Perang Si Gunting 1894 - 1901 (Gunting War)

I think most Sabahans have not heard of this North Borneo rebel named Gunting. Gunting was a Dusun warrior who led a rebellion against the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC) in what was to be known as the Gunting War or Perang Si Gunting which lasted for seven years from 1894 to 1901. 

Gunting's rebellion preceded another very much publicized rebel named Mat Salleh by about two years. The latter only started open hostility sometime in 1896 and was declared an outlaw by the BNBCC in August 1896. Whereas Mat Salleh rebelled to hold on to his rights to rule and collect tax, Si Gunting rebelled to hold on to his people's way of life.

Si Gunting was born in 1859 in Mumus which is now known as Serinsim, Kota Marudu. He died in 1905. 

wanesweb.blogspot.com

RCI is evil?!

Dr Chong Eng Leong said it accurately when he described how a certain Datu Akjan Ali Muhammad's press statement stirred 'intense revulsion' among concerned Sabahans regarding foreigners who have obtained Mykad via dubious means; I am one of them. 

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

This man and his antics really annoy me, intensely! How on earth would a Royal Commission Inquiry(RCI) "will only cause misunderstanding, ‘incite hatred’ and create disunity among the various ethnic groups in Sabah" as he said it?

He object to the calls for the establishment of the RCI to probe the extraordinary increase of Sabah’s population and the issuance of Malaysian citizenship to foreigners?? 

What???????? 

It's When You're Down that you need Him most in your Corner

Before you proceed, I'm doing the courtesy of telling you in advance that I'm going to talk about my faith. I'm a Catholic, so if you have any aversion to me talking about my faith, well you can skip this post.

God forbid, I don't want to be accused of proselytizing in the internet. Psst! Don't tell anyone but I'm not even interested in converting anyone to my religion. You know why? Because I think my position in the big BOSS' book up there, is kinda iffy as it is. I heard newly converts are more faithful than the born Catholics like me, in general lah. So that's why I don't talk or spread my religion to non-Catholics. I sure the hell don't want to introduce the religion to some Non-Catholics, who would turn out to be better than me thus diminishing further my position in the BOSS' book just because he/she is a better Catholic than I am. I'm not saying that only through Catholism can one enter paradize. :P No! No! I haven't died yet, so I wouldn't know. Like the bigger than life late Datuk Peter J. Mojuntin once said(someone quoted this to me), there is more than one way to 'syurga'.

Kadazan Kuizou

Someone from the North Borneo History Enthusiasts group once asked me how Dusun people ended living in Kampung Takuli, Beaufort, which to his knowledge is a Bisaya kampung. I was stumped because I never thought of asking that question. I've taken for granted that the Dusun had always been there. I told myself that I would get to the bottom of this. Today finally I had the opportunity to do so. 

A childhood kampung friend (distant relative in fact) came to visit my farm this afternoon, his name is Ilon or Lon. His baptism name is Godfrey in fact but I'm more comfortable calling him Lon. 

Datuk Peter J. Mojuntin

I blog the following on North Borneo History Enthusiasts blog. Thought I share it here with you guys. 

Who was Datuk Peter J. Mojuntin? Why does this man has a statue of himself right in the middle of Donggongon Township, Penampang. If you guessed that he was a Sabahan politician, well, you're right but beyond that, what else? 

Source : Mr Frank Faurillo, NBHE member

*FacePalm* Moment :P

Google Image

So I've not been blogging actively recently. So soli! I still have yet to finish my short story A Father's Heart. It has been nagging me. 

Anyway. this is going to be a short post. This incident is too priceless not to be recorded for posterity. 

Yesterday, my mom said she wanted to follow us (me and my Indon help) to the farm today because she feels bored staying at home and having to listen to someone's nagging. Who is someone? Let's just call her Motormouth ok. 

The Story Behind Tambunan's name

http://lostborneo.wordpress.com/tag/gombunan/

For the uninitiated, Tambunan is a town in the interior of Sabah, about 80 km away from Kota Kinabalu. Its populace are mostly Dusun. According to Low Kok On of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, in the early 20th century, the social structure of the Tambunan Dusuns consisted of seven sub-tribes namely Tuwawon, Tagahas, Tibabar, Bundu, Gunah, Palupuh and Kohub. Today, the Tuwawon, Tagahas and Tibabar sub-tribes are still concentrated in Tambunan.

Email Interview with Lynette Ramsay Silver

I did an email interview with Australian author and honorary Sabahan, Lynette Ramsay Silver on behalf of North Borneo History Enthusiasts. The interview is published on NBHE's blog but I thought I should share it here too.

For NBHE - Justin Wong

Lynette Ramsay Silver, the Australian writer who wrote Blood Brothers : Sabah & Australia 1942 - 1945, recently agreed to entertain our email interview despite her busy schedule. This Australian writer had immersed herself for the past 20 years, towards championing Sabahan World War II heroes and also the natives who helped the British and Australian POWs. Hence, I thought she is a personality...... her work, her efforts should be appreciated. One wonders why our State Government has yet to honour her with a Datukship, not that she would be bothered about it, I think.

It all started with a can of Stewed Pork..

Puzzled with my choice of a title for my post? What I meant is the subject I'm going to blog about was inspired by what transpired when I went to the local hypermart to buy a can of stewed pork hehehe.

So there I was, looking for a cashier that I could go to pay for my stuff. Alamak! All wearing tudung (headscarf) ler... Then my eyes scanned for a non-Muslim cashier, ah!... I saw an Indian girl cashier sticking out like a sore thumb because she was rather on the plus size. What the hell?! How come everyone's making a beeline to her counter!? Her queue was long!!! "No choice", I thought. Then I spied a Muslim cashier who was serving the last customer at her counter. So I went to her counter hesitantly and put my stuff on the counter. Without even batting an eyelid, she promptly picked up the can of stewed pork, scanned it and put it in the plastic bag. I gave her my RM50/- note and looked at her face to see any expression of disgust, zilch! Rather amused by her non-chalantness, I engaged her in small talk,

Township of Sarawak, Ontario, Canada

Did you know that there is a town called Sarawak in Canada? I didn't but there really is and if you think that is intriguing, the history behind its founding will knock you off your chair!


View Larger Map

Mount Kinabalu : Piece of Cake?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/aug/22/malaysia

Last month, 23 August marked the 10th anniversary of the tragic death of British student, Ellie James, who perished on Mount Kinabalu on 23 August 2001.

Ellie was described by family members as an adventurous and tough as nail young lady.

In a tribute to her daughter, Bruce James had this to say about Ellie,

"From the age of five she raised money to help human and wildlife charities.

"She became a vegetarian at seven and never wavered in her commitment to shake people from complacency.

"If her death inspires other people to stand up and be counted, her life will not have been in vain."
Before climbing the mountain, Ellie had spent time with villagers of Kampung Kiau Nulu in Borneo.*

*Excerpt from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1504524.stm

Pot calling the Kettle black

I don't know whether you guys have heard the news about PAS Deputy President, Mat Sabu, who got himself into hot soup for his comments about the contribution of our security forces in pre-independence day. He was reported to have said that the real freedom fighters were the communists because they were fighting the British and the security forces were working for the British. 

Google Image

That's like telling me that Korom was not a patriot because he was with the North Borneo Armed Constabulary which was under the payroll of the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In my humble opinion, I consider Korom as a patriot regardless to whom his allegiance was. He was fighting for the freedom of North Borneo from an oppressive invading force i.e. the Japanese Imperial Army. It's just a matter of semantics. 

To be fair to Mat Sabu and the Communists, people seemed to have forgotten that the Communists did participated in guerilla warfare against the Japanese during World War II. 

An excerpt from Times, 

A Communist long before World War II, Chin Peng earned his O.B.E. honestly. British Intelligence Officer Lieut. Colonel F. Spencer Chapman, who spent 3½ years dodging the Japanese in Malayan jungles, called him "Britain's most trusted guerrilla representative."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806357,00.html#ixzz1WrT9LkLF

Yes, I know later the Communists would be responsible for thousands of deaths in Malaya, I know about the atrocities they committed in their attempt to liberate Malaya from the British and set up a Communist Malaya. 

Of Control Freaks and Confused People

Credit : sophia_soshow - Photobucket

My friend was complaining to me about certain people in her live recently. That person has an opinion on everything and just about anything and stubborn to a fault. 

She was beginning to suspect that he was just a sad, confused and lonely small man. She said many times he caught him contradicting himself and that whenever she said something, she was certain that he would have a different opinion about it. Poor woman, she said she's developing teeth deterioration from grinding her teeth too much in an effort to prevent herself from stranggling the snob LOL. 

She said the snob disagrees on everything just for the sake of disagreeing. I asked her why she continues to torture herself by hanging out with the snob? She said she wished that life is like Facebook where she could just unfriend him and blocked him permanently :D. 

Congratulation to Sabah Publishing House

Sabah Publishing House Sdn Bhd (SPH) is the owner of Daily Express and Overseas Chinese Daily. The former, a bilingual daily (English and Malay) and the latter, yes you guessed it, a Chinese daily. 

I grew up reading the Daily Express, my mom subscribed to it since heaven knows when, like forever.

The Daily Express was founded by the late Tan Sri Yeh Pao Tzu in 1963. Its first issue was on 1 March 1963. Yes, that means the paper was pre-independence. Before someone points out to me that I'm mistaken about it, I'm talking about North Borneo's (Sabah) independence day lah. Please refer to my earlier post.

Hall & Oates - That 70's band

Google Image

Ok, I seldom write anything about artists or make movie reviews but today, I'm going to make an exception. I suppose not many of you know or have heard of Hall & Oates.

They are an American musical duo famous in the late 70's and 80's. Their music is unique and distinct to them, no one could sound like them better than them. Their music is a fusion of rock & roll and rhythm & blues many said. I'm no music expert and know next to nothing about genre or lables but I love their music.

The band is made up of Daryl Hall who sings most of their songs and John Oates, who co-wrote most of their songs and played the guitar. The latter is a singer too but he lets Daryl sing most of the time. 

A Father's Heart - The Accident 4

“Son, wait!... Could you just give me a chance...” pleaded James to his long lost son.

“Chance for what, FATHER!” Joshua emphasized the last word sarcastically as he walked away from his papa.

“...a chance for me to explain. Please...!”

Joshua turned around to face his papa, all the years of suppressed anger, disappointment and hurt came together like a force of nature manifesting on his face, with clenched teeth and finger pointing at his papa's face, he said, “Don't! Don't! Don't even dare think that you can explain or justify what you put me through. You're a liar! You were a liar then, you are still a big liar now. You used subterfuge to lure me back to Sabah. I don't know how you talked mama into colluding with you but I won't be as gullible as her!”

Greeting

I've posted my Hari Raya Aidilfitri greeting to my Muslim brethren just days ago but I'll repeat that again, SELAMAT HARI RAYA to my Muslim brethren in Sabah including those in West Malaysia and I also would like to wish all Sabahans HAPPY 48TH INDEPENDENCE DAY tomorrow and HAPPY 54TH INDEPENDENCE DAY TO MALAYANS!

If you're watching TV3 right now, it said that our country is celebrating it's 54th year of Independence, no doubt referring to Malaya but hey, tomorrow is also the anniversary of the nation of Sabah's 48th Independence Day! Don't we deserve to be congratulated on national tv also? I hope TV3 extend the same courtesy to Sabah next year in the spirit of 1Malaysia. 

Don't forget to fly the Jalur Gemilang on 16 September Malaysians!

A Father's Heart - The Wayward Father 3

This writing/story originated from my twisted mind. Hence, I reserve all rights to this work.

The metal door slammed shut behind him. “It has been five years, how fast time flies.” thought James. He had served his time and now freedom but he didn't feel like a free man. Yes, he was not physically caged anymore but he still felt that he was in some sort of prison. A prison of guilt, shame and regret. This prison had no walls and no door that he could exit; He was simply in it.

James had aged a lot, the five years spent inside Kepayan prison had not been easy on him. Besides the occasional beating by fellow inmates, he had to content with nights of panic attack. On such nights, his mind would wander back to the day when he committed the crime and the realization that he had screwed not only his life but also that of his wife and son, especially his son. The walls would start to close in on him and all he wanted was to get out and look for his son. It got especially harder when in the third year of his incarceration, his wife visited him and told him that she was divorcing him and that she would be moving to the States and marry an American.

A Father's Heart - Stepfather 2

This writing/story originated from my twisted mind. Hence, I reserve all rights to this work.

Mary Anne and Joseph were Joshua's step-siblings. They were children of his mother's second marriage to his stepfather, John Crabtree, who had brought the two of them to the States when his mother married him. His mother Anne, was a Sino-Kadazan. Her father was a Sabahan Chinese and her mother was a Kadazan from Penampang. Joshua's stepfather, John, had always appreciated the Kadazan culture and even wrote a book about Sabah and its natives though he never got around to publishing it. His stepfather had a collection of books about Sabah and these including his unpublished manuscript were given to Joshua when he passed on.

A Father's Heart - Prelude 1

This writing/story originated from my twisted mind. Hence, I reserve all rights to this work.

“Joshua!”

Mary Anne was awoken by her mother's sudden outburst. She looked across the room which she shared with her mother tonight. Earlier the day, her mother had been complaining about feeling unwell, of being restless, so Mary Anne elected to sleep in her mother's room this night to look after her.

“What is it mama? Are you feeling unwell?”

Selamat Hari Raya!

I wish I have my fellow blogger Gunaqz's artistic talent and humour; she drew a funny Hari Raya greeting. So my Raya greeting will not be as cool as hers but still....here goes...

To all Muslims in Malaysia and yes, that include my readers some of whom are proud Dusun Muslims, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

And please drive carefully yah..especially my friends/fellow bloggers and readers.

 

Happy 54th Merdeka Day?

While on my way to KK yesterday, I passed by a big billboard that read "Hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia ke 54" and over the past few days, I also read about a Sabahan minister and officials lamenting that flying the Jalur Gemilang has not caught on with Sabahans.

I don't know what they grumbling about because I see loads of our national flag lining on both sides of the road while on my way to the farm everyday. Perhaps these people are referring to city folks whom are generally not gullible and know their history than kampung folks do.

Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia

www.kedairakyat1Malaysia.com.my

Yes, my choice for a subject for my post is unusual this time around but my curiosity finally got the better of me this morning. I was enjoying my breakfast at my usual haunt, Kim Wah Restaurant in Beaufort (hehehe.. Doing some free advertisement for my former classmate) this morning. Slowly sipping my Kopi-O, smoking my Gudang Garam as I read the Daily Express.

I hardly read the malay section of the paper usually but today, the headline "Kedai Rakyat 1M'sia akan diperluaskan : Najib". I've been hearing a lot about this Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) but never bothered to find out more about it. Do we have KR1M in Sabah? 

A Dusun Ghost Story

Since the month of August is also the Hungry Ghost festival month (the Muslim Ramadhan falls on August this year), I'm going to blog about ghost stories hehehe... Alright, it's also because I've ran out of idea for my Sedihrela series and has to resort to “cheap parlor trick” to satiate the insatiable reading appetite of Sunflower's mistress. Sunflower, if you're reading this, you might have to tell your mistress that I might “gulung tikar” on the Sedihrela saga due to poor readership :P.

Ok, let me start. There won't be any particular order or format on how I tell the stories. I'll just say whatever comes in mind. They are bits and pieces and I restrict the stories to only Dusun related ghost stories.

The Dusun Tatana's word for ghost/spirit is rogon. Dusun Tatana are the Dusuns found mainly or possibly only in Kuala Penyu, in the old days at least. Old folks swear that in the old days, before Christianity was spread among the Dusun Tatana, sightings of rogons were quite normal. Before Christianity, the Dusun Tatana practiced their pagan religion. So I guess maybe that was why rogons presence were aplenty in those days. Ok, some smart fellow just scoffed at this notion. Yes, I'm aware that the reported sightings could just be due to the Dusun Tatanas' being superstitious and attributing everything that was out of the norm to paranormal activities. I'm trying to tell a story here, do you mind?! Geez..! You're such a wet blanket, aren't you. I'm retelling a culture's folklore here, not the instruction on how to build a rocket to the moon!! It's like watching a Superman movie, do you think that people could actually fly? But you still watch it, didn't you? Why? Because it is entertaining! Oh?! What did you say? Superman isn't human but is an alien from Krypton. So you believe aliens exist but not spirits? Hoookay! You lost me in aliens... Shoo! Shoo!

Damn you Cruel World!

My friends, as I write this, my mind.... my mind is in at a state of shock. That's the best I can describe it at the current confused state of my mental faculty. I've been forced to re-evaluate the whole core of my beliefs and principles. The very foundation of my being, my character has been shaken beyond repair.   

I'm in despair! For the first time in my life, I would readily admit that I am clueless, helpless as to how to drag myself out of this current cesspool that I found myself in. How would you feel if you found out that the model that you carved out your principles and beliefs with, has been a lie!!! My life basically had been just a big FAT LIE! Yes, DESPAIR! The blackest of night has come to visit me not on my own volition. At this late stage of my life, I don't think I have the will and energy to hop back on the proverbial saddle. I'm down for good. What will I say to my son? How do I explain it to him. His daddy is destroyed. All that his daddy has been imparting to him have been a BIG FAT LIE!

Facebook Group : North Borneo History Enthusiast

Hello friends/followers and readers alike. If you are passionate about discovering, reclaiming or preserving Sabah's histories, culture or customs, I encourage you to join our Facebook group called North Borneo History Enthusiast. 

The group membership is currently set at closed i.e. the admin will have to approve your membership. Why we put it at closed? It is a fledgling group and we only want the right kind of people as members. We don't want rabble rouser and trolls in our midst as we try to have a constructive and serious discussion. So that's why it is currently set at closed. 

Looking forward to see you there.

Tekajut Bah Aku! (I was frightened)

I don't believe in spirits/ghosts but I don't disbelieve them. I'm not making sense, am I? Ok, let's just say I have a healthy scepticism about things that go bump in the night but at the same time, I also have a healthy open-mindedness about things I can't explain with science. 

A Taoist priest (invited by a relative) once told us that there is a "Pak Cik" or "Haji" that "menunggu" behind our house where my late father had planted a rambutan tree. I'm sure most of you know what a Penunggu is but if you are a westerners, well Penunggu simply is a spirit that dwells in an area. The priest said there's nothing we could do about it; we can't evict the spirit because he has been there long before us and perhaps the priest just wouldn't want to mess with the Penunggu. 

Once, my brother in-law had a hunger pang in the middle of the night. Everyone else was fast asleep. He woke up and cooked himself a packet of Maggie noodle, he was standing over the cooking stove when he sensed a presence. He looked to his left and there standing before him was an old man in a Batik shirt! He freaked out and ran back to their room. The next morning he related the incidence to my sister (his wife) and my family. To this day, he swore that he was not dreaming. At home, we simply refer to this "being" as the Pak Cik. He's harmless actually and sometime we suspect he is behind some mysterious occurrence that had helped us one way or another. Like things going missing suddenly appearing conveniently etc. 

Tale from Borneo : Sedihrela - Part 3

Waitlah. I have a day job you know :P. I'll post it here as soon as it is ready. 

Tale from Borneo : Sedihrela - Part 2

Please note that this is a fiction based loosely on Dusun customs and folklores. The author, that is me, reserves all intellectual copyright.

Seputeh opened her eyes but her vision was blurred from an intense bright light, the brightest she had ever seen but it wasn't painful to the eyes and she could sense the warmest warmth in it. A sense of peace, tranquility...enveloping her and she found herself unable to articulate what she was feeling for it was beyond human expression

About an hour ago she had given birth to a healthy baby girl and she had hold her baby in her arms lovingly before she felt herself slipping away, like she was falling asleep; She had passed on. 

"Welcome my child?", said a voice. Seputeh was mildly startled but she wasn't afraid. It seemed like this place that she was in was devoid of fear, pain, hatred and all other worldly woes. That voice, it neither sounded like a man nor a woman. No words to describe it but it was authoritative and yet gentle.  

"Seputeh, this is your home now", said the voice again. Seputeh squinted and squinted but yet she couldn't see past the intense bright light. "I can't see you my Lord??", said Seputeh.

Con Job

Guess what dropped into my inbox LOL. Complete with a BBC news attachment kakaka... Mulau!

From:

Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:55 AM

To: aziz_katyayan1@rediffmail.com

Subject: Re: I am looking forward to hear from you

Bah, kalau ko buli hisap tontolou ko sendiri, barulah sia termakan tipu ko ni.

From: Aziz Katyayan

Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 7:44 AM

To: .

Subject: I am looking forward to hear from you

FROM THE DESK OF MR Aziz Katyayan

AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING MANAGER,

UNITED BANK OF AFRICA (U.B.A) OUAGADOUGOU-BURKINA FASO.

CONFIDENTIAL TRUST BUSINESS DEAL

I KNEW THIS MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE. I AM THE AUDITING MANAGER IN UNITED BANK OF AFRICA (U.B.A), OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO. I HOPED THAT YOU WILL NOT EXPOSE OR BETRAY THIS TRUST AND CONFIDENT THAT I AM ABOUT TO IMPOSE ON YOU FOR THE MUTUAL BENEFIT OF OUR FAMILIES.

I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISCE IN TRANSFERRING THE SUM OF (USD$13.7) MILLION DOLLARS TO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHIN 7 BANKING DAYS. THIS MONEY HAS BEEN DORMANT FOR YEARS IN OUR BANK WITHOUT ANY BODY CLAIMING THE FUND.

I WANT THE BANK TO RELEASE THE MONEY TO YOU AS THE NEAREST PERSON TO OUR DECEASED CUSTOMER (THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT) BELONGS TO ONE OF OUR FOREIGN CUSTOMER (MR.HATEM KAMIL  FATAH WHOM UNFORTUNATELY LOST HIS LIFE BY SHOOTING FROM UNKNOW PEOPLE IN IRAQ, YOU MAY READ MORE ABOUT THE INCIDENT ON VISITING THIS BBC NEWS WEBSITE:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/3970619.stm http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=6979

I DON'T WANT THE MONEY TO GO INTO OUR BANK TREASURER ACCOUNT AS AN ABANDONED FUND. SO THIS IS THE REASON WHY I CONTACTED YOU SO THAT THE BANK CAN RELEASE THE MONEY TO YOU AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO THE DECEASED CUSTOMER. PLEASE I WOULD LIKE YOU TO KEEP THIS PROPOSAL AS A TOP SECRET AND DELETE IT IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED.

UPON RECEIPT OF YOUR REPLY, I WILL GIVE YOU FULL DETAILS ON HOW THE BUSINESS WILL BE EXECUTED AND ALSO NOTE THAT YOU WILL HAVE 30% OFTHE ABOVE MENTIONED SUM IF YOU AGREE TO HANDLE THIS BUSINESS WITH ME.

AND 10% WILL BE SET ASIDE FOR ANY EXPENSES THAT ARISES ON THE PROCESSBEFORE THE FUND GET INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT SUCH AS TELEPHONE CALLS BILLS (ETC).

REPLY VERY URGENT. BELOW IS MY CONTACT.

Email : aziz_katyayan1@rediffmail.com

Tel: 00226 75 64 71 11

THANKS

                 

MR Aziz Katyayan    

Blood Brothers : Eternal Bonds

At the outset of World War II, Sabah or North Borneo as it was known then, was truly on its own. While Sarawak which had oil fields then, had a battalion of Indian Army, a heavy gun battery from Hong Kong, some Royal Engineers and 1,500 strong Sarawak Rangers consisted of Iban and Dayak tribesmen; Sabah, in contrast, was deemed a non priority outpost. Hence, no reinforcement was despatched.

Sabah only had the 650 strong North Borneo Armed Constabulary, which hardly could offer any resistance albeit being paramilitary. The Constabulary was backed or perhaps complemented by the North Borneo Volunteer Defence Force (NBVDF) which was essentially a part-time outfit, insufficently trained for combat and made up of men with day jobs. The only real fighting men were the Policemen in the Constabulary. One of the more famous and outrageously brave policeman was Lance Corporal Korom Bin Andaur (Policeman 142), a Murut whom I had blogged about. His exploits during the war were detailed by author Lynette Ramsay Silver in her book Blood Brothers : Sabah And Australia 1942 – 1945. Her choice of a title for her book is apt because by the time I came to the last page, I could see how the natives, the Chinese, the Indians/Sikhs, the Filipino expatriates, the Australian POWs, our colonial masters and even some Americans stood together. They looked out for each other and risked all by doing so. An eternal bond was forged among these people by the spilling of their blood and sacrifices made for the preservation of others, most of the time for people of not their own kind but in those days of trial, there was not any kind, no race, only brethren fighting oppression and evil!

What?! Dusuns have to pay MORE??

I'm pretty miffed! No, No, miffed would be an understatement. I'm incensed at how the KDM, the Dusuns particularly, are being trampled on and exploited in their own land. Mount Kinabalu is a sacred mountain to the Dusuns. The Dusuns used to have full access to the mountain and its jungle. They go to the jungle to hunt, collect rattans and jungle products for their livelihood. The mountain which they used to refer to as Gayo Ngaran (the big name) was also the final resting place for the souls of the departed Dusuns. 

How many more of the KDM's traditional rights and inheritance are going to be stripped before they awake and reclaim what are rightfully theirs to begin with? In 1962, the Dusuns in Kiulu and Bundu Tuhan agreed to "give up" their sacred mountain to the British government so that Kinabalu Park could be gazetted. The Dusuns then probably were not sophisticated enough in their negotiation with the British officials. They thought they would still have access to their beloved mountain and continue their way of live. They must had felt like they got the shorter end of the stick when they were told that collecting rattans, hunting and gathering jungle produce were strictly prohibited from thereon.

Last night I was the Ketua Kampung

Wow! Last night was so surreal to me! I'm kinda having that "maybe it was not necessary for me to get involved" moment right now. Haiz....

Around 9 to 10pm last night, our dogs and my neighbour's dogs were barking incessantly. At first I paid no attention to it as I was writing my latest post for this blog which is now saved as draft, by the way but then I got curious when the barking wouldn't stop. So I went to the window and looked out, my eyes scanning through the darkness to see whether I could pick up anything. I saw my neighbour's wife standing at their verandah, also looking at the darkness. I looked for my neighbour's Storm (Mitsubishi 4x4 wheel drive) and it was not there, suggesting that his wife and his kids were on their own. The wife was talking on her handphone and from her tone, she sounded concerned. Hmmm.. I got curious even more. This was apparently no normal barking, not some animal like skunks or pangolins that the dogs saw. 

Post kasih lepas Girigitan

Warning, post may contain inappropriate words and may be unsettling for some people. Read at your own risk. 

By clicking, more at the bottom, you are irrefutably confirming that you are above 18 years of age and waive any legal recourse towards the author should the contain of this post cause you mental distress, anxiety and whatever mental condition there is.    

Tale from Borneo - Sedihrela : Part 1

Please note that this is a fiction based loosely on Dusun customs and folklores. The author, that is me, reserves all intellectual copyright.

Sedihrela was a happy child. Despite growing without a mother, whom passed away while giving birth to her, she was happy. Of course occasionally, she would ask her father, Setipun, about her mother. How she looked like, whether she would have loved her if she hadn't died. Setipun loved his daughter and it's not just because he promised his dying wife that he would cherish, love and protect their child, it was also because Sedihrela was a reminder of his wife and their love that brought Sedihrela to the world. 

Sedihrela's was not an easy birth. There were complications. The Bobolian (priestess) told Setipun that one of the seven spirits that are the guardian of North Borneo was unhappy with him because he had forgotten to offer thanksgiving sacrifice to Dia (HimHer - the spirit has no gender). For it was Dia who intervened and helped them to conceive after years of trying. Dia said that Tulun (people/human) must never forget that it was at the spirits' mercy and grace that the Tuluns are blessed with good fortune. Hence, Dia required sogit (restitution) less misfortune would befallen to the Tuluns. "Choose!" Dia said. "Should we spare your wife and child and curse all Tulun wth misfortune for a hundred years or should we spare the Tulun but take one that you love dearest!". 

When Setipun heard Dia's condition, his face turned ashen and he fell to the ground on his knees begging for forgiveness and mercy. Setipun turned to the Bobolian, "Please! Please! Please tell my Lord to take my life instead. I would gladly die for my wife and child and for our people! Don't punish them for my sin! PLEASE!". 

From Dudley Colliery to Borneo - by Marshall Creswell

I found an interesting journal written by one Marshall Creswell who traveled to Sarawak sometime in 1856. The document is freely circulating in the internet, so I'm going to reproduce it here and I will highlight parts that I found interesting. For your information, I downloaded the document from www.scribd.com. 

So, join me for a trip to Sarawak of old -

Credit of course to the original author and to Mr Martin Laverty who transcribed and annotated this piece. Annotation at the bottom of page.  

New Sabahan

The other day I was having my breakfast at my former classmate's restaurant. As I was waiting for my favourite 'Bee Hoon Goreng Basah' to be served to me, I beckoned one of the girls that usually serves me, to my table.


She came over to my table, I told her to have a seat and then we had the following conversation :

Me : So, the other day, you told me that you are a Visaya? It’s Visaya right? Not Bisaya?

Girl : Yes, Visaya.

Me : So you are from the Philippines? Bisaya and Visaya are actually the same people right? Only that here, the Bisayas are Muslims and the Visaya in the Philippines are predominantly Christians.

Girl : Yes, they are the same. My parents are from the Philippines but I was born here.

Me : So you're a Christian?

Girl : My parents and I were Christian but we converted to Islam.

Me : I see. So do you have a Mykad?

Girl : Yes, I have a Mykad (she smiled sheepishly).

Me : Urh.. Don't you find it..urm..uncomfortable working in a Chinese restaurant and having to serve pork to customers?

Girl : Not at all! I only serve them and I don't touch the food.

Me : So where do you live?

Girl : Kampung Bingkul. I stay with my relatives.

Me : Where are your parents?

Girl : They are back in the Philippines but they will come for Raya soon.

Kampung Bingkul, by the way,  is hometown to our illustrious Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman and Foreign Minister Dato' Anifah Aman. Or at least they have relatives there. That kampung produced two ministers! Cool neighbourhood the girl live in.

Homemade Bokashi Part 2

Ok, an update to my little experiment. My first attempt to propagate beneficial microbes was a FAIL because the rice wash that I used contained chlorine!

Take note of the protein, carbohydrate & fat residues floating at the surface & the bottom  indicated by the arrows. The circle is where the liquid is. 

In my first attempt, the protein, carbohydrate and fat (PCF) just became lumpy residues. In my second attempt, I took a cup of rice and then mixed it with 2 cups of rain water. That was on 4 July 2011. On 12 July 2011, I mixed 200 ml of the rice wash with 2 ltr of milk and look what I found the next day 13 July 2011. Not even 24 hours had passed. 

LOOK AT THAT! Look at the difference. A layer of PCF cake about 2 inches thick floating at the surface and it looked dry! I guess there really is something in the water.

If you're asking why I let the container sit on water, the reason is I don't want ants to come feeding on the milk.

This is another experiment I'm trying suggested by a fellow farmer, Abang Mat. This liquid is molasses mixed with a bottle of Vitagen which contained Lactobacillus Acidophilus. I'm propagating the bacteria, the molasses is food for the bacteria. 

As suggested by Abang Mat, I invested on a RM9/- aquarium air pump and aerated the molasses. More update coming soon.

Dusun Tatana Wedding Dowry?

It's hot during the day to work and having nothing better to do, I decided to rummage through my mom's stuff hehehe.. Yeah, I'm an Indiana Jones of sort but for good reason. You see, I'm collecting whatever family history I could before my mother forgot about them. Her mind is not as sharp as it used to be and these days, she's becoming more and more absent minded. Gosh, she's not going senile! Why did you even think of that! Just her internal processor slowed down a bit. This one cannot upgrade, hardware too obsolete for the new processor out there these days. 

Anyway, I found the only thing that she inherited or claimed as her right(being the eldest) from my late maternal grandmother Mary Motto(cool surname right)! She's half suluk by the way or at least that is what family story says so. They say her father got shipwrecked and stranded in Kuala Penyu. His name was Disman and he was called the Laksamana by the people of Kuala Penyu and he was from the Philippines. Name me one seafaring people from the Philippines who often either raided or traded with the natives of North Borneo? The Sulu or Suluk comes to mind. You should see her brother's(my late Ingkung or granduncle) descendants, they have sharp facial features! High nose bridge, not very common in Dusun people. Macam ang moh! And what do we at this side of the family get? Typical Dusun noses LOL. *fist in the air* Damn you gene! [I'm not mentioning names here to protect the privacy of my beautiful relatives :P]

Pesta Rumbia 2011 - Kuala Penyu

Seeing that Pesta Rumbia will be celebrated from today till 10 July 2011 in Kuala Penyu, I thought I dedicate the following video to all the Dusun Tatana out there and also in honour of my Dusun Tatana heritage.

Take special notice of the Tatana's traditional war dance called Bakanjar.

Record Breaking and it's in Borneo!

Breaking news and I'm honored to be one of the few to have the privilege to break this news to the WORLD! Borneo, the third largest island in the world has many bragging rights.

One of the Oldest Tropical Rainforest in the World 

It's rainforest is 130 million years old! 

Unique Flora and Fauna

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

Orang Utans are found only in Borneo and Sumatra. 

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Cat

The Bay Cat or Borneo Cat is only found in of course Borneo!

Source : http://www.familyadventuretravelworks.com/tag/rafflesia

World's biggest flower. Well, we can't claim to be the only place to have this flower but hey, we're famous for it!

Yady yada.... You get the point. Now.........(drum roll)....... Another "fauna" from Borneo has made us proud! THE LONGEST LIVING HUMAN BEING IN THE WORLD!

Homemade Bokashi Brew explained.

I didn't expect my post about Homemade Bokashi to receive so much interest. Comments/questions made by Abang Mat, Lee and my Aunt Tina got me thinking about the whole workings of the process. I got the recipe for the concoction over the internet but said instruction did not explain the reason behind the process. So I decided to look under the hood. If I am going to be a successful modern farmer, then I would have to understand the process and the scientific aspects of farming. Therefore today, I put away my pitch fork, my straw hat and dived in to my research.  

One particular farmer/scientist who hails from the Philippines has been particularly helpful. In fact, I think the recipe came from him but others (and soon myself) started spreading the love around but always gave credit to him. His name is Gil Carandang. 

Perasan - Femoos konon :P

Few days ago Borneo Colours contacted me via my Facebook account and said that they wanted to feature me and asked whether I was okay with it. I was of course, pleasantly surprised and happily agreed to it. 

So today my face is plastered on their website as a featured blogger :P. Click here Perasan to read my interview :P. The reason I'm posting this here is partly because I'm vain but for the most part, I just want to say that I'm humbled by the appreciation. My blog is nothing to hoot about, I'm a newcomer to blogsphere and there are tons of better blogs out there who have thousands of hits. Mine, baru 15,000 :P. 

I'm just happy that there are people who actually appreciate the stuff that I write and actually recommend my blog to their readers. To these folks, I thank you for your generous endorsement.

Among the few that I "noticed" to have referred my blog:

Bubut on Tumblr 

Bubut on Facebook

Si Bei Song ah! hehehe

Now if only my Nuffnang commission starts moving. It has been at RM1.25 since 3 months ago :(. 

Operation Lady Gaga - The Bitch

Lady Gaga or Lady, our bitch (yes, she's a bitch) gave birth to 8 puppies yesterday! It's her first pregnancy and she was impregnated by a neighbor's dog.

Unfortunately for Lady, her mother Nini, didn't appreciate being replaced as the baby making bitch in our household. Lady was in labor in the wee morning of yesterday and as she was delivering, Nini beat her! My aunt, whom we affectionately called Meg(Gyver) because she's like a human swiss army knife, had to intervene. 

In the afternoon yesterday, when our maid Lucia went to do a headcount, she counted 7 puppies! What happened to 1 of the puppies? We suspected Nini had committed infanticide. Evil grandmother that Nini. 

Yesterday as we were watching TV, we heard Lady crying downstairs. Nini was at it again so my Aunt MegGyver intervened again. It was dark and it was raining. Note that the following pictures were lit only by my camera's flash. 

Majabut 2.0 :P

Ahh.. I was watching The Effing Show just now and was reminded of an embarrassing interview by Al Jazeera with our former Minister of Information not so long ago. Seriously, how could I have forgotten about that interview. I mean, that infamous interview only managed to make Malaysia looked like a nincompoop! Maybe I blocked that memory. That's it, I've blocked, that's why I've forgotten about it. 

Do you still remember that interview? If you haven't seen it, click on the video below. As the former minister vehemently denied that the government was cracking down on a peaceful protest, the reporter professionally told him that she was watching a live stream of protesters being sprayed by chemical. He said he's watching the live stream too and insisted that the government response was not violent. *triple facepalm* LOL. As if embarrassing himself was not enough, he also "insulted" Pakistan and Myanmar by insinuating that only the government of these countries treat their citizens badly. 

Anyway, as we know it, the Rakyat punished this guy in 2008 and he's no longer holding that office.

Bunga Raja

My mom showed me the most peculiar flower today. She said it is called Bunga Raja, literally means "King Flower". Apparently it only bloom at midnight and once bloomed, it would just wither away. 

So last night, she and a relative of mine staked out and waited for the flower to bloom. She observed that around 10 pm, it started blooming and by 12 midnight, it bloomed fully. Then they pluck it and put it in the refrigerator. She observe that it stayed bloomed longer in the refrigerator than if she had left it on the plant. 

Started to wither. I didn't think of taking a picture when it was in full bloom

I had a whiff of it and it smelled really nice! According to that relative of mine, this flower has medicinal property. They will be cooking this flower in a soup, supposedly it is good for people who has heart problem. 

Here's another picture of the flower I "borrowed" from http://mtfworld.blogspot.com/2010/01/bunga-raja-flower-king.html :

Strange and beautiful flower you are. Why do you bloom at night when no one would be able to appreciate you.

Homemade Bokashi Part 1

I found this "recipe" for Bokashi online and decided to try/experiment with it. I have started to propagate other vegetables and fruits at my farm. Therefore, if I can make my own fertilizers, that would certainly bring down my operating cost.

The things that were required according to the "recipe" are rice, non-chlorinated water, milk and molasses. I put the rice into the water and washed them. Then I remove the rice and kept the water in a cool and dark place for five days. I did not cover the lit of the container that I used to store the water. 

When I checked the water on the 5th day, I noticed that there were bubbles on the surface of the water and that the water itself was whitish in colour. I guess the fermenting process was working. I wonder whether there are any beneficial microbes in the water? Too bad I don't have a microscope.

I bought 2 litres of milk for the first stage. 

Pour them into this container.

The ratio for water and milk is 1 part water and 10 parts milk. So in this case, I have 2 litres of milk. Hence, I mixed 200 mililitres of rice water or water. 

200 ml of rice water. Noticed the whitish colour of the water.

Mixed milk with rice water and store them in a cool and dark place. 

I didn't tighten the lid, just placed it on top of the bottle. My mushroom house finally has its use.

Now all I have to do is just checked it again on 7 July 2011. Let's see what monster will grow in them.

The Police and Your Rights

The Malaysian Bar Council has come up with a handbook dubbed Red Book detailing what the police can do and can't do and your rights when it comes to dealing with the police. I thought I share them with you here as I think not a lot of people are aware of its existence.

Let me qualify that this post is not about "civilians versus the police". The Police is an important organ of our society. They are peacekeepers and they put their lives on the line so that we could sleep well at night. 

Unfortunately, in this imperfect world, there are undoubtedly rogue element(s) in the force and I think the Police themselves would readily admit this. There's always a bad apple in a group. One of the ways we could help the Police clean themselves of bad apples is by having knowledge. If you know your rights, these rogue cops would be less likely be inclined to do wrongdoings on you. So go ahead, play your part, get knowledgeable. You can download the Red Book here. Be generous and spread it among your friends and family.

Tongue Tie Condition ; To intervene now or later?

My wife just messaged me and the message totally ruined my day. She said my son called her at her office from the school yesterday and complained that he had a headache. So she brought him to see our family doctor. While there, the doctor noted that Elijah couldn't extend his tongue out fully like normal people could! 

The lady doctor suggested that my wife bring him to see a specialist at KK Hospital's ENT(Ear Nose and Throat) and see whether they could "release" Elijah's tongue. She said because of Elijah's condition, he might not be able to pronounce certain words correctly. 

It's premature to assume that Elijah indeed has the condition which is also called Ankyloglossia because we haven't yet got a specialist to look at him and confirm the existence of the condition in him. However, I'm not that thrilled at the prospect of having my child under the knife the second time of his young life. 

He had his throat cut (to remove a growth) when he was about three and when he was about four, he had to have a few stitches on his left eye brow when he fell and knocked his head on the edge of a table. It was traumatic both for him and I. Two hospital orderlies, myself and my elder brother had to pinned him down on the table at the emergency room while a medical officer injected local anesthesia. 

My son screamed and cried and I had to put up a front of calm so as to assure him that everything was going to be fine when in truth, inside I was about to give in to my natural paternal instinct and I was about to lose it. I asked the medical officer in a not so patient voice, "Must you stick that needle to his open wound? Is it necessary to give him that many shots? I think he is in PAIN!".