Author: Valentine Tawie Salok

Nature’s best scenery is manifested by the greenery of ‘ulu’ (remote) hinterland, namely the soothing images and smell of trees, vegetations and the foliage around one’s vicinity. That is if you are living at the jungle’s edge, like we did in the early sixties or as long as my memory

During a musical journey of nearly fifty years since 1968 I have been involved in a number of musical bands. These involvement s wer e either as a player (member) in the respective bands or accompanied by them during performances. Many of them are just blurred and distant memories while

Having been invited to have an exclusive lunch with a diplomat from the United States of America on Friday 6 October was a privilege. Our lunch at Lepau Restaurant in Ban Hock road shadowed accordingly from the morning or afternoon sun by the six-storey Grand Supreme just a few yards

I started having a crush on someone when I was in Primary Five in an upriver school; she was in studying Primary Six in a town school. During that Christmas of 1966 I was on cloud nine but it was a shortlived flirtatious affair, for when school reopened a week later,

‘Sadin pusu’- any canned food is a ‘sadin’ of any kind for ethnic Iban longhouse folks – is no longer as tasty as it was in the 60s. When the ‘Sambal ikan bilis (anchovies)’ first arrived at a tuckshop by the river bank at our old Kedap longhouse, it cost

It is a pity that there still exists a majority of Iban parents in the rural areas, especially those staying in longhouses or in individual kampung houses, who are not making full use of their resources to the fullest. By this I mean they are not maximising the economic potential

Just imagine if you are short-sighted and the pair of glasses you are using breaks or one of the lenses falls down or worse still the whole set you are wearing falls down to a deep river or – in the worst of scenarios – at sea. These are some

While on the way to Kapit for a singing engagement not so long ago, I stayed overnight in Sibu at my favourite hotel and made my elder brother Edward, now fully residential in Sibu, doubly happy. We caught up on many subjects, reminiscing the late 60s, 70s and 80s as

Early last Monday I received a call from State’s Deputy Chief Scout Commissioner Haji Mohd Said Bolhassan, a well-decorated scout leader whom I have known for almost 40 years. As usual, though I have tendered an official resignation as a commissioner – my last post was as State’s Assistant Chief

With a lot of push and sacrifices not to mention undergoing through the lows and highs, a person might achieve some degree of success in his or her chosen pursuit, career and fields of interest. Many achieve success beyond their dreams and are amazed that they have come to such