On Trees Alongside Brooke Drive, Sibu

Philip Hii of The star wrote an excellent article in the paper's Borneo Beats column.

It is all about road safety issue.

When safety comes first throughout the world, are we practising it in Sibu?

It is indeed a food for thought!

The Crying Sibu

Half of Sibu is in water again!

And it makes the call for an effective flood mitigation project more urgent!

Sibu needs not only listening ears, but also action politicians with commitment!

The above pictures were taken from the rooftop of Premier Hotel. Meng Lei and Liong were caught in action!

Sibu In Water-From The Rooftop of Premier Hotel

Scorching Sibu!

A hazy Jalan Lanang. I snapped it from the roof top of Premier Hotel.

The haze condition at Jalan Ulu Sg. Merah early in the morning.

The air in Sibu has been filled with stinking smell of open-air burning. Coupled with the drought hit, the temperature here has shot up sky-high, making Sibu scorching hot. This has been going on for days and according to DCM Tan Sri Dr. George Chan, the spell of intense heat is likely to drag on for two more months.

See Hua Daily News reported that the API (Air Pollutant Index) reached 166 in Sibu yesterday. This was far above unhealthy level.

The tar smell of the air has been irritating and alarming. Our state of air condition calls for deep concern about our environmental protection.

The school compound of SMK Sg. Merah was bad too.

Sibu In Water - Rajang River Grumbles!

This newspaper clipping tells the readers that Rajang River is grumbling now like an old granny!

I agree with the author. The silted up Rajang River and its muddy water tell us that this beautiful river is pretty sick now. When it overflows, it is grumbling to Sibuians about how pathetic it is now.

It is time for us to take good care of our mighty Rajang River!

(Source: Sin Chew Daily dated Feb. 7, 2009)

Sibu In Water - Miles-long Traffic Jam

Jalan Pedada is again flooded to knee-high!

The traffic cop on standby to direct the traffic flow!

A section of the miles-long traffic!

Jalan Kg. Nyabor - This area needs an urgent follow-up action to fill up.

The floods are back and they are anticipated to get worse!

Whenever flood hits Sibu, the traffic on Brooke Drive, Jalan Wong King Hoe, Jalan Kg. Nyabor and Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg gets clogged up badly, making driving a frustrating task there.

The recurrent miles-long jam is chiefly caused by severe sectional flooding at Jalan Pedada, Jalan Lanang and Jalan Wong king Hoe where low-lying parts are very flood-prone. As such, when flood swamps, the traffic there has to be diverted onto Brooke Drive and Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg.

This woe has been with us for donkey's years and much lip service has been offered, but so far little has been done.

All that we have to do is to level off the affected main roads first before we talk about the ambitious flood mitigation projects. As a first step, this would at least ease off the flood-related jams.

Sibu In Water - Street Protests

The water level is again on the rise in Sibu. For years, Sibuians have been haunted by the fear of high flood. Down it goes and high it comes, the flood has kept the folks in suspense.

I was driving my family to Kingwood Hotel , picking up Allen and Pauline after their tuition class and school, for a CNY dinner function. On the way, it was pretty frightening to see the rising flood, making us feel worrisome about the worsening condition. Praise Lord that we eventually made it and came back safe. The above is now a typical scenario in Sibu.

According to Meteorological Services Department, the floods might swamp Sibu on the following three days, coming side by side with king tide.

Facing all the hardship, Sibuians can only protest in silence now.

The photos show Hii Tiong Huat taking the burning issue to the streets. The news was blacked out in Sibu.

Sibu In Water - A Horrific Experience!

What an experience to drive through deep water!

The evening of Jan. 30 was a horrific experience for me and Yian. On the way to Kingwood Hotel to attend a wedding dinner reception, we were at ease to note that the water level was tolerant. But little did we realise that within the two hours of the dinner, the flood surged up high enough to paralyse most of the main roads.

We got clogged up at Jalan Lanang where water was seen flowing in. Stuck in the middle of a chaotic traffic, we practically moved at a snail's pace, inch by inch, taking exactly one hour to reach home which at normal time would be just a ten-minute drive.

When splashing through the flood water, anxiety ran over us, worrying that our vehicle might get paralysed anytime in the water. At times, our hearts almost missed a beat. Yian prayed hard to God, asking for a safe journey back. After numerous short cuts through safety zone, we reached home safe.

The photo shows a photographer taking a moment off during the frustrating flooding time.

Sibu In Water - From The Rooftop of Premier Hotel

Jalan Kampung Nyabor - This is one of the harder it areas. The building with blue roof at the far end is the new Police Station.

The gloomy sky is depressing Sibuians' hearts. The yellowish Rajang River seems to be sobbing together with the suffering folks.

Jalan Central.

Jalan Central - The Bomba Station srands tall in the water.

Almost the whole of Jalan Pedada is flooded to knee-high.

Foochow Lane - The building looks so pathetic in the water.

Jalan Tiong Hua.

The entire Foochow Lane is submerged in water.

In all honesty, flood is a natural phenomenon. Although climatic conditions and atmospheric changes contribute to it, human factors like environment-unfriendly developments and administrative laxity aggravate the havoc.

Flooding is certainly not new in Sibu, but it is obviously worsening and becoming a lot more frequent. In short, flood hits are much more perennial in Sibu now.

Decades-long environmentally destructive activities going on upstream and the climatic changes are chiefly the causes of it. As a result, Rajang River is badly silted up, making the river a lot shallower now. Consequently, Rajang River overflows much more easily, making Sibu a flood-prone town. Combined with the poor drainage system, flooding has long become a nightmare here.

Dredging was proposed last year to mitigate the perennial flooding, but it was refuted outright, saying damming is the only workable solution. Dredging has since been labelled a "taboo", not to be openly commented in the local press.

The local folks are certainly not expert in flood treatment. But common sense and logical thinking tell them that if Rajang River is left undredged, then in just 5-10 years from now, the proposed dam would be insufficient to hold back the much greater overflows from the river as a result of the continuous build-up of silt.

Greater intelligence needs to be exercised in working out a flood mitigation plan for the best interersts of Sibuians. For all the power vested in the politicians, they owe the folks here an honourable duty to do it right.

I went up to the rooftop of Premier Hotel to photoshoot the flooding scenes of Sibu with Meng Lei (http://www.mengleiwong.blogspot.com/ ) this morning. We spent a good time up to forty minutes to snap all the surrounding scenes. Truly, seeing the horrendous flooding conditions, we sighed as we clicked along.

Jalan Lanang - The conditions are bad, too.

Sibu In Water - Deeply Frustrating!

The rising water level these few days eventually takes a heavy toll on Sibu - the town is flooded badly again. Sibuians are generally daunted and their sentiment is dented.

Over and over, Sibuians have cried out loud to the authorities to take up this burning issue with a caring heart for the folks here. Seeing that a workable solution is still lying somewhere, Sibuians' frustration is now at a bursting stage.

The latest 137-million flood mitigation project to spread over a period of three years has been booed by the market generally. They may have overreacted, but that precisely shows the prevailing level of low confidence in Sibu now.

To the decision -makers : Roll up your trouser legs, wade in knee-high flood and cry together with the suffering Sibuians to understand the sentiment!

Sibu - Multipronged Flood Mitigation Projects After Lunar New Year

The persistent rain keeps Sibuians nightmarish! It is nerve-racking nowadays to wake up in the middle of a night to find rain pouring down, worrying the water level might be already on the rise.

I am more fortunate to be in an area which is much less flood-prone. But I feel for those who are in the low-lying black-listed zones. Are they going to stay awake at night to keep watch of rising water level?

According to the news today, some multipronged flood mitigation projects would be planned out after the Lunar New Year. This is more or less warming up an old dish and as such, it is not expected to stir up any bout of excitement. Anyway, it has been a long wait and we sincerely hope something concrete would be forthcoming this time.

The ambitious PR has added a new dimension to the local politics, making it a lot more interesting. Let's stay tuned in to it!

The above picture is by courtesy of Steve Ling.

Sibu - Obnoxious Floods, Eerie Silence

The public outcry over the flood attacks this time seems to have been silenced!

Our media had done a commendable job in reporting the flood conditions during the hit period. The journalists took themselves to the deep-flooded areas to cover the front-line news. Some bloggers also ventured there to give their readers a firsthand coverage, notable among them were Philip Hii , Wong Meng Lei and Steve Ling.

But the media has been on unusually low profile on public voice. The silence is pretty eerie and it is worrying. Other than YB Wong Ho Leng with his trouser legs rolled up in the knee-deep flood calling on the authority to check on the deficiency of our drainage system, the media had generally kept mum on public feelings. I hope I have been mistaken.

Has the media's tongue been sealed on this havoc? The blowing wind in Sibu carries fishy smell and it makes Sibuians nauseous!

The picture shows the hardest hit zone - Jalan Ulu Sg. Merah. (Photo: Philip Hii)

Sibu Hard Hit By Floods

At Jalan Ling Kai Cheng, the flood was still at knee-high despite refilling up to two feet two years back. The area was one time listed black by the authorities. (Photo: Wong Meng Lei)

Jalan Ulu Sg. Merah was the hardest hit area this time. SMK Sg. Merah had to be closed since the place practically became inaccessible. (Photo: Wong Meng Lei)

This sampan owner was community-minded - he transferred the stranded flood victims for some meagre return selflessly in the stressful conditions of the floods. (Photo: Steve Ling)

A scene showing maternal care and love. (Photo: Steve Ling)

It was a non-stop torrential rain for 50 hours and this natural phenomenon swept back with extra might to bring Sibu in floods once again. The nature had been kind enough this time to spare the upper Rajang of a downpour. Otherwise, with the king tide coming up concurrently, the havoc would be quite beyond our imagination.

The floods were another wake-up call to take workable flood mitigation measure to relieve Sibu of such distress.

Let's stay tuned in to the gigantic project promised over and over by the authority.

The picture shows a vehicle splashing through deep-flooded area at Jalan Ulu Sg. Merah. (Photo: Steve Ling )

Care For Environment - SMC's Love Earth Day

Dorcas Service Centre - Donate reusable items to help finance their social work. Guidelines For Making Household Compost & Garbage Enzyme.

Compost - It was such a fun to join in the lucky draw!

Sibu Municipal Council in its relentless efforts to promote a clean and healthy environment in Sibu came out with this care-for-environment project - love Earth Day.

This environment conciousness drive by SMC struck me when I first learned about it - Gee, SMC is getting down-to-earth and green! This is a positive move for Sibu.

Love Earth Day may be just a small step but nontheless it is timely towards upgrading Sibu in environmental awareness. On this note, SMC deserves a pat on the back.

Love Earth Day was extensively publicised to achieve maximum impact. Besides all the press releases, it also handed out book-marks to arouse the interest of the public.

At Hing Hua Memorial Park on Dec. 27, SMC managed to garner a wide private participation in this meaningful project. Included in the particupants' list were Sibu Kidney Foundation, Dorcas Service Centre, Methodust Church etc.

Right from the start, I made it a point to give Love Earth Day my humble support. Yian gathered a total of four bags of reusable clothes for donation.

I popped in with the donation items and felt delighted to have done my part. In return, I was given a lucky draw coupon as a token of appreciation.

At the redemption centre, I drew lot and won a packet of compost for my home-gardening. It was really quite a fun!

SMC, keep it up!

Creating A Healthy Environment In Sibu

Sibu Municipal Council has put in commendable efforts to make Sibu a clean town and there are considerably encouraging results. All Sibuians bear witness to this effect.

SMC put Sibuians to another challenge by spurring on them to love our environment.

Lee Yan Sen, a Health Officer of SMC, untiringly promoted their latest care-for-environment project when I bumped into him two days ago. His eloquent talking moved me greatly, convincing me that it is indeed a worthwhile and noble project.

Perhaps this sort of goody ought to be shared with more people! To this effect, Lee started another blog to give a wider publicity to the SMC's environment-friendly undertakings. You may visit his blog at (www.shcp1.blogspot.com ).

Lee is also a renowned poet in Sibu, popularly known as Poet of Rajang Basin! If you are a fanatic of poems, you may give yourself a try at (www.leyasen.blogspot.com ).

A big thumb up to SMC and Lee!