The protest is held as a response to the announcement made in last month by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who flew  in a Black Hawk helicopter to Long Banga and declared “I will ensure that the RM100 million Beluru-Lapok Road is implemented.”

Long Banga is situated very close to the Sarawak-Indonesia border. It requires an eight to 10-hour drive from Miri, or one hour by helicopter.

The untarred Lapok Road, off the highway, is full of huge potholes; some so big they can swallow up a small car, which is a pride among the locals here. During the rainy season, the entire Lapok Road turns into a slush of mud, sand and loose stones. A spokesperson from Tourism Ministry who refused to give his identity revealed that the Tourism Ministry will make this into a niche tourism attraction for the gullible tourists.

Led by the Lapok Aggravated and Mistreated People’s Association (LAMPA) chairman Lipahim Tali, the protesters voiced their disapproval against the state government’s decision to upgrade the Lapok road.

Lipahim claimed that the road have important historical and cultural value, having existed for 40 years and should be preserved as native heritage in the state. The villagers are very happy with the current condition of the road.

“Historically, we are long staying residents here since the James Brooke era. We have the right to keep the road in its current state. We do not want it to be upgraded,” he said.

Some 16,000 villagers from the settlements and villages along the stretch from the Miri-Bintulu highway to Lapok Bazaar are affected by the proposed road upgrading works.

Cargo-transporter Tee Tok Kok regularly sends supplies to shops in Lapok Bazaar.

His five-tonne lorry had been damaged many times. Punctured tyres, twisted axles and rims are just some of the resulting troubles he had to put up with travelling along the road. But this is something Tee looks forward to as he aspires to be in Malaysian Book of Records for the vehicle owner with most frequently break down vehicle -- for category lorry below five tonne.

“During the rainy season, it is very risky travelling along this road, and that is the best time to travel for me. There have been times when I get stuck in the mud and cannot get out, and I truly enjoyed the experience. I am confident I will make it into Malaysian Book of  Records soon,” he said.

“I hope the government will let us endure this for as long as it takes. Why is it that the Government leaders keep saying year after year that funds to repair Lapok Road has already been approved? We don’t need that. The government can use that fund for more important and better things like new State Legislative Assembly building or sending another space tourist.

Tee happily shared a video from his personal collection to all the readers.

SOURCE : MY TRUSTED BIRD-BIRD

Thursday March 25, 2010

Major bumpy ride along Lapok Road

Story and photo by STEPHEN THEN

stephenthen@thestar.com.my

LAPOK Bazaar is 120km from Miri city but the distance is not the problem. It is what you encounter along the Miri-Bintulu highway that makes the trip one you will not soon forget.

The untarred Lapok Road, off the highway, is full of huge potholes; some so big they can swallow up a small car.

During the rainy season, the entire Lapok Road turns into a slush of mud, sand and loose stones. Driving on then becomes not only a rough experience, it becomes dangerous.

Muddy: All sorts of vehicles can get stuck along this Miri-Lapok road that had remained in horrendous condition for the past 40 years.

The condition of the road is so bad that accidents and vehicle breakdowns are a daily event.

There are some 16,000 people living in settlements and villages along the stretch from the Miri-Bintulu highway to Lapok Bazaar.

They have to travel on this horrendous road every day to get to Miri to work, shop and school.

The Lapok Road was built 40 years ago and its condition has gone from bad to worse.

Cargo-transporter Teo Boon Seng regularly sends supplies to shops in Lapok Bazaar.

His five-tonne lorry had been damaged many times. Punctured tyres, twisted axles and rims are just some of the resulting troubles he had to put up with travelling along the road.

“During the rainy season, it is very risky travelling along this road, but I have no choice. Whenever the shops in Lapok run out of supplies, my boss in Miri will assign me to deliver these goods.

“There have been times when I get stuck in the mud and cannot get out. I have to call for help from tow-trucks,” he said.

“How much longer are we going to have to endure this? Why is it that the Government leaders keep saying year after year that funds to repair Lapok Road has already been approved?

“Where are the funds? If the funds had been channeled, why hasn’t repair work started?” Teo questioned.

Baram MP Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan recently said a RM150mil budget for the repair and upgrading of the road had been approved by the Treasury Department.

He said the authorities were now in the process of hiring a contractor to repair the road.

Photos taken somewhere on the road to Sungai Asap, Belaga.

Enjoy the video…

ps: No visible phone booth nearby the area. No mobile coverage here either. I had Celcom and Maxis with me at that time.

pss: Heavy trucks and trailers from among the biggest timber companies in Sarawak using this road on daily basis, maybe government should consider charging them a hefty sum for road maintenance.

I was in the ‘jungle’ near Bakun and the mobile coverage was really bad but I called him up anyway. First time talking to the man. Excerpt of our painfully transmitted over the sucky mobile coverage went something like this..

Me: “Hello, Josh? Bong here.”

Josh: “Who?”

Me: “Bongkersz.”

Josh: “Oh, yes. Bongkersz. Bong Chan Siong.”

LOL! No need for the full name man! I lost count how many times we asked each other “Hello… can you hear me?” or repeated “Yes I can hear you fine.” during the short conversation. HAHA!

He asked me whether I would be available in Kuching on Friday night for a project. I told him maybe, because I wasn’t sure I would be back on Friday. Anyway he said he would provide me with the details the next day. I was invited to partay Xpax Xplay Party at Paragon, Travillion, Kuching!

I wasn’t overly excited at that time because I wasn’t sure I would be back in Kuching on Friday night.

Then on Friday morning, I have decided to go on a road trip with my colleague, driving back from Simpang Bakun to Kuching. He dropped me at Betong around 4pm and I then continued driving to Kuching with @Emi_Mel. We started around 5.30pm and reached Kuching around 8.30pm and we were ready to partay!! *chanting* Partay people partay people partay people….

Checking with Mr. Josh if I am already in the list.. (click image for full size)

We went to Paragon, Travillion around 10pm and I was surprised that my name was not in the list. I asked them to double, triple check and showed them the tweets from Josh but they still couldn’t find my name. To cut the story short, I managed to get in the club after contacting Josh on phone and he directed me to a lady called Rosemary. But, too bad I didn’t get the ‘VIP tag’ and thus had no access to the ‘VIPs area’ and of course, no free flow drinks for me…

The VIP tag, cheekily named ‘VXP’. This is Fahriee’s tag… (photo stolen from him as well)

I managed to sneak up to the VIPs area for a while and stole a shot with my Crackberreh!

Anyway I had so much fun at the party. DJ Monkey and DJ Funkzu iz teh shitz! Love the beats churned out by the both DJs, really nothing short of awesomeness. I kinda ‘duh!’ when some club Djs playing the same old shits, repetitively cos I rather listen to the radio for that. Keyword here is ‘repetitively’.

This is DJ Monkey. Nice inks man! (photo stolen from Fahriee again)

There were other performances as well, by Soul Higher and Shawn Lee.

Sorry for the poor quality picture hahaha!

Shawn Lee the beatbox machine! Fahriee was not doing him justice when he’s busy tweeting there lol…. or was he tweeting about how awesome Shawn Lee was? Hmm… I recorded the part where Shawn Lee was beatboxing but the sound quality is so crappy for me to put it up. Sigh. One word for Shawn Lee, madness!

Put your hands up in the air partay people! (photo stolen from Xpax’s FB Page)

With Fahriee and Rosemary. (photo stolen from Fahriee)

Huarghhhh! (photo stolen from Fahriee)

Kuching definitely need more of such event to cater for the crazy party revelers here. Looking forward for the upcoming edition of Xpax Xplay party! (They were partying at Opera, Sunway on Saturday night and from the photos.. damn it sure looked like a blast!)

ps: A short hiatus from this blog (last post was a month and a half back…) and the first post after the break is about partying.. Now, Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) is just around the corner…

pss: I no longer look pink after few sips of alcoholic beverages because I am few shades darker after many days slaving in the jungle..

psss: I think the tagline “..when blogging is a constipated affair.” fits this blog real nice now…

JJ: May I?

Obama: NO! Don’t you dare! *covers*

ps: TCMPCC sounds good. LOL!

On my way to shave my hairy head

Taking one last handsome photo with hair 1st before losing it.

Getting ready to do the deed, no going back now..

No, I was not sad lol, it’s just how I look

Halfway there

Half bald look is not that bad actually

Er maybe a Mohawk??

Hmmm yes Mohawk is good.

Nevermind that Mohawk look. Continue with the project #GoBald.

Or a Manchu look? Macho no? Macho Manchu ehehe

Ok I think we are done

Huarghhh! Botak Bong is back!!

Up to now, about RM3.3k pledged on behalf of me to go bald. RM2k+ payment has been made. For those who has not make your pledged donation, pay up pay up!! Anyone who still want to donate you can do so by going to Go Bald website (http://gobald.my) and look under Make a Donation. After you have made your donation, write an email to the admin of Go Bald campaign (admin@gobald.my), attach the payment receipt and inform him that you’re making a pledged donation for me to go bald. Thank you!!

ps: Do you love my bald look? *wink wink!*

pss: I hope the angle of the photos don’t make you go dizzy…

People of Sarawak are still immune to the change happening in Peninsular, and from the most recent by election held after the GE at Batang Ai, Pakatan Rakyat still has a lot of works to do in order to make wave in Sarawak. BN retained Batang Ai seat when its candidate Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, defeated PKR’s Jawah Gerang with an increased majority. Yes, increased majority. Pakatan Rakyat’s campaign for that by election is a total disappointment. I couldn’t even understand for what reason they chose Jawah Gerang as candidate in the first place. I wrote this in my previous post,

Why lah PKR chose Jawah Gerang as its candidate? This guy was the state assemblyman for the area for a freaking 5 terms! 20 over years! And we shall have him to bring ‘change?’ Niamah!

Nevermind that, we are now holding our breath over the latest political center of attention, Sibu. This seat is very important for both BN and PR. Why? Anyone who wins this seat, can confidently say it may have a greater, better chance to fare well in the coming state election and general election.

BN needs to win this seat to maintain its grip on its ’strong seat’ and to send a message to all Malaysians that it is making a comeback under the new political master and all the promised changes, mantras, KPIs, KRAs have struck a chord of acceptance among Malaysians.

PR needs to win this seat to make inroads to Sarawak. A win in Sibu will change everything. It will change the perception among people that only BN is the one and only choice for them. The perception that BN is mighty and will not lose. Just like before GE 2008, people thought it was impossible for BN to lose. People could not accept that change is possible. Who would have thought that BN would lose its 2/3 majority?

Before all this, every by election was won by BN easily without much sweat. No more of that, we have to make people understand change is a good thing. The elected party will work harder to earn its worth. We should not give our votes easily, make them beg if necessary. Just think, before all this happened, did BN ever talk about change? About reform? And now their leaders are talking about change and reforms.  Most still remain rhetoric but that is a start, to acknowledge the need for change and reform.

I am not a political analyst, I am not somebody to reckon with in politics, I am not someone with plenty of experience in politics, I am not even a member of any political party. But I have few things to say Pakatan Rakyat leaders if they want to have better chance of winning the Sibu seat, this coming by election.

1) Tone and direction of the campaign. Please don’t campaign like how you campaign in Peninsular. It doesn’t work. Forget about condemning Umno, MCA, MIC. When in Sarawak, talk about the component parties here. SUPP, PBB. Why talk about Umno? The party does not even operate in Sarawak. People here cannot relate to that.

People here most probably don’t find Umno so much a threat. Most threats are from the local parties, local leaders here. Better talk about Taib Mahmud. Or talk about Alfred Jabu ak Numpang. James Jemut Masing. George Chan. Robert Lau has passed aways, not so good to talk about him and he is very much loved figure among the locals when he was alive. Better, forget about condemning other parties if you can manage.

2) Please don’t make the campaign into another ‘condemn Barisan Nasional and its evil doings’. Have some class. Try to change the way you campaign. Some opposition parties have been campaigning that way since their existence, they know nothing but to whack, whack, whack and whack BN all the way.

People already know all the good things and bad things about BN. Talk about what Pakatan Rakyat can offer. Make it a campaign on ‘what Pakatan Rakyat candidate can provide as a representative of the people, the need for check and balance, what are the good things PR has carried out as a state government in Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak (er….), Kedah.

3) Talk about issues that have immediate and obvious effect to the locals. Sorry but the political reality is, locals here cannot relate to Altantuya, TBH, PKFZ. So, touch on LOCAL ISSUES. Corruption cases, dirts by LOCAL LEADERS. Address the urgent, immediate problems of the locals. Local issues like flooding, land titles.

4) Work with local leaders. Let them take the stage. If possible use local dialects to engage the locals. In a predominant Iban crowds, find some Iban leaders to talk. Or speak some stammering Iban words. It will do wonders.

That is enough for now, I guess. All the best for the by election!

Let’s get down to business. Last Sunday, with the help of my ‘trunk buddy’ – Comeez aka Pierce and friends, Myremi aka Rowena and another friend I couldn’t quite remember the name (Sorry, bad memory heh!) I arranged an impromptu session of ‘unboxing the #N97minitrunk that I received from WOMWorld Nokia.

We recorded the wholte #N97minitrunk unboxing process and the video still being edited. Too many craps in it, contributed by yours truly. I will post it up when it is ready, so you guys can have a chance to laugh at me making a fool of myself in the video. I have not look at the video, I hope I don’t sound funny…

Mission: Unboxing #N97minitrunk

Location: Comeez’s office meeting room.

Participants: Bongkersz, Comeez, Myremi and Miss ‘Forgotten Name’

The #N97minitrunk, darn it’s heavy!

Contents of the #N97minitrunk

That brownish thing is not someone’s crap. It’s a pinecone..

An envelope, quill pen, photo album, big ass calculator, stereo player, alarm clock, moleskin notebook, compass, tape recorder, old school address book, pinecone (?), disposable camera, gigantic snake and ladder board game.. and the N97mini of course!

Sweet! Love the orange against black, reddish brown colour combination. I passed the phone to Comeez, I have not try it, so cannot do a review yet. We shall wait….

Inside the envelope, a myriad of challenges.. and stickers!

A note from Nokia, explaining the #N97minitrunk challenges. All together 5 challenges. Winners (you and your trunk buddy) get themselves a N97 mini. Duh!

Challenge 1 – Trunk in action. I have submitted my entry titled – #N97trunkmini and Cherrie. Photos, maybe in the coming posts.. HAHA!

Challenge 3 – Music on the go. Together with Comeez, Myremi and our videowoman, we have created a video. Still under editing process. I can’t wait to see it myself..

Challenge 4 – Gaming. Now, I may need your help. Anyone of you in Kuching area who would like to join me and friends playing snakes and ladders board game? Exact time and location will be finalised soon. We need to create a video of crazy people, playing crazy game. Heard people at WOMWorld Nokia love to see those videos… ha! ha! ha!

Challenge 5 – Share your album. We have taken some photos with the disposable camera during the unboxing session. Have not figure out how to tackle this challenge. Ehe, that suggestion of ‘leave your album somewhere’ sounds a lot like what an employee of a fruity company did, recently.

ps: Which feature/function of the phone is represented by the pinecone? I have some ideas.. not going to say for now..

The package arrived yesterday and I was shocked to see the size of the package. “Holy goat, do you need such humongous box to put a N97 ‘mini’?”

The customs already unboxed the package for me, so I took a peep inside and saw a big ass N97 mini. Not so mini heh!

I have not properly unbox the package, there are so many items in it and an envelope is attached together. Must be some kind of twisted game lol. Just wait for my next post, hopefully it is about the N97 mini, the mysterious challenge/game and some other items included in the package.

Oh yes, you guys remember the Nokia Booklet 3G that I got early of this year? I am going to send it back tomorrow. I have been keeping it a little bit too long, it is time to return it. I didn’t get the chance to play with it that much because I have been busy with work and running around.

Hmm, maybe a real short review lol! The only awesome thing about it is the battery life. Superb battery lifem. Crazy is more like it. It can last days! That is what all mobile gadgets need to have. Kick ass battery life. Then, the design is pretty sleek and cool. Very thin and light. But for a mini laptop the price is a bit too expensive in my opinion. Good bye Booklet 3G! Thanks to the cool people at WOMWorld Nokia for letting me keep it so long. (Not really, they have been chasing me to return it back hahahaha! My excuse? Hmmm, I was really busy ehe!)

On another note, I have joined the dark side. Now I am a Crackberreh Jedi! I am so in love with this funny fruit..yum yum om nom nom!!

Got it because my current job requires me to be on the move all the time and there are so many tai-chi-ing works with emails flying here and there. And of course, because of the awesome connectivity it offers (read : less productivity, more tweeting, Facebooking and instant messaging) No complaints so far, absolutely love this beast!

ps: Posting this entry from the crackberreh, no idea how it will turn out.

pss: Hmm.. pimping Nokia and Crackberreh in the same post… doesn’t sound quite right lol!