PAM to publish book on Kudat during colonial days

KOTA KINABALU: Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) Sabah Chapter is currently in the progress of researching and publishing a book titled 'Colonial Townships in Sabah: Kudat'.

The book project was unveiled by PAM Sabah Chapter Chairman Victor Wong during a courtesy call to Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang on Oct 3 this year.

The chapter is collaborating with Sabah's own architectural author and historical researcher Richard Nelson Sokial to produce a follow-up to the book 'Colonial Townships in Sabah: West Coast' which was published in 2011.

"Kudat was chosen as the subject of our next book in the series because it has a unique history of its own. During our initial research, we found that there are many interesting facts and untold stories that should be recorded for posterity," said Wong.

Kudat was once the capital of North Borneo from 1881 to 1882 during the early colonial days of the British North Borneo Chartered Company, before its administration was relocated to Sandakan in 1883 due to several factors including lack of freshwater and the presence of a large number of pirates reportedly hiding in the Marudu Bay during that time.

Kota Kinabalu became the state capital replacing Sandakan after WWII.

Kudat located in the Northern Division of Sabah was also the entry point for the first landing of Chinese Hakka immigrants brought in by the British to open up the land of North Borneo in preparation for the railroad along the West Coast Division.

Subsequent waves of Hakka immigrants were brought into Borneo through the Basel Church missionary effort and other means of passage.

"To the poverty-stricken mainland Hakkas, the long and arduous boat ride to Borneo via Kudat was a ticket to a new life and better economic opportunities", said author Sokial.

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Jungle trekking in Borneo with Orangutans

“Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.”

Apologies to Joseph Conrad for stealing this quote from The Heart of Darkness, but a recent trip to Tandjung Puting Park in Borneo to visit the world’s largest population of orangutans felt a bit like being a character in his novel.

Tandjung Puting is home to 6,000 organgutans which are one of the planet’s three great apes (chimpanzees and gorillas are the other two). 

The park gives you an up close view of these remarkable animals.

I glimpsed a few orangutans in the wild, but mostly saw them at the park’s three feeding stations where rangers provide bananas once a day.

Tandjung Puting was first designated a national park by the Dutch in 1939, and later by the Indonesian government, but the orangutan reserve is mainly the work of a remarkable scientist named Birute Galdikas who arrived here in 1971 by dugout canoe.

She spent years following the orangutans often wading or standing in peat swamps with water up to her chest.

It was a magical experience watching these creatures emerge from jungle. 

You first would see tree branches swaying and then would catch a glimpse of red hair in the trees and finally they would slowly walk or swing over to the feeding platform.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Jungle trekking in Borneo with Orangutans

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Borneo Dream: Conquering Mount Kinabalu Part 1 [ Way Up to Laban Rata ]

It was so hard for us to resist that we had to try it for ourselves.

The reason why we found ourselves packing our bags and taking the flight to Kota Kinabalu is to climb the majestically surreal Mount Kinabalu –  4,095 meters above sea level, the home of  Guinness World Records’ world’s highest via ferrata.

We headed out to the Kinabalu Park Headquarter to get our tags, IDs that served as our climbing permit and to meet our guide, Francis.

After getting our packed lunch in Kinabalu Park HQ, we proceeded to the start of the trail at Timpohon Gate.

The climb started with a rejuvenating view of Carson’s Waterfalls after Timpohon Gate, 1,866 meters above sea level.

As the elevation increased, a refreshing forest unfolded, flowers all kinds, and the rock formations that served as our stairs welcomed us as we continued on our seemingly never-ending climb.

A guide and a porter, men in their thirties perhaps, carrying heavy loads walked past me with steady footsteps.

Then all of a sudden, a middle-aged woman with a huge backpack outpace my baby steps that crushed my glorious pride into tiny little pieces.

The porters of Mount Kinabalu are the lifeblood of this place, aside from carrying climbers’ huge backpacks, they’re also bringing almost everything to support the national park’s operational demands, especially to Laban Rata Rest House far above at 3272.7m.

They carry food, sheets, clothes, gas tanks and everything Laban Rata needed.

Trekking without any help from a porter for the sake of (honestly) to save money. If somehow the regulation had permitted us to proceed without guide, we’d have done it.

A mountain with a clear path and a shelter every 500-700 meters definitely would give you the courage to proceed without “guidance”.  Somehow for safety reason, you need one.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Borneo Dream: Conquering Mount Kinabalu Part 1 [ Way Up to Laban Rata ]

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Rafflesia - A rare sight/site

SABAHANS and Sarawakians can boast about having the largest flower in the world growing in Borneo.

However, how many of us have actually seen this flower in bloom?

I first saw and photographed a painted concrete sculptured version of Rafflesia arnoldii at Mount Kinabalu National Park Headquarters in 1994.

Subsequently I have visited Mount Kinabalu on seven occasions –  memorably in the Millennium year to climb to the summit of Low’s Peak with 26 of my senior biology and geography students.

On each occasion I had hoped to see a Rafflesia in bloom. No luck. It was not until last May, upon returning from Poring towards Kundasang, that I spotted a small sign on the road stating “Rafflesia in bloom”.

This time luck was on my side in following an off-the-road track to a Kadazan Dusun farmstead to witness my dream for an entry cost of RM20. This was the best investment ever in my life!

Rafflesia is a rare plant and although 29 species have been identified worldwide, it is the Rafflesia arnoldii that is the most sought in Sabah and Sarawak. Why was it assigned this Latin name?

We can thank the Swedish botanist Linnaeus for the Latin nomenclature of plant types and Sir Stanford Raffles, then governor of Sumatra, and his botanist companion Joseph Arnold who, in 1818, collected a specimen of the plant.

They were not the first ones to discover the Rafflesia for in 1797, French botanist Louis Deschamps had collected another species, Rafflesia patma, on his expedition to Java.

We should remember that the plant was also well known by the people living in the collection areas and throughout its range.

Rafflesia arnoldii, found at an altitude of 500 to 700 metres in lowland forests in Borneo, Sumatra and Java, is the largest Rafflesia species. It grows to around a metre in diameter and weighs up to 11kg.

It is a parasitic plant living off a type of grape vine – the Tetrastigma. Thread-like strands, similar to those of fungi, are embedded in the vine to receive nutrients and aqueous solutions from the vine’s host cells.

Amazingly this plant, unlike most, is without chlorophyll and thus cannot undertake the process of photosynthesis. It is unique amongst all plant species for it does not have leaves or roots per se, but only flowers.

Taking energy from the host vine a carbuncle grows out of the vine in a cabbage-like shaped bud. It takes about nine months to develop.

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Borneo Convention Centre defies the odds for business tourism

Sarawak’s first purpose-built conference centre proves doubters wrong to carve a niche among best in the region

WHEN the idea of building a Convention Centre here in Kuching was first mooted there was quite a bit of scepticism about its viability.

“We are not a travel hub. International attendees will have to spend extra days travelling via Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.”

“Air connectivity is going to be a challenge.”

“We don’t have professional event organisers to service the clients.”

These were some of the negative comments. However, the State Government ploughed on with the scheme and went on to engage a team of dynamic locals and internationals to manage the place and to market it as a choice convention and exhibition destination.

In less than ten years BCCK has proven to be a success and now poses as a serious competitor to the more established conference centres in the region.

The Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) is the first purpose-built convention centre on the island of Borneo. It was hoped that it would be a catalyst to spur the Conferences and Exhibitions business and to further enhance the tourism sector in Sarawak.

It sits on the Kuching Isthmus and is ringed by the Sarawak River. It is away from the hustle and bustle of the Kuching city centre, yet is only a few minutes ride by land and even river transport.

The Centre boasts of an available space of more than 3,700 square metres and is designed to offer flexible functional spaces for plenary sessions, meetings, exhibitions and banquets.

The pride is the pillarless Great Hall that can accommodate up to 5,000 delegates. Complementing this is the state-of-the-art facilities such as audio visual equipment and latest Internet technology that can cater to the demands of conference organisers.

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