Taking a painful lesson from Belaga tragedy

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THE tragedy of the ill-fated Kawan Mas has shocked many Sarawakians to the core and cast a heavy pall over the approaching Gawai festivities.

What makes it even more regrettable and painful is the still-fresh memory of the Oct 2010 Ulu Tatau tragedy which took 13 lives and robbed their loved ones of the possibility of a happy future together.

While it can be seen as a miracle that 186 people survived the Belaga ordeal, the outlook is increasingly grim for the 10 still missing at press time yesterday.

There is hope for their safe location but lurking at the back of many minds will be the thought that, at least, some among the missing will never get to experience the welcoming warmth of their families and villages again.

Meanwhile, the seasonal exodus of workers and labourers from the express boat jetties of Sibu, Kapit and Bintulu back to their rural hometowns is continuing unabated.

The latest reports suggest that demand continues to vastly surpass supply and too many people are still keen to climb atop express boat roofs and pack themselves tighter than sardines into the cabins just so they can reach home to celebrate Gawai.

This is the jarring reality. Express boat is still the preferred mode of transport in areas where road infrastructure is non-existent or too costly for ordinary folk who are mostly low-income earners. For sure, they are well aware of the risks and dangers but they have few other feasible options.

The letter of a Shell Malaysia senior instrument engineer, quoted in a posting in a blog yesterday, highlighted the difficult conditions faced by an increasing number of passengers travelling on the ighty Rejang to Song, Kapit and Belaga from Sibu.

Apart from the long distances, dangerous river rapids and the presence of river debris caused by upstream logging activities all contribute towards making riverine travel unsafe.

The letter writer noted that the road from Kanowit to Kapit is similiar in distance and topography to the dual carriageway from Cameron Highland to Bentong.

Yet, the said dual carriageway was completed in three years while the Kapit-Kanowit road is not even scheduled for completion in the next five years, he claimed.

It should be noted that some construction has begun on segments of the proposed and long-overdue 101km road connecting Kapit to Kanowit.

However, the estimated RM768 million project will not be completed in time for next Gawai and measures must be put in place now to ensure that the Belaga tragedy does not repeat itself this time next year.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang has proposed that the Belaga boat tragedy be the top agenda for the last day of the Sarawak State Assembly and also at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Cabinet meeting, both held yesterday.

“Both the Sarawak State Assembly and the Federal Cabinet should come out with a prompt response for an urgent plan to give top priority to the provision of road access firstly, for Bakun-Belaga-Bintulu, and secondly, for Kanowit-Song-Kapit.

“If not, the Belaga boat disaster and the failure of equitable development in Sarawak in the past 50 years with still no road access to the rural districts in the state should be the top topic for MPs, whether from Sarawak, Sabah or peninsular Malaysia, in the first 16-day meeting of the 13th Parliament, beginning on June 24,” he wrote.

It would have been a class act on the last day of the State Assembly had our assemblymen and women grasped the opportunity to address the long-standing grievances surrounding rural transportation and road infrastructure in Sibu, Bintulu and Kapit Divisions.

While it is commendable that a minute of silence in memory of the Kawan Mas disaster victims was observed and that various ministers and backbenchers have collected a sum of financial aid for those affected, it would have been more beneficial and of greater comfort to the families if the Assembly had also seen fit to extend the sitting and
come together in united bipartisanship to debate and commit to viable long-term solutions to Sarawak’s rural transportation woes.

The latest tragedy reflects the need to review existing policies and enforcement across the board and more comprehensively, all aspects related to express boat travel in rural areas  — from the number of enforcement personnel stationed at certain spots during particular periods of the year, to the design and operation of the expressboats and the penalties imposed on those who recklessly put human lives in harm’s way.

Since the State Assembly just concluded yesterday, now would be the most opportune time for our elected representatives and government agency heads to embark en masse on a trip to Belaga to see first-hand the conditions long suffered by the riverine communities of Sarawak who risk life and limb daily travelling on the oft treacherous waters.

In order to preserve the authenticity of the experience, the policy makers and implementers should depart from Bintulu or Sibu via express boat so as to personally experience these hardships and difficulties.

They need to walk a mile in the shoes of people living in the interior to understand what the latter are going through.

This experience will provide a valuable basis upon which tighter legislation, heavier penalties and stricter enforcement can be forged to avoid future riverine disasters.

Only when the policy makers and implementers understand the root cause of the tragedy and firmly resolve to eliminate it will they find the necessary iron will to do what is necessary to prevent another Belaga or Ulu Tatau tragedy from ever happening again.