Fire that left 1,000 homeless shows importance of communications equipment

Monday May 12, 2008
Fire that left 1,000 homeless shows importance of communications equipment


MIRI: It has been a futile 20-year wait for one satellite telephone set. No wonder the fire victims at the Punan Bah settlement in Kapit Division in central Sarawak are feeling disappointed.

Twenty years ago, politicians who visited the 1,500-strong community from the minority Punan ethnic group said Punan Bah would be equipped with a satellite communication set so they could contact the outside world in the event of emergencies.

"Twenty years ago, we asked the politicians and they agreed. We are still waiting today," said Punan National Association publicity bureau chief Calvin Jemarang.

These satellite phones are vital communication equipment in deep-forested areas and mountainous regions where no fixed line or cellular phone connections are available.

In Sarawak, timber camps, rural clinics and rural police stations are equipped with these facilities so workers stationed there can communicate with their counterparts in the outside world. Each satellite phone set costs about RM10,000.

Last Monday, fire razed three longhouse blocks in Punan Bah, located some 500km south of here, and completely destroyed the wooden living quarters, leaving some 1,000 homeless. Punan Bah is about 250 years old, one of the oldest settlements in Sarawak.

It took more than a day before the fire victims could travel down to Belaga town by river and logging roads, some 80km from the site, to notify the police about the fire and to appeal for help from the welfare authorities, because of logistical problems and because the Punan Bah settlement did not have any telecommunication equipment.

Jemarang said the fire disaster showed how important it was for every populated settlement to be equipped with at least one phone.

"Communication linkage is a vital necessity, without which nobody in the outside world would know what is happening to people living in the deep interior," he said.

"If possible, Internet facilities must be installed in these settlements. In the event of tragedies or disasters, swift response can minimise damage and save lives," he said.

Jemarang also appealed for fire extinguishers, water pumps and hoses for all longhouses.