Rumah Sakai

When I was a small boy, my parents were posted to the Marudi General Hospital, and I spend my early secondary school in Marudi. During our stay in Marudi, I remembered there was a house, built like a longhouse at the bank of the Baram River.

The locals called it as Rumah Sakai. I do not know why it is term as such, but the rumah served as a temporary shelter for people from Ulu Baram who came to Marudi for trading, medical appointment, etc.

And on yesterday’s news, Mercy Malaysia Sarawak Chapter is seeking fund to build similar shelter in Miri. The shelter will definitely a welcoming news to outstation Dayaks who comes to Miri to send their sick ones for medical treatment. Currently this Dayaks are being served with a small room with 3 beds, sharing the same building with the Miri Palliative Centre at the Miri General Hospital. Thank you to MMSC under the leadership of Benjamin Chai for the job well done.

Government employees too need shelter

Today marks the new school term for Sarawak schools and we hear teachers being posted here and there, and, Miri is definitely the last place they want to serve. Why? Simply because everyone says it is an expensive place to live in. With rental fetching RM450 per month, it is definitely a burden to teachers.

However, just at the outskirt of Miri, we do have government quarters that are available but not being fully utilise. Why can’t these quarters be ‘borrowed’ to the Education Dept to house teachers who are being posted to Miri?

With prices of commodity fetching very high price (compared to other cities in Malaysia) in Miri – you need to fork out RM9 for a kilo of chicken head, or RM10 for chicken liver!! These teachers need urgent attention.

Which government agency monitor the prices of goods in Miri? Which government agency have the power to bring this culprits to the law and execute them for over-pricing their goods?

We talked about changes, but these laws do not need any changes. We only need the relevant agencies to execute it well, fair and square.

Do not blame the people if they make changes because these agencies deserved to be change if they don’t change.