SIPITANG COMMUNITY PORTAL

http://www.sipitang.net/







Sipitang Community Portal






Sipitang Community Portal (SCP) was developed by a group of ambitious young tech savvy from Sipitang to fulfil their passion for internet technology and web-hosting. SCP was developed in May, 2006 and opened for public access in early 2007. It came with a humble beginning as Sipitang channels utilising IRC server confined only amongst close friends and only later they decided to open for public access.

SCP is managed by a group of tech savvy, ambitious young people known by their nicks as follows: -

1. DragonEyes – Main Admin
2. Lammeith - Admin
3. Nie HN or nie99hani - Admin
4. vamxxx - Admin
5. TheKiller - Admin (shared account with Main Admin)

When asked what are their objectives in developing Sipitang Community Portal? “Sharing of information, news, tutorials, tips and activities with users who have access to the internet facility particularly the locals and Sipitang people now residing outside the district.” DragonEyes elaborates.

“As anticipated, the response is a little bit slow due to the fact that the internet users in the district are still low. Nevertheless as of now SCP has 27 verified members inclusive of Admin and Moderators.” He added.

DragonEyes is optimistic that SCP will invite more traffic from the surrounding areas particularly Lawas, Labuan, Beaufort, Limbang and the neighbouring country Negara Brunei Darussalam. Family ties between the neighbouring Sarawak state and Negara Brunei Darussalam is the main factor that will generate more traffic to Sipitang Community Portal.

Guests and visitors from Sarawak and Negara Brunei Darussalam in particular and other Malaysian who may have past personal connection with Sipiting are most welcome to join SCP. For those who were hailed from Sipitang and currently residing somewhere else, please lend your support to the portal by registering as members and make the portal as our cyber meeting place to say hello and exchange of ideas.

Please click here to access and register yourself as member @Sipitang Community Portal.

KEEPING KEDAYAN HERITAGE ALIVE

Assalamualaikum wbt and Good Day,

Dear readers,

Tech&U Channel (page 17)of New Straits Times Newspaper today's edition is featuring an article entitled "KEEPING KEDAYAN HERITAGE ALIVE". The article is written by Rozana Sani of Tech&U editorial. If you would like to read the article and know more about "Keeping Kedayan Heritage Alive" kindly purchase a copy of NST newspaper (today's edition}.

The full article will be published in this blogsites tomorrow. Thank you for your support. - Blog Administrator

Update : The above article is published in Fast Forward. To read the Texh&U version please click here.

IN LOVING MEMORY by Alter Bridge

The lyrics

In Loving Memory
by Alter Bridge

Thanks for all you've done
I've missed you for so long
I can't believe you're gone
You still live in me
I feel you in the wind
You guide me constantly

I've never knew what it was to be alone, no
Cause you were always there for me
You were always there waiting
And ill come home and I miss your face so
Smiling down on me
I close my eyes to see

And I know, you're a part of me
And it's your song that sets me free
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on
I sing tonight cause it comforts me

I carry the things that remind me of you
In loving memory of
The one that was so true
Your were as kind as you could be
And even though you're gone
You still mean the world to me

I've never knew what it was to be alone, no
Cause you were always there for me
You were always there waiting
But now I come home and it's not the same, no
It feels empty and alone
I can't believe you're gone

And I know, you're a part of me
And it's your song that sets me free
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on
I sing tonight cause it comforts me

I'm glad he set you free from sorrow
I'll still love you more tomorrow
And you will be here with me still

And what you did you did with feeling
And You always found the meaning
And you always will
And you always will
And you always will

Ooo's

And I know, you're a part of me
And it's your song that sets me free
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on
I sing tonight cause it comforts me

IMAGES OF MESAPOL TOWN

In Loving Memory of Mesapol Town that lost all its two rows of shops by fire on Monday, March 10, 2008 @ 16:00 Hrs. These are the few images of Mesapol shops in my collection that I can share with the readers, particularly those who are hailed from this little town of Mesapol. Lost and Gone Forever...In memory still green. Its passing will be remembered by many and I for one will be missing “Kadai Masapol” so dearly and my next homecoming visit to Mesapol will never be the same again.

E-MAIL YANG DITERIMA BERKAITAN KEBAKARAN KEDAI MESAPOL

Saya mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada para pembaca yang perihatin dan telah menghantar e-mail kepada Blog Administrator berkaitan perkara di atas. Kepada pembaca-pembaca yang berasal dari Kg Mesapol khasnya dan dari Daerah Sipitang amnya sudah pasti mempunyai kenangan-kenangan manis dan pahit berkaitan Kedai Mesapol. Jika anda sudi, hantarkanlah komen-komen anda ke blog ini dan Insya Allah saya akan paparkannya. Terima kasih. - Blog Administrator

E-mail pertama saya terima dari seorang pembaca dari Kota Kinabalu seperti berikut: -

Assalamualaikum Ngah,

Apa habaa? Semoga semuanya dalam lindungan Allah. Kami semua alhamdulillah, Caita sikit pasal kadai Masapol yang sudah angus , takajut jua taima sms daie kg ,taus ku talipon tangah di kampung, ujanya Masapol sdg hangus kedua bais kadai, ia pun sadang angkat barang barangnya kepadang tapi alhamdulillah kedainnya enda kena.

Terakhir ku menjejak batis di kadai Mesapol semasa mengundi 08 Mac 2008 , semuha aku keliling tahulah musim mengundi macam macam jualan dan berjumpa dengan sanak saudara rupa nya itu lah kali terakhir bersama KADAI MASAPOL yg telah banyak mencatat Pelbagai Kenangan yang tidak akan pernah di LUPAI.

Sebenarnya sejak setahun lebih kami sering mulih kampong lawat bapa yang kena sakit Angin Akhmar dalam sebulan tidak kurang 2 atau 3 kali kami balik bersama anak sulung sebagai pemandu tetap bila balik kg.

Kadai Masapol tatap seperti dulu Cuma bezanya bila malam tiba KADAI MASAPOL TEMPAT BERPESTANYA anak anak remaja yang MORAL NYA JATUH MERUNDUM Meneguk Minuman Haram beramai ramai dan entah apa apa lagi yang amat menyedihkan kan ianya adalah anak Remaja Bangsa Kita.

Sampaikan juga Salam kepada YB yang baru Kami Pilih jika ingin membangunkan semula KADAI MASAPOL jangan lupa tolong bangunkan Akhlak Remaja Kita yang telah mula jatuh Merundum semoga akan menjadi Bangsa yang Gemilang dan Terbilang.

Terima Kasih

A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO MESAPOL SHOPS

Update : New images obtained of Mesapol shophouses destroyed by fire.
Friday, April 11, 2008











Picture: The public looking at the raging fire that is destroying two rows of shops built during the colonial time in Mesapol







This article is dedicated to Mesapol shops which were destroyed by the raging fire at approximately 16:00 Hrs on Monday, 10th March, 2008. The fire completely turned the two rows of wooden shop houses into rubbles and marked the end of the long, dedicated and faithful services of the shops to the Kadayan community within the vicinity. Sayonara. - Blog Administrator

Walking down the memory lane way back in the 1950s, Mesapol town was made up of two rows of wooden shop houses, a telephone exchange, electricity generator, mosque, cinema, wet market, two primary schools (GPS Mesapol and Chung Hwa School), police station, two units of teachers’ quarters and a mini rice mill owned by Si Ukau.

Mesapol Town or commonly known as “Kadai Masapol” by the village folks was established to replace the original township called “Kadai Lama” or commonly known by the village folks as “Masapol Lama” which was situated a few kilometres away from the new township. Masapol Lama was situated on the river bank of Lakutan River, a flood prone area and that was the main reason why it was shifted to a new location. The wooden shop houses of Mesapol Town were built during the colonial time in the early 1950s. The two rows of shops were a few years older than me and in the early years of its operation, the shop houses were owned and managed by the local Chinese shopkeepers selling mostly daily provisions, groceries and coffee shops. A few shopkeepers also purchased raw rubber-sheets from the village folks.

The earlier Chinese shopkeepers were best known by their nicknames given by the Kadayan village folks. The Kadayan village folks never used the real names of the shopkeepers when in communication with them. Most of the local Chinese in Mesapol Town speak fluent Kadayan dialect. It was difficult to recognise between the Kadayan people and the local Chinese when they conversed in Kadayan dialect without seeing them. I could still remember very well that a local Chinese by the name of Si Kula (nickname) spoke Kadayan dialect so well and to add to that uniqueness, all his children were Kadayanised as well. In fact one of his sons was the only known Chinese to have been admitted by ITM to study in the institution in the early 1970s. Another local Chinese who was so fluent in Kadayan dialect was Si Suah. As far as I can recall, he never speak his mother tongue even with his fellow Chinese.

The nicknames of the earlier shopkeepers in Kedai Mesapol that linger freshly in my memory were Si Batutu, Si Guan, Ukau (Billiard Shop), Unjuh, Manyung (Kedai Gunting), Si Puting, Suah, Apat (Kedai Kopi), Achoi (Kedai Kopi), Mungkon, Si Chan, Si Mangkai, Si Huntut, Si Aping (photography) and a few others. Most of the earlier shopkeepers had passed away and their businesses were passed down to their children.

There were at least two Kadayan “entrepreneurs” who dare to compete with the local Chinese shopkeepers at Kedai Mesapol in the 1950s and 1960s. Both of them were operating “Kedai Makan” serving breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. The most popular delicacies available at both eateries were soto and rojak / gado-gado. Satay was available only on Friday. For those readers who were hailed from Mesapol would be able to remember the two Kadayan entrepreneurs namely Yusop “Soto” and Tangah Mail. Tangah Mail and his family soon after that migrated to Labuan. The one and only satay vendor in this little town of Mesapol was the late Hj Yusop “Satay”, an occasional satay vendor who sold satay only on Fridays.








Jaluut (pic)







Friday was a special day for this little town. The village folks from the surrounding villages (Malalia, Naluyan, Lubuk Daat, Kg. lalang, Sungai Tiga, Katipooh, Kalamauh, Babangkung, Kg. Baambai, Pilakat, Sipitang Daat, Kadai Lama etc.) would come to this little town to buy provisions and selling their produce (fruits, vegetables, etc}. Friday was the busiest day of the week where coffee shops and eating places were heavily patronised by the village folks. The little wet market was bustling with activities not only by the noisy fish mongers and their customers but also by the presence of a few Brunei middle-aged women from Sipitang selling traditional cakes and biscuits. The traditional cakes such as “jaluut, pinyaam, binka, seri muka / kuih talam, kuih sapit, baulu, lamban” and occasionally “pais tamban” were sold for merely 5 to 10 cents each. There were no facilities such as table available for the vendors to place their cakes on, so they brought with them their own self-made mini wooden rectangular boxes to serve the purpose. The cakes, biscuits and other things were spread on top of the boxes and the sellers just sit down behind the boxes on a bare cement floor of the wet market.

My late mother used to take me along with her to buy traditional cakes from the Brunei vendors. Her favourite vendor was a lady by the name of Ninik Miah and my favourite cake was and still is “kuih jaluut”. Ninik Miah was a very kind and loving person. She used to give extra cakes whenever my late mother bought something from her. My late mother used to tell me that she knew Ninik Miah for quite sometime way back in her younger days in Sipitang. In her younger days, my mother was somehow closely associated with Brunei families in Sipitang. Her closed Brunei friend was married to a well known Pengiran family in Sipitang. The Pengiran family played a very important role in my life story which will be told and made available at Fast Forward (http://darahkedayan.blogspot.com/) in not a distant future.

As the call for Friday prayer (azan) was heard from the nearest mosque, the men would go to the mosque to perform their Friday prayer and the women would stay back to look after their produce or just mingling around at the five-foot walkways or sitting at the wooden benches provided by the shopkeepers in front of their shops.

Talking about Mesapol town in the 1950s and 1960s, ones could not afford to disregard an iconic water buffalo passing to and fro a lonely Mesapol street daily, pulling a cart filled with smoked rubber sheets. The water buffalo was owned by Si Ukau to transport smoked rubber sheets from the rubber smoking house to a storage place. The person who looked after the water buffalo, operating the cart and loading and unloading of the smoked rubber sheets was none other than Si Kula. The most distinctive feature of Si Kula was he never wore a shirt, not even a singlet and that made his skin dark / tan contrary to the normal Chinese skin colour which is fair.

“Kadai Masapol” meant so much to me; I grew up together with the town, lots of my childhood day’s memories happened in this little town. I attended my primary education here and it was the one and only town known to me during my childhood days. When I received the news that the two rows of “Kadai Masapol” were turned into rubble caused by the raging fire, I just refused to believe the SMS I received from my family members in Mesapol informing me about the sad incident; nevertheless I have to accept the fact that “Kadai Masapol” had vanished forever leaving behind sweet and bitter memories that lasted forever. The faithful and relentless services provided by “Kadai Masapol” to the Kadayan community residing within the vicinity came to an abrupt end. Its passing will be remembered by many and I for one will be missing “Kadai Masapol” so dearly and my next homecoming visit to Mesapol will never be the same again.

Depicted below is a media report about the most unfortunate incident in the history of Mesapol Town.

QUOTE – “MESAPOL: Two rows of shops built in the early 1950s here went up in smoke around 4pm yesterday.

The raging fire, which is believed to have started on the rooftop of one of the shops, also destroyed two vehicles.

With the two rows of the shops, comprising nine units and 14 units respectively gone, there is no other business structure in this town except for one shop which was set up at a former cinema building and one at the market area.

Fire and Rescue Services Department operation chief from Sipitang, Basni Samingan, said a distress call was received at 4.20pm and his men arrived at teh scene 10 minutes later.

Three fire engines, including one from Beaufort, along with 13 men controlled the fire within half an hour. The firemen ware still putting out the fire as of 7om yesterday.

"We are still investigating the total losses and cause of the fire," said Basni, adding no casualties were reported.

He added that the fire was put under control before it could destroy two houses. a hall and market, which are located close to the two rows of shops.

Meanwhile, Sipitang Member of Parliament Datuk Sapawi Ahmad, when met at the scene, said assistance would be given to the fire victims.

Initial census showed that at least 16 families lived in the destroyed shops.

"We will channel assistance to the victims as soon as possible. For now, most of them are putting up with relatives and if the need arises, we will provide them with temporary shelter at Mesapol Mini Hall." he said.

Sipitang District Officer Abdul Wahab Abdul Hamid said the District Natural Disaster Committee would help the fire victims and send report to the State Natural Disaster Committee.

He added most of the victims were businessmen and local here.” - UNQUOTE

Source: The Borneo Post (Wednesday, March 12 2008)

VIRUS ATTACKS

Kindly be informed that our firewall had detected a few attempts by the unscrupulous visitors of this blogsite by posting comments attached with virus files. Alhamdulillah, our firewall is strong enough to prevent such attacks. The blog administrator will take every necessary precautions to make this blogsite safe to visit. Thank you for your support. - Blog Administrator

KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA - P178 DAN N28

Berikut adalah keputusan penuh pilihan raya bagi Kawasan Parlimen P178 dan Kawasan Dewan Undangan Negeri N28.

Kawasan Parlimen P178 - Sipitang

Datuk Sapawi bin Hj Ahmad (BN)- 11,905
Encik Karim Tassim (PKR) - 5,759
Undi rosak - 531
Majoriti - 6,146

Kawasan DUN N28 - Sindumin

Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang (BN) - 5,634
Tuan Hj Ramlee bin Dua (PKR) - 3,730
Undi rosak - 185
Majoriti - 1,904

Saya ingin mengucapkan tahniah kepada kedua-dua calon BN yang telah memenangi kerusi P178 dan N28. Tahniah dan Selamat Berbakti kepada rakyat di kawasan masing-masing dengan jujur, ikhlas dan bersih dari segala unsur rasuah dan penipuan. Jangan kecewakan hasrat dan aspirasi rakyat yang telah menjulang anda kepuncak kejayaan. Tahniah.

08.03.2008 - HARI MENGUNDI

Note : The Flash Effect may slowdown your pc a little bit. To reduce its effect on the other pages you're surfing, please open this blog in New Window. Sorry for the inconvenience. - Blog Administrator
















Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad - Calon BN P178 Sipitang












Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang - Calon BN N28 Sindumin

LAWATAN KETUA MENTERI KE KAWASAN P178

New Sabah Times
5th March, 2008














SOKONGAN PADU...Musa diiringi oleh Sapawi bersalaman dengan ribuan penduduk setempat yang menghadiri majlis itu.





Rakyat bukan bodoh percaya fitnah pembangkang: Sapawi

SIPITANG: Rakyat negeri ini bukan bodoh dan mudah diperdaya bagi mempercayai segala fitnah atau dakyah yang dicanang oleh parti pembangkang.

Calon Barisan Nasional (BN) Sipitang Datuk Sapawi Ahmad berkata rakyat negeri ini termasuklah di Sipitang telah memperlihatkan kebijaksanaan dengan mengekalkan BN untuk terus menerajui kerajaan.

“Saya yakin pada kali ini, rakyat akan terus mempergunakan kebijaksanaan itu untuk menge-kalkan BN sebagai peneraju kerajaan,” katanya pada majlis perasmian Dewan Budaya Persatuan Kebudayaan Lundayeh Sabah di sini kelmarin.

Perasmian itu disempurnakan oleh Ketua Menteri Datuk Musa Haji Aman yang juga pen-gerusi BN Sabah.

Sapawi berkata rakyat tahu untuk menilai dan pastinya tidak akan membuat keputusan yang mampu menjejaskan masa depan generasi akan datang.
Katanya, pembangkang hanya tahu bercakap kosong sedangkan kemampuan mereka berada pada tahap begitu meragukan.

“Keadaan ini berbeza dengan BN kerana se-gala janji tetap dikotakan dan perjuangan BN juga akan mengutamakan kepentingan rakyat,” katanya.

Beliau yang juga Pengerusi BN Sipitang memberitahu perancangan dalam Pembangunan Koridor Sabah (SDC) tetap tidak melupakan rak-yat Sipitang.

Calon Barisan Nasional (BN) Parlimen Sipitang itu berkata rakyat Sipitang seperti rakyat negeri ini yang lain akan turut menikmati hasil daripada SDC.

Katanya, pembinaan akademik maritim dan gas petroleum berupaya membantu mempertingkatkan pembangunan ekonomi rakyat setempat.

“Pelaksanaan SDC tetap tidak meminggirkan rakyat Sipitang…kita akan dapat menikmati peningkatan ekonomi hasil daripada SDC,” katanya.

Sapawi berkata langkah kerajaan memperkenalkan SDC adalah untuk mempertingkatkan ta- raf hidup rakyat dengan memfokuskan kepada pembangunan ekonomi setempat.
Katanya, nikmat daripada SDC itu pula akan dirasai oleh rakyat daripada pelbagai suku kaum dan menyeluruh.

Menurutnya apa yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan adalah bukti jelas mengenai kesungguhan BN dalam memperjuangkan nasib rakyat.

“BN mengemukakan janji dan mengotakannya. Apa yang dilakukan adalah untuk rakyat dan dapat dinikmati oleh rakyat secara menyeluruh tanpa adanya yang akan tersisih,” katanya dan menambah BN bukan seperti parti pembangkang yang menabur janji kosong.

Beliau memberitahu rakyat sendiri dapat menilai kemampuan dan keupayaan parti pembangkang yang tidak akan mampu menandingi apa yang dilakukan oleh BN.
Katanya, BN bukanlah parti yang sukan untuk berjanji kosong tetapi parti yang perjuangannya meletakkan rakyat paling utama.

“BN bukan parti yang meletakkan perjuangan untuk kepentingan pemimpin atau diri sendiri, te-tapi perjuangan untuk kepentingan rakyat adalah paling utama,” katanya.
Sambil melahirkan keyakinan rakyat akan terus memilih BN, Sapawi berkata usaha untuk membangun dan memajukan Sipitang akan terus dilaksanakan.

Katanya, tumpuan kepada pembangunan dan kemajuan itu diyakini berupaya memperting-katkan taraf hidup rakyat dengan meningkatkannya sumber pendapatan menerusi peluang-peluang yang disediakan.

“Kita akan bersama-sama untuk membangunkan Sipitang dan teruslah berikan mandat kepada BN untuk menerajui kerajaan,” katanya.

PROFIL TUAN HJ AHMAD BIN HJ BUJANG

CALON BARISAN NASIONAL KAWASAN N28 – DUN SINDUMIN










PENGHARGAAN - Saya ingin mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada Sdri Jieyhan Irdawaty (http://jieyhanism.blogspot.com/)yang banyak membantu saya di dalam menulis artikal ini. Terima kasih. - Blog Administrator




Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang (tengah, mendukung cucu beliau) semasa hari penamaan calon




Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang, 56 tahun adalah anak jati Sipitang. Berkelulusan Diploma Pertanian (1976) dari UPM (Universiti Pertanian Malaysia) dan Ijazah Sarjana Muda Sains Pertanian (1981) dari University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB).

Kerjaya beliau sebagai seorang Pegawai Kerajaan bermula pada tahun 1976 di Pusat Penyelidikan Kelapa Sawit Ulu Dusun, Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Sabah sebagai Penolong Pegawai Penyelidik. Diantara sumbangan beliau di Pusat Penyelidikan
berkenaan ialah memulakan Pusat Pengeluaran Biji Benih Kelapa Sawit yang pertama di Sabah untuk penjualan.

Pada tahun 1979 beliau tealh melanjutkan pelajaran ke University of the Philippines at Los Banos atas Biasiswa Persekutuan/ Negeri Sabah di bidang Sains Pertanian. Sekembalinya beliau dari luar Negara iaitu pada tahun 1981, beliau bertugas semula di Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Sabah sebagai Pegawai Pertanian Daerah di Tenom.

Pada tahun 1983 beliau telah dipinjamkan bertugas (seconded) sebagai Pengurus Estet di Ladang Sabah Sdn. Bhd., sebuah syarikat yang dimiliki sepenuhnya oleh Kerajaan Negeri Sabah. 10 tahun kemudian ia itu pada tahun 1992 beliau telah di lantik sebagai Pengurus Besar Ladang Sabah Sdn. Bhd.

Pada tahun 1997 beliau telah berhijrah ke sebuah Syarikat yang dikenali sebagai TSH Forestry Sdn Bhd sebagai Pengarah Eksekutif dan bertanggungjawab keatas Unit Pengurusan Perhutanan (Forest Management Unit – FMU) seluas 123,000 hektar. TSH Forestry Sdn. Bhd. adalah Anak Syarikat TSH Resources Sdn. Bhd.

Pada tahun 2001 beliau telah berhenti kerja untuk memulakan perniagaan sendiri sehingga sekarang.

Disepanjang kerjaya beliau di sektor awam dan sektor swasta beliau telah banyak menhadiri kursus, seminar, lawatan rasmi serta memawakili Negara di dalam mesyuarat-mesyuarat tertentu. Antaranya ialah menghadiri kursus di Amerika Syarikat, Lawatan kerja ke Republic of Guinea, Afrika dan Solomon Island. Mewakili Malaysia ke mesyuarat BIMP- EAGA di Negara Brunei Darussalam. Menghadiri Seminar Koko Antarabangsa di Bali, Indonesia dan menghadiri seminar-seminar Kelapa Sawit dan Koko Antarabangsa di Malaysia.

Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang telah menjadi Ahli UMNO semenjak kemasukan parti tersebut ke Sabah. Beliau membina pengalaman politik beliau melalui penceramah sambilan ketika Pilihanraya di adakan sejak tahun 1981. Dilantik sebagai Ahli Jawatankuasa (AJK) UMNO Bahagian P178, Sipitang pada tahun 2002.

Berdasarkan kepada fakta-fakta seperti di atas, calon Barisan Nasional (BN) Kawasan N28 – DUN Sindumin ini bukannya calang-calang orang. Tuan Hj Ahmad Hj Bujang mempunyai pendidikan dan pengalaman yang amat luas khususnya di bidang pertanian yang juga adalah salah satu sektor yang amat diberi perhatian oleh Kerajaan pada masa ini. Dengan pengalaman yang sedemikian, saya penuh yakin sekiranya beliau berjaya memenangi kerusi N28 – Sindumin pada pilihan raya kali ini, beliau akan dapat membawa arus atau gelombang pembaharuan ke Daerah Sipitang khususnya di dalam peningkatan produktiviti sektor pertanian dan pembangunan infra-struktur dan modal insan amnya.

Seperti yang kita sedia maklum Daerah Sipitang merupakan sebuah daerah pertanian yang tersohor dengan buah durian terbaik di Negeri Sabah. Daerah ini juga mempunyai tahap kesuburan tanah yang tinggi dan berpotensi untuk dibangunkan sebagai hub pertanian di Negeri Sabah berdasarkan kepada kedudukan geografinya yang strategik dengan Negara Brunei Darussalam dan Negeri Sarawak.

Daerah Sipitang juga menempat kan salah sebuah Kilang Kertas terbesar di Malaysia ia itu Sabah Forest Industry (SFI) yang mana sumber bahan mentah yang diperlukan adalah dijana dari aktiviti pertanian.

Kepada pengundi-pengundi di Kawasan DUN N28 Sindumin yang berjumlah seramai 12,828 orang, saya berkeyakinan penuh mereka ingin melihat kesinambungan pembangunan diteruskan di daerah ini demi masa hadapan yang lebih cerah dan terjamin. Atas rasional tersebut, pengundi-pengundi DUN N28 Sindumin hanya mempunyai DUA pilihan. Pilihan yang pertama ialah membawa Daerah Sipitang ke tahap pembangunan yang lebih tinggi (next level) melalui seorang Wakil Rakyat yang berpengalaman, berinovatif, kreatif , komited dan fokus ATAU menjadikan Daerah Sipitang sebagai sebuah Daerah yang lesu, tidak bermaya, ketinggalan dan tersisih. Gunakanlah kewarasan fikiran kita untuk membuat pilihan yang tepat.

SALAM HORMAT DAN SELAMAT MENGUNDI.

PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE

New Sabah Times,
25th February, 2008

Yusof: Loyalty to Umno priority for me











Yusof at the press conference after meeting local community leaders


SIPITANG: Former Sipitang MP Datuk Dr Yusof Hj Yacob says he has no intention of leaving Umno despite being dropped as a candidate in the coming election.

“I have no wish to leave the party just because I was not nominated this time, as loyalty to the party is a priority for me,” he said at a press conference here on Saturday after meeting local community leaders.

He urged his supporters and leaders of development zones in Sipitang, Lumadan and Sindumin to support efforts to ensure a win for the BN candidates in the coming election.

During his term as MP, he said, he brought in RM600 million in allocations to his constituency, citing the RM280 million Sipitang-Tenom highway and RM120 million water treatment plant at Melamam, as well as the upgrading of the Kabajang-Padas Damit, Kg Pelakat and Lingkungan Laut roads.

The power shortage in Sipitang district is also a thing of the past with the upgrading of the line from 11kv to 33kv, he said.

However, he said, there are still unresolved problems with infrastructure, and the new leaders who will be voted in should continue to bring development to the people as part of efforts to safeguard their well-being.

They should also be sincere and not indulge in dirty tactics to win a position in the party, he said, adding this could destroy the party.

GOT NOTICED BY THE MEDIA AGAIN

Tech&U Channel of New Straits Times

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Cik Rozana Sani and her Tech&U Team for their excellent research work in tracking down my uniform resource locators (urls) and featuring them in their esteemed newspaper. Thank you. - Blog Administrator






By Tech&U Team







Depicted below is the full article entitled Rise of Silver Bloggers as featured in Tech&U Channel of the New Straits Times newspaper today's edition (Monday, February 25, 2008)- Blog Administrator

RISE OF SILVER BLOGGERS (Full article)

QUOTE - Forget coffee shops, gardening and crossword puzzles. Blogging, often considered the domain of the young, is gaining a foothold as a new leisurely option for the middle-aged and senior citizens alike.

Sharing wisdom and experience

THE Internet and its spin-offs such as social networking sites and blogs are not just for the younger generation as the middle-aged and senior citizens, although small in number, are also fast in adopting such modern communication tools for various reasons.

Based on Tech&U’s Internet survey on Web sites and blogs, there are quite a number of blogs belonging to people in this age group. And the topics of the blogs are diverse and colourful, reflecting the wisdom, experience and many moods of these silver bloggers.

Some examples are Seeing Malaysia My Way, Bibliobibuli, Dari Dapur Makcik Kampung and Di Bawah Rang Ikang Kering.

“I enjoy writing and getting things off my chest,” said Tengku Mohd Ali Bustaman, the writer of Di Bawah Rang Ikang Kering (http://bustamann.blogspot.com).

Pokku, as he is fondly known, is a 63-year-old pensioner from Kuala Lumpur. For him, blogging is one way to inform and entertain his children who are all abroad. He started blogging since August 2004 and has since attracted a string of followers.

“Others have come to appreciate my stories and occasionally my advice and voted my blog as the Best Malaysia Blog in 2004 (http://simonworld.mu.nu/archives/056981.php),” said Pokku, who writes mostly about his home State, Terengganu, and social commentaries.

Pokku’s love for blogging began with a comment on a post in one of his daughters’ blog.

While most senior citizens might find technology or computers a no-no, this is not the case with Pokku.

“I was computer literate even before the PC became a household item. I set up a national computer club, Commodore Users Exchange, in 1985,” he said.

For Penangite Peter Tan, his blog, The Digital Awakenin (http://www.petertan.com/blog/), is a reflection of his life as a wheelchair user trying to enjoy life to the fullest.

A blogger for the past five years, Tan is a peer counsellor for the Independent Living Programme for People with Disabilities in Malaysia and also for the Kuala Lumpur Independent Living Centre.

“In the beginning, it was just about myself. Then my mother who had leukaemia became severely ill. It became a place for me to express my fears, insufficiencies, desperation, helplessness and eventually grief when she passed away,” he said.

The next phase of Tan’s blog chronicles his involvement in the Independent Living Movement that took him on a journey to Tokyo, Bangkok and Seoul.

“Advocacy is part of the Independent Living Movement. It was an awakening and realisation of my place in society as a disabled person and the rights I have as a citizen of this country. It traces my work in advocacy and promoting equality of opportunities for disabled people in the areas of accessibility to public transport and built environment,” he said.

“In between those are stories of my life, issues related to spinal cord injury, my friends, the people I have met, the places I have been to, faith, thoughts, opinions and everything else that caught my fancy.”

For Tan, blogging is a powerful tool.

“Where once disabled people had little avenues to express the frustrations that we face in society, we now can do it openly at very little cost. Our reach has become so much wider. Where once we could only tell to people we meet, now we can tell it to everyone who has an Internet connection,” he said.

To date, Tan has posted slightly over 1,000 entries in his blog.

For Captain Yusof Ahmad, 60, from Kelana Jaya, his passion for blogging started in November 2006.

“I started blogging to record and share my thoughts, anecdotes, life experiences, etc. Lately, I got a bit ‘political’ in light of what’s happening in the country,” said the former pilot superintendent of the Klang Port Authority and pioneer general manager of West Port.

The owner of the blog The Ancient Mariner (http://cyusof.blogspot.com/) blogs as a means to express himself. “Perhaps this is much better than shooting the breeze with idle kopitiam talk,” he said.

Despite his age, technology is never an issue for Yusof as he has been quite computer savvy since his working days.

“I was quite active writing in a number of alumni and professional e-group Web sites and thought I might as well go ‘solo’ by blogging where I can command a wider international audience,” he said.

Freelance consultant Abdul Samat Kasah may only have some five months under his blogging belt, but he already has four blogs running. The 54-year-old, who hails from Subang Jaya, cites time as his major constraint in blogging, and not technology since he is an electronics engineer by training.

“What drives me to blog is my passion about Internet technology, my aim to document my life story, my ethnic cultural heritage and of course, to share my working experience with others. Depending on time availability, I update my blogs daily, weekly, fortnightly or even monthly. You can see the transaction from my blogs,” he said.

The uniform resource locators for Abdul Samat’s blogs are http://itsurday.blogspot.com/, which focuses on current affairs, cultural heritage, religion, etc; http://darahkedayan.blogspot.com/, which is essentially about his life story; http://wiratidakdisanjung.blogspot.com/, which focuses on his working experience; and http://simply-kedayan.weebly.com/, which is on his ethnic group done up in the Kedayan dialect.

The Kedayan reside in Brunei, Labuan, Sabah and parts of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

Convenient and cheap way to keep in touch

Ismail Omar seems to view the hype in blogging today as a natural progression from earlier tools made available on the Internet combined with convenience to communicate with friends and relatives.

“I started blogging since 1994 on the Geocities site. I am not a serious blogger as I really do not have much to tell the public, unlike some of our famous bloggers,” said the 68-year-old electrical engineer who has been residing in Kuala Lumpur since 1970.

His blog, Teh Tarek Kurang Manis (http://labokin.blogspot.com/), mainly focuses on his family and friends and their golfing achievements.

He confesses that he seldom updates his personal blogs, but he updates two Blogspot pages regularly for two Toastmasters clubs where he is a member. He also runs a Yahoo group and a Google group for some of his friends.

“I like seeing my work published online even though I know no one else reads it. It is also a means of keeping in touch with friends and family. I think more people should take an interest in this aspect of keeping in touch. It is a very cheap method. You just need a PC and broadband connection, and the rest takes care of itself,” Ismail said.

For “bokjae”, a retiree and full-time home caregiver to his stroke-survivor wife, blogging is a means through which both of them can reconnect with others in the world.

In his early 60s, bokjae created a blog in late November 2006 at the encouragement and help from a good friend, Doris, a much younger work-at-home mum who hosts a couple of successful blogs.

Listening..Learning..Living (http://jangbokjae.blogspot.com/) is about living, and sharing bokjae and his wife’s life experiences as well as their journey through a stroke from a survivor’s angle and a caregiver’s viewpoint.

“As a full-time home caregiver to a stroke survivor, we are very much home-bound. Places that we used to go are no longer easily accessible. I am not saying that we have a lot of spare time. In fact, it’s the opposite – caregivers never have enough time.

“However, blogging provides an avenue where one can keep in touch with other people and learn from others who are going through similar experiences and of course, make new friends through social networks, all from the comfort of your home,” bokjae said.

Another enticement, according to him, is that through blogging one can make some pocket money.

“To me, it’s better than spending all the time on golf courses, mahjong tables, chatting at coffee shops, which I notice many retirees tend to do and this often leads to arguments. As I venture into blogging, I begin to realise that it is also a place for ongoing learning.”

Bokjae also pointed out that blogging does not need much technical know-how.

“It’s a matter of interest and desire to learn. Age is not an obstacle. Of course, English being the language on the Internet, it would be easier for those who know English. However, there are blogs in other languages, too!”

On how often he updates his blog, bokjae said he does not follow any hard and fast rules, but advice by top bloggers is to write every day, not blog every day.

“In the whole of 2007, I had done 393 posts, so it averages to one post a day. At times, I do a couple of posts in a day, but at times nothing for at least a week. Of course, if you neglect your blog for too long, then your readers would leave or think you have ‘closed shop’, so to say.” - UNQUOTE

Readers can access the article via http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/techNu/Monday/CoverStory/20080225123522/Article/index_html

GOT NOTICED BY THE MEDIA AGAIN

Tech&U Channel of New Straits Times

RISE OF SILVER BLOGGERS

If you care to read New Straits Times today’s edition (Monday, 25 February 2008) under Tech&U channel, you would be able to see a front page illustration of a silver blogger. Tech&U (Monday edition) is featuring blogging activities by middle-aged and senior citizens.

Once again, the writer of the four blogs namely Reaping the Benefits, Fast Forward, Simply Kedayan and Unsung Heroes got noticed by the media and is being featured in today’s edition of Tech&U channel of NST newspaper.

The full edition of the Rise of Silver Bloggers will be published in this blog as soon as possible. For early sneak preview of the article, quoted below are the paragraphs mentioning the writer and his four blogs for your reading pleasure.

QUOTE – Freelance consultant Abdul Samat Kasah may only have some five months under his blogging belt, but he already has four blogs running. The 54-year old, who hails from Subang Jaya, cites time as his major constraint in blogging, and not technology since he is an electronic engineer by training.

“What drives me to blog is my passion about internet technology, my aim is to document my life story, my ethnic cultural heritage and of course, to share my working experience with others. Depending on time availability, I update my blogs daily, weekly, fortnightly or even monthly. You can see the transactions on my blogs.” He said.

The uniform resource locators (url) for Abdul Samat’s blogs are http://itsurday.blogspot.com/ which focuses on current affairs, cultural heritage, religion, etc; http://darahkedayan.blogspot.com/ which is essentially about his life story; http://wiratidakdisanjung.blogspot.com/ which focuses on his working experience; and http://simply-kedayan.weebly.com/ , which is on his ethnic group done up in the Kedayan dialect.

The Kedayan reside in Brunei, Labuan, Sabah and parts of Sarawak on the Island of Borneo.-UNQUOTE

A caption of Fast Forward front page is also depicted in the article featuring Rise of Silver Bloggers (page 4 of Tech&U channel).

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Cik Rozana Sani and her Tech&U Team for their excellent research work in tracking down my uniform resource locators (urls) and featuring them in their esteemed newspaper. Thank you.

PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE-12

Analisa Politik Kawasan Parlimen P178 – Sipitang
Dan Dewan Undangan Negeri N28 – Sindumin

Maklumat lengkap berkaitan senarai calon parti-parti politik yang bakal bertanding di dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12 telah diumumkan oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya pada hari ini. Artikal ini akan memberi fokus khusus kepada Kawasan Parlimen P178 (Sipitang) dan DUN N28 (Sindumin) yang juga adalah tempat kelahiran penulis dan pemilik blog ini.

Seperti yang kita sedia maklum calon-calon yang bakal bertanding di kawasan-kawasan berkenaan adalah seperti berikut: -

Kawasan Parlimen Sipitang - P178

1. Datuk Sapawi Amat Wassali@Ahmad (BN)
2. Tuan Hj Karim Tassim (PKR)

Kawasan DUN Sindumin – N28
1. Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang (BN)
2. Tuan Hj Ramli Dua (PKR)




Pertandingan satu lawan satu di kedua-dua kawasan tersebut bakal menyaksikan pertarungan yang hebat berdasarkan kepada kekuatan dan pengaruh yang dimiliki oleh calon-calon berkenaan. Keempat-empat calon berkenaan adalah orang tempatan dan dikenali oleh masyarakat setempat.







Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad (Calon BN bagi P178)






Bagi calon Barisan Nasional (BN) P178, Datuk Sapawi Amat Wassali @ Ahmad yang lebih dikenali sebagai Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad adalah calon yang tidak asing lagi kerana beliau merupakan ADUN N28 yang berpindah ke Kawasan Parlimen P178 di dalam Pilihan Raya kali ini. Ahli Parlimen P178 iaitu Datuk Dr. Hj. Yusof@Josree bin Hj. Yaacob (BN) telah digugurkan di dalam Pilihan Raya kali dan digantikan oleh Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad.

Barisan Nasional telah mempertaruhkan Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang untuk bertanding di Kawasan DUN Sindumin, N28 menggantikan Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad yang berpindah ke Kawasan Parlimen. Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang seorang ahli perniagaan dan pendatang baru telah dicalonkan untuk bertanding atas tiket BN.







Tuan Hj Ramli Dua (Calon PKR bagi N28)






Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) mempertaruhkan dua orang tokoh politik tempatan mereka iaitu Tuan Hj Karim Tassim dan Tuan Hj Ramli Dua. Tuan Hj Karim Tassim, bekas seorang guru akan bertanding di Kawasan Parlimen menentang calon BN Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad. Disamping itu Tuan Hj Ramli Dua, seorang ahli perniagaan pula akan menentang calon BN, Tuan Hj Ahmad bin Hj Bujang di kawasan DUN N28.

Seperti mana yang para pembaca sedia maklum Tuan Hj Ramli Dua merupakan penulis jemputan di dalam blog ini dan telah menyumbangkan beberapa artikal yang menarik. Di dalam Pilihan Raya Tahun 2004 beliau telah bertanding sebagai Calon Bebas di kawasan N28 menentang Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad (BN). Tuan Hj Ramli Dua berjaya meraih undi sebanyak 3,405 undi berbanding dengan undi yang diperolehi oleh Datuk Sapawi Hj Ahmad sebanyak 5,073 (majoriti undi 1,668).

Sebelum saya meneruskan analisa politik dengan lebih lanjut mari kita lihat statistik-statistik penting berkaitan P178 dan N28.

Kawasan Parlimen P178

Jumlah Pengundi: 24,145
Peningkatan jumlah pengundi:
B/I: 80.58% B/B/I: 14.09% C: 4.99% L: 0.34%

Kawasan DUN N28
Jumlah Pengundi: 12,828
Peningkatan jumlah pengundi:
B/I: 72.16% B/B/I: 21.34% C: 5.96% L: 0.54%

Nota:
B/I – Bumiputra Islam
B/B/I – Bumiputra Bukan Islam
C – Cina
L- Lain-lain

Mengikut sejarah politik Daerah Sipitang (DUN dan Parlimen) adalah diwakili oleh parti-parti pemerintah dari zaman USNO, Berjaya, PBS dan UMNO. Malah Tuan Hj Ramli Dua pernah mewakili Parti Berjaya sebagai Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri satu ketika dahulu.

Di dalam penulis membuat analisa politik ke atas kedua-dua kawasan Pilihan Raya berkenaan, penulis harus bersikap profesional kerana keempat-empat calon berkenaan merupakan mereka yang penulis kenali secara peribadi. Diantara Datuk Sapawi dengan penulis, mereka mempunyai perhubungan darah kekeluargaan sedangkan Tuan Hj Ramli Dua merupakan seorang sahabat. Bagi Tuan Hj Karim Tassim pula penulis telah mengenali beliau sejak tahun 60an dimana adik beliau Sdr Ibrahim Tassim merupakan teman persekolahan penulis di Maktab Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. Mungkin Tuan Hj Ahmad Bujang sahaja yang penulis tidak begitu mengenali beliau dengan rapat kerana penulis difahamkan beliau melanjutkan pelajaran menengah beliau di luar Daerah Sipitang di dalam tahun 1960an dahulu.

Walau apa pun, saya akan teruskan analisa politik ini dengan seadil-adilnya berdasarkan kepada keadaan semasa dan beberapa faktor politik yang saya anggap bakal memberi impak dan mempengeruhi keputusan Pilihan Raya di kedua-dua kawasan berkenaaan. Kedua-dua Wakil Rakyat BN sebelum ini yang disandang oleh Datuk Dr. Hj. Yusof@Josree bin Hj. Yaacob sebagai Ahli Parlimen dan Datuk Sapawi bin Hj Ahmad sebagai ADUN tidak boleh dinafikan telah membawa pembangunan yang agak memberangsangkan ke Daerah Sipitang dari aspek pembangunan infra-struktur dan modal insan. Namun demikian masih terdapat banyak ruang-ruang kosong yang perlu diambil perhatian oleh Wakil-Wakil Rakyat yang mewakili Daerah ini dimasa hadapan.

Di dalam Pilihan Raya Tahun 2004, Datuk Dr. Hj. Yusof@Josree bin Hj. Yaacob yang telah dicalonkan sebagai calon BN bagi Kawasan Parlimen P178 telah menang tanpa bertanding. Pengguguran beliau dari senarai calon BN pada Pilihan Raya ke-12 tahun 2008 merupakan satu kejutan besar kepada penyokong-penyokong kuat Datuk Dr. Hj Yusof. Saya sendiri agak terkilan sebaik saja memperolehi berita tersebut melalui khidmat pesanan ringkas dari sahabat-sahabat saya di Kota Kinabalu dan di kampung. Kenapa Datuk Dr. Yusof di gugurkan dari senarai calon BN? Adakah atas sebab faktor prestasi, peribadi atau kehilangan penyokong? Soalan tersebut hanya dapat dijawab oleh kepimpinan BN peringkat Negeri Sabah.

BN Sabah telah mengambil “risiko” yang agak besar dengan menggugurkan seorang Ahli Yang Berhormat yang mempunyai rekod menang tanpa bertanding di dalam Pilihan Raya 2004. Saya yakin Datuk Dr. Hj. Yusof sebagai “orang kuat parti” yang berpegang teguh ke atas prinsip kepimpinan dalam UMNO tidak akan beralih arah di dalam Pilihan Raya kali ini. Namun demikian, adakah beliau mampu untuk membendung pengikut-pengikut beliau untuk mengikut jejak langkah beliau. Perlu diingatkan bahawa beliau mempunyai penyokong akar umbi yang agak ramai di Kawasan Parlimen P178. Dalam kata lain mampukah Datuk Sapawi sebagai calon BN yang menggantikan Datuk Dr Hj Yusof melakukan “damage control atau damage management” dalam masa yang amat singkat ini untuk meyakinkan penyokong-penyokong Datuk Dr. Hj. Yusof berpihak kepada beliau.







Datuk Dr. Hj. Yusof bin Hj Yaacob







Kerjaya politik Datuk Dr. Hj Yusof bermula sejak tahun 1990 setelah beliau meletak jawatan dari perkhidmatan kerajaan. Pembabitan beliau di dalam politik bermula dengan Parti USNO dan selanjutnya UMNO bermula pada awal tahun 2000 apabila UMNO bertapak di Sabah. Beliau telah mewakili Kawasan Parlimen P178 selama tiga penggal berturut-turut melalui Pilihan Raya tahun 1995, 1999 dan 2004 sehinggalah digugurkan sebagai calon pada Pilihan Raya tahun 2008. Jawatan terakhir beliau sebelum Pembubaran Parlimen ialah sebagai Timbalan Speaker Dewan Rakyat.

Adakah “Faktor Dr. Yusof” akan mencorakkan halatuju pengundi-pengundi P178 dan N28 pada Pilihan Raya ke-12 kali ini? Sekiranya Datuk Sapawi dapat melakukan “damage control atau damage management” dalam tempoh 2 minggu ini, maka peluang BN untuk mengulangi kejayaan masa lalu adalah cerah tetapi berkemungkinan dengan majoriti undi yang berkurangan. Jika sebaliknya, adalah amat sukar untuk diramalkan kerana saya yakin Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) akan menggunakan “Faktor Dr. Yusof” ini sebagai salah satu strategi politik mereka untuk meraih undi dari “bekas” penyokong-penyokong Datuk Dr. Yusof. Harus diambil perhatian bahawa di dalam keadaan dimana tidak terdapat isu-isu politik “besar” yang mendominasikan Pilihan Raya kali ini, adalah dikhuatiri isu pengguguran ramai penyandang (incumbents) dari BN di Sabah khasnya dan seluruh Negara amnya akan memberi kesan terhadap halatuju pengundi-pengundi.

Penulis masih belum berkeyakinan penuh bahawa pengundi-pengundi di kawasan P178 dan N28 khasnya mempunyai tahap kematangan seperti yang disarankan oleh kepimpinan UMNO dan BN untuk mengundi parti dan bukannya calon. Walaubagaimana pun saya berkeyakinan penuh bahawa jentera BN akan digerakkan sepenuhnya untuk mengulangi kejayaan masa lalu dan kepada semua sahabat-sahabat saya yang bertanding di dalam Pilihan Raya kali ini sama ada dari Parti UMNO atau PKR, saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Berkempen dan Gunakanlah Strategi-Strategi Politik Yang Bersih untuk meraih undi. Selamat Mengundi.