Sultan of Brunei yes to Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah seamless travel

MIRI: Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has made travelling through Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah smoother by putting up the request to the Sultan of Brunei.
The present system whereby passports are stamped 14 times at the CIQs of Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah respectively will be a thing of the past when  Malaysia and Brunei introduce digital scanning at their respective Immigration checkpoints.
On Nov 1, the chief minister at the earth-breaking and launching of second Limbang Bridge project at Pabahanan in the Ranggau Valley Development area said he would like to see travellers to and from Brunei enter both countries without too much hassle.

Three sovereign states form Malaysia — Penguang

Datu Dr Penguang Manggil

MIRI: Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA 63) and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) report documents set up the terms and conditions in which three sovereign states have agreed to form the Federation of Malaysia.
The three sovereign states have agreed to form the Federation of Malaysia with an understanding that there are guarantees in the Federal Constitution to protect their respective rights and privileges. Singapore, which also signed, later left the federation.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Marudi assemblyman Datuk Dr Penguang Manggil said he had participated in the debate on MA 63 in the last DUN sitting and had the opportunity to examine some of the relevant documents including MA63 and the IGC report.

Embrace your heritage, young Kedayans told

The Kedayans from Brunei and Miri gather for a group photo.

MIRI: The young Kedayans of today must uphold their tradition such as the rituals in ‘Makan Tahun’ (annual grand feast) in that it marks their identity as one of many ethnic groups in Borneo.
In this regard, local Kedayan leader Penghulu Salim Ibrahim discloses that many young Kedayans do not even know what a ‘junjung’ looks like.
A ‘junjung’ is a traditional Kedayan farm hut, usually built at paddy fields or along the coastline near their villages.

This ‘junjung’ by the group from
Kampung Pintasan in Tiris
is elaborately decorated.

Even today, the majority of the Kedayans here and in Bekenu, Sibuti are farmers and fishermen.
“We must continue to preserve our customs and culture of the Kedayans, who are scattered across Borneo – there are even some who are living in Peninsular Malaysia.

Much to be done to keep Tusan beach clean

Beach cleaning conducted by Rotary Club of Miri Oil Town recently.

View of Tusan Beach.

MIRI: Tusan beach may have been identified as the latest place of interest in Miri, thanks to the ‘Blue Tears’ that had helped Tusan to gain popularity through social media.
However, visitors to the beach strongly feel that more should be done to make the beach attractive. A local, who wanted to be identified as Wilson, recently told The Borneo Post that his foreign friends whom he brought to Tusan beach were unhappy with the filthy condition of the tourist spot.
“They told me they were very upset that instead of a beautiful beach which they expected, they were greeted by rubbish scattered everywhere along the beach,” he said.

City apiculture — a thriving hobby-business

Cikgu Michael Sabang opens
a hive to show the honey pots
(left) inside.

MIRIAN Aki Bujang remembers when he was still young, his grandparents could easily spot a kelulut (stingless bee) hive on the way to their padi field.

He would happily shout: “That’s the sweets for the little ones! Soon, we would be extracting honey from the tree trunk. Yes, those were the good old jungle days.”

Aki told thesundaypost many stories about ulu life — how they looked for honey by watching the tapang trees and how they waited for the kelulut (stingless) bees or meliponines to come home.

Invention of sandfly repellent earns SMK Lutong spot in Petronas’ AAY 2017 grand finale

Chloe (front, centre) and her team show the processes involved in making their organic sandfly repellent during the state-level AAY 2017 round in Miri.

KUCHING: Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, as demonstrated by 16-year-old Chloe Yeo Lok Yee and her SMK Lutong team.
The Form 4 student, whose school is just a stone’s throw from the sandfly-infested Lutong beach in Miri, is allergic to the insect’s bite.
It is because of this that she has been avoiding the beach.
“I get skin inflammation every time I get bitten. The repellents available in the market are not effective.”

Student inventions AIR-MACS, Aelius have potential to be commercialised

Rakin (second row centre), flanked by Ekni (on his right) and Mohd Dzul, together with Hasimah (right) and Salmah (left) gesture during the presentation of AIR-MACS.

MIRI: Two projects undertaken by students under Petronas All About Youth (AAY) programme this year would provide cheaper and eco-friendly alternatives to air conditioners and powerbanks if they could be refined and patented.
AIR-MACS, an alternative to air conditioner was invented by 20 students from SM Sains Miri while Aelius, an alternative to powerbank is a project of 20 students from Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang.

Blue Tears – a concern to nature watchers

MANY Mirians and tourists to the Resort City, especially photographers, were bedazzled by the discovery of ‘Blue Tears’ — a sparkling bioluminescent — at Tusan Beach, some 40km from Miri, a couple of years ago.
Since then, the beach has gained a reputation as one of the must-visit tourist spots in Miri.
Visitors flock to Tusan Beach every day. They come with their best photography equipment — even on the darkest night — just to catch a glimpse of the sparkling blue lights from the sea. The beauty of Blue Tears, as many have described it, is rather magical.

Business signboard not advertisement of service — Dr Sim

Dr Sim (seated, fourth left) and members of associations and representatives of local councils in a photo-call after the meeting.

KUCHING: Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian does not agree with the argument that a business name signboard is an advertisement of service.
Contemplating an amendment to by-laws that are apparently peculiar, Dr Sim said the local council by-laws should be ‘people-friendly’.
Short of saying the law on business name signboards requiring an advertisement licence is absurd, Dr Sim said the law would be amended to provide clarity when the time comes.

Entrepreneur creates Sarawak version of keropok lekor

Machinery has speeded up the production of keropok lekor.

MIRI: There is no dispute that keropok lekor, a favourite snack among Malaysians, is originally from East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia – Terengganu and Kelantan.
Despite many similar products produced in all corners of the country, the original version is the tastiest.

Keropok lekor entrepreneur Fatimah Abdul Hamid, 57, has a vision to create Sarawak’s own version of keropok lekor.
“Keropok lekor is made from ingredients like fish, sago flour and salt; cooked and later deep-fried, it is best eaten hot. Connoisseurs of lekor can detect any subtle differences in taste.