PESTA RAKIT OR RAFTING FESTIVAL AT KG KUAI KANDAZON ON 27 SEPT 2015

VERY enjoyable riverside event for me, first time I saw raft tug-of-war and decorated raft in my life, and I went on one of the raft together with the District Officer of Penampang, beautiful lady Luvita Koisun.

Of course as a child I had been crossing rivers with bamboo rafts but they were just ordinary raft that can carry up to 5 passengers before they started sinking.

These decorated raft actually had plastic pipe flotation devices below them for added stability and safety and fitted with a real boat motors.

Creativity of the locals and organiser.

Organisers:  Local community leaders chaired by Jacky Lettong

Supported by NGO : CLEAR = Community Led Environmental Awareness for Rivers :  Leader Winnie Jimis
Supported by PACOS local executive Anne Lasimbang

Supported by government departments including Fisheries and Bomba and guarded by SRS or Skim Rondaan Sukarela = Voluntary Patrolling Scheme.

Here are some photos for you to copy if you like:

 Site of venue: background is downstream showing location of Monsopiad Cultural Centre

The River bank cleaned up by the local residents with fishing spot and concrete staircase jetty and a strong canopy shelters

District Officer planting a fruit tree seedlings with here bare hands

 



 One for the album after the official work was completed. Flanking the DO was at left Winnie Jimis of CLEAR and right, Anne Lasimbang of PACOS

 Children doing their artwork on save the river theme.

 Arrival of the Decorated Raft. This must be the winner judged based on stability, safety, decoration and creativity.

 Another colourful raft with rubber tyre tubes at the back

 District Officer taking a ride on one of the decorated raft

 Smaller raft used for the tug-of- war.  The river flow was slow so there was not much drift downstream when the paddling was done. Sadly the water quality of river is rather shameful

 Tug of war in action,  paddle paddle come guys put more muscles into it.

 The only two competitor from Australia. They were part of PACOS team studying the effects of earthquakes to the community around Kinabalu.

Lastly the District Officer check out the commercial rubbished being dumped at the bank of the river.

PUBLIC FORUM ON KAIDUAN DAM HELD AT LIKAS SQUARE ON 16 SEPTEMBER 2015

Third Floor, Peregrine Room, 8:30 am to 12:30 am.

KOTA KINABALU. The organising chairperson of a public forum on Kaiduan Dam, Mary Giun from Kg. Terian had one blunt answer to an accusation her group is manipulated by outsiders. “We are not stupid !”. She was told that the Water Department had shown videos of her speaking fluently about the loss of bio-diversity, tourism potentials and their source of living amongst others to the District Officer, during a visit to their villages a few months earlier.

 

On 6th August 2015, the Water Department held a public briefing on a group chosen by Whatsapp at 2:30pm at their office Gaya Park Jln Penampang Kota Kinabalu, and showed the video as part of the briefing.

 

One Water Dept officer said she must have been coached by some NGO to oppose the dam project. It was the same government albeit through different departments that had trained us to take care of our rivers, she said citing an example in the news when the District Officer of Penampang released fish fries at a river at Kg Putaton, opposite Moyog. As a former member of JKKK, we were told of the importance of bio-diversity, she said.

 

After all these efforts now they are telling us our river and villages are going to be flooded, she added.

 

Giun was clearly unhappy that despite their repeated contacts of invitation, no one from the Water Department turned up to present the second paper on the proposed dam during the forum held at Likas Square, on Wednesday. Even if they are busy preparing for the Malaysia Day event in the afternoon, only one representative amongst their many officers would suffice, she added.

They have missed another opportunity to listen to the villagers themselves, she said. Two special chairs were also prepared for the Director of the department and Huguan Siou as Minister of Infrastructure remained unused.

 

Three speakers who presented their papers were Dr Felix Tongkul on water catchment and source of water for Kota Kinabalu, Nousi Joseph chairman of NGO TAKaD and Gabriel Wynn speaking on alternative water supply.

 

Several questions from the floor were left unanswered but the organisers promised to record them and forwarded to the water department.

 

A lady from an affected village in Papar said the villagers had built a “tugu” or monument for Huguan Siou Pairin Kitingan when he won and wish to ask why he now wants to flood them including his tugu.

 

A resident from Pitas asked why the government cannot solve the lack of water supply at his district while there is plenty of water in Kota Kinabalu. He requested that some of the 2.8 billion intended for the dam instead be spent in other part of the state with poor water supply.

 

The conclusion of the forum saw Jannie Lasimbang, former Suhakam member proposing a six point memorandum to be submitted to the Chief Minister and also the Minister of Infrastructure, amongst which another study be made in order to cancel the dam project and to utilised an internationally accepted concept called “Prior informed consent” with all affected parties before big projects are implemented. The proposed memorandum was passed without any objection.

 

MP for Penampang Darell Leiking and Moyog Assemblyman Terence Siambun also attended the forum  without speaking to hear the voice of the 700 participants.

 

After the event, a majority of those present conducted a ten minutes flash mob protest near the main road and then dispersed without any untoward incidents.

 

Dr Felix with Mary Giun

 Flash Mob picture one

Flash mob picture 2

 

700 people attended

 



 

Jannie Lasimbang and Mary

 



 

Left side, empty chair supposed to be filled by Water Department Representative

 

 

Member of Public from Papar asking why the Huguan Siou wants to flood their village after helping him win.