Aaron (right) presents his donation to Tuai Rumah Meruan, as Alexander (fourth right) and others look on.
The victims having their lunch at Penghulu Seribu Hall in Nanga Tada.
Jenayang (left) and her mother Jentang.
Medan Nunying
KANOWIT: The fire that consumed 36-door Rumah Meruan on Sunday did not only leave Medan Nunying homeless – it also destroyed memories of his late son Matthew.
“All were destroyed. I almost fainted as I took all my grandchildren to safety.
“I could only save some important documents. What we are left with now are just some clothes,” the 76-year-old former councillor said when met at Penghulu Seribu Hall in Nanga Tada, where all 36 families from the longhouse are being put up at temporarily.
Matthew was an army commando who was killed in 2000 during an operation to get the Al-Mau’nah deviationist group to surrender in Bukit Jenalik, Sauk in Perak.
In honour of his bravery, the government presented posthumous awards to the commando including Panglima Gagah Berani and Ahli Bintang Sarawak, while the Armed Forces awarded him posthumous double promotion to corporal.
All these tokens of bravery went up in smoke in the Sunday fire, lamented Medan.
“My heart shattered. My son’s medals together with family heirloom are all gone forever.”
Nevertheless, Medan was thankful that none of his 18 family members was hurt in the incident.
Meanwhile, his neighbour Jenayang Ingang related on how her teenage son helped carry her blind mother Jentang Landun, in her 80s, to safety.
At that time, the fire – believed to have started from one of the ‘bilek’ (unit) in the middle section of the longhouse – had just begun to spread.
“But it spread so fast. Like Uncle Medan, I could not save anything except some important documents that I placed in a black bag.
“The situation was chaotic – everybody was busy looking for their family members and bringing them to safety,” said Jenayang, who is in her 30s.
Another victim, John Semada, 49, said the fire broke out from a ‘bilek’ that was just two doors away from his.
He recalled seeing thick smoke coming out and only realised the true situation when informed by residents of nearby longhouses.
“We were celebrating Gawai Sandau Ari in the morning of the incident.
I believe there might have been some casualties had the fire strike at night, given that there were some disabled people and many children there,’ said John, who teaches at SK Sengayan.
He said he had informed the school authority about his hardship.
For Kilat Ngali, 61, he was not surprised to see that the ‘benda’ (jar) in what used to be his living room was barely touched by the flames.
“I’m not at all puzzled. We believe that the jar has a spirit dwelling in it. We have heard strange noises coming from the jar in the past,” he said, adding that the ‘benda’ has been in his family’s possession for centuries.
Yesterday, Assistant Minister of Land Development Datuk Gramong Juna visited the victims and presented a personal donation of RM3,000.
He later praised individuals, as well as members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government departments and agencies as well as political parties for providing victims with immediate assistance.
Kanowit MP Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang and Ngemah assemblyman Alexander Vincent were also on site, with the former giving out RM500 to each household while the latter donated RM3,600.
Members from 12 Neighbourhood Watch Committees (KRT) in Machan, together with PBB Youth and Women of Machan, Kanowit Chinese Associations and Kanowit Information Department also rendered their assistance to the victims.