Kampung Taba Sait village head Sayang Bidi receiving a mock check from Manyin. With them are (from right) Austin Dimin, Bidayuh Temenggong for Kuching Division, Zamahari Saidi, Acting Kuching Resident, Dr Jerif and Raymond Jihap, Bidayuh Pemanca for Kuching District.
CAN you imagine the difficulties in uprooting a whole family and their possessions from a place accessible only by foot?
The exercise is definitely tough, considering the challenges such as forest trails, rivers and steep hills along the way.
Those not used to it will certainly think twice before taking on such an arduous undertaking.
Yet, this is exactly the situation faced by the folks at Kampung Semban Teleg, Kampung Rejoi, Kampung Pain Bojong and Taba Sait.
None of these villages, located at upper Penrissen, can be reached by any types of motor vehicles.
Implementation of dam
The villagers have to be resettled for the implementation of the Bengoh Reservoir Dam.
They have now found new homes at the Bengoh Resettlement Scheme (BRS) accessible by all types of motor vehicles and supplied with 24-hour electricity and treated water.
Obviously, the villagers at the new settlements are enjoying significantly better living standards than before the dam project.
Different people had different reasons for relocating and the common thread was simple and clear – opportunity for a fresh start to a better life, and make their own fortune.
Most of the villagers who had moved to the BRS agree. But for some, leaving the place they were born and raised is the last thing they wanted, given that uprooting young children and family belongings from old homes to the new settlements could be a traumatic experience.
To get to Kampung Bengoh, the pick-up point, the villagers had to walk — with all their possessions either on their shoulders or in rattan tambok on their heads – along narrow, dirt, steep trails and across hanging bamboo bridges and rafts.
Labour not cheap
Some families, especially of the elderly, had to rely on labourers to carry their possessions — which does not come cheap.
Aside from labour, these families also had to pay for transport from Kampung Bengoh to BRS, which are about 15km apart.
“I have 70 sacks of padi to bring to Kampung Bengoh and I need strong people to carry them.
“There are also old things like jars, which I inherited from my ancestors, to be brought over,” explained Rumang Paremas, 61, from Kampung Taba Sait, about an hour’s walk from Kampung Bengoh.
Kosok Suri, a farmer from Kampung Pain Bojong, said he still had many possessions left at his old home.
“There are several sacks of padi, old jars and even kampung chicken to move out,” the 59-year-old noted.
Sagen Adan, 55, said he too was not done with moving his belongings to BRS.
He said a person could make only one to-and-fro trip from Kampung Bengoh to Kampung Semban Teleg because of the distance.
“A trip from Kampung Bengoh to Kampung Semban and back takes at least six hours and so, it may take weeks to move all our things out,” he lamented.
Sakeh Rawon, 47, said Kampung Rejoi is in the same boat with its neighbour — Kampung Semban.
He added that only about 20 per cent of his possessions in the old home had been moved to BRS.
“We also have to pay RM1 per kg for every possession carried to Kampung Bengoh and RM60 a day to the person doing the job,” he said.
Kampung Taba Sait pagan priest performs the ritual cleansing on Manying and Dr Jerip.
Moving allowance payment
The state government recently paid out RM10,000 in “moving allowance” to each family from Kampung Semban and Kampung Rejoi and RM8,000 to each family from Kampung Pain Bojong and Kampun Taba Sait.
Infrastructure Development and Communication Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin handed over the allowance during the official relocation ceremony at BRS.
The allowance was to relieve the burden of families who had been moving out of their old homes since November last year.
Some 152 out of 204 affected families had moved to BRS while the rest had decided to stay put.
Manyin said the state government decided to pay the “moving allowance” because it was aware of the hardships the families were facing in transferring their possessions to BRS.
“The government knows that when you move out from one place to another, you will face difficulties in terms of money.
“Because of that, the government has allocated RM1.8 million to help with relocating the four villages,” he added.
Not happy with amount
Many are thankful to the government although not too pleased with the amount.
Rumang lamented that the amount may not be enough to cover overall transportation costs.
He said it cost RM60 per day to hire a person to move his belongings from Kampung Taba Sait to Kampung Bengoh, adding that one person could hardly make two to-and-fro trips a day.
Moreover, some who did not own vehicles, had to pay for transportation charges from Kampung Bengoh to BRS.
Kosok said they too had to pay RM60 a day to move their belongings to Kampung Bengoh.
He added that like in Kampung Taba Sait, one person could only make two trips per day.
A to-and-fro walk from Kampung Bengoh to Kampung Pain Bojong takes about four hours.
“It may take at least 20 days to move all my possessions and I’m not sure if the moving grant I received is enough,” he said.
Kampung Pain Bojong is the second farthest from Kampung Bengoh.
Sagen said because of the distance, the cost of transporting their belongings from Kampung Semban was very costly.
“We have to pay RM1 per kg for our possessions to be carried to Kampung Bengoh.
“We are also to pay RM60 per day for labour but if a person can carry 10 kg of goods, we have to pay him or her RM70 a day.”
He pointed out that the amount did not include charges for vehicles used to bring the possessions from Kampung Bengoh to BRS.
Sakeh said to some families, the moving grant may not be enough to move out all their belongings which may weigh up to thousands of kgs.
He pointed out that a person could only make to-and-fro trips once a day — from Kampung Bengoh to Kampung Rejoi which is the second farthest among the four.
According to Sakeh, a single trip from Kampung Bengoh to Kampung Rejoi normally takes between two-and-a-half and three hours.
“To bring our padi out from Semban and Rejoi is already very costly,” he noted.
Government played its part
Manyin said the government acknowledged the allowance might not be enough to some people but it had done its part to help them.
He told the resettled villagers: “We really appreciate your acceptance of our programme to develop the Bengoh Dam not just for the people in the area but also for all the people in Kuching.”
He said the most important thing was the relocation exercise would help change the life of the people in the four villages.
“If they remain in their old homes, there will be no change in them for the rest of their lives.
“We have made a study on their villages and we can’t develop the area because it will cost hundreds of millions to build roads to all the four villages.
“If we can’t build roads to connect the villages, the people will not change and because of that, we have appealed to the village heads and village security and development committee to accept our programme for all of you.”
Manyin admitted that in the process of moving, the families would face some difficulties but in the years to come, their children would benefit in many things from the decision made by their parents today.
He said whoever moved to a new environment would face difficulties but through perseverance, their life would change for the better.
Manyin pointed out that through the availability of basic facilities and infrastructures at BRS, the residents had started to improve their lives.
“To walk to Kampung Semban from Kampung Bengoh will take at least five hours and for me, it may take one whole day.
“Now, I don’t have to walk as I can reach your kampung in less than an hour from Kuching by car. So that means your life has changed for the better.”
The Ring Ladies from Kampung Semban Teleg performing the welcoming Rejang or dance during the official relocation ceremony at BRS.
More payments expected
Many more payments are expected in years to come as the government is now looking into the official requests made by the villagers.
Manyin said he was working together with Public Health Assistant Minister Datuk Dr Jerip Susil and Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr James Dawos Mamit to meet the residents’ requests and solve their problems.
Residents from the four villages have requested that the state government pay them an RM800 monthly relief allowance for three years and compensate them for their native customary rights (NCR) lands outside the dam’s boundary.
These NCR lands are said to cover nearly 4,000 hectares, costing the government some RM64 million in compensation.
Manyin said they had brought up the residents requests to the higher authority, adding that
as of now, there was still no decision but the matter would be pursued.
He also hoped those having moved to BRS would help persuade those refusing to move to follow them to the new settlements.