the fuel could be sold at RM1.70 per litre, the price in cities and towns.

The Star/ANN

Mysterious Death: Hundreds of fish dying in Baram River

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:23:49 +0800

Mysterious Death: Hundreds of fish dying in Baram River

By Raymond Abin

Brimas

2009-02-19 | Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (BRIMAS) is shocked with another wave of mysterious death of fish in Sarawak. Over the last few days, Hundreds of fish were found dying in Baram River, particularly around the Kuala Baram area.

BRIMAS Officers have conducted field visits and investigation in the area and was surprised to see several species of freshwater fish were dying in the river. The fish species that were found dying are locally known as Ikan Baung, Ikan Burih, Ikan Tapah, Ikan Padi as to mention few. Also found are various types of prawns. Through our observation, most of the fish seem weak, tired and having difficulty in breathing. As a result the fish surfaced for air but after sometime suffocated to death. Also, the fish were appeared blind.

Our officers have conducted site examination on some of the dead fishes, particularly checking their gills. BRIMAS found that the gills of the fishes were not clogged with mud or blocked by silt. Within the stomach or intestines of the dead fish were not contain with mud but seems watery.

Regarding the condition of Baram River, BRIMAS Officers noticed that the water was murky. According to some local villagers at the Kuala Baram area, they have not seen any different to the water as over the past years the river has always being brownish, muddy and polluted with silt due to logging, oil palm plantations and industrial development activities. BRIMAS

has collected some water sample from Baram River for further investigation and necessary actions.

BRIMAS is concerned with the safety of villages and members of longhouses community along the Baram River. These people are exposed to danger and environmental disaster as they are entirely depends on Baram River for their daily livelihood. BRIMAS has seen the people are scooping the floating fish as well as collected the dying fishes in Kuala Baram. It is alarming to

notice that these fish were sold at local markets around Miri City here. The fish were weighted up to 10 Kg. Innocent members of public could have bought and consumed the fishes and prawns which could harm their health.

BRIMAS is appalled with the reoccurrence of massive death of fish in Sarawak Rivers. It seems that the major rivers through out the State are affected by mysterious phenomenon. This seems like a wave of destructive incident affecting all of our rivers as it occurrences is from one to another. These series of mysterious death of fish had occurred twice in Bakun dam project area in Belaga, then Balleh and last week it was in Mukah River.

With this new incident in Kuala Baram, based on our site investigations and observation BRIMAS has identified the possibility sources and culprits that cause these incidents. However, BRIMAS would rather not to pinpoint at the culprits but allows the relevant authorities to carry their task independently.

Urgently, BRIMAS urges the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) to conduct thorough investigations to find out the causes to the death of the fish. The reports of the investigations must be made public as the nature of this mysterious phenomenon is of public interest and concerns.

BRIMAS supports the NREB to take actions and without fear in enforcing the law against the culprits or the responsible parties so that these incidents will not recur in future.

http://www.rengah.c2o.org/news/article.php?identifer=de0666t

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.

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.