An Accident

It was a dark night slightly drizzling. The tiny row boat finally reached the mile 8, Tuaran Road bridge. The man called desperately for help. Only his father and a younger brother came out but they recoiled in horror. Slumped across the rafters of the boat was second brother, body soaked blood red as the torchlight flickered across.

What happened was this. At 7pm just after dinner two brothers went out into the bakau marshes for a hunt. Hoping to bag a deer or two they each carried a shotgun. One hour later the tragic consequence of mistaking the other for a wild animal resulted in a shotgun blast.

Years later the confession of eldest brother revealed he has been startled by sounds of rustling leaves. In an instant he looked up and saw a silhoute of what came across as a wild boar. He took aim and fired. There was a blood curling scream and then moanings. His heart beating from excitement he went after the prey. But alas he found instead the still-warm body of his younger brother. He begun to curse and swear. No sooner his brother begged him to sent him back to the house and he calmed down and complied.

He must have rowed for what seems like an eternity (about one hour) when he reached the homestead. After quickly cleaning the wounds they carried their brother to Yinfook's house. Yinfook was the church elder and the only one for miles around to own a car. Gingerly they loaded second brother into the car and off they sped - to town, and the hospital.

With today's modernised trauma unit, an accident such as the one narrated above should have not been any problem. Fifty years ago however it was different. The bullet had penetrate a vital organ and infection set in. Two days later the wound turned septic and second brother succumbed. The family was dumbfounded and grieved. Eldest brother who fired the fatal shot carried the anguish and guilt right until his dying day. In the last stage of his life he was actually mad.

Rain Tree (samanea saman)

Samanea saman is a species of flowering legume or of the pea family. It is native to Central and South America originating from Southern Mexico to Brazil, but it has been widely introduced to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii. Common names include Rain Tree and Monkey Pod. Saman is a wide-canopied tree with a huge crown and can reach a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 20 feet. The leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evening, hence the name Rain Tree and 5 o'clock Tree (Pukul Lima) in Malay. Several subspecies of this tree are available e.g. with reddish pink and creamish golden colored flowers. Because of its widespread occurrence, several synonyms are available eg. Albizzia saman, mimosa pubifera, and inga salutaris amongst others. Its taxonomy is straightforward enough though. In the past its uses mainly as a shade tree along trunk roads but later on it was not practical as its humongous roots nearly always disrupt free flowing traffic.

Rivers and Us

Rivers provide our drinking water. In most cities water supply is either from a river or lake, and, a pumping-filtration station then sends the water to residents individually. It is important to take care of our rivers and this post includes mention of few rivers in our area. The Brunei River (bottom), Lawas (middle) and Kuala Abai (top) shown here are some of the estuarine systems that are increasingly under attack of pollution. I hope this helps bring awareness of the need to clean up our rivers.

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Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

The Study of Insects

Entomology is the study of insects. These critters - some call them bugs or crawlies - can be a blessing or a curse. As blessings, insects are vitally important in pollination of plants, eats up and digest pollutants, as food for certain aboroginal/tribal people, countercheck pest attacks by other insects or animals against human and other uses in the balance of the local eco-system. Insects such as locusts devour food meant for human consumption, spread diseases such as malaria and encephalitis, and sometimes overrun local insect populations and therefore result in ecological imbalance. Therefore they too can be a curse. Entomology then is a tool which helps us to better manage our eco-system. In agriculture entomologists are employed to help the farmer reduce loses from insect pests and boost productivity. Perhaps you'd like to enroll in such a study program?

Bountiful Harvest

I was in Sarawak last week and witnessed the bountiful rice harvest of farmers who are in the area which stretches from Serian town to Bentong. Its good to see the smiles on the face of the local people and I was pretty impresssed too with the numerous gunny sacks of rice being brought into the long-house for storage. The above pics depict mood of the people ...

Protecting the Patch

It irks some people to see empty patches of landscape. They bemoan the barren-ness of the garden when in fact it is by neglect a certain piece of the terrace has been left uncultivated. Perhaps the owner of the house has forgotten to water the lawn, or the house is empty at the moment, or that by overuse of weedicide chemicals that patch is bared, or any of a myriad of reasons. To rectify the owner can choose to re-seed the lawn, or plant some plants inside. Let me introduce a lovely looking landscape plant, which is fast growing, hardy, mops up empty spaces inside your heath, and is only about a few inches in height. The false heather (cuphea lythraceae) pictured above should be able to satisfy those who have been irked by the moonscape-like condition of their favourite patch.