Agup Batu Tulug, Gua Keranda berusia 900 tahun di Sabah

Selain keindahan Pulau Sipadan, Gunung Kinabalu, Lembah Danum, Maliau Basin, Tabin dan Imbak Kanyon, Sabah sebenarnya mempunyai banyak lagi tarikan pelancongan.

Antaranya Agup Batu Tulug atau turut dikenali Gua Keranda.

Agup Batu Tulug adalah gua batu kapur setinggi 39 meter yang jelas kelihatan jika anda melalui jalan dari Kunak menuju Lahad Datu, di pantai Timur Sabah.

Agup Batu Tulug menjadi tempat persemadian golongan bangsawan, menempatkan keranda berusia 700 tahun hingga 900 tahun.

Perkataan 'agop' dalam bahasa Orang Sungai bermaksud gua. Terdapat tiga gua yang utama, iaitu Agop Suriba (bawah) di bahagian lantai hutan, Agop Lintanga (tengah) dan Agop Sawat (atas) masing-masing dengan ketinggian antara 12 hingga 15 meter.

Statistik menunjukkan terdapat sebanyak 125 keranda kayu diperbuat daripada kayu Belian dan Merbau di Agop Batu Tulug yang berusia 700 hingga 900 tahun dahulu.

Setiap keranda mempuyai keunikan tersendiri kerana mempunyai ukiran figura haiwan seperti kepala kerbau, buaya, biawak, ular dan burung dibahagian penutup keranda.

Manakala motif-motif flora dan tumbuh-tumbuhan diukir pada bahagian badan keranda.

Kini, Agup Batu Tulug dilindungi sebagai warisan sejarah oleh Jabatan Muzium Sabah.

Dipercayai terdapat lebih 2000 keranda kayu balak yang seusia dengan yang terdapat di Agop Batu Tulug yang mendiami di gua-gua batu kapur di sekitar kawasan Lembah Kinabatangan.

Sekaligus menjadikan Lembah Kinabatangan sebagai salah satu tapak arkeologi yang terpenting di Malaysia.

Inilah hadiah warisan Sabah untuk sejagat.

Sabah's Lower Kinabatangan Has Lost 300 Orang-utans Since 2004

Photos/Article : HUTAN - Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programmme, KOCP : Is a grassroots Non-Governmental Organisation founded in 1996 to carry out wildlife conservation in Sabah with the focus on orang-utans and also carries out a variety of wildlife research and surveys including for the Bornean Pygmy Elephant, recognised sub-species of the Asian Elephant. In addition HUTAN-KOCP also undertakes a variety of community related activities from capacity building to alternative livelihoods as well as environmental education and awareness for rural communities.



Planting of oil palm up to the riverbanks and fragmentation of forest patches are seen clearly in these series of pictures. Photos by HUTAN/Marc Ancrenaz.





A series of photos of orang-utans in the Lower Kinabatangan where population decline over seven years has seen 300 orang-utans lost. Photo by HUTAN/Dzulirwan @ Jolirwan bin Takasi

Kinabatangan, 21st November 2011:

The Lower Kinabatangan located on the East Coast of Sabah, East Malaysia, Borneo has lost about 300 orang-utans in seven years due to forest isolation and loss of corridors according to Dr. Marc Ancrenaz, Scientific Director of HUTAN – Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme (KOCP).

“What we are seeing with our latest surveys within the Lower Kinabatangan is a clear population decline of the orang-utans in this area,” said Ancrenaz who hoped such issues would add to urgency to events such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO) being held in Kota Kinabalu for the first time this week.

The biggest threat to orang-utan and other wildlife populations in Sabah today is fragmentation. What this means is that agriculture development primarily oil palm has created small islands of forest, which are isolated and completely surrounded by human-made landscape.

“Because it is difficult for wildlife to move from one forest patch to the next, this situation leads to inbreeding and eventual population decline, which is what we are witnessing today in the Lower Kinabatangan,” explained Ancrenaz.

Ancrenaz points out that this issue is inherently related in part to the oil palm industry and as this industry has much resources they should take real action to rectify the situation.

“We can still improve the situation for the Lower Kinabatangan’s orang-utan and other wildlife by actually replanting and planning for actual wildlife corridors or patches of forest to support wildlife movement between protected or forested areas,” said Ancrenaz.

This according to Ancrenaz has been paid much lip service by big organisations but in reality only local communities have been successfully carrying out such work.

“Except for Wilmar/PBB Oil which is replanting 382 hectares with 50 meters on the banks on the river, we mostly see signboards and newspaper articles but when you go to the ground you find that in reality they is more talk than actual viable replanting taking place,” said Ancrenaz.

Perhaps, the money the Malaysian Government is spending for oil palm promotion such as the recent allocation of RM24 million for the Malaysian Oil Palm Council could instead be used for establishing real corridors and patches of forest in the Lower Kinabatangan said Ancrenaz.

“While they are many reforestation programmes taking place within the Lower Kinabatangan, the best known being the work by MESCOT-KOPEL in Batu Putih, we need oil palm companies to start planting back corridors along the riverbanks in particular. This will not only help wildlife but also improve the water quality for local communities living along the river,” said Ancrenaz.

As the situation is even more grim in the Lower Kinabatangan, he urged oil palm companies with forest patches to reconsider converting remaining forested areas as conversion of even small pockets such as 10 hectares has a negative effect on the long term survival of the orang-utan population.

“If oil palm companies want to contribute to orang-utan conservation today, they have the opportunity to do so in the Lower Kinabatangan by stopping what little land conversion they are still planning to do carry it,” said Ancrenaz.

As Ancrenaz noted that the largest number of RSPO Certified companies are from Sabah, he hoped that they would step up to the challenge of conserving small forest patches and replanting natural forest to riverbanks.

According to Ancrenaz, orang-utan populations in other parts of Sabah with large contiguous forest such as Malua, Dermakot and Tabin have remained stable in the same period of time.

“The difference between those areas and the Lower Kinabatangan is that they have a large area that is not broken up. This highlights the urgency of the situation and the need for more oil palm plantations to replant corridors and leave patches of forest,” urged Ancrenaz

I’m being sexually harassed, says Bung Mokhtar after calling Malaysian female drivers as lousy drivers!!

Kinabatangan Member of Parliament, Datuk Bung Moktar Radin on the limelight again.

1st he drew ire from women groups for suggesting in the Malaysian Parliament that women leaked (menstruate) every month, that remarks came after the MPs debated about leak in the Parliament roof.

2ndly, he was constantly on the limelight when he married Malaysia's sexy and popular actress, Zizie Ezette.


Maybe Bung Moktar is reffering to these kind of women drivers..

He said most women drivers were slow and did not pay attention to their surroundings while they were at the wheel.

“Some women drivers drive slowly and seem oblivious to traffic.

“When you honk at them, they get agitated with some even showing hand gestures to other drivers,” he said during the debate on the Supplementary Supply Bill.

Today, Wednesday 30th March 2011, an annoyed Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin has made a passionate plea to women's groups not to target him as a sexist following his comments about women being slow drivers.

The Kinabatangan MP said his Monday's 28 March 2011 remarks in the Dewan Rakyat had been manipulated, causing him to be singled out by women's groups so much so that he felt “sexually harassed”.

“I was talking about careless drivers and dangerous road conditions,” he said, explaining that he did not accuse women of being 100% responsible for road accidents and that he was merely talking about those who had just passed their driving tests.

He said he had the utmost respect for women and considered them as a God's gift who must be respected and treasured.

“But this has been manipulated by several parties as though I did not respect women. Today, I have become the focus of women's groups. I wish to ask the Speaker for help as I consider this sexual harassment against me,” he told the Dewan Wednesday, 30 Mac 2011, amid laughter from the floor.

“I never said that women were the cause of it (road accidents). It is the Opposition who twisted it,” he added.

He did not blame the media for sparking the uproar against him, saying “it is usual for newspapers to sensationalise the news”.

His clarification drew support from Datuk Ismail Kassim (BN-Arau), who said the issue did not arise as he was witness to it when Bung Mokhtar spoke about it on Monday.

After the controversial remarks, Bung has come under fire from various quarters including women groups, the opposition and even from a BN women minister.

Women's groups have slammed the sexist remarks by Bung against women drivers, calling him a disgrace.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister of the ruling BN party, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said Bung's statement against women drivers was completely uncalled for and offensive.

“We are gathering statistics on road accidents from the police to get a clearer picture about the allegation,” she said in a statement.

Bung Mokhtar, claimed that most women drivers were slow and paid little attention while on the road.

“When you honk at them, they get agitated with some even showing hand gestures to other drivers,” he said.

All Women's Action Society (AWAM) acting president Ho Yock Lin called for Bung Mokhtar to resign immediately.

“He is an utter disgrace as a parliamentarian and an embarrassment to his party,” she said.

Women's Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah said “Bung has driven home the point that he is truly a sexist MP who does not deserve our vote.”

She added that the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) had rightly listed Bung as one of the many sexist MPs in 2008.

Expressing shock over the remark, another BN leader, Wanita MCA vice-chairman Senator Heng Seai Kie called on Bung Mokhtar to undergo a mandatory course on gender equality.

“His pathetic utterances betray his warped mentality which has no place in Malaysia,” she said.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah described Bung's sexist remark as being devoid of factual statistics.

The statement also sparked a heated debate on Facebook with some male users agreeing with Bung while women lashed out against him.

On Twitter, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng called Bung a threat to gender equality and said: “Maybe Bung will suggest next that women drivers be banned since they are such a menace.”

The report was also carried by international news agency AFP.

A poll posted on The Star Online asking readers if they agreed with Bung's remark that women are lousy drivers revealed that at 7.30pm yesterday, almost 4,000 people had voted with respondents equally split

UBF, United Borneo Front, gains more supports from Sabahans

PRESS STATEMENT FROM UNITED BORNEO FRONT

“MASS RESIGNATION FROM PKR KINABATANGAN TO JOIN UBF’S BORNEO ALLIANCE” - 30 January 2011

Kinabatangan, Sabah, 30th January 2011.

At the largest ‘Borneo Tea Party’ event held so far for the leaders of United Borneo Front (UBF), villagers from various areas of the Kinabatangan region thronged a community centre in Kampung Entilibon 1 Tongod, a 5 hour drive into Borneo’s heartland from Kota Kinabalu, to receive a 4WD convoy of UBF supporters, preceded by 50 or more bikers clad in yellow t-shirts emblazoned with ‘United Borneo Front-Kinabatangan’.

The tea party, organised by UBF die-hards, Jalibin Paidi and James Aik, included a seminar presented by UBF leader Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan together with his advisers and co-founders, lawyer and activist Nilakrisna James and economist Zainal Ajamain.

The seminar focused upon the economic and land issues affecting the Kinabatangan region as well as the 5% oil share from PETRONAS recently raised by Dr. Jeffrey.

“We have no choice but to address the unfair economic policies and the laws which have silenced our voices of resentment and hindered our ability to be self-reliant. People are sick and tired of their poverty. There are smallholder farmers in the interior who have ventured into Palm Oil but feel cheated in the amounts they receive for their investment."

" The average price smallholders of Palm Oil receive for their Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) from privately owned Mills (some of which are listed companies and some of which are owned by local businessmen) is between RM700-RM800 per tonne. Smallholders would sell these FFB without realising that the biomass from FFB such as kernel, kernel cakes and empty fruit bunch are more profitable, selling in the international market for RM1,200—RM1,500 per tonne."

" The Mills extract crude palm oil from FFB and sell off the biomass as their own products. These by-products are important for fuel, especially for brick factories and animal feed. People are angry they are being short-changed by the Mills. The UBF therefore suggests that smallholders form their own cooperative to determine a better price from Mills or collect the biomass back from the Mills to sell internationally,” said Dr. Jeffrey in his statement.

Guests at the tea party also highlighted issues of compulsory land acquisitions and the necessity to find common ground to amalgamate Sabah and Sarawak people, regardless of race and religion, to push for equal representation in parliament which, in its current demographic, puts West Malaysian politicians in control of 75% of the seats so as to deny any voice of veto from Sabah and Sarawak.

“If they wish to continue to amend our Federal Constitution and erode our rights or pass unfair laws to our disadvantage, they have their 2/3 majority leaving us powerless in Sabah and Sarawak. This is a breach of our human rights and a breach of Article 8 of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement,” Dr. Jeffrey added.

At the conclusion of the seminar, supporters of UBF and Dr. Jeffrey’Kitingan's political followers tendered in a mass resignation from various Kinabatangan branches of the opposition party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), pledging their support to UBF and a political vehicle they hope to see arising out of the first popular civil rights movement in Sabah.

A total of 16 heads of PKR branches in the Entilibon zone resigned which includes Kampung Linayukan, Kampung Sanan, Kampung Semundoh, Kampung Entilibon Asal, Kampung Simpang and Kampung Singgahmata.

11 members of the PKR committee for the Kinabatangan region also resigned including the Secretary, Jalibin Paidi, and the Information Chief, Cyril Parantis.

Around 875 members have apparently tendered their resignation to follow their leaders to pursue UBF’s Borneo Agenda, with more members expected to follow in the next few days. The exodus from the Kinabatangan region is seen as the clearest pledge of support for Dr. Jeffrey and his United Borneo Front.

Well.... all the best Dr Jeffrey Kitingan...