Thursday, November 11, 2010

Harmonious Kunak Part 4: Derivation Of Names for Pengkalan, Mostyn and Kunak

Until 1980s Kunak was seldom found on maps of Sabah, and marked on in its location was Mostyn
Map of North Borneo drawn W.M. Crocker
and presented to the Royal Geographical Society in London in 1881
Sir Arthur Mostyn Field (1855-1950) surveyed the area around Lahad Datu Bay (formerly Darvel Bay) in 1891. He was then commander of HMS Egeria commissioned to survey British North Borneo between 1890 to 1894. Much of inland Borneo was uncharted then, including the area of (now called) Kunak District, so it was named Mostyn after the middle name of the commander. One might wonder why not use the surname instead.

In my opinion, it was not named Field to avoid oral communication perplexities as the word 'field' stands for many aspects of an area, including meadow, pasture, grassland, area, playground and etcetera. 

Imagine the confusion when someone is to mention about the abundance of timber in a place called Field: "There are many valuable timbers in Field". The respond could be: "Which field?"
H.M.S. Egeria
In the 1950s logging activities in Mostyn were already in vigorous operation. The timbers were sent to wharfs in Darvel Bay where ships would take them to other parts of the world. 

The locals call the place where a vessel docks for quite some time as the 'pengkalan' for that vessel. So, if that vessel is HMS Dampier, they will call the place where she docks as Pengkalan Dampier. Since a number of ships took turn to load the precious timbers at that particular wharf, the local people simply referred to it as Pengkalan

The shipping services were provided by The Straits Steamship Company (SSC), a shipping company founded in Singapore on January 20, 1890.

Poster

Before the war, SCC ships were of 2,000 tonners but in 1960 the company bought two 5,000 tonner ships from a Dutch shipping company, Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM). One of the ships was Baud 3, constructed by Wilton Fijenoord in 1949. After the acquisition, SCC renamed the ship, Kunak

The Ship Kunak
The rise of another wharf in the vicinity gave the necessity to come up with partcular terms to distinguish the two wharfs. The presence of the big ship, Kunak, at the first wharf had been the talk among the local people. So, to refer to the wharf where Kunak frequently docked, they called it Pengkalan Kunak. The other wharf was named Pengkalan Madai as it was located not far from the famous (for its bird nests), Madai Cave.

After North Borneo gained independence with the formation of Malaysia on September 16, 1983, Pengkalan Kunak was put under the administration of Lahad Datu District.

In Januari 1965 a sub-district office was set up in the locality of Pengkalan Kunak. The office was named Pejabat Daerah Kecil Kunak (The Sub-District Office of Kunak) after the wharf, Pengkalan Kunak. An assistant district officer was put in charge of the office and the first was Thomas Koroh.

On Julai 1, 1981, the sub-district  was upgraded to a full district and named as Daerah Kunak (Kunak District). Salleh Bin Ajak was appointed as the first District Officer of Kunak.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Batu Sapi By-Election: What Does It Imply?


1. The National Front (BN) Still Commands Peoples Support.
  • BN's win at Batu Sapi by-election with bigger majority (6,359) as compared to the 2008 general election result (3,708) is a clear indication of Sabahan support for BN.
Distribution of Votes for Batu Sapi By-Election on Nov 4, 2010

2. Muslim Bumiputera Voters Are Not Racist
  • Muslim Bumiputeras (Suluk, Bajau, Bugis, Orang Sungei & etc) which is 59.02% of the Batu Sapi electoral role form the majority of voters in the constituency.
  • BN candidate, Datin Linda Tsen is not a Bumiputera.
  • Linda's victory over Muslim candidate is thus a proof that generally Muslim Bumiputera voters  do NOT practice racial politics.
Ethnic Composition of P185 Batu Sapi Voters



3. The Presence of BN Leaders from Outside of Batu Sapi Reinforced Voters Support.
  • Charismatic BN leaders from outside Batu Sapi constituency are the icons of some local voters. 
  • I found out, through casual conversation, with a number of Muslim Bumiputera voters that they have high esteem for Dato' Seri Hj Mohd Shafie Apdal (Semporna) and Datuk Nilwan Kabang (Kunak). They admitted of having some inclinations towards BN oppositions, yet to uphold the dignity of the leaders whom they admire and had been  assigned to carry out the campaign in their areas, they reverted to BN.

4. Speculations on Void Chinese Vote for BN is Amiss.
  • If the Batu Sapi Chinese voters had been generally anti-BN, they would have entirely turned out to vote for SAPP.
  • Their votes of 9737 along with votes from Muslim Bumiputeras who had turned out in scores to support Yong Teck Lee, that SAPP President would have defeated Linda.
  • Yong Teck Lee must have counted on that. He must have been very disappointed. 

5. Narrow Regional Political Dogmas are Not for the Sabahans.
  • Slogans such as "Sabah for Sabahans" and "Restore Sabahans Dignity" as used by some in their campaign during the Batu Sapi by-election proved to be shunned by the voters.  
  • In fact, those slogans merely reared some queries:
> Sabah for Sabahans: Has Sabah been taken away? If so, by whom? When? Where have they hidden it?
> Restore Sabahans Dignity: Have the Sabahans lost their dignity? If so, who has taken it away? The Speaker at the Parliament is a Sabahan. Isn't that a boost to Sabahans dignity? The Vice President of the biggest political party who form the Malaysian government is a Sabahan. Isn't that a clear endorsement of high seemliness for the Sabahans?
  • Peoples demand for representative candidates to be selected from among the local people is still relevant for it is not a manner of narrow regional political dogma. Rather, it shows the sensibleness of the voters who want their representatives to be those who have first-hand knowledge and experience on local issues. 
  • Compare the profiles of the Batu Sapi by-election candidates:
Profile of Barisan Nasional candidate
Name: Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin
Age: 54
Children: 4
Profession: Professional musician (piano)
Education: Chi Hwa Primary School, Sandakan, Tiong Hwa Secondary School, Sandakan St Brandon School, Clevedon, United Kingdom Trinity College of Music, London Fellowship London College of Music
Political Standing: Deputy Chief PBS Women Elopura, Vice Exco Chief PBS Women Sabah.

Profile of SAPP candidate
Name: Datuk Yong Teck Lee
Age: 52
This is the first time Yong is chosen as a candidate after a five year suspension from contesting in elections, since 2001, following his violation on the electoral regulations during the 1999 general election. 
Although the suspension was withdrawn in 2006, Yong did not stand for election in the 2008 general election when BN turned down SAPP's request to contest the Kota Kinabalu Parliamentary seat where PBS was the incumbent. 
Yong said, "Sabah for Sabahans" and "Borneonisation" will be the core theme for SAPP in this by-election.

Profile of Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidate
Name: Ansari Abdullah
Age: 56 tahun
Spouse: Alisyah Abdullah
Hometown: Tuaran, Sabah
Children: 5
Academic: Master in Law University of Malaya
PKR Membership: Since 1999
Profession: Lawyer, Ansari & Co, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Position in PKR: Sabah PKR Liaison Chairman (2007-2008) and PKR Chief of Division Tuaran (todate)

6. Lessons to Learn
  • Despite the confidence shown and publicized by all parties that took part, they all have some reservations.
  • BN entered the arena still haunted by their not-so-well performance in the 2008 general election and the loss at the 16 May Sibu by-election, SAPP was testing the water, for the first time after leaving BN, by playing their most valuable card, their very own president while the Peoples Pact (PR) PR bid a Muslim candidate hoping the majority Muslim Bumiputera voters would take to their side.
  • BN was victorious over SAPP and PR because the former has less weakness than the latter, and that does not imply that BN is without flaws.
  • The winners must not think that they have taken it all, then fail to evaluate the factors that had led them to victory.  Retrospection should be continuous for eradicating the flaws within incessantly. Pledges made, including those promised during the 2008 general election must be fulfilled.
  • The losers need to go back to their drawing boards and probe their true endeavors.

7. Voters Sensibleness Ought Not Be Underrated
  • Money can buy NOT everything.
  • Maxims and slogans are sometimes only charm the owners.
  • The people do want transformations but ones with clear objectives.
  • The people do support justice but not the narrowly-characterized ones as defined by a particular group only. The basic of justice must be broad and wholly.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Double Trouble for the Opposition



The opposition Peoples Pact (PR) lost in its bid in the two by-elections in Malaysia today, November 4, 2010.

In the contest for the state assembly seat of N45 Galas in Kelantan, the National Front (BN) candidate, Abdul Aziz Yusoff defeated PR candidate, Dr Zulkefli Mohamed by a majority of 1,190 votes. The seat was previously held by Pan Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), a member of the PR coalition.  

ORANG asli Pos Hendrop membuat semakan nama mereka untuk mengundi di Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Hendrop. - Foto Zaman Huri Isa
Orang Asli voters at Hendrop Post checking their names in the electoral roll
before voting

TIMBALAN Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin bersama calun Barisan Nasional (BN), Abdul Aziz Yusoff serta Pengarah Jentera Pilihan Raya Dun Galas, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mengangkat tangan selepas majlis pengumuman calun, di Bilik Gerakan Bukit Cekati, Gua Musang. - Foto Izhari Ariffin

In Sandakan Sabah, Linda Tsen (BN) retained the Batu Sapi Parliamentary seat. Linda who is the widow of the late Batu Sapi MP, Edmund Chong defeated Ansari Abdullah (PR) and Yong Teck Lee (President of  SAPP).

PENYOKONG parti bertanding berhimpun di luar Pusat Pembuangan Undi  Sekolah Kebangsaan GAS pada Pilihanraya Kecil Parlimen Batu Sapi. - Foto Rosdan Wahid
Voters and party supporters outside SK Gas voting center in Sandakan, Sabah.
AHLI Parlimen Batu Sapi, Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah, maut apabila motosikal berkuasa besar yang dinaikinya terbabit dalam kemalangan jalan raya di Jalan Tanjung Aru di Kota Kinabalu. - Foto Fardy Bungga
The accident at Tanjung Aru Street, Kota Kinabalu
that led to the death of  Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Harmonious Kunak Part 3: The Kadazan Community

The Kadazan Community
There are several theories and explanations about the origin of the term 'Kadazan'. Some says that the term was of recent origin as coined by politicians while others claimed that it had existed long before the arrival of the Europeans to North Borneo. To me, every group of people, have their own term to what to call themselves and that should be the term accepted by others outside that group.
Not knowing what term to call this particular ethnic group, the early British settlers simply classified them as 'Dyak' together with other indigenous people in the interior of Borneo.
The Kadazan population of Kunak is estimated at around 600 (based on a 1999 census of 445). Their ancestors were from all over Sabah and most of them reside in Kampung Kadazan, a kampong within the boundary of Sime Darby Plantations.
According to Valentine Sebastian, a local community leader, the area of Kampung Kadazan is about 4.5 acres and is situated in the area of Mostyn Estate.
The area was allocated by the British Abaca Limited (BAL) Plantations to its Kadazan employees in 1958. At that same time BAL Plantations also allocated areas to its employees of the Cocos ethnic at Batu 2 Kunak (now known as Kampung Selamat) and to miscellaneous groups at Kampung Sri Bahagia.
A postcard published in 1906-1920 showing 'Dyak' women
of North Borneo. Details at: NorthBorneoStamps

Unduk Ngadau Kampung Kadazan Pesta Kaamatan 2009
Apart from working in plantations, the first Kadazan generation of Kunak also grew vegetables for their own consumption as well as sold for extra income. In the early seventies they ventured into cocoa cultivation.  Albeit with small area to begin, it exposed the people to the intrinsic aspects of commercial plantation. Today, many Kadazan families in Kunak have their own oil palm farms and they are among the prosperous people of Kunak District.