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4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home

Published on May 24, 2019

Culture/Lifestyle

My mouth automatically waters just thinking about terong Dayak….

4 simple Kajo-tested recipes with terong Dayak you can try at home — The Borneo Sour Brinjal is a native vegetable in Sarawak

When you visit the local wet market, you will see a variety of local fruits and vegetables available here in Sarawak.

One of the most iconic (and pretty) vegetables is the terong Dayak, or Borneo sour brinjal.

As a native Sarawakian, I have a moral obligation to tell everyone that if they are going to buy some, it is better to get them from the market since they are fresh.

Since the Borneo sour brinjal is easy to get here, KajoMag thought it would be helpful to list down some of the popular ways to cook this iconic vegetable.

Simple yet tasty Terong Dayak Soup

This is perhaps the simplest yet most tasty way to really enjoy the natural tanginess of terong Dayak.

All you need to make this dish is just two bowls of water, two cloves of garlic and some anchovies (ikan pusu). As with many dishes, you will have to slice the brinjal into equal slices of eight, and wash away the seeds.

To start, add in the garlic, anchovies and some belacan (optional) into a pot of water.

Then, add your brinjals into the pot and boil until tender.

Terong Dayak with Ikan Salai (Smoked Fish)

The terong Dayak and smoked fish combo is one of the most popular ways to cook this iconic vegetable.

To prepare, cut the brinjal into eight slices again and discard the seeds.

Add in lemongrass and a couple cloves of garlic into a pot of water.

When the water starts to boil, add in the smoked fish and after about 15 minutes, add in the brinjal.

For extra flavour (and colour), you may add in some chillies or upa tepus.

Terong Dayak Asam Pedas

Since terong Dayak has a natural tangy taste, it complements spicy flavours really well.

Which is why we like to cook it with asam pedas.

To make this, the brinjal is cut into equal 1/8 slices and the seeds washed away.

Then, place three cloves of garlic, one shallot, one piece of chilli, lemongrass, some turmeric, about a tablespoon of asam jawa with a little splash of water into a blender and blend.

When the oil is hot, add in the blended mixture. Add in the brinjal first since it takes more time to cook.

Stir fry the brinjal for a while and then add two bowls of water. After about 10 minutes, add in the fish and salt to taste.

Stir fried terong Dayak

If you are not really a soup person, then this recipe is perfect for you.

Unlike the other recipes that require you to cut the brinjal into 8 slices, this one requires you to slice it thinly.

After prepping the brinjal, pound together three cloves of garlic, shallots, anchovies or dried shrimp, belacan and some chillies into a paste.

You may want to discard the seeds from the chilli as this dish can be quite spicy.

Stir fry the pounded paste and add in the brinjal with a little bit of water. Cook until soft. Add salt to taste but not too much as the paste is already quite salty on its own.

Solum graeco vel at Has ad alienum

Published on May 24, 2019

Culture

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Our Memories

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Local Foods

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The massacre of Sarawak officers at Long Nawang during WWII

Published on May 23, 2019

Culture

When news of Japanese troops coming to attack Sarawak broke out, the Chief Secretary put out instructions requiring all Brooke officers to remain at their stations.

However, a group of Sarawak officers decided to flee the kingdom and head to Dutch Borneo. Their decision to take refuge near the border of current day Kalimantan led to what most historians called the Long Nawang Massacre.

The journey to Long Nawang from Sibu

According to local historian Ooi Keat Gin, the Brooke officers in the Lower Rejang fled in a party of 26 men, three women and two children who were aged nine months and five years old.

The party was led by Andrew Macpherson, Resident of the Third Division. He brought along his wife who was then six-months pregnant. Other Brooke officers in the group included Sibu, Kanowit and Kapit district officers.

Ooi wrote, “Macpherson’s plan was to go up the Rajang, cross over into Dutch Borneo to Long Nawang, a Dutch military outpost.

“The party reached Kapit by motorboat, negotiated the Pelagus Rapids to arrive at Long Bahau above Belaga. They stayed at Kenyah longhouses along the way. After Belaga, smaller and lighter boats brought them through the shallower, rapid-infested headwaters of the Ulu Rejang.”

After 28 gruelling days of crossing treacherous mountains on Jan 22, 1942, the group finally arrived at Long Nawang, which was also a Kenyah settlement.

There, the party had the comfort of a four-bed hospital with an adequate supply of medicine. Furthermore, they had enough food supply to last for a year.

Macpherson and his team separate at Long Nawang

After arriving at Long Nawang, Macpherson who was suffering from malaria, decided to stay there. However, he allowed the rest to proceed and carry on their plans.

So four men – Jacks, Schotling, McKerracher and T.E Walter – decided to go to Long Iram and then Samarinda.

The men reached Samarinda and managed to board a plane to Bandung. Somehow Jacks and McKerracher eventually reached Perth while Walter and Schotling were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese.

Meanwhile another group of Brooke officers unfit to travel decided to return to Belaga. There, they were eventually taken into custody and interred at Batu Lintang POWs Camp. They may have had a better fate than those who stayed behind at Long Nawang.

The other refugees of Long Nawang

Besides Macpherson and his team, there was another group of Brooke officers and a missionary priest from Marudi who made their way to Long Nawang.

According to retired Mill Hill Missionary priest Theo M. Feldbrugge, he had a paternal uncle who was a Mill Hill priest during World War II.

The older Rev Feldbrugge was the parish priest of Marudi. Together with Resident of Marudi Mr Hudden and a few other British officers, they decided to go to Kalimantan to seek refuge.

“So they walked up to Baram and by boat and then they walked all the way to Long Sang, Long Nakang and across the mountains down the riverside till finally they ended up in Long Nawang.”

The arrival of Dutch and Indonesian soldiers

In April 1942, Lieutenant D.J.A Westerhuis arrived at Long Nawang along with 40 Dutch and Indonesian soldiers.

Four months later, two Kenyahs brought the news that more than 70 Japanese soldiers were on their way to Long Nawang.

But Westerhuis did not believe that the Japanese would ever discover their hideout.

Rev Feldbrugge pointed out that Long Nawang was at the very head of the Mahakam river in Indonesia which went to Balikpapan.

“And they thought the Japs would never come. But the Japs were in Balikpapan and they were told God knows by whom that Orang Putih were there in Long Nawang.”

So the Japanese came up to Long Nawang, trickling in via Mahakam river.

The massacre

On August 20, 1942, about 76 Japanese marines led by Captain Mora Shima arrived at Long Nawang attacking the border post with mortars, light machine guns and rifles.

Many were killed during the attack. The Japanese rounded up the surviving Europeans, imprisoning them while they allowed the Indonesian soldiers to return to their military post at Tarakan.

There were at least two eyewitnesses for what happened next; Corporal Tamburiang and Private Markus who were former native polices living in Long Nawang were executed on Aug 26 and buried in two graves.

Then a month later on Sept 23, the Japanese massacred all the women and children.

Another witness, Tusau Padan who was 11 years old at that time saw how the execution of the children took place.

The young children were forced to climb palm trees. Then they were impaled on the upraised bayonets when they slipped down in exhaustion.

All the women and children were buried in one grave.

After the war, the victims of Long Nawang massacre were exhumed and reburied on Tarakan island at Makam Pahlawan.

There have been requests by the descendants of the massacre victims to bring them home from Tarakan to Sarawak.

Among them were the grandchildren of Desmond Vernon Murphy, a British officer serving as Assistant Superintendent of the Sarawak constabulary and Sarawak Rangers.

Murphy was one of the officers who joined Macpherson to Long Nawang and later executed. His grandchildren wanted him to be buried in the Heroes Graves in Kuching so that it would be easier for them to visit to pay their respects.

The massacre of Sarawak officers at Long Nawang during WWII — Tarakan War Cemetery after the dedication on Oct 9, 1945. Photographer: Lt W. N. Prior.
Credit: Public Domain (Copyright expired).

Why did the Japanese massacre the refugees of Long Nawang?

It took the Japanese alone four weeks to reach Long Nawang. Having to travel out of the area with the more than 40 prisoners including women and children along would have taken them even longer.

For the Japanese troops at that moment, it was more expedient to kill the prisoners right there in that thick jungle.

Another reason why they were killed was because, for the Japanese, the refugees were considered enemy fugitives (even Macpherson’s newborn baby).

Ooi wrote in his book The Japanese Occupation of Borneo, “The fact that the refugees at Long Nawang did not voluntarily surrender themselves as was the expectation of the Japanese military authorities following the establishment of a new regime in Borneo made them, legally speaking, enemy fugitives.”

He added that from this perspective their execution was in line with wartime military requirements.

As for Captain Shima, the man who was responsible for the Long Nawang Massacre? There were no traces of him after WWII, and so he was never persecuted for his war crimes.

5 things you should know about the aftermath of the 13 May incident

Published on May 15, 2019

Culture

The 13 May 1969 incident remains a dark mark in Malaysian history to this day. The racial riots which happened after the 1969 Malaysian general election led to a state of national emergency or “Darurat” by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on May 15.

The events also caused significant changes in the country, which included the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman stepping down.

In the wake of the 13 May riots, a caretaker government – the National Operations Council (NOC) – was formed and chaired by Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato’ Hussein.

As George Santayana once said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Here are five things every Malaysian should know about the aftermath of the 13 May incident.

1.The birth of Rukunegara

After the 13 May incident, Malaysian racial balance and interrelations were fragile.

So the Malaysian government sought ways to foster unity among its people, one of the ways was by introducing the Rukunegara, Malaysia’s declaration of national philosophy instituted by royal proclamation:

WHEREAS OUR COUNTRY, MALAYSIA nurtures the ambitions of:

– Achieving a more perfect unity amongst the whole of her society;
– Preserving a democratic way of life;
– Creating a just society where the prosperity of the country can be enjoyed together in a fair and equitable manner;
– Guaranteeing a liberal approach towards her rich and varied cultural traditions; and
– Building a progressive society that will make use of science and modern technology.
WE, HER PEOPLE, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends guided by these principles:
– BELIEF IN GOD
– LOYALTY TO KING AND COUNTRY
– THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION
– THE RULE OF LAW
– COURTESY AND MORALITY

2.The introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP)

Following the 13 May incident, the new Economic Policy was announced in The Second Malaysia Plan. Over the years, many have criticised NEP as an inefficient system as it believed to be promoting a laid-back attitude among the Bumiputeras.

Apart from that, some of the policies in NEP such as Bumiputera quotas in ownership of public company stock and housing sold exclusively to Bumiputeras were viewed as discriminatory.

Nonetheless, NOC in the beginning had justified the need for NEP, especially after 13 May, stating, “National Unity is unattainable without greater equity and balance among Malaysia’s social and ethnic groups in their participation in the development of the country and in the sharing of the benefits from modernisation and economic growth. National Unity cannot be fostered if vast sections of the population remain poor and if sufficient productive employment opportunities are not created for the expanding labour force.”

3. The 13 May racial riots did not happen in Sabah and Sarawak, but some believed that these two Borneo states paid an even heftier price.

While Sabah and Sarawak did not see riots happening in their streets, the two East Malaysian states were nonetheless affected.

According to Zainnal Ajamain, political analyst and author of The Queen’s Obligation, many ordinances and gazettes were issued when Parliament was suspended during the state of emergency.

During this period, Zainnal believed the laws used to take the Bornean states’ wealth included the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 7, 1969, the Continental Shelf Act 1966, and the Petroleum Mining Act 1966.

He cited one example which was Sabah and Sarawak territorial waters being reduced from 350 miles to 3 nautical miles through the new ordinances and gazettes.

Explaining more on the matter, the political analyst stated: “By virtue of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 7 1969, the Continental Shelf Act 1966 of Sabah and Sarawak was owned by the federal state. The emergency ordinance limited the territorial waters so that whatever was beyond three nautical miles now belonged to the federal government.”

Since it was in a state of emergency, nothing that the federal government does can be challenged as unconstitutional.

Parliament only reconvened on Feb 20, 1971.

5 things you should know about the aftermath of the 13 May incident — 13 May remains a dark piece in Malaysian history. Credits: Pixabay.

4.The number of dead to this day are still in dispute

Malaysia records the official number of casualties during the 13 May riots as 196; with 143 Chinese, 25 Malay, 13 Indian and 15 undetermined.

But Western media and other observers estimated the number up to ten times as many people had died with three quarters of the casualties were Chinese.

John J. Helbie who was working as a political officer at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur during the 13 May riots said the government casualty figures had not been an accurate account.

In a 1996 interview, Helbie shared his experience saying, “There was an AP (Associated Press) stringer in Kuala Lumpur whom we knew. Of course, in the best of journalistic traditions, he was out in the streets. Within hours he knew enough, for example, to check several of the local hospitals and find out something about casualties. The casualty figure came in slowly. The government casualty figures were never honest. We knew that from the diverse reports we were receiving.”

He continued, “This is not uncommon in situations where governments don’t want to admit the degree of disorder that has occurred and their inability to handle the situation. It was clear that the government had lost control. The police were totally outnumbered and didn’t have the resources to deal with the situations.”

5.The cause behind the riots remain in debate

On Oct 9, 1969, the NOC released a report cited racial politics as the primary cause of the 13 May incident.

Additionally, the government pointed its finger at opposition parties for creating tensions after the 1969 elections.

The most controversial cause believed to be the reason behind the 13 May riots was based on declassified documents, which have become available at the Public Record Office at London.

Scholar Dr Kua Kia Soong even published a book May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 based on these records.

He challenged the Malaysian government’s official cause of the 13 May incident.

Dr Kua stated that the “ascendant state capitalist class” in ruling party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), had intentionally started the riot. This move, Kua stated, was backed by the police and army as a coup d’etat to topple the Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman to implement the new Malay Agenda.

According to one British Foreign Office document dated May 15, 1969, it succinctly ‘concludes that the riots were organised to formalise Malay dominance, sideline the Chinese and shelve the Tunku government’.

Meanwhile Tunku Abdul Rahman blamed opposition parties for the violence. He also blamed the influence of Communists, believing the incidents were sparked off by Chinese Communist youths.

As for the Malays who engaged in the violence, Tunku Abdul Rahman said they were merely responding to intolerable provocations.

Meanwhile, current day Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on May 14 this year said that the government would study the request to declassify the official report on the May 13 1969 racial riots.

What Sarawak nature looked like in the 19th century according to Harriette McDougall

Published on May 13, 2019

Culture

Harriette McDougall was the wife of Francis Thomas McDougall, the first Anglican Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak from 1849 to 1868.

They first arrived in Sarawak on June 29, 1848 then subsequently established a medical mission as well as a home school here.

The couple spent the next 20 years -on and off- in the Kingdom, visiting various areas in Sarawak.

In 1888, Harriette published ‘Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak’, a book sharing her experience while staying in Borneo.

While some of her accounts were controversial, arguable and biased; she cited the deaths of the Great Kayan Expedition as “their own fault” and stated Islam as “not a faith which teaches mercy or respects life”, Harriette did give descriptions of Sarawak nature during the mid-19th century that would be important for historians or ecologists today.

They not only gave glimpses of how the state appeared back then, but how much has changed in term of biodiversity:

Here are some of the places Harriette described in her book ‘Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak’:

1.Buntal Bay

What Sarawak nature looked like in the 19th century according to Harriette McDougall — Welcome to Buntal Esplanade!

Over recent years, scientists identified Bako Buntal Bay as the wandering site for at least 27 migratory bird species in their annual migration between Southeast Asia and Australasia.

However, can you imagine that the number of bird species could be more during the mid 19th century?

According to Harriette, there was no settlement at Buntal bay when they occasionally visited the area.

Harriette wrote, “As the tide ebbed the birds arrived–tall storks, fishing eagles, gulls, curlew, plover, godwits, and many others we did not know. They flew in long lines, till they seemed to vanish and reappear, circling round and round, then swooping down upon the sand where the receding waves were leaving their supper. I never saw a prettier sight. The tall storks seemed to act like sentinels, watching while the others fed.”

She continued, “And there are many such spots in Borneo where no human foot ever trod, and where trees, flowers, and insects flourish exceedingly; where the birds sing songs of praise which are only heard by their Maker, and where the wild animals of the forest live and die unmolested. There is always something delightful to me in this idea. We are apt to think that this earth is made for man, but, after many ages, there are still some parts of his domain unconquered, some fair lands where the axe, the fire, and the plough arc still unknown.”

2.Muara Tebas

When Harriette and her companions needed to enter Sarawak, they used the Muara Tebas route.

Along this route, she took in the view of villages and environment along the river banks.

Though Harriette mistook crocodiles for alligators, she did describe how the mangrove forests came alive with glittering fireflies during the night.

During this 21st century, one can only imagine how beautiful that sight was.

“The river winds continually, and every new reach had its interest: a village of palm-leaf houses built close to the water, women and children standing on the steps with their long bamboo jars, or peeping out of the slits of windows at the schooner; boats of all sizes near the houses, fishing-nets hanging up to dry, wicked alligators lying basking on the mud; trees of many varieties–the nibong palm which furnishes the posts of the houses, the nipa which makes their mat walls, and close by the water the light and graceful mangroves, which at night arc all alive and glittering with fire-flies. On the boughs of some larger trees hanging over the stream, parties of monkeys might be seen eating the fruits, chattering, jumping, flying almost, from bough to bough.”

3.Batang Rajang

When Harriette arrived at Batang Rajang, she described it as a glorious river saying “It is not visited by a bore, and eighty miles from the sea it is half a mile broad, and deep to the banks.”

She also had high praises for the flowers in Borneo.

Harriette wrote, “They seldom grow on the ground, though you may sometimes come upon a huge bed of ground orchids, but mostly climb up the trees, and hang in festoons from the branches. One plant, the Ixora, for instance, propagating itself undisturbed, will become a garden itself, trailing its red or orange blossoms from bough to bough till the forest glows with colour.
The Rhododendron, growing in the forks of the great branches, takes possession of the tall trees, making them blush all over with delicate pinks and lilacs, or deepest rose clusters. Then the orchideous plants fix themselves in the branches, and send out long sprays of blossom of many colours and sweetest perfume.”

At the Rajang river, Harriette also paid attention to the sounds or birds.

According to her there were not many singing birds in Borneo but she did notice the curious creaking noise made by the wings of Rhinoceros hornbills as they fly past.

(We bet Sarawakians nowadays may not be aware of how hornbills’ wings sound.)

Regardless, the biggest noisemaker of the Borneon jungle was none other than the gibbons or as Harriette called them, the Wawa monkey.

Here is how she lengthily described the sounds of gibbons:

“More musical is the voice of the Wawa monkey, a bubbling like water running out of a narrow-necked bottle, always to be heard at early dawn, and the sweetest of alarums. A dead stillness reigns in the jungle by day, but at sunset every leaf almost becomes instinct with life. You might almost fancy yourself beset by Gideon’s army, when all the lamps in the pitchers rattled and broke, and every man blew his trumpet into your ear. It is an astounding noise certainly, and difficult to believe that so many pipes and rattles, whirring machines and trumpets, belong to good-sized beetles or flies, singing their evening song to the setting sun. As the light dies away all becomes still again, unless any marshy ground shelters frogs. But to hear all this you must go to the old jungle, where the tall trees stand near together and shut out the light of day, and almost the air, for there is a painful sense of suffocation in the dense wood.”

Tumpik, the Sarawak pancake

Published on May 10, 2019

Culture

Like most pancake dishes, whether they’re from Western or Eastern cuisines, tumpik is guaranteed to be both satisfying and delicious.

Tumpik KajoMag — Tumpik is a must-try dish when you are in Bintangor town.

The word “tumpik” generally means “pancake”. It is a Melanau dish made from sago flour called ‘lemantak’ and dried coconut flakes. It is commonly made at home for personal consumption.

This local pancake is an iconic dish from a small town called Bintangor, which is about half an hour drive from Sarikei.

So, if you find yourself visiting either towns, do make some time to look for this special type of pancake – you will not regret it.

In Bintangor, you can look for stall No. 15 located at the local wet market along Jalan Teo Kin Ngo which specialises in tumpik.

The stall is owned by Haji Abang Saini B Abg Bantin and customers can choose between two types of tumpik; original and the special.

The original is basically just plain sago pancake with dried coconut flakes.

As it has a neutral taste, it is usually eaten by dipping it in sweet gula apong or palm sugar syrup.

Since the pancake is baked and not fried, you will find that it is not oily and has a nice golden brown on the surface.

It is lightly fragrant and has a nice soft crunchy texture that soaks up the sweet sauce which complements it perfectly.

The special, on the other hand, is thicker than the original tumpik since it has prawn filling.

With a chewier texture, the prawn also gives the tumpik a tangy and savoury flavour. The special tumpik is also visually pleasing as it has a beautiful white-to-pink gradient in the middle.

While both types of tumpik can be eaten with the gula apong sauce, the tumpik with prawn already has a lovely taste, and so is better on its own.

If you are not the type to go for a big breakfast, you might want to try tumpik for a change.

While sago is definitely a healthy source of carbohydrates, this pancake will leave you feeling satisfied without feeling overly full.

The changing flavours of tumpik

While the plain and fish flavour ones are the more traditional types of tumpik that have been enjoyed by Sarawakians for the longest time, these days you can find people selling tumpik with various fillings such as chocolate or jam.

In Kuching, it is said that this type of modified versions can be found in the Matang area.

While I personally have not tried any of the modern versions yet – so watch this space for another post on these unconventional flavours – reactions to these sweet version are mixed, with some still preferring the traditional tumpik.

Hiking up the hill of legendary Lundayeh hero Upai Semaring

Published on May 8, 2019

Travel

The mystical story of Upai Semaring (spelled as Yuvai Semaring in Indonesia) is unlike other local legends. It transcends international boundaries, from the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, to Long Pa’ Sia in Sabah and even to Brunei.

However, his legend started from theKrayan Highlands in North Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Hiking up the hill of legendary Lundayeh hero Upai Semaring — Signage leading up to Yuvai Semaring hill which measures 1,103 dari permukaan laut (above sea level).

The legend of Upai Semaring in Krayan

Since stories of his legendary exploits can be found among the Lun Bawang people in Sarawak and the Lundayeh people in Sabah, here is the Krayan Highlands’ version of Upai Semaring.

According to local guide Alex Ballang, Upai Semaring once lived in a cave on a hill in Long Bawan.

Upai Semaring was considered a local hero because of his fierce defense of the people, taking his stand on the top of this hill looking out for the enemy. (The hill became synonymous with him that it was named Yuvai Semaring hill or ‘bukit Yuvai Semaring’.)

Back in those days, headhunting was rampant. The hill worked as a watch tower for Upai Semaring looking out for headhunters from what we know as Sarawak and Sabah today.

Even before the enemy could even reach the Krayan Highlands, he would warn his people to be prepared. So the people of Krayan were always able to defeat their enemies.

Upai Semaring: An ancestor of current day Brunei Sultanate?

After some time, Upai Semaring left Krayan to explore, ending up in several places including Ba Kelalan, Long Pa’ Sia and Brunei.

In Brunei, there are many stories of how Upai Semaring became the ancestor of the Brunei Sultanate.

One legend has it there was a huge dragon living on the coast of Brunei, guarding a pearl. A king in Brunei offered up his daughter’s hand in marriage to anybody who could retrieve the pearl .

Since Upai Semaring was a giant, he was able to defeat the dragon and get the pearl. He married the princess, and it is believed that Upai Semaring’s descendants are today’s Brunei royal family.

Another version of the story has it that he was known as Awang Semaun in Brunei.

The sultan of Brunei back then was very fascinated by Awang Semaun’s strength that he offered one of his daughters to him in marriage.

Upai Semaring, the mystical blacksmith

Upai Semaring is renowned for his mystical powers; one of them being able to make a good parang.

“There is one spot near this hill where you can leave your parang and ask Upai Semaring to make it into a good blade. Come back the next day and your parang will be sharpest parang you could ever asked for,” Alex shared.

Although Upai Semaring travelled to so many places and died hundreds of years ago, his spirit is believed to have returned to the Krayan Highlands where it still lingers to this day.

No one to this day has ever claimed to have actually seen him, but his legend is still so strong that sometimes people say they can see campfire light coming from his cave, saying that it is him.

Hiking up Yuvai Semaring hill

When the moon is full, some believe you can sometimes hear his flute playing from the cave in Long Bawan.

Alex said, “The cave still exists to this day but the entrance to it has been closed. There used to be a trail leading into the cave but only a few daring locals are willing to take that route.”

Although the cave is inaccessible, visitors to the Krayan Highlands are more than welcome to visit Yuvai Semaring hill.

Yuvei Semaring hill stands about 1,100 meters above sea level. It takes less than an hour up a steep climb to reach to the top.

The top of the hill gives the perfect view of most parts of the Krayan Highlands settlements.

It might be the best place to catch a view of the sunrise if you are visiting it early in the morning.

Even if you miss it, the view is still magical as you watch the morning mist slowly being lifted, revealing the beautiful scenery of the villages and paddy fields down below.

Visitors can also see the mountain ranges which border the Krayan Highlands to Sarawak and Sabah from the top of the hill.

As you gaze down, you can imagine how Upai Semaring with his ever watchful eyes could see his enemies coming from miles away.

The little-known story of floating dead bodies off Buntal Bay

Published on May 6, 2019

Culture

What would you do if you came across a scene of floating dead bodies? It is an unimaginable sight for today’s Sarawakians but that was what happened during the early part of World War II.

Before we get into the floating dead bodies, let’s talk about the Japanese attack on Kuching during World War II.

On Dec 16, 1941, the Japanese forces managed to secure Miri and Seria with only very little resistance from British forces.

About a week later on Dec 22, a Japanese convoy left Miri for Kuching but was spotted by a Dutch flying boat (otherwise known as a seaplane). It radioed in a warning to a Dutch submarine, HNLMS K XIV which was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Carel A. J. van Groenevald.

Since HNLMS K XIV saw the Japanese coming, it managed to break the Japanese convoy on Dec 23. It attacked two Japanese troopships Hiyoshi Maru and Katori Maru off the coast of Santubong.

Both of these army transports sunk together with hundreds of Japanese troops. Another troopship Hokkao Maru was beached to prevent it from sinking while Nichiran Maru was less seriously damaged.

The rest of the troops were able to land and they were met by the 15th Punjab Regiment which resisted the attack. But the British Indian Army was soon outnumbered and retreated up the river. By Christmas eve, Kuching was already in Japanese hands.

What happened to the dead bodies?

The little-known story of floating dead bodies off Buntal Bay — Kampung Buntal.

According to George Jamuh in an article published The Sarawak Gazette on Dec 7, 1949, one of the troopships was bombed at Tanjung Sipang on Santubong Peninsular.

After the bombing, hundreds of dead bodies floated into Buntal Bay with many of them washed ashore and some even wedged between the roots of mangrove trees.

“For weeks Buntal villagers did not dare to eat fish, particularly crabs, and some ikan badukang that were sent to the Kuching fish market contained fingers and toes of Japanese soldiers,” George wrote.

Soon enough, the area was full of flies, maggots and foul odours. Then, it came to a point that the villagers near Buntal bay, without waiting for orders, buried these dead bodies.

The villagers buried them where they found them, leaving some mark above each grave.

After some weeks, perhaps after the Japanese started to settle in Kuching, some of the Japanese officers came down and forced all the local men to exhume the bodies.

George was doubtful if all were the dead bodies were dug up because there were reports of more remains found after the war.

He wrote, “It was understood that only the skulls were taken to be cremated and the villagers were told that individual ashes were to be sent to relatives in Japan. This tale the villagers swallowed; but, in the absence of identity discs or dented numbers on the skulls, how could this be done? Unless, of course, it was done in the way APC powders were mixed and distributed by the Japanese.”

Now comes the question; is it possible that some of Japanese soldiers’ remains are still buried at Buntal bay?

Revisiting Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee’s December 1961 communique

Published on May 3, 2019

Culture

The Malaysian Solidarity Consultative Committee was an organisation formed by political leaders from the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah).

The committee held its first meeting on Aug 25, 1961 in Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), Sabah.

Then on Dec 18 till 20, 1961, the committee met up again in Kuching.

Aimed to discuss the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, the meeting was chaired by Sabah’s political leader Donald Stephens.

During the meeting, the Federation of Malaya was represented by seven people headed by Muhamad Khir Johari.

Singapore had four representatives with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew as the head while Sarawak had eight with Datu Mustapha Datu Harun as the leader.

After the meeting, the committee released a final communique.

Revisiting Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee's December 1961 communique — The Malaysian Solidarity Consultative Committee held its second meeting in Kuching on December 1961. Credit: Pixabay.

The communique wrapped up on several issues raised during the meeting including:

1.Religious freedom

A number of Borneo delegates asked whether the acceptance of Islam as the official religion of the Federation of Malaya would affect the religious freedom of other communities in Malaysia.

It was explained to them that although Islam was the religion of the Federation, every person and all communities had the right to profess and practice any religion under the Federation of Malaya constitution.

The communique stated that this right would be enshrined in the constitution of the Federation of Malaysia. The North Borneo and Sarawak delegates expressed satisfaction at the clarification that all the religious orders and religious freedom would remain as at present.

2.Representation in the Federal Parliament

Some of the Borneo delegates expressed anxiety that there might not be adequate representation for them in the central legislature, because of their sparse population.

According to the communique, they were assured by the Federation delegation that the universal practice in all democratic countries was to give weightage of representation to less densely populated areas. This principle would apply to the Borneo territories, which were all rural.

3.Migration

The communique stated that the delegates from North Borneo and Sarawak expressed their fear of their people being overwhelmed by unimpeded migration from other states of Malaysia.

The Federation of Malaya delegation pointed out that the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, had already expressed his understanding and sympathy of the natural desire of the people of the Borneo territories not to have their territories, which are sparsely populated, flooded with migrants from the other State of Malaysia.

The Federation delegation also stated that the constitutional provisions whereby such control could be affected by the State Governments of each of the Borneo Territories could be devised by constitutional experts.

4.Civil Service

It was agreed that all state civil service appointments would be under the control of the state governments.

According to the communique, the meeting endorsed that the progressive Borneanisation of the public services would occur and that in all Federal service appointments made to the Borneo territories, the people of Borneo territories would be given priority.

The delegates also stressed that all present serving officers would continue until there were suitable local officers to fill their posts.

Importance was also given to the training of indigenous people to equip them to hold professional and executive posts in administration and commerce.

Attention was drawn to the special provision in the Federation of Malaya constitution relating to Malays. There should be similar provisions to cover the indigenous peoples of the Borneo territories.

These provisions related to matters such as scholarships, training and civil service posts. At the same time, all present legitimate interests of the other communities would also be safeguarded.

5.National Language

All nations have a national language. Whether a component state has its own indigenous or other language media of education is a matter which can be resolved by the State and Central Government.

Perupun, the mysterious Lundayeh ancient burial tombs of Krayan Highlands

Published on April 30, 2019

Culture

Long time ago, the Egyptian pyramids were built as tombs for the country’s Pharaohs and their consorts.

Here in the central region of Borneo in the Krayan Highlands, the ancient Lundayeh community built perupun to bury their dead.

Both ancient burial tombs have one thing in common, nobody really knows how exactly they were built.

Perupun, the mysterious Lundayeh ancient burial tombs of Krayan Highlands — The journey to the ancient Lundayeh tomb in Pa Rupai requires a little bit of hiking.

Perupun in Pa Rupai village

According to an elder from Pa Rupai village near Long Midang Murad Baru, 73, perupun means ‘batu yang dikumpul’ or piled up stones.

It takes about 20 minutes’ hike from the main road to reach the only perupun in his village.

Nobody knows whom the tomb belongs to, but as Murad said, “This man must be a man of wealth and most probably some sort of a leader or a nobleman.”

He further explained, “Since he was without an heir, nobody was allowed to take his wealth, and he was buried together with all his belongings.

“In order to protect his wealth from tomb raiders, or his enemies from taking his head off his body, they piled up all of these stones on top of his grave.”

Murad said his grandparents used to tell him that many noblemen back then did not have any heirs. It was believed they were cursed to die without children to carry on their line by others jealous of their courage and wealth.

Over the years, the stone mound at Pa Rupai has been heavily damaged by thieves. Today, there is still evidence of a gaping hole where thieves tried to dig up the tomb.

Accroding to Murad, the perupun was damaged even before his time but he believed that whoever the thieves might be, they must be living a cursed life.

“Anybody who tries to steal from the perupun will experience misfortune until his death. Back then when I was a child, it was even forbidden for us to visit this tomb. But we became lenient over the years, and now everybody can visit these ancient tombs.”

Building a perupun

“Can you imagine how people in the olden days managed to collect all these more than 100 big stones to build this stone mound?” Murad asked.

They most probably carried these stones from the river about 10 meters away to build the tomb.

Judging by the hole left by the thieves, the perupun could be two meters deep and the stones piled up two meters up from the ground.

“Most probably they took up to two weeks to build it. According to my grandparents, the olden community would come together at this site, cooking here, eating here, while building it.”

Since nobody could inherit the nobleman’s wealth – including his livestock – the villagers would have slaughtered all his livestock and eaten them while building his tomb.

The perupun in Terang Baru village

In Terang Baru village, there are two perupun. Just like the perupun in Pa Rupai, nobody knows whom these tombs belong to. All they know is that they belonged to noble people because perupun are not built for commoners.

It helps that they found beads in one of the two perupun. According to Krayan native Ellias Yesaya, this particular perupun most probably belonged to a noblewoman.

Unfortunately, time and the natural elements have left both perupun in bad condition. The stones have either rolled away or collapsed and are covered in weeds.

A fence surrounds one of the perupun to prevent wandering buffalo from damaging it any further while the other perupun (the one believed to belong to a noblewoman) is located on private property.

Besides Pa Rupai and Terang Baru, perupun can also be found in Long Umung, Pa Raye, Long Layu, Long Api and Pa Kebuan. There are also jar burial sites in the Krayan Highlands which most likely belong to the commoners.

Ellias had two theories on how people in the olden days managed to build these ancient tombs.

“I think our ancestors were way taller and stronger than us. I remember in the 60s when I was still in school, they found bones in old burial grounds. Their bones were very long,” Ellias said.

Another way was that they used their strength in numbers and simply did ‘gotong-royong’ (communal work).

“The community could have come together and built this perupun,” he added.

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