Rumah Sarawak, Flight of mercy for the dearly departed

I had a chance to drop by Rumah Sarawak near PWTC area today after dropping a tender package at ExxonMobil, KLCC.  But not before going to the National Library to check out the history reference scene.  I was greatly disappointed.

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Rumah Sarawak occupies an old mansion, with ample parking for the staff and a few visitors.

The guard at the old guard hut asked my business of being there and I told him I'm preparing for a possible transportation of a dead body to Sarawak. He let me in and introduced me to Mr. Uni Sijon, a Bidayuh from Bau.  So there we were, a Bidayuh Bau and Biatah trying to communicate; fairly well with a few words missing from my vocabulary.

He asked me when the person passed away and I said "Not yet, I'm making early preparations just in case the terminal illness ends up with death.  It's hard enough for the family going through the sickness part, so I'm helping out with the end part.  Many people don't know how to get their deceased back to Kuching.  Some had to settle for cremation in KL because they couldn't afford the transportation cost."

At this point I saw Mr. Uni's hand reached for the document tray and pulled out a newspaper cutting which says BN bantu pemuda Iban hantar pulang mayat ibu".

"Yeah exactly.  That person didn't even consulted Rumah Sarawak. This story is giving a negative image on Sarawak people, and it has put the church in a bad light." I exclaimed.

"The worst part was the obvious attempt to gain political mileage out of the predicament" I added and Uni nodded in agreement. "Too bad..." he said.

"Anyway, what is the procedure of getting assistance for a flight back to Sarawak for the deceased? Is there a form I should fill up?" I asked.

"Well, we don't really have a form.  But most of the procedures are handled by our panel funeral care, Casket Paradise Funeral Care Sdn. Bhd.  Normally the family member would contact us and we also advise them to contact Jabatan Kebajikan Sarawak.  We will then direct them to Casket Paradise for the necessary paperwork. They usually need the death certificate along with other Sarawak origin identification of the dead.  Casket Paradise will then issue an invoice to us after they have settled the paperwork and effect a firm delivery.  They usually get the job done and wait for between 2-6 weeks for our payment. The invoice concerns Rumah Sarawak, Jabatan Kebajikan Sarawak and Casket Paradise."

"The biggest problem is transportation to Sarawak.  Once in Kuching, land transport is less headache.  So how much would be typical cost of transportation?" I asked.

"The invoice we normally get ranges from RM2100 to RM2500, depending on the necessary treatment for the body.  Some require extensive clean up or modifications due to cause of death.  But that is handled by our panel. We only handle the paper work and coordination between the client, Jabatan Kebajikan and our panel funeral service.  Let me give you the contact numbers now."

While he was getting the numbers, I asked him how many deliveries are handled a year and he just smiled and said "I'm not sure of the statistics."

Probably because we just met.

"Please contact Mr. Bada anak Buju @ Ambrose Seran at these numbers.  He is the person in charge of the coordination.  My name is Uni Sijon.  This is the contact of Casket Paradise", he handed me all the necessary contacts; more than enough for anyone's lead.

"How many staff are here in Rumah Sarawak? How many Dayaks?" I asked.

"There are about 30 staff here, and the Dayaks are Mr. Bada and myself." he told me.

Finally, I asked him about the other services provided by Rumah Sarawak.

"We now handle the logistics of Sarawak Government officials to KL and transit beyond KL, arrange their accommodations and facilitate them in their official errands.  We used to assist Sarawakians with no relatives in KL to secure accommodations while they get medical treatments here, and we also had the barracks for emergency cases.  But we don't do that now because most of the barracks were in the parameters taken up for development."

I thanked him for his time and went back to office.

Sarawakians defined

I was approached by the famous Dina Zaman for assistance on a Sarawak article she plans to run in one of the online journals.  The first of many questions given to me sounds like this…

Question : As a Sarawakian, what should the non-Sarawakian know about your state - from its people to politics?

I’ll start with Sarawak people first.

Sarawakians are as passionate about their state just as any Malaysian when it comes to sports, food, music and art, culture and heritage, and just about anything that carries the Sarawak name and signature.  As a Sarawakian, I appreciate non-Sarawakians who have some knowledge about any of these subjects.  However, it’s not really fair to expect everyone to know facts about Sarawak.  I too have no knowledge about some of the states in Malaysia.  Only those I’ve visited and those receiving considerable media coverage.

Having said that, I am less forgiving towards people who are supposed to do their homework and research but never bothered to, resulting in a messed up impression about Sarawak. There are many instances where people mistake Sabah with Sarawak, especially the ethnic tribes of Sarawak and Sabah.  I’ve had peninsular people ask me where I’m from and the moment I say Sarawak, their next sentence would be ‘so you are Kadazan or Dusun?’

This probably happens because there are more than three ethnics in Sarawak and Sabah than most people bother to take note; having so used to the classification ‘Melayu, Cina, India Dan Lain-lain’.  I have to agree, it is damn easy to just say ‘dan lain-lain’ as opposed to Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Bisaya, Berawan, Lakiput ‘dan lain-lain’ in Sarawak.

And talking about people, Sarawakians are a warm and friendly bunch.  There’s no other place in Malaysia where ethnic and religious tolerance is upheld truthfully and sincerely.  How could we not; there are so many different ethnics in Sarawak that we can’t afford to be reckless when it comes to respecting one another’s beliefs and traditions.

Sarawakians are also fierce in defending each other’s dignity because for us, when one tribe in Sarawak is subject to misinterpretation and misrepresentation, other tribes feels the pinch just because a fellow Sarawakian is being ridiculed.  Hence we unanimously raise our voice and stand our ground to remedy the damage done by such acts.  The latest uproar was caused by MyMetro immediately after they published an article depicting Penan sibling-parent marriage.  Tell me, which race wouldn’t get upset with an article about their race, headlined ‘My mother is my wife’.

Another famous and surviving incident for almost every Sarawakians arriving in Kuala Lumpur is being asked the question ‘do you still live in trees?’

Haha…

Personally, I would just laugh at this question. But some of my friends got really angry and made a big fuss about it… I wouldn’t exactly blame them for asking such question because the image of Sarawak is synonym with lush rainforest and indigenous tribes roaming the jungle, running barefoot with their blow pipes aimed to the trees.  Mystical exotica is both a blessing and a curse.  For me, we’ll just have to deal with it and make the best out of it.  There’s no point in being upset with this innocent and accidental impression.  Instead, we should use it to lure tourist with the sheer curiosity of it all; the look on their faces the moment they experience Sarawak urbanization amidst wonders of nature…

PRICELESS.

Going back to the question… What should the non-Sarawakians know about your state?... Well, for me, it’s not about what others should know about our state, it’s how we explain and educate others so they are well informed as and when required.  Knowledge is best served to an eager and willing learner.  Passion makes learning worthwhile.

Another aspect which each state should really consider is the training of their citizens as ambassadors.  In Japan, young Japanese are not only taught about their country but how to explain to foreigners all they need to know about Japan.  The same concept could be applied by the Sarawak government starting from elementary education through higher education.  Each state in Malaysia should be allowed to implement a tourism education subject based on the state’s requirement.  The syllabus should include psychological and emotional tolerance in handling ignorance and systematic ways to deal with typical cases to ensure correct knowledge, facts and figures are relayed effectively.

Sarawakians should not blame non-Sarawakians for having wrong impressions or lack of knowledge about Sarawak.  They should also understand that the limited effort that the Sarawak Government is doing in promoting the state means that the people themselves should take up the challenge in educating others about Sarawak; the land, the people and the heritage.

That is where Persatuan Warian Sarawak comes into the picture.  It is a non-government organization, NGO, set up based in Kuala Lumpur to promote Sarawak culture and heritage beyond the Sarawak borders.  Our events, such as Borneo Hornbill Festival, Borneo Culture Tour, Spirits of the harvest and Malaysia Zero Hour Countdown creates an impactful presence of Sarawak culture and tradition in Kuala Lumpur, brought by Sarawakians themselves, people who truly represent the celebration of diversity amidst individuality and the good harvest of respect and unity.

I know I’ve not given facts and figures about Sarawak population.  There’s always wiki and the encyclopaedia for that.  And to really understand the people, you’d have to visit Sarawak and interact with the people. Not merely watching from the tour bus or your comfy hotel room.  Travel not just within the cities but endure the back breaking journeys into the rural villages and you’ll discover what Sarawakians are made of. 

Pushy breakfast

That awkward moment ... when you realize that breakfast's only purpose is to fill you up just enough to push the old shit out.