CAPTAIN P.J. RIVERS, MASTER MARINER

Ada dua Pak Itam saya kenal. Nak ceritakan yang di Cameron Highlands, bekas Master Mariner. Yang di Kuantan lain posting.

Pertama kali bersua dengan Orang Putih ini pada awal 1990. Ia sedang  berjalan-jalan di taman MARDI Cameron Highlands. Sangkakan dia pelancung. Kemudian baru tahu ia Capt. Rivers, lebih dikenali Pak Itam a.k.a. Hj Kadir. Beberapa tahun (1990-1995) bertugas disitu tidak juga kesempatan mendekati beliau.

Hampir 2 tahun dulu saya kerumahnya. Pak Itam orang Belandakah? saya bertanya. Hampir digudamnya kepala saya (bergurau).

Ia berasal dari Toronto, Canada. Anak saya nak menetap di Toronto pulak! Win-win case!

Lawatan pada kali kedua: dia kata hendak beli kereta otomatik yang kecil dan jual Rovernya. Saya booking dan bayar sebulan kemudian setelah balik dari Umrah. Dia kata saya licik!

Pak Itam berbaju merah dan isteri disebelahnya bergambar H/Raya baru ini di rumahnya 'Taman Kelana'.

Banglo beliau bersempadan dengan BOH Tea Plantation - pemandangan indah (L). Rumah dibeli 1976 semasa bekerja di Singapura, disewakan hingga didudukinya 1990. Dia ada pilihan samaada bersara di P. Pinang tetapi akhirnya memilih C.H.

Pak Itam penulis detektif sejarah. Ia tunjukkan koleksi buku dalam loteng (attic) kapada saya. Dicelah rak buku terdampar sejadah.

Ia sedang menyiapkan buku berkenaan Jim Thomson, Silk King yang hilang di C.Highlands. Katanya Jim dilanggar kereta dan mati di C.H. Ini berdasarkan bangkai yang dijumpai terkambus. Saya kurang percaya. Kalau orang Amerika (CIA?) mati disini tentu Pentagon menyerbu! Munkin dibawa balik dan diberi personaliti baru. Belum saya jumpai 2 buku yang ditulis berkenaan Jim Thomson. Tunggu buku Pak Itam.

Capt. Rivers menafikan beberapa fakta dalam buku "1421: The Year China Discovered the World" yang ditulis oleh Gavin Menzies, 2003.

"There are many extravagant claims but I do not accept the Commander's hypothesis, interesting as his exposition is. ... Much of what he puts forward can be found elswhere and, on the whole, all that is new is his conclusion to draw accepted knowledge together with mythical voyages and imagined circumnavigations into 1421".

"... I found that some connections appear contrived, or at least tenuous ... On closer examination it became apparent that suppositions are put forward and then become established assumptions but are lacking any actual proof and, indeed, are in some cases impossible ..."

Biografi beliau dibelakang buku tersebut.

Beberapa artikel beliau telah diterbitkan dalam Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS)seperti "Monsoon Ryhthms and Trade Patterns: Ancient Times East of Suez".

Sayang, Malaysia tidak menggunakan kepakaran beliau malah Pak Itam, Master Mariner ini belum diberi kerakyatan! Nak ku bawa dia jumpa Hishamuddin tetapi siapalah saya!

BILA FELDA NAK ROBOHKAN INI?

Matahari baru terbenam di Fraser's Hill - pemandangan yang begitu harmoni dan menyejukkan jiwa.

Syukur - kurnia Allah.

Bulatan dan menara jam ditengah pekan FH menjadi tumpuan.

Pejabat sebelah kanan dan hotel sebelah belakang kanan.

Arkitektur bangunan lama masih menjadi tarikan pelancung.

Banglo Raub (L) dan Banglo Clifford (R) masih tersergam indah untuk disewakan oleh Perbadanan Kemajuan Bkt Fraser.

Malangnya, bangunan Frasers Hill Resort ini kepunyaan FELDA telah lama terbiar gate di kunci. Sayang. Apa gerangannya? Berhantu ke?

Dari luar dilihat rekabentuk bangunan sengaja dibuat lain pada yang lain tetapi tidak ada harmoni dengan persekitaran pelancungan tanah tinggi yang menghijau. Reka bentuk dalaman entah bagaimana pula.

Nampaknya bangunan hodoh dan terbiar seperti ini tidak boleh bertahan lama akan DIROBOHKAN atau dijual.

Najib kata FELDA ada RM8 billion asset. Apa gaduh duit banyak boleh buang tak tentu hala. Najib pun kerap beri durian runtuh kapada peserta-peserta. Lupakah mereka pembaziran itu tidak direstui rakyat jelata maupun FELDA sendiri? Dari segi Allah bagaimana? Walaupun kita perlu berusaha mencari harta teapi Allah jua yang mengurniakan rezeki. Siapa yang bertanggung jawab atas kesalahan yang RM berjuta ini?

Di Trolak tepi PLUS highway terdapat puluhan (ratusan?) chalet FELDA. Kerap saya lalu disitu tak nampak pun ada penghuni. Apakah menjadi tarikan pelancungan yang unik dikawasan tersebut saya kurang faham.

Ini satu lagi banglo terbiar di Fraser's Hill kepunyaan JKR Selangor. Rumah tansit katanya. Fahamkah mereka apa dimaksudkan transit? Transit untuk lepasan penjara atau pemulihan dadah?

ODE TO RUBBER TAPPERS

Henry Wickham (L), residing in Manaos by the Amazon River was commissioned by the Colonial Office to collect rubber seeds. 70,000 seeds were collected and sent to Kew Gardens, England of which 2,800 seedlings managed to be raised.

In 1877 some plants were sent to Botanic Gardens, Singapore and from there 9 plants were sent to Kuala Kangsar to be planted in the Resident's garden of Hugh Low.

Production of rubber in Malaya:
1923-25     182,000 tons
1935-37     414,000 tons
1947-49     672,000 tons
1952-54     573,000 tons

Conventionally, rubber tappers must reach their lots by 6am that's when the latex begin to ooze and gets slower as the day gets hotter. When it's dark they use headlamps.

As for the mosquitoes, leeches and other crawly creatures are part and parcel of work companions. Tigers and ild boars are known to attack them

By 10am a tapper finishes tapping about 350 trees ie. 1 lot. After a break of an hour starts collecting latex in the cups which are now full and pour them into a pail.

The pails of latex are poured into a bigger container to be transported by bicycle or motorcycle to the collection centre some miles away. It used to they processed the latex into rubber sheets by themselves. Nowadays, MARDEC (agents) takes care of the collection centres.

Rubber tapping is not gender biased. Many cases of female rubber tappers being molested have not been reported for fear of loosing their meagre income.

When the lower bark has been utilised they have to improvise ladders to  tap higher up.

Modern techniques such as puncture tapping and mechanised tapping commonly used in plantations.

My 'Gemok' Indian tapper still uses tapping knives for there are hardly 150 trees in the 4 acre holding. If fully planted it should be 600 trees. Thanks but no thanks to RISDA for overseeing the establishment! Gemok gets 50% of the take which amounts to RM300 per month..

Lest we forget the rubber tappers help to make the wheels turn and the latter make the world go round.

The government says everybody will be in the high income bracket. Talk is cheap. The rubber tappers, the sons of the soil, and their sons and daughters now and coming just wonder how? The non-FELDA settlers are worse off because they don't get durian runtuh every now and then. Why the cronyism?

Taking the DEB and 30% off from the bumiputras is denying the fact that poverty doesn't exist among the rubber tappers. What is Najib talking about hiding? They have nothing to hide for they have nothing.

He is not caring for a sustainable future for the lot of rubber tappers and the sons and daughters of rubber tappers. If he is incapable to resuscitate but bastardize us instead then he should relinquish his post now.



Another variant of a bastardized Malay ditelanjang-bulatkan oleh pemimpin dan kaumnya sendiri.


ODE TO RUBBER TAPPERS!

BASTARDIZATION OF THE MALAYS

Nazir believes that he got it made as Malaysia's top banker and CEO by sheer hardwork all by himself. His heritage (father especially) or brother have no influence whatsoever leading to his success and hence richness. Justifiably he could look down on other Malays below that depend and make use of DEB (NEP) out of neccessity. They are deemed  weaklings and opportunists. 

CIMB is but a GLC!

Don't we know that there are crooks somewhere that abuse such a privilege. Nazir summed up the whole affair of affirmative action as bastardization of DEB.

Is the government not be blamed partly for whatever mismanagement and misregulation in implementing the DEB?

Now his brother, Najib believes the same thing. I am what I am due to my merit and hardwork! The 30% quota is a hindrance to Malay progress and got to be abolished. It is the scourge of bastardization of the Malays. Yes, he could say that for being up there on top. Was the matter discussed beforehand among cabinet members or UMNO Supreme Council? Has he become an authoritarian?

Every now and then Felda settlers receive durian runtuh? Why the discrimination against other rural folks and land settlers?

Is he assuming that all Malays now and the new generation is on the similar level playing field? My father was a rubber tapper and my mother toiled the padi fields. I owe the country for giving me a chance to better myself. Considering my non-stellar academic performance without DEB I would not qualify for overseas education. Dr. Mahathir said on a similar vein. Are there no more rubber tappers in the country? How about sons and daughters of laboures, nasi lemak sellers, padi planters and other menial and low income earners?

For whom actually? His own political survival?

A bastardized Malay?

AT HOME IN SYRIA

Ahlan wa sahlan.

Arab hospitality is the warmest of its kind. At once make you feel home. The pamper you with their good food. I feel at home in Syria three times I had been in that great country.

The Arabs had fought against the crusaders about 9 centuries ago. In fact Salahuddin al-Ayubi who recaptured Baitul-Maqaddis died in Syria and buried at Damascus.


It was towards the end of 1999 after attending a 2-week course at Aleppo (Halab) that I met my host family introduced by a colleague who also attended the course.

They live in a small pastoral village by the name of Qassabin (The Butcher in Arab) some hours drive to the southwest of Aleppo. I stayed with them for a week.




In September 2007 after visiting my god-daughter at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon close to the border with Israel this taxi driver drove me from Beirut across to the border into Syria and from there took another taxi to Qassabin.







Along the way to Syria we passed a bridge being repaired after being bombed by the Israel airforce during the war against Hezbullah.






Lebanon-Syria border check-point and immigration office.

Nejmo, head of my host family(extreme left), his son Mohammad and his grandchildren who were on summer holiday at his house.

Since I don't know Arabic I could not communicate with Nejmo. However, every now and then he would asked his wife to prepare thick Arabic coffee for me. At times he would roll a cigarette using locally growned tobacco, offer and light it for me. I smoked out of courtesy.

Little did I know that he was going blind with cataract in both eyes. He passed away about a year ago.


Mrs Nejmo, always a forlorn look in her eyes.



Overseeing ploughing her vegetable garden at the back of the house.

Children going to the village school.


Picnic under the shade.

Olive farm (R).

Raspberry (R).




After a week stay with the Nejmos, I took a flight from Latakia to Damascus to KL, and home.

MOTHER OF ALL BOMBS ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

6th August last, Hiroshima held its 66th anniversary of its devastation by the atomic bomb. The US first attended the ceremony only after 60 years.



In the eastern (WWII) theatre the Allies were winning. To force surrender and end war and human sufferage the mother of all bombs now ready by the Manhattan Project were put to destructive use.


The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hisroshima on 6th August 1945. Three days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.







By all accounts the only remaining structures left aroung the epicentre of the blast were steel structures all others flattened.












Far from the epicentre those who survived the blast and radiation built temporary ramshackled huts.

The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 weighed about 10,000lbs and contained 15 lbs of Plutonium-239. The energy released was equivalent to 20,000 tons (20KT), of TNT, which corresponds to 1.3KT/lb of Pu-239. It wiped out 40% of the city and killed about 35,000 people.


The destructive effects of such bomb size at Nagasaki include:

1. Ground burst crater - diameter 600ft, depth 40ft

2. Blast destruction of buildings, radius (in miles) - brick-ground burst 0.9 miles, brick-air burst 1.2 miles, wood-ground burst 1.5 miles, wood-air burst 2.0miles

3. Fire, radius (miles)- destroys everything combustible 0.7miles, people received 2nd degree burns 2.1miles,

4. Initial gamma radiation of 500R, radius (miles) 0.8



Devastated by the atomic bombs Japan was forced to surrender and Emperor Hirohito signed the agreement.