Letters written by a Sarawakian

I was reading my friend's blog the other and he wrote a very interesting article in his blog. Here is the article that I'm referring to:

And I quote:
"Recently the Borneo Post newspaper reported that a railway would be constructed in Sarawak for the SCORE project. Sarawak is sorely in need of better transport infrastructure, especially with the state's aim of becoming an industrial powerhouse in the 21st century. The benefits of railway transportation include the cheap transportation of bulk goods over long distances ( ideal since Sarawak is a large state), its capability of transporting huge loads at a time, immunity from traffic jams and it's relative predictability when compared to road transport (considering that the current road infastrutcure here is not something to be desired).

Even though the railway project will mostly be concentrated in the central region of Sarawak, where the SCORE project is situated, it was mentioned that the development of the railway would go on "beyond the year 2020". Could this mean the construction of a Trans-Sarawakian railway linking Kuching in the South to Miri in the North? The planned railway thus far is said to be 320km long, but who knows how long the actual railway could be. In an era of rising costs of fossil fuels, the possibility of a Trans-Sarawakian railway certainly seems plausible."

Well,what do you guys think? Like all sorts of promises that we hear,it is only as good if these promises are actually fulfilled. But if indeed they would be fulfilled,then we can expect a much more faster development to take place in Sarawak. *fingers-crossed*

Many years before, we might say that this problem is impossible or at least, not in the near future.However,it has grown more obvious that the global food crisis is actually imminent and that it's knocking on our doorsteps. I have read various articles on the problem of global food crisis and I was greatly inspired to write my own opinion after reading my friend's blog regarding this crisis.

Yes, it is true that as we put our efforts in building the tallest building in the world (and some leaders rob these moneys to build those buildings from the people,as we very well realize now especially in the case of the African people.Ever watch Blood Diamond? I love the movie), along the way, the deforestation is being done more and more and this means, this does not only destroy the habitats of animals, but also increases global warming. Our roles towards the field agriculture are not entirely forgotten, but merely neglected it. And that is why, as of now, the global food crisis problem is getting more and more real and it is not only Africa's problem in the coming years, but maybe us as well. According to the International Monetary Fund, over the past 12 months global food prices have increased on average by more than 40% and the popular factors that have been identified by experts are as follow:

1.the increased demand for food commodities from developing countries (as a result of population increases and increased consumption of meat)

2. the production of crops for bio-fuels

3.increased costs of transportation, fuel and fertilizer due to the increasing cost of oil

4. a weakening U.S. currency which increases the effective cost for commodities purchased with dollars

5.recurring natural disasters such as drought and flooding.

Therefore, I believe Sarawak has the greatest potential to play such an important role in solving this problem because of its vast area left to be developed. Although this kind of action might require us to deforestation, but at least it's for the productions of foods. Now, according to Datuk David Teng Lung Chi, Sarawak has a lot of land and fisheries resources. Some 3.8 million hectares or 32 per cent of its total land area has been identified as suitable for commercial agriculture. Of this, only 200,000 hectares have been developed into agricultural plantations.

This means there are many more areas that are yet to be fully developed or none at all and this figure further imply that bumi kenyalang does indeed has the potential to be active in agriculture. I am very interested with what Holland has done with their lands and how they develop their agriculture fields and I believe Sarawak can follow their footsteps by emulating them.

Apart from solving the food crisis problem, this could also help the rural folks who are badly hit by the hike in oil prices. When I got back to my long house for the last Gawai festival, my grandfather complaint that his farms are not doing really well because he's still very much sticking to the traditional methods and the sales are very low. So,if this area of growth is developed properly, it could generate profits amounting to billions of dollar to Sarawak. It is time that we should move on from relying too much on oil and concentrate on other areas, especially on the development of our natural resources other than oil itself. You know, I find it amusing how Anwar Ibrahim has promised to increase our oil royalty from 5% to 20% if he ever becomes the Prime Minister while we know that the oil supply would be running out soon. Such an opportunistic fella, Anwar.

Now,here's another interesting note: The state also has vast potential in the field of aquaculture. Studies indicate some 154,000 hectares which are suitable for marine aquaculture. Vast freshwater bodies in the interior, especially the Batang Ai Lake, Baram River, Rejang River and other small river systems are suitable for freshwater aquaculture. "The vast area of the impounded water body at the proposed Bakun Dam which when completed has potential for cage aquaculture fishery," says Teng.

Well,I believe our beloved Bumi Kenyalang has much more to offer and to come, provided that it is well-managed and not exploited by outsiders. We must really get our acts together and stay united for the brighter future of Sarawak.

If there's one country that I feel inspired of,it is Russia. Not United States of America, not France, nor Singapore or Germany, but Russia. As we all know, the famous Soviet Union fell in 1991,that means the country then, after 1991, went into a period of transition. The transition was from a communist system to a capitalist system. However, such an abrupt move caused them problems that they had not anticipated. When they opened up their markets, they went into a moment of instability, especially in terms of political instability.

However, Russia managed to recover from their 'dark ages' and grow again, largely contributed by their vast natural resources, especially in oil and gas. For example, Russia's gas state-owned company, Gazprom is the largest gas exporter and producer in the world; that should tell us how vast their resources are. I believe, although Russian Federation now is not as strong as United States of America, but one day, I hope they will. But why am I suddenly talking about Russia?


Well, I like to point out the fact that Russia was able to recover and once again, going strong in terms of development was because of their natural resources and so does Sarawak. Referring to my previous article titled SCORE (Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy), I believe Sarawak could emulate Russia because Sarawak too has her own sets of natural resources and in which, could really help bringing her development to a greater height. Even if SCORE failed and may end up like the MSC Cyberjaya programme, however, I believe some of us Sarawakians would take up the challenge and make full use of our natural resources, someday. By having more factories being set up, especially in the central region of Sarawak, that could lead to more housing developments being planned and done, and people will have jobs and would stay at their own Sarawak rather than moving to other places.

We need to attract more Sarawakians to be interested in the energy sector and create more opportunities for the people here to join the millionaire list. Although I myself not a millionaire, but I believe if more people join the list, this could further help bring more development around the millionaire's surrounding, and influence his or her family to follow the millionaire's footsteps. Another place that I like is Dubai (part of UAE). This is because, unlike Arab Saudi, the rich people of Dubai know they have lots and lots of money and now,they are making full use of their resources. And by taking one step forward from the other Arab countries, they are now doing well in becoming a tourist attraction.That is why (take note: this is my personal opinion) I hope that more and more Sarawakians should be rich and by becoming richer, we can ensure we have a louder voice and more able in representing our people and our Sarawak.

The resources are there, what's left is the people themselves. :)

well,for those of you who aren't familiar with this,SCORE actually stands for Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.this project was launched by the government of Malaysia on the 11th of February 2008.i don't wish to write much about the whole matter,so let me make it short.

so,SCORE based on what i've got from wikipedia,

The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy or SCORE is a new development corridor in central Sarawak state, Malaysia. It is one of the five regional development corridors being developed throughout the country. SCORE is a major initiative undertaken to develop the Central Region and transform Sarawak into a developed State by the year 2020. It aims to achieve the goals of accelerating the State's economic growth and development, as well as improving the quality of life for the people of Sarawak.

i believe should this project is implemented well enough, without too much corruption or better, no corruption at all, should this project achieve its objectives, Sarawak can keep more of her brilliant citizens who at the moment, are leaving her because lack of opportunities here in our Bumi Kenyalang. It has been too long indeed, where we see one after another, our great minds are being used in other places, including west malaysia, eventhough clear at the moment, Sarawak is in dire needs for more people with the right minds and skills to help bring it forward as a developed state.

what more, it is saddening because judging from the vast amount of resources that our Sarawak posses, looking at the poverty rate throughout the state, this reality really makes us angry. i was at saratok last week (it's a place only an hour away from sarikei), celebrating gawai.while i was at my long house, i asked some of the seniors there who could be around 80 to 90 years old and that said,more and more of the younger generation are leaving the long house to go to the city, and look for more promising opportunities out there.well,they're not wrong,judging from what saratok, roban (a neighboring town) and betong have to offer.not much.very little and simply not enough.while Malaysia tries to project itself as one of the best developing nations with a very encouraging economy,however,Sarawak,especially the central part and also the rural areas,still lagged behind,could be a 100 years behind.

we need more good roads to connect one town with another, so that along the road,more development could be carried out and the land values would rise.the sarawak government has to provide more economic opportunities to their people, because it's really a win-win situation.if the people everywhere in Bumi kenyalang is well educated, informed and more business-minded,we could be among the best and help bringing the development of Sarawak to a greater height.

so,hopefully,SCORE would turn out a success and would help retain her best people in the state and help developing the state.because currently,because of it being too neglected,Sarawak is losing her best people very fast and this trend is worrying.lucky miri found oil.Had it not found it,well,doesn't look good wouldn't it? :)

that's all.