Kut Canal - Unsung Hero of Dalat

Built in 1870, this man made canal is connecting Batang Oya and Batang Igan for travelers shortcut to Dalat Town. On his hey-day, Kut Canal was the main transport of Melanau Town of Dalat to Sibu. Today, it is still on his pride to serve the settlements on the region. It is even still one of water intake for the kampongs nearby.

By completion of roads and Jambatan Temenggong Mat Win (a bridge crossing Batang Oya to connect kampongs apposite of Dalat Town), Kut Canal no more a choice for transportation mode. However, it shall not lost its respect to the local as an unsung hero of Dalat. Even though it is now getting narrower and shallower, Kut Canal is still there and ever-ready to serve the peoples.

Speech on "I Have A Dream"

redgoldarawana ON THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE SPEECH - 'I HAVE A DREAM' BY MARTIN LUTHER KING...

In my trial to look for most unforgettable speech, I found this and try to understand its deep meaning... As I keep trying to understand, I preserved my salutation to his speech that has changed the world on my redgoldarawana blog, with billion of hopes that we will live in a better world.. Interesting and fantastic that his speech was made few weeks before the formation of my beloved, the one and only country, Malaysia.

Martin Luther King (Photo credit photo: Wikipedia)

On 28 August, 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his magnificent "I have a dream speech" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Below is the full text of his speech. (Credit Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But 100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

And so we've come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a cheque. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of colour are concerned. Instead of honouring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad cheque which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we've come to cash this cheque - a cheque that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Sweltering summer... of discontent

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realise that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.

Trials and tribulations

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights: "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied and we will not be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

The dream

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning: "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.
But not only that.
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Full bibliography of Martin Luther King can be read HERE or HERE.

Mukah - Destinasi Pelancongan Bagi Kaki Pancing..

Pengalaman Pertama Memancing di laut dalam merupakan pengalaman yang baru bagi Gold Arawana. Bagai manapun, bagi mereka yang memang meminati aktiviti lasak ini, memancing di perairan laut dalam Mukah adalah suatu pengalaman yang sukar untuk dilepaskan. Pengalaman pertama memancing di laut dalam memang sedikit menakutkan. Apalagi di kelilingi oleh laut yang seolah-olah tiada penghujungnya. Apabila tiba waktu malam pula, tiada apa yang kelihatan kecuali sekiranya ada bulan dan bintang di langit. Ketika inilah, biasanya rasa-rasa mual akan menyerang. Bagi yang berpengalaman, ubat bukanlah satu kemestian, tetapi bagi Gold Arawana, pengalaman memancing tidak akan dapat dinikmati sekiranya diserang "mabuk percuma" yang disumbangkan oleh laut yang bergelora.

Industri Memancing di MukahMukah, sebuah bandar pesisir yang asalnya merupakan perkampungan nelayan dari suku kaum Melanau memang terkenal sekian lamanya sebagai pengeluar produk makanan laut. Ini terbukti dengan kehadiran pengunjung dari Sibu dan Sarikei yang membeli ikan dan hasil-hasil laut terutamanya pada hujung minggu.

Perahu yang disewakan biasanya dari Gred "A" iaitu yang hanya dibenarkan untuk beroperasi sejauh 30 Batu Nautika (Gold Arawana) kurang pasti dengan polisi ini. Bagai manapun, perahu buatan dari kayu tropika ini biasanya mampu membawa lebih dari 10 orang pemancing. Sewa yang dikenakan adalah sebanyak RM1,800.00 untuk memancing selama satu hari/satu malam. Ini tidak termasuk umpan dan makanan.

Gold Arawana difahamkan, masa yang paling sesuai adalah dari bulan April hingga Oktober iaitu selepas Pesta Kaul dijalankan yang merupakan perayaan tahunan oleh kaum Melanau.

Potensi Pelancongan

Potensi yang ditawarkan adalah sangat lumayan. Itulah gambaran awal yang dapat Gold Arawana gambarkan di sini. Tempahan biasanya perlu dibuat seminggu atau kadang-kadang jauh lebih awal kerana pemancing-pemancing bukan sahaja dari kawasan terdekat, malah terdapat kaki pancing sejauh Kuching, Miri dan juga rakan-rakan dari Semenanjung Malaysia. Hari minggu dan cuti umum adalah kemuncak bagi aktiviti memancing di Mukah.

Oleh yang demikian, aktiviti memancing di Mukah dilihat dan terbukti mampu menarik ramai pengunjung ke Mukah di samping menambahkan pendapatan nelayan-nelayan di sini.

Spesis ikan

Gold Arawana kurang pasti dengan spesis-spesis yang boleh didapati. Tetapi, ikan merah dan kerapu adalah antara ikan-ikan yang biasa diperolehi. Terdapat juga spesis lain yang Gold Arawana tidak kenali, tetapi menurut kaki-kaki pancing spesis "ikan mahal" sememangnya tidak akan mengecewakan pemancing. Tidak hairanlah, setiap kaki pancing yang pernah memancing di Mukah akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk datang kembali ke Mukah.

Pengalaman Yang Tidak Akan Dilupakan

Gold Arawana berkesempatan bertanyakan kepada kawan-kawan kaki pancing, adakah berbaloi untuk mengikuti aktiviti ini. Ya... sekiranya dikira dengan RM yang dikeluarkan dan keletihan yang penat lelah diperolehi, memang tidak berbaloi. Tetapi, jika dikira dengan pengalaman yang diperolehi, RM bukanlah ukuran...

Jadi, kepada kaki-kaki pancing, jangan dilepaskan peluang ini.. Welcome to Mukah....

NOTA TAMBAHAN: MUKAH DIHUBUNGI DENGAN PENGANGKUTAN UDARA DARI KUCHING & MIRI, DAN PERJALANAN DARAT DARI KUCHING MENGAMBIL MASA DALAM 8 JAM PERJALANAN.

River and Life (Batang Mukah)

As part of my mission to "An Honor to Serve", I'm given an honor to accompany a group of officers from Sarawak Ministry of Tourism to Tasik Kenyana. A journey take about one hour along Batang Mukah is a second trip for me. Batang Mukah is the earliest settlement for Melanau tribe apart from other places like Dalat, Matu, Daro, Balingian, and Belawai. They dominate the downstreamof the river, and Dayak Iban longhouses dominate the upperstream. Other towns along the river is Penakub and Selangau which is situated right at the Pan Borneo so-called highway junction to Mukah. Other articles related to Batang Mukah can be read HERE (Beauties of Mukah River), also visit HERE, HERE, HERE (Tasik Kenyana).

View on the estuary of Batang Mukah. On the left is Mukah Wet Market and on the right is Taman Tanjung Pedada, where the "Pedada" (local name given to a type of swamp tree) forest are preserved.

Mukah Wet Market: Mukah popular for its fresh seafood. Some says that the price is much more expensive compare to Sibu or Kuching. Either it is worth to buy is on the judgement of the customers. "Umai" is one of the "hot" sale here..

Mukah Wet Market for vegetables, where plenty of choices of jungle products can be found here. "Siet" is the most popular item to buy...

Batang Mukah: The earliest mode of transportation on its younger age. The settlements along the riverbank are the best evidence that Batang Mukah is the course for the birth of Mukah Town. Nowadays, Mukah is the fastest developed town in Sarawak. In his heyday, Batang Mukah is an unsung hero for the only mode of transportation and other needs for the peoples live along the river.

Pedada dominate the first 15 minutes by speed boat than follow by commercial crops like rumbia, palm oil plantations and rubber trees...

A local fisherman still use his traditional way of fishing... some of them still very much rely on river to transport mulung(sago logs) as it is much cheaper than through land transport..

The famous landmark of Mukah... Mukah Bridge

A tug boat... the tug everything: logs, coal, sand, etc...

Coal mining is one of the most "hot" business in Mukah for recent years. Apart supplying for his own, Mukah Coal Plant, Mukah is the coal supplier for Kuching Sejingkat Coal Plant. With the development of few major hydro dam in the centre part of Sarawak as part of renewal energy, shall government considered to stop the operation of coal mine? Interesting question to know..

Batang Mukah is not only for human being, it is shared together by thousand of floras and faunas. Egrets are one of the seasonal visitor to this river...

Swiftlet is another growing industries in Mukah for recent years. There are maybe at least 50 swiftlets on the riverbank.

One of a rural school in Mukah. Nowadays, they nomore considered as rural school as they are already connected by roads...

Ladies or men, adult and their childrens are historically train to have a strong relationship with the river....

The two scenarios: Above photo showing a lady wash her clothes on the riverbank. A normal daily schedule I believe have been there since their first settlement here for centuries. A photo below showing rubbishes and waste from logging, sago & plantation industries which totally damaging the natural beauties of Batang Mukah.

Only in Mukah: A modern factory processing the rumbia (sago log).. As river is the cheapest way of transportation, the factory mostly built along the riverbank. The wastage and river pollution? I might not the right person to comment!

Mukah Old Town. Like other cities in this world, Mukah town is slowly developed into a bigger town, and the leaders' vision to make Mukah as a Smart City for central region is in the making. As a smart city, the leaders also shall think of maintaining Batang Mukah as close to its natural beauties. This will be the best appreaciation to him, as the best aliby on observing the transformation of Mukah from a fisherman village to the Smart City.