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A bustling and rapidly growing town located in the heart of Sarawak. As the new millennium dawns, the People of Sibu are all geared up to play their respective roles in turning this town into a unique Garden City of the future.
Located some 60 miles from the South China Sea, Sibu is one of the major towns in the Mate of Sarawak. Of the 13 different states which make up Malaysia, 11 are in Peninsular Malaysia, and two states, Sarawak and Sabah are in what is known as East Malaysia, in the north-western region of the island of Borneo.
Considering that the entire country is almost 332,000 square kilometres, with Penisular Malaysia accounting for 131,387 square kilometres and Sabah, 76,115 square kilometres, Sarawak itself accounts for close to 40 percent of the total landmass in the country.
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CHEAPEST TO RENEW LAND LEASE IN SARAWAK
Sarawak charges the lowest premiums among states in the country in the renewal of residential land leases, said state Second Minister for Planning and Resource Management Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan. Unveiling the much-awaited method in calculating the premium rates for the renewal ...
Sarawak charges the lowest premiums among states in the country in the renewal of residential land leases, said state Second Minister for Planning and Resource Management Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan. Unveiling the much-awaited method in calculating the premium rates for the renewal of leases for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural land here yesterday, he said the approved rates were "reasonable and fair" and would not burden landowners. Citing an example, he said the owner of an intermediate terrace house (with land area of 0.04acres) in the Kenyalang Park here the lease of which will expire in 18 years would have to pay a premium of RM2,600 to extend the lease for another 60 years. "This works out to RM43.33 a year or RM3.61 per month," he told reporters. (Kenyalang Park is the city's earliest built major housing estate located adjacent to the state and federal complexes). Awang Tengah said a similar intermediate terrace house in Rejang Park Sibu (with lease of 20 years to expire) would be charged a premium of RM2,200 to extend the lease for another 60 years. He said low-income residential landowners and those living below poverty line would be given consideration to be charged a lower premium rate. For industrial land, he said the owner of a 0.5-acre industrial lot in Pending Industrial Estate here (with lease of 20 years to expire) would be charged RM38,000 or RM640 per year to get the land lease extended for another 60 years. Pending Industrial Estate is the city's first industrial estate and located in a prime area. Awang Tengah said landowners who could not afford to pay the renewal premium in one lump sum would be allowed to pay by annual instalments of up to 10 years. "Sarawak is the only state that is implementing this policy of paying by instalments." "The sales are determined by market forces and not controlled by the government as alleged by certain parties," he added. --Thestar
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SARAWAK'S INDEPENDENCE THROUGH MALAYSIA: A SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION
While August 31, 1957 is the date where Malaysia proclaimed independence, Sept 16, 1963 is a more significant date for Sarawak as on that day the state gained independence through Malaysia.Sarawak was initially under the Brunei Sultanate and in 1842 it came under the `White Rajah' James Brooke ...
While August 31, 1957 is the date where Malaysia proclaimed independence, Sept 16, 1963 is a more significant date for Sarawak as on that day the state gained independence through Malaysia.Sarawak was initially under the Brunei Sultanate and in 1842 it came under the `White Rajah' James Brooke and later his successors and finally it ended up as a British colony on July 1, 1946.Sarawak's participation in Malaysia, along with Singapore and Sabah, was initially viewed with scepticism and confronted by Indonesia.Yet after 43 years, all assessment point to the fact it was the right decision that benefited Sarawak in every aspect.The former governor Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub when met at his residence told Bernama that Sarawak decided to join Malaysia because it shared the same aspirations like Malaya then."It was the right decision," he said adding that the outcome was the better life and the freedom that the people in the state have been enjoying.He noted that though Sarawak enjoys greater autonomy compared to the states in the peninsula, the state and the Federal Government have enjoyed cordial relations throughout that not only benefited Sarawakians but all in Malaysia.SARAWAK IN BETTER FOOTING UNDER MALAYSIAAbdul Rahman who was also the former chief minister exemplified the help extended by the Federal Government that enabled Sarawak to eliminate the communist threat in the state.The Federal Government dispatched police and army platoons to communist hideouts in areas like Sri Aman (then known as Simanggang) and Sibu.The communist threat that lasted for 11 years ended when the state's communist chief Bong Kee Chok officially agreed to lay down arms on Oct 21, 1973 in Sri Aman, 290km from here.Other than benefiting from the security viewpoint, Abdul Rahman pointed at the economic development enjoyed by Sarawak through the assistance of the Federal Government.Abdul Rahman refuted the notion that Sarawak could have developed on its own like Brunei without participating in Malaysia.He explained that while both Sarawak and Brunei were endowed with oil and gas, many fail to take into consideration that Brunei is a smaller country with a smaller population that made it easier to develop unlike Sarawak which is vast and its population scattered.Despite this, Sarawak has made great strides in the last four decades in uplifting the livelihood of its people.SARAWAK HAS SEEN MANY DEVELOPMENT UNDER MALAYSIAAgain Abdul Rahman emphasised that the development meant here shouldn't be seen in the narrow context like how many roads and schools have been built. Instead it should be seen in a holistic manner like how far we have come in enhancing the competitiveness of the indigenous people, in unifying the different races and more importantly in maintaining the long-term stability.Abdul Rahman, Sarawak's third chief minister, took over from Datuk Tawi Sli in 1970. Sarawak's first chief minister was Tan Sri Stephen Kalong Ningkan who led the state from Sept 16, 1963 to Jun 16, 1966.Abdul Rahman was Sarawak's fourth governor from March 31, 1981 to April 2, 1985 and has now fully devoted himself to Islam.SARAWAK IN MALAYSIA A SUCCESSFUL FORMULAA Sarawak historian, Dr Chang Pat Fot pointed out that Sarawak's entry into Malaysia brought big success to the state especially in education and infrastructure.Dr Chang who has vastly written on the state's history said the Malaysia framework provided a better financial footing and accelerated the infrastructure development in education, security, telecommunication and others.Sarawak today is far different than what it used to be before 1963. There were no proper roads connecting the different towns then and the people lived in the interiors and led simple lives."All that changed when Sarawak achieved independence through Malaysia. The road connecting Kuching and Sibu was opened in 1968 greatly improving communication over land and now there is a road that connects Kuching to Lawas," he said.More indigenous people today are literate and there are a number of intellectuals too and the once rural society today have transformed into city dwellers and are enjoying all the trappings of a modern live.Since joining Malaysian, Dr Chang concluded that Sarawak is definitely better off.-- BERNAMA
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BCF 2007 STALLS BIDDING CLOSED
BCF 2007 online Stalls bidding closed at 12:00NN on 10th June 2007. For any enquiries on renting of the BCF Stalls, please contact: Mr. Ngu Kok Kim or Madam Judy Chan, Level 23, Wisma Sanyan, Sibu (Tel: 084-332423, Fax : 084-320240).
BCF 2007 online Stalls bidding closed at 12:00NN on 10th June 2007. For any enquiries on renting of the BCF Stalls, please contact: Mr. Ngu Kok Kim or Madam Judy Chan, Level 23, Wisma Sanyan, Sibu (Tel: 084-332423, Fax : 084-320240).
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2ND BORNEO INTERNATIONAL TATTOO CONVENTION 2007 (BITC '07)
During the recent East Asia Tourism Forum (EATOF) held in Sibu, Sarawak on 14 -16 September 2006, an interesting paper was presented by Norazirah Hj. Ayob and Mahani B.M.A. Shakur of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The paper is entitled "Body Art as an Exotic Tourist Attraction In ...
During the recent East Asia Tourism Forum (EATOF) held in Sibu, Sarawak on 14 -16 September 2006, an interesting paper was presented by Norazirah Hj. Ayob and Mahani B.M.A. Shakur of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The paper is entitled "Body Art as an Exotic Tourist Attraction In Sarawak". The EATOF event was held to coincide with the signature event of Sibu, the Borneo Cultural Festival, more commonly known as BCF. BCF is organized by Sibu Municipal Council with the aim of making the event a showcase of Sarawak diverse and unique cultures to the world. This is the fifth year running. The local and outstation communities have embraced this event with great enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for foreign tourists. It is more a local festival, albeit a very successful and not as a tourist attraction. The IdeaIt has been mooted by a few councilors of SMC that an event showcasing the native tattoos may be successfully promoted as a tourist attraction product, after reading the paper of the UNIMAS lecturers. To quote from the Paper:"Finding from a simple survey conducted revealed that Sarawak's native tattoo has a potential to be marketed as one of Sarawak's excellent tourism product."The Paper concluded as follows:"From the short survey, it is revealed that Sarawak's native tattoo has its own unique attraction as one of tourism attraction in Sarawak. Moreover, people/tourists are willing to discover and learn more about this body art if it is enough promotion and exposure is given to them. Therefore, it is about time for tourism related organization to take immediate [and] necessary action to support the enforcement of pushing these exotic native tattoo as one [of] the tourism attraction products. By doing this, we believe that, it is one of the way to maintain and sustain the preserving of the rich ethnic cultural diversity in Sarawak."The PlanIt is proposed that an event be organized to create awareness on the native tattoos and to promote the event as a tourist attraction. This can be done by organizing a two to three days convention with a side forum to provide a more "serious" face for the event. It can be held over a weekend, from Friday to Sunday and at an exclusive location, preferably, one that can be associated to nature and the native/ tropical environment, similar to the Sarawak Cultural Village. The main program will be the performance by some world renown tattooists and interaction among these tattooists and tattoo enthusiasts/ tourists /public. In the evening there will also be live concert by invited bands including local native musical performance.2nd Borneo International Tattoos Convention 2007 (BITC '07)The proposed convention is to be called "2nd Borneo International Tattoos Convention 2007 (BITC '07)" The words "Borneo International" are used for two reasons. First, it is to highlight the Borneo name, which, has a very high recognition worldwide and linking it to the practice of tattoos by the natives of Borneo, in particular, among the Ibans and Kayans. Second, it is to differentiate from the international tattoo convention as an annual event, with London being the host this year.The reason for putting "2nd" and "2007" is two fold. First, it is intended to make this a regular event and secondly, to associate with the earlier 1st Borneo International Tattoo Convention 2002, a privately organized event. It is the intention of the organizer to tap into the expertise of the organizer of the 2002 convention.Brief facts on the "1st Borneo International Tattoos Convention 2002"The event was organised by Ernesto Kalum and Jerry Muda. Ernesto is a law graduate and now operates the Borneo Headhunters Tattoo Studio. The event was held at Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching from 1st to 5th May 2002. It was an entirely a private initiative of both persons. There intention was to revive the dying art of tattooing and to promote Iban's ethnic design overseas.he number of foreign participants is estimated to range from 500 (source: STB) to 3,000 (source: organizers). According to the tattoo magazine Prick, there were 1,500 people. There was an entrance fee of RM50.oo per person per day.There were more than 15 internationally renowned tattooists who were invited and attended the convention. Ithe evenings there open air music concert. According to the organizers, for those few days Kuching ran out of hotel rooms.In the report carried by the Prick magazine on the convention, it concluded:"There was plenty to smile about at this Sarawak Convention and it looks as though they will still be smiling at the next one in 2003. A straw poll showed that most participants and visitors intend to be back for the 2nd Borneo International Tattoo Convention."The 2nd convention did not materialize. The organizers find the task of organizing the event and the financial cost too heavy. There was little or no government support for the event even though it managed to draw in a sizeable number of tourists.Programs for BITC '07The technical aspect - programs for the tattoos performance will be dealt with by Ernesto, organizer of the BITC 02. He will invite 5 to 10 world renown tattooists to the convention.As for the evening programs, Cr. Chambai Lindong will work together with Ernesto in getting musical groups to perform. These groups will mainly be local troupe similar to those that perform at the World Rain Forest Music Festival.The first day will begin with a simple opening ceremony with some stage music and cultural performances from the native communities. Thereafter, the various stalls of the tattooists would open.In the afternoon and evening, simple activities will be held. They include blow nine demo and contest, cock-fighting exhibition, workshop on traditional music, wood carving, mat weaving, and pua making.The evening will see the performance of musical groups and cultural troupes.In the afternoon of the first and second day, a forum with two to three papers will be presented. Speakers will be sought locally and, if available, internationally. The forum will be held in a leading hotel. There will be entrance fees for the forum.The closing ceremony will be held at the Town Square, with a tattoos parade and stage performance as highlights.
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