The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:56 PM PDT KOTA KINABALU: Joy and excitement were clearly seen on the faces of 20 pupils from a remote interior school who were given an opportunity to travel for the first time in an aircraft. Pupils from SMK Nabawan boarded the MASwings ATR72-500 aircraft recently for an early morning flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan as part of the company's 'Wings of Love' initiative. The pupils and four teachers, led by their Library Club consulting teacher Kelvin Kong, boarded the flight to Sandakan to visit the district library. They had earlier travelled one hour by road from Nabawan to Keningau before continuing their two hour overland journey to Kota Kinabalu to board the flight. MASwings regional vice president for Sabah Shauqi Ahmad said the airline was more than glad to sponsor the pupil's flight after learning the objective of the field trip initiated by their teachers to reward these students He added that MASwings had taken note and appreciate the fact that despite the hardship of the pupil's families, the Library Club teachers would hold a field trip for their pupils every year, hoping to expose them to other places besides their own small village. The field trip was also to motivate the pupilss to strive for a better life for themselves and their family. Previously the school's Library Club visited the Keningau and Tenon District Library and last year they went further to visit the Sabah State and UMS Library. This year, SMK Nabawan's three-day field trip included a visit to Sandakan Library, SMK Elopura, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Sandakan Crocodile Farm. "MASwings will continue to be committed to such meaningful initiatives under its Wings of Love project, especially those related to education and underprivileged pupils from remote areas within Sabah and Sarawak. "We hope by our contribution, it will bring about positive changes in the community and the country as a whole." said Shauqi. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:55 PM PDT LITTLE is known about the original inhabitants of Johor Baru's coastal settlers called the Orang Laut or Orang Seletar. The community, mostly fishermen, are facing even greater hardships as their livelihood is affected drastically by rapid developments in the state. However, the establishment of the Seletar cultural centre at Kampung Sungai Temon near Taman Perling, Johor is aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of these former sea nomads. The centre, which is about 2,500 sq ft, was jointly set up by the villagers and the Malaysian Society of Marine Science (MSMS), with RM60,000 funding from the Global Environment Facility. It features displays of black and white photographs taken by photographer Ivan Polunin, storyboards and maps telling the story of the Orang Seletar, and replicas of the traditional boats and hunting tools used by the tribal community. Kampung Sungai Temon Tok Batin (village head) Salim Palun, 50, said that the centre would ensure that the traditional Orang Seletar culture was preserved and that the younger generation do not forget their roots. "We hope the cultural centre will show that we have stayed in this area for many generations, and that development should not come at our expense or encroach on this land," he said. He added that cultural dances and performances would be held at the centre on weekends. Salim added that this was one way to help the community improve their livelihood by generating supplementary income through these cultural performances. MSMS project leader Choo Chee Kuang said he came across the village while gathering information about orang asli out of his own interest, and found the Orang Seletar to be very unique and interesting. Choo roped in a group of 10 friends and came to understand the needs of the community and decided to help set up of the community's cultural centre. Villager Yan Balun said that he was proud to have such a centre which showed the history of the Orang Seletar. "We still used to live in boats when I was a child. Now things have changed and everything is modern and we interact a lot more with others. But we have to defend this land which we have lived on for decades bacause otherwise our future generations will be left with nothing" he said. The Seletar cultural centre gallery opens daily from 11am to 10pm, except on Mondays. Traditional performances will be held on weekends, and tickets are priced at RM25 for adults and RM10 for children under 12. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:54 PM PDT JASIN: The Sungai Rambai folks here created an early Hari Raya ambience when they prepared a giant Ketupat in an attempt to enter the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR). Their endeavour proved to be a success when the Ketupat weighing 1,800kg and 1.2m in height was officially recorded by MBR. The attempt was verified by MBR representative Myra Dzaman, who handed a certificate to Sungai Rambai assemblyman Datuk Hasan Rahman, at Kampung Parit Perawas village here recently. Several local artistes namely Nash, Datuk Ahmad Jais and Nurul also witnessed the certificate presentation and performed some Hari Raya songs for the crowd. Hassan, who is also the State Public Works and Amenities committee chairman, said 12 individuals from Sungai Rambai were assigned to design the giant Ketupat while the villagers worked on the delicacy which took two days to complete. "It was an overnight task for all 12 when they had to steam 630kgs of rice using 21 cauldrons. The toughest task was weaving the coconut leaves to make the enormous Ketupat," he said. Hassan said six villagers were specially tasked to check on the other condiments used to prepare the Ketupat so that its freshness could be maintained. "Its not easy to prepare the giant Ketupat, as those who have to work on it needs the patience and skills," he said. Hassan added that the giant Ketupat was later distributed to villagers in Sungai Rambai as mark of appreciation and also to rekindle the Hari Raya mood. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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