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Uniquely remote
by James Ling. Posted on February 19, 2012, Sunday
NANGA Antawau is, indeed, one of a kind.
Situated near a tropical rainforest, it’s the last Iban settlement along the Baleh River in Kapit Division — with just two rows of six longhouses, four tuai rumah and a penghulu.
Yet, it can lay claim to being the only rural settlement that is fully-equipped with basic amenities such as electricity and piped water supply, parabolic dishes, satellite public telephones, a clinic, a primary school, a pre-school, a library and a community dump store (where essential goods are kept for the convenience of the settlers).
It is also the birthplace of the present Kapit Division Iban chief, Temenggong Datuk Kenneth Kayan.
The settlement was set up by the colonial government in the early 1960’s as the last frontier for migrating Ibans to move further up the Baleh River.
Beyond this point, Baleh was inhabited by the Orang Ulu, mainly Kenyah, at Long Singut, the very last settlement at the foot of Bukit Tibang that serves as the international boundary between Sarawak and Kalimatan (Indonesia).
VIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT: Two rows of four longhouses at the settlement with street lightings at the open cement space in the middle.
The journey from Nanga Antawau to Long Singut takes six to eight hours by longboat up the Baleh River.
The six longhouses — three each in two rows facing each other – are looked after by the four tuai tumah and one penghulu.
In all, there are 150 biliks (rooms) with over 1,000 dwellers who are mainly farmers, and workers at logging camps nearby or along the Baleh River.
Penghulu Jampi Raweng, assisted by tuai rumah Laso, Nabau, Langga and Tajar, are in charge of the day-to-day affairs of their respective longhouses.
Bawang, who chairs of the Women’s Bureau, and her committee look after the welfare of the womenfolk.
Among others, their task is to promote cottage industry, especially the weaving of traditional Iban pua kumpu which fetches a high price in the urban centres.
The Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK), normally consisting of men, is responsible for the security of the village and carries out development projects through gotong royong.
Many of the longhouse dwellers, especially the educated ones, have migrated to urban centres like Kapit to work as civil servants and teachers.
Orderly settlement
The settlement is well laid out. On the east wing are a concrete jetty, a water treatment plant, a Sesco power station, a clinic (health centre) and a village library while SK (Sekolah Kebangsaan)Temenggong Koh, on a hill top overlooking the Baleh River, the longhouses and a pre-school are on the west wing.
Parabola dishes and satellite telephones are installed in the middle of the settlement where a cement walkway is lit by street lightings at night. The clinic is manned by a medical assistant, three nurses and an attendant.
EDUCATION: SK Temenggong Koh provides primary education for pupils from Nanga Antawau and the nearby areas.
The children of Nanga Antawau are a privileged lot, attending pre-school at their doorstep before continuing six years of primary education at SK Temenggong Koh, about 100 metres away.
SK Temenggong Koh, a well-established rural boarding primary school, was named after the great Iban warrior of the 18th century. Koh was the father of Datuk Kenneth Kanyan and grandfather of Daniel Jubang, a political secretary to the Chief Minister.
The school staff comprise the headmaster, Aladdin Michael Ayong, three senior assistants, Kiat Jilam, Peter Kedit Ngalambong and Malien Milos, and 14 teachers, supported by 13 non-teaching staff.
LAST FRONTIER: Nanga Antawau, the last Iban frontier along the Baleh River. Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Billy Abit Joo (front) and government department heads, led by Kapit Resident Dahim Nadot and District Officer Elvis Didit, threading through some large driftwoods on the riverbank on their way to the settlement during a recent visit.
The more than 100 pupils come from Nanga Antawau and nearby longhouses with a small number of young Kenyah from Long Singut.
The school scored a 78.57 per cent passing rate in the 2011 Ujian Penilian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and is targetting 80 per cent this year. Apart from providing extra classes and tuition, the school conducts motivation sessions and seminars for parents and their children sitting for UPSR.
It has also introduced a teachers’ adoption scheme where pupils are given personal attention in class.
SK Temenggong Koh is the only national-type school in Kapit to set up a foundation that awards incentives for academic excellence. The school was built over 10 years ago by Bangsa Untang, a sucessful Iban entrepreneur from the area, to provide quality education and cash assistance to students who excel in public exams or are going for tertiary education.
Bangsa’s business ventures include school ration suppy, rice production and operation of canteens and restaurants.
He has also earned a reputation as a road builder and is the first contractor from Kapit to hold a Class AAA licence for mega projects.
In 2011, he was given the Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Dewan Perniagaan Dan Usahawan Bumiputera Sarawak in recognition of his success in business and commerce.
Good feng shui
The feng shui of Nanga Antawau is definitely good as it has produced many outstanding Iban leaders in politics, business and the community such as former Kapit MP, Datuk James Jimbun Punggat, now the Iban Temenggong of Kuching Division; Temenggong Datuk Kenneth Kanyan, the Kapit Division Iban chief; Daniel Jubang (a political secretary to the Chief Minister) and the son of Kenneth Kanyan; George Lagong, the Pelagus independent assemblyman; Robert Segie, the administrative officer attached to the Kuching Resident’s Office, and Petter Segie, the assistant director of Special Affairs Department Kuching.
To help the rural population, the Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism Ministry has set up several village dump points to supply daily essentials such as liquefied cooking gas and fuel at prices similar to the urban centres.
Costs of transporting these items to the dump points are borne by the government.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the longhouse folks who plant hill padi and vegetables for home consumption. Any extras are sold at the nearby logging camps.
According to Tuai Rumah Laso, some of the local fishermen catch exotic fish such as Ikan Selmah to sell to Kapit because of the high demand.
Both the Baleh River and Antawau River are breeding grounds for Ikan Semah and Ikan Empurau.
However, he lamented that after the logjam along the Rejang and its upper reaches in 2010, the fish population had declined significantly.
Laso said many of the men from the longhoues worked at nearby logging camps as track drivers and lumberjacks while others were engaged by the plywood plant in the area.
Jarraw Unggang, a 70-year-old resident from Rumah Nabau, told thesundaypost he had worked at one of the logging camps for many years and is now retired.
“Dulu, aku kerja di kem kayu balak, sekarang umur sudah tua, kompeni tidak mahu gaji saya kerja lagi. Tidak ada kerja, aku diam di Rumah Panjang jaga cucuk. Aku harap perintah beri bantuan ke orang tua. (Previoulsy, I worked at a logging camp. Now that I’m old, the company no longer wants to employ me. Without work, I stay at the longhouse and look after my grandchildren. I hope the government will bring help to old people like me),” he said.
Nanga Antawau is only accessible by river transport. An expressboat journey from Kapit takes about three hours or more, depending on the water level.
