2/3/2019 A DREAM TO SARAWAK RURAL PASAR LIVING.... gaining prosperity in diversity

From 6 Dec., to 31 Dec. 2018, I took nice long break from my official duties. I went to Bakun for a week and spent my time revisiting Bintulu. A week before, I was visiting and exploring Miri for a couple of days. After Bakun, I went to Mukah and explored the total length of the Coastal Road. First time I drove through the Matu-Semop Bruit Road. I spent a bit of time visiting all the related small towns pasar and certain sizable villages. I drove all the way and stop for the night in many places. In the mid of 2018, I did traveled and dropping by to appreciate most of the small town along the so called Pan Borneo Highway. I dropped for coffee or nasi goreng and wandering around in most of the small towns along the way from Kuching to Sibu. I remembered I did similar nature of two weeks drive to cover the full breath of Sumatra in 2007. I love country side more to urban living. My journey was without clear objective(s). But as usual, my mind never stop thinking, arguing and forming certain opinions. I argued a lot with myself on many things.

(2) This writing, is intended to give my view dream, on how Sarawak could especially the rural be developed very pleasantly different from the whole Nation, making ourselves very unique, prosper and united despite our diversities. I see our diversities is our greatest strength, and our smart way to celebrate such diversity In Shaa Allah will make Him to bless us better. My definition of smart way would be in line with the concept of celebrating our tropical environ as I had written sometimes ago. Allah through His creation of tropicalism, He makes everything to co-exist, be they the good, the bad, or even the worst. All in the total tropical ecosystem, they existed in a very stable self correcting system, very sustainable in today jargon, until what today modernization had created all the imbalanced.

(3) Sarawak has 26 ethnic group. There are also some writings saying Sarawak is having 26 ethnic and 40 sub-ethnic. We are really diverse. Our ethnically diverse, sociologically and scientifically is due to our eco-system ie our diverse tropical ecology. We are separated by the thick forest, big long winding rivers, mountainous divide, and those large tract of swamp areas. All these is meant for us to find our ways on how to sustain our living harmoniously if possible as one human-based entity or at least as neighbors. Yet by Allah blessing, indeed since 1841 to this day, we sort of had been destined to be as Sarawak rather the North Borneo Empire as we were in time of Srivijaya, Majapahit or even the Sultanate of Brunei-Temasik. Sarawak is our blessed destine since 1841, then in 1963, we again was destined to form Malaysia. Sarawak and Malaysia is our destined fate that we must honor to the best. Yet, despite we are Malaysian, Allah had kept us different. We remain as our earlier Sarawak. Definitely we had changed, but if people care to see, we had changed either by our own way and or at a slow process. I'm not interested to enter into the polemic of politic and all those political maneuvering that we had gone through, so much so we are not to where we should had been. I would love to leave politic aside over this subject.

(4) I'm trying to keep my whatever dream development postulation hereon to the concept of redha or bersyukur as Islam had called upon me in the whole of this writing. Let me first dwell on this redha or bersyukur before I go into my rural pasar living dream matter. Redha or syukur in their literal meaning is total acceptance. One must accept whatever fate and or outcome one's being blessed upon. There should be no regret or the feel of frustration and redha also request for us not to be riak or show off or boasting on whatever gain or success we made. Nonetheless, most Malays see redha as a journey to gain Allah acceptance upon whatever they are doing. It sound "perfect". In a glance, redha is about gaining Allah blessing. Linguistically, nothing wrong about it. But if one look at it from the Islamic morale point of view, there is a problem to the phrase to gain Allah blessing. My morale psychological understanding of such phrase is that redha means Allah must accept their good deed. They sort of 'forcing' onto Allah to accept their deed ie they expect Allah reward to their good deed. To me such sound begging. Did Allah created us to beg? Not to such belief I would hold, since He had given as akal dan nurani, brain to think and heart to decide. We are created free to choose and decide. Secondly, if it is not begging, we indeed sound doing 'trading' with Allah. Should we treat Allah as our trading partner? If so, is such not syirik ie equating and or down grading Him to us or making Him to something else. Equating Allah to not Himself is the most taboo act in Islam. Such act is called syirik and unforgiven. Or worst, we look at ourselves as his slave. We just accept to our fate anything bestowed on us, we must never question or grumble. A true slave character acceptance, making our brain and heart useless. Allah never created us to be His slave. He need nothing from us what more to say out of our slavery.

(5) My believe, we need not have to seek redha or blessing from Allah. I would believe, there is nothing that Allah had not redha onto anything and or anybody, be they Muslim or not. Allah had been very fair to everybody and everything of His creations. By virtue of our existence, is His greatest redha or blessing, without which, we will never be here. Allah to me had blessed us all with so much, therefore there is nothing that He is not redha.  Thus redha or syukur in the correct Islamic sense is to be thankful to Allah on what being bestowed on us. Redha or syukur means we must be thankful to Him. Redha is not about seeking, redha must be translated into giving back.

(6) Among most Malays, their concept of redha is not really wrong, but they are so used to the phrase such is not quite the correct way. Their phrasing is devoid of precise contextual. The Malays term to seek rehda Allah by right should be reworded to mean to give back on Allah's redha. We owned Allah with all the blesses that He had granted on us. We must pay back. The module of paying back is by virtue of we as caliph and we as our individual-self. What it means is from whatever we get from Him, we must make the best out of it for us and all others to benefit. Such view I postulated from the reasoning of why Al Quran in so many instances keeps reminding us to care for others. One Ayat that says "In one's gain, there is always others share in it", indeed is a very strong indication of such obligatory effect. Let me throw such reasoning by one simple tenet analogy. We, men, exist for Allah created us to be the most perfect creation so as to be a caliph. He had redha upon us to exist and be a leader. Prior to our creation, Allah had created all the rest in this universe especially the whole earth system where now we stand. He prepared all those to be our subjects. He then created us to the most perfect creature. He sent us to be caliph on earth. As a person and caliph, we indeed had been blessed with abundance. We need not have to create anything else, all are here on earth for us to manage. Thus, by our perfect individual existence and as the caliph virtues as He wants us to be, He equipped us we all around us, thus what needed out of us is to execute our personal and caliphate responsibilities.  We are indeed free to appreciate what had been fated upon us, just we must give back for being a His truly great creation and a caliph. Being truly a great person and a caliph signified our redha or syukur to Allah.

(7) After rereading for many times of my above two para, I hope to write on the Islamic redha and syukur concept in a much detail after this, In Shaa Allah. I believe my above explanation is still rather weak (and may be confusing).

(8) What is the relationship of redha or syukur to the idea of My Rural Living Dream. Let now we get back to the concept of truly a great person and caliph. Allah wants us to be great person and caliph to all of His creations especially on this earth. For such purpose, He had created us as our present perfect being comparable to His all others creations. Physically we are the most perfect form. In what at today science termed it, we are blessed with the highest brain and heart systems. Being blessed with those, Allah then just wants us to manage things to their best forms and purposes. In today management discipline, what need out of us is good governance and or sustainable management, be it on personal and external. In Islamic management, both the elements of morale and professional consideration must be built into our so called Good Governance and Sustainable Management. Along the way, Allah also blessed us with all His books to guide us on how to manage our personal-self, especially the spiritual aspect of our lives. Thus managing our diversity to the demand of good morale and professionalism deed is one part of the virtue of redha and syukur. In the modern term, we thus is very thankful to Allah by carrying our public responsibilities to the best. But in Islam, to be a good manager is only one part of being redha and syukur. The holistic redha and syukur then must cover both the public and personal aspect of our deed. Upon giving back the best to the public, a Muslim must also be giving back the best for his personal being. His personal being is also a great blessing of Allah. So he must give back of him for himself. In Islam public responsibilities is term as Fardhu Kifayah.  While to be thankful to Allah for oneself, one must execute his Fardhu Ain. Fardhu Ain is strictly for personal purpose. It is about one's personal responsibilities to Allah. Such is termed as Iman, one's piety.

(9) Thus, My Dream to Sarawak Rural Living is all about making Sarawak rural population to the best living standard by way of the Islamic concept of Redha and Syukur to it holistic and precise meaning and purposes. How and what?

(10) First thing first, we must keep to our diverse nature. In diversity every component of the nature, is having enough to survive. Nonetheless with the growing of our population, managing things to the enough level of all is amounting to "impossible". Thus, this is where true professionalism and morale value must be established and uphold. We must look at thing holistically and on long term basis. We must also discard greed and biasness. Redha and syukur is grounded on the fundamental of no greed no bias. Justice must be uphold for us to really comply to the concept of redha and syukur. Thus we must be happy and really appreciate that we are diverse. We must manage our diversity to the best interest of such creation of Allah. The Malays, being Muslim, being blessed with the Book of Allah, we then must be a great individual and caliph for such purposes.

(11) Man especially the Muslims paramount caliphate purpose is to manage things for the good of all humankind. Here we are, as Sarawak Malays whom Allah had blessed upon us to be His caliph at this part of His earth, we must be able to see how super smart is Allah for making us be here. Anthropologically, Allah had made Sarawakians to what I classified into five main diverse ethnicity. Malays, Dayak, Orang Ulu and the Chinese. Let now we have a look at this anthropological diversity a bit closely. As I had said earlier, our diversity is created through or multi-geographical facets.

(11.1) The Dayaks which covers the Iban and Bidayuh (ie earlier in the Brookes' time, are termed as Sea Dayak and Land Dayak) their custom is greatly associated with their land tenure. Their land tenure definitely is greatly associated with their geographical living environment which mostly are hilly to mountainous. Only some Iban are riverine associated. They have Native Customary Land (NCR) and as well as Foraging Ground either for traditional animals, plants or construction materials collecting purposes. The later is called Pemakai Menoa. There is also area termed as Pulau Galau or 'Isolated Forest Area". Traditionally NCR land indeed is their farmland. They do both permanent and shifting farming systems in their NCR land. The NCR land is mostly located in the much fertile part of their ecology.  The Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau is a foraging ground. It is owned collectively by the community. Individual and the community are free to gain benefit out of the Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau. The basic rule for Pemakai Menoa an or Pulau Galau is no one has or can established individual right over such land. Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau is normally a distance to their living places. These normally are strip or island of forest areas. This land is not for agriculture purposes. Normally Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau is not quite suitable for agriculture purposes. By tradition, agriculture activities is banned in Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau. The size and distribution nature of the Dayaks NCR, Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau created the dispersal and 'isolated" pattern of their living places ie Longhouses. Dayaks are mostly occupying the mid to the southern region of Sarawak. Thus looking at the Dayaks' land tenure, they indeed are having a very strong sense of economic and conservation purposes of their land use.  Thus, the State Government (GOS) should take strong recognition of the Dayak sense of  "sustainable land resources management" which if nicely restrategize could harmonize both the State and Dayaks need.

(11.2) The Orang Ulu compises those ethnics such as Kayan, Kenyah, Bisaya, Kelabit, Murut, Lun Bawang etc. The Lun Bawang, Kayan, Kenyah, Bisaya, Kelabit, and Murut are considered the mainstream Orang Ulu. They are the much settled population. Their land tenure are just as the Dayaks. Except for the Bisaya, the rest of the Orang Ulu mostly as found dispersal in the much mountainous hinterland of Sarawak. The Bisaya are very much associated with the lower Limbang-Lawas region. The normad among the Orang Ulu are the Penan. The much settled Penan are termed as Punan. The rather unsettled Orang Ulu which covers the Penan, Punan and even Barawan they are either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Their concept of NCR is very loose. Their land tenureship is more toward Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau. Since they are nomadic and or semi-nomadic, thus their Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau is also very vague. Orang Ulu dominated the norther Sarawak hinterland area.

(11.3) The Malays are coastal and riverine associated. The very nature of the coastal areas which is always inundated by salt or fresh flood, forming the large tract of mangrove and or peat areas made the land ownership among the Malays is very different from the rest of the Sarawak natives. Land ownership indeed is not paramount to the Malays living. The Malays historically are marine-based and thus they are either fishermen and or traders. Agriculture, though important, but such activity is limited for the production of basic daily food consumption. Such their land need normally is very small, 3-5 acres on average. They normally established the living places called Kampong or villages either close to the river mouth or along the salty riverine closes to their farm land. Thus in actual fact, the term NCR landownership doesn't fit into the Malays land ownership profile. The Malays don't or very rare practicing shifting cultivation. They normally are most settled in nature. The Malays also never established the concept of Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau. Despite the Malay is a collective community, nonetheless in their quest for daily living, they are very individualistic. They subscribed to the much individual right and ownership rather a commune approach. Customary wise, NCR, Pemakai Menoa and or Pulau Galau are not applicable to the Malays. What they really have is Tanah Uma and or Kebun. Their fishing, roaming or foraging places has always been an open concept. They never claimed those as theirs individually and or as community ownership. In all cases, they regard those as State Land Area. Such custom is grounded over the upholding to their Islamic faith "The earth is belong to Allah, what is commune then must be open to all humankinds to share even to those outside of the community".

(11.4) In the whole of Malaysia, Sarawak may be having the most rural Chinese. Despite so, most of the Chinese are urbanized. The rural Chinese by tradition are strongly associated with the Malays living places. Most rural Chinese living places, normally term as Pasar are located within the Malays neighborhood. The role of these Pasar or Chinese, in the past were either traders, timber industry associated and or rubber and pepper planters. The pasar indeed is the gateway of our rural natives to the open world. This will be the focus of my next discussion.

(12) Before I dwell onto the subject matter per say, let me put a bit of argument over these land tenure issues among our Sarawak natives be they the Malays, Dayak and or Orang Ulu. "Sarawak" population had grown from 8,000 in 1841 as reported at time of Brooke arrival to today of about 3,000,000 people. In Brookes' times, in order to gain the natives support to their colonization, the Brookes had to be a bit lenient in handling the land tenureship issue. The term of NCR was mooted for Brookes lacked of resources to undertake land surveying and as well as to encourage the local to go into agriculture commodities production for taxing reason. I use the word term rather classification or concept is because, NCR is not all Brooke's concept of land tenureship. It is a practice that all natives of the whole world had adopted even in the America, Australia, Europe etc before the Land and Survey being established in 1700. Thus for Brookes, NCR is a very convenient way of land resources and social management tool. As Sarawak gain "self ruling" then independent through Malaysia, due to the population growth and as well as the need to manage the land and land-related resources, the State Government (GOS) had put a stop to the NCR establishment to the year 1959 (?) or basically making 1960 as the cut-off point. What it means is that, land claims either for traditional agriculture and or foraging could only be made for those land that had been used for such purposes before the 1960. But unfortunately, such ruling contradicting to the Sarawak natives custom. Their custom recognized no dateline. Population pressure is part and parcel of the reason. They need more land to sustain their ever growing family members. Thus here we are, both her people and GOS throwing the issue of population pressure as the reason for and against NCR claims, which indeed grounded on the very basic issue ie economic well being of the people and the State.

(13) The greatest mistake made by GOS, when they imposed a cut off dateline of 1960 for genuine NCR claims, yet GOS didn't make drastic effort either to survey or gazette those lands or areas. Understandly, in 1960s, GOS is still a very poor State. But from 1970s onward, we are indeed very much better; just that people land management is not GOS priority, so much so to this day, NCR is a headache political issue that the State seem so reluctant to resolve. Personally I can see, NCR is not an administrative issue but rather a political game.

(14) Thus here it is, that mooted me to this A Dream to Sarawak Rural Pasar Living. My focus is more toward the pasar rather the overall rural development. Sometimes ago I had wrote on RED ie Rural Economic Development Module, thus here I would like to focus to rural economic nodes. Like it or not, our State Planning Authority (SPA) whom is chaired by the Chief Minister had not done a good urban planning and development function. I had said many times, indeed our urban planning had been too much driven by developer capitalist greed rather the healthy cities development that we had intended to build on. Indeed, I believe the Healthy City Development Philosophy is a subject that the SPA is not familiar with and not really their basic planning principle, despite so is the GOS "direction". We need not have to go too far out into the country side, just have a look at our Pasar Batu 7, though being renamed as Kota Sentosa, A Heavenly City  as my starting point of the above critique. Sentosa is a Malay word that means heavenly good. What sentosa or heavenly are we really developing there? So much chaotic. The traffic circulation is bad. The drainage is poor. The sewerage is not there. The city landscape is worst. This is a city which to this day remain with its old day stigma of Hospital Batu 7, a city of chaotic. There is no Masterplan development being prepared for this Sentosa. To me there is no serious effort being made to really turn this city into a comfortable, healthy and harmony working, living and recreating place to signified its new name Sentosa, Heavenly City. Sentosa is now a mere city to cash money and run.

(15) From Sentosa, let visit Kota Padawan, Siburan, Tapah then Serian and let go as far as Engkelili, Lingga, Sri Aman, Betong, Saratok, straight up to Merapok. In the coastal area, let have a look at Asajaya, Pendam, Simunjan, Sebangan, Sebuyau, Meludam, Beladin, Pusa, Kabong, Nyabor, Daro, Matu, Dalat, Kuala Balingian, Kuala Tatau etc all indeed are left to the Capitalist to do what fit to their greed. Even if there are GOS intervention, still the approach is devoid of building the sense of place.  How are and had we been developing all these Pasar? I can bet, all are left to the whims and fancy of the capitalist developers. All through Sarawak, our rural pasar are all of the same nature of development characters. Hard. Chaotic. Stressful. Nothing soothing and rejuvenating. Urban planners in the SPA are devoid of long term Economic and Social Development Agenda. Their focus is more toward commercial space management. So much so, our rural population lack the avenue for them to practice the attained education and skill advancement to the best economic and social endeavors. So much so, most are now looking to migrate to Malaya, Singapore or any other places that could promise them a better income even to a poor country such as Cambodia and Mali. Our rural pasar is diminishing in educated skilled rural population to further outgrow the rural economy and social advancement.

(16) Our rural pasar are places where the tokey are squeezing to the optimum the local natives wealth, yet there is very less or no giving back.

(17) Sarawak is a well Allah blessed State. It has all the resources to do better if not perfect. We are also blessed with lots of expertise in various professional fields whom were and are of International Standard. We can build our rural pasar just as those resort cities in the North America, New Zealand, German or even among the Mediterranean. Indeed these so called resort cities are not really meant for tourism purposes but tourism is the byproduct. Initially these cities were planned and built along the sustainable development concept be they for agriculture or  related local resources "exploitation". In 1996-1998, I used to roam around the Rocky Mountain National Park in the Mid USA. Cities in this area are planned and developed to ensure the best water management purpose to fit into the hungry Las Vegas Sin City of Nervada. So much so, they had good mixed of agriculture, settlements, forest and wildlife management systems that later give birth to the flocking of weekend tourist activities. Interestingly, these rural cities now turned into the well to do residential areas, which in most American cities, the less well to do are occupying the heart of the larger cities while the well to do are rural loving which is the opposite for Malaysia and Sarawak. The concept of rural for the rich, and larger cities center for the poor had made urban, infrastructures, utilities and social management in the US and West is far more cost-effective than those say Asian or Malaysia and Sarawak. One of such place is Vail in Colorado (insert image above). Vail is nothing more than Serian or Lubok Antu. I25 Highway just as the Pan Borneo of Serian cut through the city, despite so, the connectivity of the South and North part of the City is well planned and developed. The overall city environment is forested. They really work hard to keep the forest. Serian indeed is also forested but most had been burnt down. The rocky mountain structures are just as the Penrisen Highland of Serian. The Colorado river just as Batang Sadong for Serian which also cutting through the city parallel with I25 hihway. Vail smartly capitalized all its natural hilly forest surrounding to its best socio-economic gain, so much so, Vail and Aspen (the best North America Hill Resort place) are almost at par to each other. But what is Serian after 10.00 am and the weekend (insert image below)? Golden, a city home to Golden Engineering University  where lots of our Petronas engineers gained their geo-engineering degrees is another well planned and developed University City along its very unique geo-logical structures. The same for Boulder, another nice well planned Educational City. Our Kota Samarahan as I criticized in a briefing to the then Taib Mahmud CM of Sarawak in 1998, is a City dreamed to be an Educational Hub yet "habuk". Look at the connectivity of all the main elements of Kota Samarahan, there are gaps all over. Even the traffic flows are either confusing and or fuel wasting. My main argument to Taib then was Kota Samarahan is a city of centrifugal force vis-a-vis Kuching. Fort Colin of Cororado is another interesting small smart city. It serves as the US Military base just as our Bt 7 and Penrissen combine. Fort Colin not only is a military base but it is the Colorado rural pasar for all sort of agriculture and country side products as well. I was amazed to find our keris being sold at their flee Market.

(18) Can't our city planners (SPA) to works together with our socio-economic planners (SPU) and natural resources management people (MRP) to sit together and to start looking at things form a much holistic, integrated and sustainable manner. Why are we keeping to be disjointed? When should we start to redha and syukur to accept and giving back?

(19) Thus indeed, if both our SPA and SPU (State Economic Planning Unit) could be mold in a such over their planning capacity function so as to make all our rural pasar into unique resort places, definitely Sarawak and or Borneo will be tourist heaven for the Far East population. There is at least 3.5-4.0 billion of the world population that would love to enjoy our best manage tropical and diverse ethno-culture setting. While we should tape into the wealth of the foreign tourism sector, we must firstly work on making our people living the most soothing and interesting to appreciate. We must not continue to allow the traditional minded Chinese Tawkey to exploit our rural economies for such will forever sustain the socio-economic imbalance among natives-non-natives at the State and National level. My such statement has nothing to do with racism, but such is the economic and social planning discipline that we must start with and being practice in those First World Nation that made them to where they are now.

(20) Indeed I can see places such as Simunjan, Lingga, Sri Aman, Engkelili, Pusa, Daro, Matu, Dalat, Marudi, etc all these riverine pasar could be our River-based City Resorts. Thames in New Zealand (image inserted left) is not too far standard for us to achieve if we are determine to properly blend our local resources into a much coordinated socio-economic development for these riverine pasar. Look at Simunjan for instance. What natural setting of Thames is not there in Simunjan (inserted image below). Thames may have snow that Simunjan don't have, but indeed Simunjan "receive more snow than Thames" just that the Simunjan temperature is warmer so much so the snow melt before in hover above the Gunung Ngeli of Simunjan. But why Thames is so beautifully developed and Simunjan not. Since I was born in 1960, and first time setting my feet to the pasar when I three, to this day, GOS has not putting serious effort to turn Simunjan, Pendam, Sebangan, Sebuyau and Gedong within the Greater Simunjan environ into a very integrated and sustainable development. Indeed today, it is much simpler for GOS to bring together the private sector such as Tradewind, Tabung Haji, KTS, Rimbunan Hijau, Felda, and many more which I have lost tract for these are the conglomerates that had benefited from the greater Simunjan resources since 1960s to these days yet Simunjan pasar is just a pasar and the people of the greater Simunjan hd not gone be great. Too much excuses had been put forward of doing so, rather somebody or GOS really making the great effort of doing it. As far as I know, there is no Masterplan for Simunjan and the Greater Simunjan had ever being developed on ad hoc fire fighting basis. Accordingly, pasar such as Serian, Lubok Antu, Kanowit, Song, Kapit, Belaga etc are our Vail equivalent hinterland resort cities. Definitely Bario, Long Semado, Mulu, Ba Kalalan etc are our Highland Resorts which definitely we can work to attain the Aspen of USA, miniature.

(16) Definitely the making of all these dream rural resort cities must take into account on how we must manage the related surrounding land resources. This is where the wisdom of Allah for making the world into seven continents, seven oceans, seven climatic-based vegetative zoning, even the seven Heaven and the seven layers of Hell all is to transcend the ideas of possible thematic development that we could emulate in developing our rural pasar core natives economies. Dalat for instance can be the developed and sell as the Siat Resort City Pusa as the Pufferfish, Buntal Resort City Tambirat as the Palm Sugar Resort City, Lubok Antu would be great to be turned into the Devil City Resort to compliment Pontianak as the Vampire City, and etc. Thus to get these to their idealism form and theme, our planners and city controlling development agencies must understand closely the meaning ang thus applying honestly the concept of the Islamic redha and syukur. We must accept what there surrounding us as facts, and such facts must never be denied, but to be appreciate and manage to the best interest of now and future humankinds, as sign of syukur giving back.