We Breathe, We Fight

Opposition billboard with their battle cry ( in the Iban language) : Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban ( We Breathe, We Fight)

Today ( 7 April) we took the highway to Kuching. We started the journey at 9.00 am from Bintulu. As usual our two cats Daisy and Inul joined us on their separate mission to create a new Malaysian record for the most travelled cats in Malaysia. However along the way we were caught by the election fever at Lubok Antu, which is about three quarters of our journey to Kuching. An half an hour diversion from the Pan- Borneo Highway brought us to the little town of Lubok Antu. Today it was bustling with cars, buses, 4x4 wheels vehicles, trucks on the roads and longboats and speed boats on the river. The Lubok Antu town was in a fiesta mood with make- shift stalls selling goodies, souvenirs, foods and drinks to thousands of people who congregate to cast their votes and later to witness the counting of ballot papers. We arrived at the town around 4.30 pm just half an hour before the casting of votes was over. I guess by the time we arrived Kuching in the evening the the results of voting would have been aired.

Opposition election banner in the river screams - 'Eliminate Our Land Robbers' ( In Malay - Hapuskan Perompak Tanah Kami)

What amazes me on this detour was the prevalence of poster war around the town. Two political parties are vying for the vacant state seat as a result of the death of its former representative. The Barisan Nasional (BN) - a coalition of ethnic or race-based political parties is challenged by the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) - a multi-racial party that accept common membership from the state's diverse races.

Walking around the town I noticed there seemed to be a even fight judging from the posters and people who wear T-shirts and uniforms displaying their political identities. The majority of the electorate here consisted of the Ibans (90%) and the balance a sprinkle of Malay, Chinese and other minority registered voters.

The main political issue raised by the opposition party is the up scaling of land grab by the government on the traditional lands of the Ibans which they claimed rights since generations ago but are frustratingly unrecognised by the government of the day. Increasingly huge tracts of Iban lands which they cleared manually for shifting agriculture are being taken from their hands for conversion into oil palm estates reserved for corporate bodies or outside companies. Their dire struggle against the State land laws becomes the main thrust of opposition agenda in Sarawak currently. The above inset of the rattan baskets sold abundantly along the town's 5-foot way epitomises the principal form of livelihood of the Ibans here. The rattan carrying baskets are used to carry ripe paddy stalks, jungle produce items and are borne by the men as well as women folks here. It is indeed a practical aid for rural farmers.

Police presence was everywhere and gave much confidence for the people to come to town. Inset shows a video filmer in action.
Location: Just outside the vote casting centre.

Addendum: We arrived Kuching at around 8.30 pm and by 9.00 pm the by-election results has been announced over the national TV ( RTM1). In the by-election, Malcolm Mussem of Barisan Nasional (BN) ( an Iban engineer) won with a majority of 1,854 votes after polling 3,907 votes, against the opposition candidate Jawah Gerang 's poll of 2,053 votes. Best man win. And democracy is alive and kicking.

Rattan mats

We took to the road this morning to a border town south of Kuching called Serikin. The town sits on Malaysian soil but Indonesian traders are allowed to trade on its narrow streets that are thriving since it was made popular less than ten years ago by Malaysian tourists who come here by the bus loads at weekends. There were at least 100 traders I saw this morning plying their wares ranging from textiles, handicrafts, agricultural produces, clothing's and personal accessories and the very popular rattan mats.
Malaysians by cultural tradition sit on rattan mat floors when they eat or entertain guests to their homes. However in modern homes the norms have changed and many adopt the western style of sitting on sofas and dining on tables. As a consequence rattan mats are instead used as decorative floor mats in modern homes. At Serikin these mats are in abundance and sold at knock down prices . A piece with a standard dimension of 7'x12' would fetch an average price of about RM 80. The size varies from a width of 2' to 10' and lengthwise can be obtained from a size of 3' till 14'.

Many interior decoration works also use rattan mats as overlay for counters, walls and ceilings. For smaller sizes having intricate design they are framed and hung on walls as decorative wall pieces. From Indonesia the mats are brought in rolls but tourists overseas and from West Malaysia who want to bring them home by air will need them folded up and packed properly as air cargo items. Rattans are versatile and don't get broken or snapped when folded .



CU of Rattan Mat Design
The prevalence of rattan mats at Serikin is due to the presence of jungles that are still intact in certain parts of the Indonesian border where the rattan plants are still available. In Sarawak where much inland forests are cut for timber and oil palm plantations, the rattans are slowly disappearing unless of course drastic steps are made to grow rattans in plantations amidst the undisturbed forest canopy.
Many rattan mats are interwoven with tree barks to add variety to the design and by a process of dyeing, darker hues of brown to black rattans are incorporated to the overall mat design. By the look of it Malaysians will continue to line up the streets of Serikin in droves in their insatiable appetite for these unique rattan mats .

Handicrafts Show at Kuching Waterfront

Today the Handicrafts Show and Sale at the Kuching Waterfront comes to a close. I went to check out the place this morning and here's some pictures I took at the exhibition booths.

An interesting display of containers using rattan as the chief material for weaving.

Seconday school students take part in the batik painting demonstration.

Wild Orchids and Rattan Handicrafts at Serikin

Yesterday (9 Aug) we took the road to Serikin, a border town some thirty minutes drive from Kuching City. This place is frequented by local tourists especially from West Malaysia who were seen keenly buying textiles, glass ware and rattan mats. There were also lots of wild jungle orchids and pitcher plants available for sale at very affordable prices. Below are snapshots of Serikin.

These rattan based handicrafts are made by the local Bidayuh community who are the main residents at Serikin.

Example of wild orchids on display. In the foreground is a flowering slipper orchid.

Rattan Handicrafts of Sarawak

In Kuching there are plenty of Sarawak handicrafts that one can buy as sovenier.  One particular favourite of mine is the 'tambuk', which is a Bidayuh word to mean a carrying basket.  At many of the local sovenier shops along Kuching Waterfront, these are made into mini shapes and sizes to fit the varying budget of tourists and visitors to this beautiful city.

Sovenier shops along Kuching Waterfront

A CU View of varying colours and sizes of tambuk on sale at Serikin, a thirty minutes drive by road from Kuching city.

This morning I had the occassion to make a floral arrangement using the tambuk as a display container. But what I thought was a simple display became of particular interest to my heroic cats who are well on their way to create the Malaysian record of the most travelled cats in Malaysia.

So here's the two admirable cats :

Einstein with his killer moustache.

Macy Grey, the story teller.