James Dossier 2021 The Journey of Online Learning

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Network of Rivers - Arteries of Sarawak

Why there are not much roads in Sarawak?    

Why it takes so long to construct roads in Sarawak?  

Why are Sarawak’s roads so bumpy? So winding? So narrow?

There are lots of questions Sarawakians tend to ask, especially those had travel overseas and seen the roads in other country.

The answer is never easy.   Not only because of corruption and mismanagement of resources, but it covers far beyond that.  

The truth is, I believe : lies beneath our own feet, literally speaking.
 
 

 
The answer is best answered by an engineer and a geologist.  But I believe it can be answered by simply understanding the basic of road construction.
  

FACT #1

 
Nak tak nak, with the current technology, the only way of making a paved road is either asphalt or concrete.  Either way, these 3 components are inevitable :  Soil, Aggregates, Binders.
 
 

Soil

Soil is the base of roads.  It provide the foundation for road construction.  Soil with high clay and organic matter are disaster in making road.  Sarawak soil are rich in peat soil at the coastal area, and sedimentary material in the inland. 
 

Aggregate

Stone aggregate, also known as mineral aggregate, is easily the most important component of road construction materials. It is made by breaking up naturally occurring rocks.    Aggregates are used for granular bases, sub-bases, as part of bituminous mixes and cement concrete.
 

Binders

The binders are to bind the aggregates and sand into a composite mix.  Most common binder used in Malaysia is bitumen, a product of distillation of crude petroleum.  Cement is another binder, but concrete road are less common in our land.
 

( Betulkah jurutera kalian ?  Ada betul hujah saya ? )

 
  
 

 

FACT #2

Source : Adepehin, E.J., Ali, C.A., Zakaria, A.A. et al. An overview of 20 years’ hydrocarbon exploration studies and findings in the Late Cretaceous-to-Tertiary onshore Central Sarawak, NW Borneo: 1997–2017 in retrospect. J Petrol Explor Prod Technol 9, 1593–1614 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-018-0591-8
 
Looking at the geological map of Sarawak, huge chunk of the area is arenaceous ( coloured yellow ) and argillaceous ( coloured light green ) in the interior, and peat ( coloured gray ) along the coast.   Both arenaceous and argillaceous are sedimentary rocks, which are easily broken when crushed. The coastal peat are lagi nightmare for constructions.
 

ini macam batu, sekali ketuk dah pecah. Apa macam bikin jalan?

There are some pockets of andesitic, dacitic and some other granite rock ( coloured in different hues of red ) at the western tip of Kuching Division.  The granite rock are the only ideal material for construction.
 

( I cakap kosong ni.  Geologists kalian, please back me up !)

  
 

CONCLUSION

 
In a nutshell, there are no much hard rock formation found in Sarawak.  Not to mention the discrete location of the quarry, which are very far away from the rest of Sarawak, making it costly to the transport of aggregate to other part of Sarawak, therefore making aggregate a scarce commodity.
 
Adding up all the factors, road construction is Sarawak is a very difficult, expensive and impossible task!  Not forget to mention all other mega projects which requires lots of aggregate.

Ini belum lagi cerita our soil condition with the sedimentary and peat material, cannot be properly compacted to provide strong base for the roads.  At the end of the day, the roads sunken.  

ALTERNATIVES

 
So my suggestion is back to river transportation !
 
Sarawak is linked with networks of river systems.   For the past, Sarawakian has been relied on sampans, speadboats, express boats, and all sorts of marine vessel. 
 
All the cities, towns, pekans, and ngagas are situated by rivers.  All settlements, big and small, have their own jetty, some even have several jetties.  Every household have a sampans or few, many with outboard motors.   At its peak, Sibu has overs 40 shipyards, building and export vessels of world-class qualilty.
 
So I suggest, we go back to the river transportation.
 

( Hey, it could become Sarawak owns special identity !  macam Venice lah tu )

 
 
Secondly, we could try venture into new way of transportation : seaplane : floatplanes & flying boats.   It can land in many of our rivers and sea, so no need to janji politik to built airport for every town, thus no issue of aggregate issue.

( ini baru everyone can fly )

 
 
 
 
 
 

In Memory : E. Soepadmo

 

Chronicles of James 2020 K1 Kindergarden

 

Jason's Yearbook 2020

Jan : Daddy's Tummy @ Serdang

 

Feb : CNY @ Rawang

Mar : StarWars Cosplay @ Serdang

Apr : MySelf @ Serdang

May : Starting Young @ Serdang

Jun : Joy Ride @ Serdang

July : Escape @ Rawang

Aug : Groaning @ Serdang

Sep : Lockdown Birthday @ Serdang

Oct : Major Business @ Serdang

Nov : Thinker @ Serdang

Dec : Box Castlello @ Serdang

James' Photobook 2020

 

Jan : Diarchy @ Sarikei

Feb : Breakfast @ Rawang

Mar : Lockdown @ Serdang

Apr : Solving Rubik's Cube @ Serdang

May : Curry Bun from Seremban

Jun : Trying2Escape @ Serdang

Jul : Escape&Rest @ Serdang

Aug : HP Skill @ Serdang

Sep : Dry Swimming @ Serdang

Oct : Sharing Food @ Serdang

Nov : Dental Check @ Serdang

Dec : Eye Check @ Serdang

In Loving Memory : 王美成 (四叔)

 

再笑傻走一回 : 瘟疫篇

 Baby Jason sings :

“Old MacDonald had a farm

E I E I O”

Old Jason sings :

“Old Muhyiddin had a fun

一样一样的”

 

 

 

疫情逐日严重，

Connie : ”要 work from home 了!”

James ”啊！Walk from home?!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

如楼河畔散记 : 老瘄

 
 
起初，渊源、渊华、钦坚、春治四家，大大小小约二十余人都住在⌠建源⌡ 号。四个家庭在一屋檐下，确实十分热闹，尤其开饭时间。随着孩子人数增加、长大，生活的空间也逐渐拥挤。分家已在旦夕之间。
 
1960年末林氏兄弟决定拆股，再福虽无股分，却因多年功劳，分了如楼河畔一货舱及郊区 Nanga Wak 的一栋店屋。
 
货舱经再福一番改造，慢慢变成一栋三层店屋。可是一个中年父亲和一群十多岁的孩子们，没一个有建筑经验。正巧承接一些政府小工程，累计了一些宝贵的绘图材料预算和建筑工程的一手经验。在无师自通下，美勤拟图、算料；美珠采购建材；美实、美基、美珹混泥叠砖，一栋三层店屋居然可以屹立半世纪不倒！
 
三层店屋底层 ( ground floor )做门面生意，地下层 ( underground floor )做糕点坊，一楼( first floor )睡房。

❽ 1968 ⌠王再福⌡号商业注册证书

如楼河畔散记 : 大家族

林氏三兄弟中，大哥结麟 ( Lim Ah Din )， 二哥祮祉 ( Lim Kick Kee ) ，小弟新着。
结麟、新着一生无子无女，结址育有三子二女。因无子继业，结麟收其侄林钦坚为义子，以继承他的生意。

林结址育有三子二女：渊源、莲花、春治、渊华、钦坚，又领养一养女秀玉。
林结麟的生意分别由三侄子分别管理 : 长子渊源任掌柜 ; 次子渊华负责土产贸易，专向土著收购土产 :- 树胶、风车果等 ; 幼子钦坚管理运输生意，营运两艘舯舡 ( tongkang )，负责把土产运到加那逸  ( Kanowit ) 或诗巫 ( Sibu )。

林氏简谱。

林氏三公 ：结麟，祮祉，四着。

林结址育有三子二女：渊源、莲花、春治、渊华、钦坚，养女秀玉。

春治外子王再福则被分配经营门市生意 ⌠建源⌡ 号 ( Kian Guan )，卖杂货、洋货等日常用品。长女莲花及养女秀玉则自立门户各自开了间咖啡店营业。

屋顶注 ⌠王⌡是⌠王再福⌡号。⌠林⌡是林钦坚之⌠建源⌡号，

⌠ 蔡⌡是林秀玉咖啡店，⌠ 包⌡是林莲花咖啡店 （现为⌠富维香素菜店⌡）。

以前的店屋是约1930年后建成。高脚木制，一排共7个单位，每单位三层。一楼做生意，二楼三楼住人或仓库。一楼地板是木板，为了方便打扫，留一小片活木版，约30cm 长。扫地时将尘土连同一切烦恼尽扫下屋脚。

店屋设计犹如长屋。高脚，约10尺。店外是走廊，类似五脚基，不过更阔，约10尺。因路面底过走廊，所以还有阶梯衔接。走廊外围有长椅，坐歇、防跌两用。
如今，木制店屋已遭大伙吞噬，取而代之的是钢骨水泥四楼店屋。

1986年林镇信摄于⌠建源⌡店前。图为林钦坚媳陈惠鸾。