Category: Sarawak

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s condolences yesterday to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the Belaga boat disaster is most appropriate although made two days after the tragedy and after I had made adverse comments on the “silence and indifference” of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as they “had not said a single word on the Belaga boat disaster in the past two days”.

However, I am very disappointed that apart from calling for “a detailed investigation to determine the cause of the boat tragedy in Sungai Rajang, Sarawak on Tuesday”, both the Federal and Sarawak State governments have continued to ignore the problem of rural road access in Sarawak especially to Kapit and Belaga – which is the root cause of the tragedy of express boat disasters in upriver areas of Sungai Rajang.

The Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Rahani Abdul Karim yesterday visited Belaga to convey the condolences of the Prime Minister to the families of victims of the Belaga boat tragedy, and a Bernama reported quoted her as saying:

“Yesterday, during the weekly meeting of the Cabinet, the prime minister was so sad over the incident, and he directed me to come (today) as a representative of the federal government.”

This raises the question why Najib or the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Malaysian Security Council (MKN) Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim had not visited Belaga themselves to get first-hand information of the Belaga boat tragedy – which they would have done if the Belaga disaster had occurred before the 13GE polling date on May 5.

Why should a difference of 23 days between May 5 and May 28 when the Belaga boat tragedy occurred make such a great difference as to whether the PM, DPM or the Minister in the PM’s Department, would have made a personal trip to Belaga themselves?

In fact, if the tragedy had happened before May 5, even the Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud would have personally visited Belaga himself, instead of just leaving it to Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang. Continue reading “The right of rural communities in Sarawak to equitable development after 50 years of formation of Malaysia, particularly rural road access to Kapit and Belaga, should be one of the main issues of the 11th Sarawak state general elections expected in 18-24 months”

DAP terkejut dan kesal dengan tragedi bot Belaga pagi semalam yang mana sebuah bot ekspress karam di Sungai Rajang, dengan 23 penumpang masih hilang ketika operasi mencari dan menyelamat berhenti semalam disebabkan waktu malam.

Setakat ini, 181 penumpang berjaya untuk berenang ke tempat selamat selepas bot ekspress yang dinaiki karam di kawasan Jeram Tukok/Jeram Bungan, lebih kurang empat jam perjalanan dari Sibu.

Siasatan awal menunjukkan bahawa bot ekspres itu telah melebihi kapasiti 67 tempat duduk dan dipercayai terlebih muatan dengan 200 penumpang pulang dari pesta Gawai Dayak, kemudian menghadapi masalah enjin gagal berfungsi sebelum merempuh batu dan karam.

Pengerusi Lembaga Sungai Sarawak (SRB) Datuk Roland Sagah telah mengumumkan satu siasatan penuh akan diadakan terhadap insiden tragis itu, memberi amaran tindakan akan diambil terhadap operator bot kerana gagal mengikut nasihat supaya tidak membawa lebih muatan atau membenarkan penumpang memanjat bumbung apabila kapal terlalu penuh ketika menyelusuri di sungai.

Malangnya, siasatan sedemikian tidak akan mengembalikan nyawa mereka yang telah terkorban di dalam insiden kemalangan bot di Sarawak.

Dua tahun lalu, 13 penumpang terkorban di dalam tragedi bot yang serupa di kawasan Tatau berhampiran pekan Bintulu.

Kemalangan bot Belaga sepatutnya dianggap sebagai bencana negara kerana itu merupakan bukti tragis kegagalan 50 tahun pembangunan di Sarawak yang masih tidak mempunyai akses jalanraya ke kawasan pedalaman. Continue reading “Kemalangan bot Belaga sepatutnya dianggap sebagai bencana negara kerana itu merupakan bukti tragis kegagalan 50 tahun pembangunan di Sarawak yang masih tidak mempunyai akses jalanraya ke kawasan pedalaman”

DAP is shocked and outraged at the tragic Belaga boat disaster yesterday morning where an express boat sank in the Rajang River, with 23 passengers still missing when search and rescue (SAR) operations stopped yesterday because of nightfall.

So far, 181 passengers managed to swim to safety after the ill-fated express boat sank at the Jeram Tukok/Jeram Bungan area, about four hours’ journey upriver from Sibu.

Initial investigation indicated that the express boat had exceeded its capacity for 67 seated passengers as it was believed to be overloaded with over 200 passengers returning home for the Gawai Dayak festivities, and had encountered engine failure before crashing into a rock and sank.

The Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) Chairman Datuk Roland Sagah has announced a full investigation into the tragic accident, warning of appropriate action against the express boat operator for failing to heed the advice not to overload or allow passengers to climb on the roof when the vessel was too full while plying the rivers.

Unfortunately, such investigations are not going to bring back to life those who have perished in the latest boat disaster in Sarawak.

Two years ago, 13 passengers died in a similar express boat tragedy in Tatau district near Bintulu town.

The Belaga boat accident yesterday should be regarded as a national disaster as it is tragic proof of failure of 50 years of equitable development in Sarawak with still no road access to rural districts. Continue reading “Belaga boat accident should be regarded as a national disaster as it is tragic proof of failure of 50 years of equitable development in Sarawak with still no road access to rural districts”