SARATOK: Residents of Betong are seeing red over frequent blackouts in the division especially at longhouses in Saratok, Roban, Pusa, and Debak.
These residents are certainly displeased by the power outage that could happen any time during the day and night, especially during early evening when people are in the midst of dinner and celebration, worse if it involves a funerary wake or funeral.
In fact in Kedap longhouse in Saratok, there was a blackout that lasted about eight hours starting from 8pm till 4am. This happened a few days after the last Gawai Dayak celebration.
One of the longhouse residents called the local power station at 8.30pm and was told that the men at the station were just checking and were not sure when power would be restored.
Power was restored about eight hours later. The residents were delighted as they could see the cards better in their Russian Poker (or samchung) game that did not stop during the eight-hour darkness, with the help of
battery-aided light sources.
In another longhouse, namely Bebangai Kiba just about three kilometres from Betong town, a power blackout on a different date caused so much desolation to the residents who were in the midst of a marriage celebration.
Former tuai rumah Stanie who spoke to New Sarawak Tribune recently said he and his longhouse folk were deeply irked by such inconvenience caused by the darkness.
“The marriage ceremony was supposed to be a joyful event but it turned out to be otherwise, no thanks to the power outage,” said Stanie over coffee with this writer at a Betong café recently.
In Saratok at Tanjung Sikup longhouse, the residents were in the midst of a drinking session when a blackout brought total darkness at 11pm last Monday evening.
“The session was partly to rejoice the birth of my first grandchild, a boy,” said Tuai Rumah Untan Sajok when pressed for comment by New Sarawak Tribune last Tuesday.
Many Chinese shopkeepers in Saratok town also voiced their displeasure over the frequent blackouts during the day and dark hours. A number of complaints have been forwarded to the local power station by the local towkays according to Bah Kak of Chop Chuan Ann in Saratok town.
