SPECIAL WRITE-UP IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OPENING OF THE FIRST STRETCH OF PAN BORNEO HIGHWAY, SEMATAN
KUCHING: For decades, the Cape of Tanjung Datu was a forgotten pristine corner of Sarawak bordering Indonesia where only a handful of Malay villagers lived.
If the Malay community wanted to visit relatives at two coastal villages of Telok Melano and Telok Serabang it was by a five-hour journey by fishing boat through the choppy and dangerous waters of the South China Sea.
Only the brave, adventurous and desperate dared venture there because many vessels were sunk in the midst of coastal shallows fraught with sharp rocks.
The only other way was a day-long trek along the beach, passing over crocodile-infested coastal waters and streams emerging from the pristine jungle.
However, a decade ago former chief minister, the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem, took on the challenge of travelling on foot to Telok Melano – a trip that took eight hours to reach the most isolated corner of his constituency.
It was the Malays of Sambas in Kalimatan who were the first to settle in the two villages as they faced problems in Indonesia – they were persecuted by the Dutch colonisers and warring Chinese secret societies in the late 1700s.
When Sarawak became a Crown Colony under Great Britain in 1946 and Indonesia became an independent nation after overthrowing the Dutch colonisers, President Sukarno had designs on claiming Tanjung Datu as part of the Republic.
In 1963 when the Federation of Malaysia was formed, Sukarno declared war on Sarawak. Opposed to the formation of Malaysia, a Confrontation resulted between the two countries and Tanjung Datu was caught between the feuding parties.
But after a long drawn battle where many were killed, Tanjung Datu was finally declared safe after a peace agreement was brokered in 1967.
By then many of the Tanjung Datu cape Malay villagers had migrated to Sematan – a small Chinese bazaar and where the Malaysian army had established a base.
After the Confrontation and with new President Suharto at the helm of the Indonesian government, Sarawak civil servants as well as those from Kuching began to invest in land and other businesses at Sematan, the administrative capital for the district.
But the region still remained inaccessible because the 95km Kuching-Sematan road was undeveloped and hampered by the Lundu River.
Even up till the 1990s, a visit to Sematan district was not attractive because motorists had to use a ferry crossing at the Iban village of Stunggang to the Malay quarters in Lundu.
From the crossing, it was another 24km through the coastal Malay and Selako hinterlands before reaching Sematan.
But with the completion of the 33km Sematan-Telok Melano link recently at a cost of about RM700 million, history has been re-written.
It is the dawn of a new era as Malaysia’s pride and joy – the RM16 billion Pan-Borneo Highway has become a reality.
To share this momentous occasion, the New Sarawak Tribune became the first newspaper to officially travel the newly built Highway on Jan 7, 2019 – thanks to Assemblyman Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu.
Together with Jamilah’s chauffeur, Harris Abdullah and accompanied by Sematan Administrative Officer (SAO) Hershad Ehsan, Penghulu (headman) Jumahdi Sabion whose jurisdiction of 10 villages include Telok Melano (300 people) and Telok Serabang (100), we explored the newly-opened enclave.
Our first stop was Sematan, a town with the potential of becoming a leading seafood market because the Malays are mainly fishermen.
Fifty years ago Sematan’s sandy beaches were used as training ground for Kuching race horses from the Sarawak Turf Club.
Later, many youth adventure groups held sea and jungle survival courses because it was ideal for outdoor activities.
In the 1980s, the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) opened a silk farm. Others have followed suit by setting up bird’s nest businesses as well as some agro-based industries including “Kelulut” honeybee farms.
“Sematan is still relatively untouched and has tremendous potential for social and economic activities. I hope the government can recognise this and help us upgrade the environment,” Penghulu Juhmadi.
At the Cape, the remote Indonesian border town of Temajuk and sister village of Telok Melano, have been trading with each other for decades. Both were equally remote coastal villages which depended on one another for their daily sustenance.
Until today, the small village has no choice but to obtain rice and provisions from Telok Melano because it takes four hours to drive to the Regency’s administrative Indonesia administrative district of Sambas.
Added Juhmadi: “So the flow of traffic between Indonesia and Sarawak has been constant – some of us still visit the dance halls across the border, while our counterparts use Telok Melano as their playground
“In fact, over the decades, the Indonesians have also married into the local community and set up homes in Telok Melano.”
Not too long ago there was a plan to open a CIQ station – Customs, Immigration and Quarantine – between the countries but it has been put on hold as Indonesia’s President Jokowi Widodo has to prioritise other regions in Kalimantan Borneo which is four times the size of Sarawak’s 125,000sq land area.
However, there are plans to open up more border checkpoints following the opening of the Tebedu CIQ 20 years ago and the Malaysian-Indonesian Biawak-Aruk Sajingan CIQ recently.
Today, Pan Borneo’s four-lane dual carriageway between Telok Melano and Sematan will be officially opened, heralding a new era for the region.
Unlike the old days, it will take 30 minutes to get from Sematan to Telok Melano.
But the “Jewel” of the Cape is the Tanjung Datu National Park which is directly in the backyard of the Telok Melano village.
One of Sarawak’s smallest national parks covering 14 sq km, Tanjung Datu, which faces the South China Sea and has been called “Borneo’s Garden of Eden”, was once only accessible by boat.
It covers rugged mountain terrains which sweep down to a clear turquoise sea where directly below are some important landmarks such as the old Sarawak lighthouse and the latest one built by Indonesia.
At present, the small swift mountain crystal clear streams provide pure water to the villagers of Telok Melano and Telok Serabang
A recently implemented set of solar panels and a network of wiring provide lighting to the Telok Melano which has a variety of Kampung-style and modern concrete homes as well as a primary school, a new mosque and a host of village homestay properties for visitors and tourists.
Unlike Samunsam, Borneo’s famous Rafflesia plants, which have among the world’s biggest flowers, can be found along Tanjung Datu’s hiking trails.
Tanjung Datu is also reputed to have exquisite flora and fauna and an ornithologist’s paradise with hundreds of bird species including the rare hornbills and peacocks.
Among the primates are Bornean Gibbons, Pig-Tailed Macaques, Long-Tailed (or Crab-Eating) Macaques, and Silvered and Banded Langurs (or Leaf Monkeys).
Bearded Pigs, Sambar Deer, Mouse Deer, Barking Deer, Bearcats, Civet Cats and various species of squirrel are among the land mammals that may occasionally be seen here.
Tanjung Datu’s another great contribution to the environment is it being a marine turtle nesting sites of the highly-endangered Green Turtles and Olive Ridley Turtles. The turtles continue to lay their eggs on the park’s beaches and a fenced-off hatchery has been established by the forest department to protect it from poachers.
In ancient times, the sale and consumption of turtle eggs in coastal regions and the turtle islands such as “Talang Talang”, was a way of life. Despite the ban on the trade in Sarawak, the prized commodity still finds its way into the homes of the wealthy, rich and famous.
The choppy and dangerous waters offshore is also home to dolphins. Recently an unidentified whale species was also spotted in the blue and sometimes green waters of the South China Sea.
Tanjung Datu which has a range of marine life, and the coral growing close to the shore, has the potential be a world-famous location for snorkeling and scuba diving.
Across the border in unexplored Kalimantan is also the 4,464ha Mount Asuansang Nature reserve which was gazetted in 1995. The mountain complex is reputed to be abound with a variety of colourful plants and trees as well as wildlife.
After Indonesia gained its independence from the Dutch in 1948, Asuansang was a pristine forest and remained as such during the Malaysia-Indonesian Confrontation which ended in the late 1960s.
The Cape region also has a fascinating history of marauding “pirates” from both the Sambas Malay community and Sea Dayak headhunters from Sarawak. The former were infamously known to attack European vessels off the coast of Mempawah.
Sarawak’s famed warlord Rentap led a fleet of Iban “Bangkong” war boats on a major expedition along the Kalimantan coast in the 1830s and attacked the vessel of the nephew of the Sultan of Mempawah.
Among his prized possessions was a traditional “Bedil” gun with a broken “trunnion” cannon mounting named “Bujang Timpang Berang”, which in Iban means “cannon with a one-armed trunnion”.
In peaceful times, traders from Indonesia used to travel around the cape to ply their goods. But in the recent years the controversy regarding maritime boundary limits between the two countries at Tanjung Datu is still an issue.
However, it is understood that recent talks between President Jokowi and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad may see a permanent solution to the problem.
With the opening of the first stretch of Pan Borneo Highway, Sematan is expected to experience a boost in touristic activities. It already has several homestays, lodging houses and the international-standard Palm Beach Resort.
It is predicted that by 2030, Tanjung Datu region, a stone’s throw away from Kuching, could become Sarawak’s new “Shangri La”.
