Sematan...Beach In Danger

I managed to wake up as early as 6.30 a.m. during my holiday trip to Sematan on the second day of Gawai.

As one of the members of our group is a JKR staff, we had the privilege to stay in JKR bungalow. Well, not a huge nice bungalow as you imagined. It was just a medium-sized, wooden quarter with 3 rooms.

What I hated most was being fed by the mosquitoes! Darn, as if I’m a blood bank!

A few of us decided to go down to the beach. As we were on our way, someone noticed that there was a stockpile of something that looked like pipes. You know, those big, long, steel pipes. Those were already a bit rusted.

As we moved nearer, I noticed that a lot of those pipes were erected along the beach. When my friends waded out to cool their feet and enjoying the beach walk, I stayed close to the pipes. I noticed the badly eroded beach.


These pipes were cut and erected along the shore to support the shore and prevent further erosion. I believe the erosion of this beach is not a new problem. It must have been discovered by the local council (or DID maybe?) much earlier already. I also noticed that right behind these pipes, there were already gabion walls installed! Which means, these gabion walls did not serve their purpose!


Even with the gabion walls in place, erosion (as shown by arrow) still happens. There should have been some really nice mangrove vegetations here before, but now, only one tree or two can be seen. Of course, I saw some casuarina trees too, but only around the beach resorts. Sooner or later, these casuarina trees will slowly die out as well.

So what makes Sematan so special until people flock to fill up the resorts and even the lousiest inn, especially during the festive seasons? Its seafood? The (dirty and eroded) beach? The rural-ness of the place? Or simply to get away from the busy city life (at this kind of place?!)?

I went there quite unwillingly, well not by force, but because some friends of mine were going so I figured perhaps I should just follow. If I knew there were SO many people staying in one wooden house, and I had to sleep outside without a pillow, blanket and mattress, I wouldn’t have agreed to go. However, it was quite an experience, and a good breakthrough for me when I recognized that beach erosion is also a problem in the small, undisturbed town of Sematan.

Beach erosion… who to be blamed?

Recycle? Who cares...

I was sitting at my desk, giving my fullest attention on what I was doing when suddenly, I saw something which I didn't expect to see.

Right across the room where the recycle box is, the cleaner emptied the used papers into a big garbage bag.

I stopped my work straight away and started to observe the lady cleaner. After she moved all the used papers into the garbage bag, she continued emptying the trash bins into the same garbage bag.

If anyone would have noticed, I was watching her in horror. As if I've seen a ghost. My first reaction was "What the hell..." Then I immediately intercom my boss' secretary, only to find out that it has been so all the while.

One question for my boss. What is the purpose of having a recycle bin in the office when it is NOT used for recycling?? Simply as a temporary platform before those used papers end up in the garbage bag? Or just for the sake of showing off??

Is it THAT difficult to practise recycling? Recycling can be another method of generating extra income too, although it's rather insignificant compared to the monthly revenue the company is able to get.

Okay, you can't do it for the sake of environment. Fine. Then, for the sake of money, why not?

Even my parents who used to think that I'm nuts, are now gradually putting recycling of used papers into practice. And I firmly believe that a lot of young people today are practising recycling too.

If they can, why can't you?

I feel kind of ashamed knowing that the company I work for, an environmental consultancy company, has no difference from those who couldn't care less for the environment.

Heh, if only recycling is mandatory for everyone and every organisation in Malaysia, like in Monroe County, Malaysia can surely be one of the well-recognised 'green' country. It would be very nice to be famous, isn't it?

Here is something I found while searching for photos for this post. It is a list of things that can be recycled and not. I think it's very useful for everyone, so do take time to read it. I learned something from it too.

(Photo obtained from Unheard Blog)

Post Earth Hour

I was browsing for some local environmental news in Malaysia when I came across this piece of article written by Koh Lay Chin, a columnist of the New Straits Times newspaper. She was making a commentary on Earth Hour, a global event on 29 March at 8-9 p.m.

Surprisingly, our Petronas Twin Towers and other sites of pride for Malaysia were still shining bright during the Earth Hour.

Disappointed? Yes, of course. It's somewhat sad too.

I couldn't agree more on what Ms. Koh said:

Any event that could raise environmental awareness should be taken up with enthusiasm, and jumping on this global bandwagon could only have been a good thing.

If only our Malaysian leaders would have thought of this:

If city and municipal councils in Malaysia were to take up the cause, they would not only earn plus-points in the environmental stakes, they gain respect and heighten civic consciousness.

I hope that Malaysia and her dwellers can do better than this in the next Earth Hour (2009).

To read the whole report, click to enlarge the photo below.

Source: DOE

Other links:
Earth Hour - Show Your Love
Thumbs Up For Students