Land of white elephants
DECEMBER 2017 – it was that time of the year again. Soon, the school would re-open and Kampung Telok Melano folks would start to worry about their children’s safety – not without good reasons.
Kampung Telok Melano is separate from the mainland of Sarawak. To reach their school in Sematan town, the secondary students from the kampung would have to sail across the South China Sea for two hours in a fishing vessel. The journey could be dangerous. They would need divine intervention should anything untoward happen.
According to Ahmad Zai Mandon, 75, a police pensioner, the journey from the kampung to Sematan was very tough for the kids.
Although there’s an alternative route, the journey from the kampung to nearest coastal town through it takes not less than eight hours on foot – with five river crossings, some wide, others narrow but all deep with very swift flowing water.
“The biggest risk is crossing Sungai Bedaun. It’s not wide but very deep. At low tide, it’s still more than 15 feet deep. Sungai Belinsak, on the other hand, is very wide but not very deep – the deepest point is only chest level,” said Ahmad Zai, a former border scout who was absorbed into the police force after his unit was disbanded in 1988.
The three other rivers along the route are Sungai Samunsam, Sungai Limo and Sungai Bekuching. When crossing the rivers, the children will be tied to a rope for their own safety. They will also have to walk until they reach Kampung Pueh before changing into dry clothes and boarding the bus to Sematan.
“Normally we leave home before 6am and will reach the school around 3pm as we have to wait for the bus in Pueh,” noted Ahmad Zai who joined the police force on April 7, 1972, and had served the country for 29 years, eight months and 14 days when he retired on Dec 31, 2001.
The biggest risk is crossing Sungai Bedaun. It’s not wide but very deep. At low tide, it’s still more than 15 feet deep. Sungai Belinsak, on the other hand, is very wide but not very deep – the deepest point is only chest level. Ahmad Zai, former border scout
Almost completed Fast forward to Dec 2018, the road linking Telok Melano and Sematan is more than 90 per cent completed. Only one of three big bridges needs minor touch-ups. Motorists are allowed to use the fully tar-sealed road.
“I took my dinner in Sematan last night. Returned by 10pm. The journey was less than 25 minutes on the tar- sealed road,” Ahmad Zai enthused.
He thanked their former state assemblyman and Chief Minister, the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, for including Telok MelanoSematan in the Pan Borneo Highway Project.
Adenan passed away on Jan 11, 2017. He was succeeded as Tanjung Datu YB by his wife, Datuk Jamilah Anu.
“Jamilah gave us this canopy to do our food business. She’s very helpful and close to the people,” Ahmad Zai said as his wife took orders from customers.
He said there were now 22 registered homestays in Telok Melano. Some of the operators were hardcore poor families being assisted by the government under the PPRT scheme while others were enterprising villagers, he added. Experimental hub Telok Melano village chief, Amezan Abdul Hassan, said their village was made an experimental hub by some quarters in the federal government.
“The kampung people sacrificed their land, worked voluntarily and offered whatever they could for the success of the government projects. Sadly, the majority of the projects ended up as white elephants,” he lamented.
Amezan said there was a very long list of failed projects in the village such as the mini hydro dam, the windmill turbine, the water projects, the 1MDB salinity water plants and many others.
“This should not be allowed to continue. Hopefully, with the completion of the link road, the village can look forward to getting connected to the water main and the power supply grid soon.” Dream for 2019 He pointed out that while there has been a steady flow of visitors into the village, the small kampung road might not be able to cope with the increasing traffic.
Before the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway, the main mode of transport in Kampung Telok Melano was motorcycle. There were no cars in the village as the car owners had to park in Sematan town, then take a boat home across the South China Sea.
Amezan was also concerned about Kampung Telok Melano sharing a common border with Indonesia.
“The next door villagers are from Kampung Temajuk across the border. We did raise this with the authorities,” he said.
However, he is happy officers from the Immigration Department have come down to discuss the matter with them.
“We proposed to them a site for the Custom Immigration and Quarantine Complex to regulate visitors entering Malaysia from the neighbouring country,” he added.
Amezan also revealed he had spoken to the local authorities on the need to have a proper eatery in the village to cater to visitors and generate income for the locals. Eco-tourism study Lundu District Officer, Awang Putrayusrie Awang Redzuan, said the Sarawak government via State Planning Unit (SPU) had already conducted a study on eco-tourism for Lundu and Sematan.
He is confident the Tourism, Art, Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry ( MTACYS) will have a proper plan for Telok Melano, Telok Serabang and the nearby National Parks.
“We’ve eco-tourism products like fishing, rubber tapping experience, handicraft, island hopping, snorkelling and bergendang Sarawak (bermukun) culture,” he said.
Telok Melano, he noted, is well positioned within Tanjung Datu National Park and Gunung Gading National Park.
“Boat rides can be arranged to Tanjung Datu where Borneo begins. This will earn the boat owners a side income. Visitors can also drop by Gunung Gading National Park to see the Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower.”
Awang Putra said road access to the village had been discussed with JKR Sarawak and the Infrastructure Development and Transportation Ministry ( MIDT).
“Package 1 of Pan Borneo will be completed in early 2019 and open to the public. New development will start after that.
“Since the road will be ready, a lot of infrastructure works will come in – feeder roads, electric, water and other utilities. A new power line will also replace the existing solar hybrid system.”
He hoped things would get better after a series of failed federal projects. Social, security issues Awang Putra pointed out that there were social and security issues since Telok Melano and Lundu, and Tamajuk, Sambas, in Indonesia, were quite close to each other and there was no access to legal discourse should the need arise.
Meanwhile, Director of Immigration Department Sarawak, Ken Leben, disclosed his department had submitted a proposal to the Home Ministry to set up a border control post at Telok Melano under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
“So far, those entering Sarawak report to the Sematan Immigration Office. The Immigration Department enforcement team will conduct operations from time to time to monitor the situation.
“A surveillance team will be deployed to collect data and info to curb illegal entries,” he said.