Redeems 2014, Kpg Apar, Meriah

Redeems 2014 di Kpg Apar Bau dihadiri oleh YAB Ketua Menteri Sarawak

Dan juga Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia

Dayung Sikora tampil ke pentas

TYT Tun Taib Mahmud juga turut hadir

The Canopy Walk, Mulu.

MULU, (Miri) - THE Mulu National Park's 480-metre Canopy Skywalk, is the world's longest tree-based canopy walk.

It adds another features to the world heritage site, which also plays home to the world's biggest caves and network systems. 

The Canopy Skywalk, suspended 20-metres above the forest floor, was built by local communities with advice from experts on design and structure. 

It winds among the lush treetops with a tranquil river running below and the soaring heights of nearby limestone cliffs above. 

The Skywalk follows a circular route suspended between 15 trees with a separate exit tower. There are also platforms at each of the 15 trees for visitors to stop and admire the lush surroundings. 

It is one of the newly completed world standard visitor facilities at the National Park. 

Among other facilities at the park are 10-kilometre non-slip plank-walks, radio communication systems, interpretive signage, extensively renovated facilities at Camp 5, new public toilets and treatment works, renovated facilities for future on-site research. 

The tour begins along the Rainforest Discovery Walk to Deer Cave and turns at the Paku River onto a new plank-walk that winds its way along the forest floor to the base of an access tower. The Skywalk gives giving visitors a spectacular panoramic view of the flora and fauna that inhibit on the world's oldest rainforests. 

The area is often visited by Macaque monkeys and Hornbills. It is also home to a wide array of animals such as flying lizards, squirrels, amazing insects and a range of rainforest birds. 

The guided tour is supported by a range of informative signage describing the rainforest and canopy environments. 

The 1.5km journey in the sky to the Skywalk tower takes approximately 30 minutes with another hour to complete walking along the canopy. 

Depending on tour times visitors can then wither return to the park's headquarters or continue on their way to Deer Cave. 

With Mulu being just a quick plane flight away from Miri airport, it is certainly worth checking out.

Deer Cave, Mulu

Deer Cave is located near Miri,Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo and is a show cave attraction of Gunung Mulu National Park. It was surveyed in 1961 by G.E. Wilford, of the Malaysian Geological Survey, who predicted that Mulu would yield many more caves in the future (Wilford, 1964). 

The cave, which is also known as Gua Payau or Gua Rusa by the local Penan and Berawan people, is said to have received its name because of the deer that come to the cave to lick salt-bearing rocks (Tsen, 1993) and shelter themselves.

The cave was surveyed for the first time in the year 1978, producing measurements of 174 m wide and 122 m high in one section that passed through the mountain for a distance of one kilometer. Subsequently a next survey increased the acknowledged passage length to 4.1 kilometers and connected Lang Cave, another show cave within the park, to the Deer Cave System. This survey made in 2009 by the Hoffman Institute of Western Kentucky University revealed the maximum cross sectional area to be in the large southern passage. This was documented at 169 m wide with a ceiling height of 125 m. The northern passage registered the greatest ceiling height at 148m with a cross sectional width of 142 m. The main entrance of Deer Cave was measured at 146 m.^[1]

Borneo World Music Expo good exposure for local musicians

KUCHING: Local musicians have gone on to perform in the international scene through their participation at last year’s Borneo World Music Expo (BWME).

Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said the traditional Bidayuh music ensemble Madeeh and Kenyah sape artiste Matthew Ngau Jau and his group Lan Ee Tuyang had gone on to perform in Europe after being invited by international programmers from the inaugural expo last year.

“Madeeh was signed up to be represented in Europe by Jean-Herve Vidal of Zaman Productions in France while Matthew was taken on by Birgit Ellinghaus from Germany.

“This is the way forward for local musicians as they are being exposed to the international scene and in the process can improve their music so that it can be accepted by the community at large. In the process too they are introducing their indigenous culture to the world,” he told a press conference prior to the launch of BWME at Hilton Kuching on Monday.

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan, BWME director Gerald Seligman and permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Datu Ik Pahon Joyik were also present at the press conference.

Abang Johari said that BWME was a platform for people to appreciate one’s culture and also a platform for the creation of global understanding.

“We hope that this sort of exposure will bring forth greater understanding amongst the musicians,” he said.

Rashid meanwhile said that BWME had been envisioned to become an Asia premier world music exposition within the next five years.

“It is specifically designed to expose Asian and ethnic musicians to the international market and to help professionalise the music sector to meet the expectations and standards of the international market as they converge on here prior to the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).”

Having organised RWMF as a leisure event for the past 17 years, Rashid said STB was now ready to move up the value chain and BWME was expected to grow the meeting and exhibition market segments related to music.

“While RWMF is about entertainment, BWME is about the trade, networking, information dissemination and business behind the entertainment industry. The expo seeks to be the market place where professionals come to present their services or to hire.

“We are doing a multiple pronged strategy to conserve music and create business and at the same time, there is a tourism angle that encourages tourists to come to the state,” he said.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/06/18/borneo-world-music-expo-good-exposure-for-local-musicians/#ixzz355uQEvmd

Inter-marriage could be loophole in NCR Land Code

By Peter Sibon

Sarawak must ensure the proposed Native Customary Rights (NCR) Land Code Amendment law is all inclusive to prevent abuse through inter-marriage between natives and non-natives.

Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing cautioned that such a law could be subjected to abuse if marriage procedures between natives and non-natives were not monitored properly.

“Non-natives can be joint beneficiaries of NCR land by the passing of this Bill. This will open up a host of legal problems. Thus, we have to tighten up natives’ marriage laws and procedures at the same time in order to prevent abuse as the implementation of the law is not ‘just a walk in the park’,” Masing told The Borneo Post yesterday.

He said NCR lands’ lack of value was exposed by the High Court ruling on Bisi Jenggot vs Sarawak Government.

“The Dayak community, after the ruling, realised the need to amend native laws and the state Land Code. This will enhance the economic value of NCR land and would enable the native landowners to participate in the 21st century economics.”

He was commenting on Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem’s response to an audience during his (Adenan) interview with RTM last Friday night.

Adenan had said once the Bill is passed by the State Legislative Assembly, Bumiputeras would be able to sell their non-titled NCR lands to other Bumiputeras. The Bill is expected to be tabled in the next Assembly sitting in November.

The initiative, said Adenan, would add value to NCR land as presently the sale of such land is limited to amongst the people of the same longhouse or village only, thus, lowering its market value.

Masing said the proposal by Adenan recognised these needs and supports the necessity to amend the Land Code and then advised the natives to update their native laws to match today’s economic modus operandi.

“The natives and the Bumiputeras of Sarawak will always be grateful to the chief minister for his farsightedness and consideration in making it possible for NCR land to be economically viable as commodity of sale once the tabling of NCR land is accepted. This will be an enduring legacy of Adenan’s administration.”

Meanwhile, social activist and former PBB deputy Information chief Dato Peter Minos said if land could not be bought and sold, it was of no economic value and would thus bring no benefit to the owners.

He stressed if any law forbid any land to be bought or sold, that law is archaic and not in sync with modern economic life.

“So it goes without saying that Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem’s intention to amend that part of the Land Code that forbids dealing of native customary right (NCR) land is both timely and most welcomed. It makes economic sense that NCR can be dealt with at least among the natives in order that such land not only has value but can be developed in some ways by the natives who have the funds.”

Minos argued that commercial development of native-Bumiputera land in certain parts of Kuching city had been made possible because their owners were smart and wise in getting their land commercially traded among the Bumiputeras.

“If not, such land remains idle or not used at all and the owners innocently living in deprivation. We do not want that, not now.”

Minos pointed out that the NCR Land Code was crafted by the British, to ‘protect’ natives from losing their land to the economically advanced non-native groups and hence the non-dealing in NCR land.

“But time has changed and such protection is outdated. NCR land should be able to be bought and sold at least among the natives.

“If I have my way I may go a bit further … NCR land very near or in the vicinity of towns and cities should be changed to mixed zone on request of the owners. This will give true market or economic value to such land.”

Minos also cited the fact that there was some NCR land located next to mixed zone land or near the towns and cities with value far below mixed zone land price.

“This is one issue that owners and the native communities can think about. May be time is needed to think about this matter but the sooner it is done the better. As the saying goes, time waits for no man and so (too) progress and development.”