Very Normal Activity: Strange Creature in Sibu Freaks Plantation Workers + Follow Up

Alright most of you must have watched or at least heard about the news of a strange creature which freaked out plantation workers in Sibu, Sarawak in late January. Well, in case you missed it, below is the video.

The story was that a team of Indonesian workers at an oil palm plantation came face to face with this strange animal. One of the workers claimed that it charged at them and so he hit it until it was knocked out and posed for the camera (pictured left). Fortunately, the creature regained consciousness and was forced to go back into the jungle.

As much as I object hitting a helpless animal let alone a potentially new cryptid in Borneo, the workers may had the rights to knock it out seeing how potentially dangerous the beast was. I mean look at it! Look at those claws! If I were the plantation worker I'd whack it too when I see this malnourished Smeagol with manicure issues come charging at me.

But as it turned out I've seen this creature and its picture floating in the internet (sic 9gag) and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation confirmed my speculation. That strange creature was a Helarctos malayanus or also known as a sun bear. 

"Woi it's 6am why you switched on the lights I wanna sleep cannot ah?!" 

Picture from a-z animals

Well instead of being corrupted by the One Ring. the bear found at the plantation was most likely suffering from a skin condition due to recent floods in Sarawak. And this bear disease which causes it to lose its fur happens to bears in other countries. So imagine the cute furry bear up there turning to look like its cousin in Leipzig zoo as shown below:

"Well, at least I still have my side burns and good personality"

Picture from dailymail.co.uk

But unlike the American counterpart where we capture shaky videos of strange animals and build a cult or TV shows around it, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation viewed the video as a distress call from the bear. Almost immediately the SFC launched the SWAT team to find the creature. 

Nope, unlike the American fully-armed black-clad law enforcement counterpart, the SWAT here refers to Swift Wildlife Action Team which is conducting a search and rescue (SAR) operation to locate and help the sick bear. Kudos to them for taking such prompt initiative to conserve Sarawakian wildlife. 

The SAR is still ongoing at the time of writing this post, but we can only hope and pray the ailing bear will be found alive and in time to be healed.

BONUS FAST FACTS - The sun bear is native to the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia. They are also called as the "Honey Bear" due to their voracious appetite for honeycombs and honey. It is a protected species in Malaysia but little enforcement occurs. Luckily, there is a special rehabilitation and conservation centre for Bornean sun bears in Sandakan, Sabah managed by wildlife biologist Wong Siew Te. In addition, due to its diet the sun bear has a tongue measuring from 7.9 to 9.8 inch. Whoa! Imagine the things you can do with that!

Picture from thesun.co.uk

Sibu Awakes!

Sibu people are not fond of money politics and death threats. Keep the RM5,000,000 because it's someone else's hard-earned money...

It's official. Sibu is now under DAP. The long 1-week campaigns from both sides has ended with these results:

Pakatan Rakyat's DAP: 18,845
Barisan Nasional's SUPP: 18, 447 (after additional +2,000 postal votes)
Independent: 232

I wasted 3 hours waiting with a lot of anticipation for the results to be announced at 9pm Sunday, 16th May 2010. I even paused all assignments to witness how a new history was about to unfold. Things looked bright for the party with the ideology of democratic socialism and social justice...

The Chronology
The Death

• The passing of the late Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew on April 9th 2010 left the Sibu constituent vacant. Wong Ho Leng from DAP and backed by Pakatan Rakyat, came forward to challenge for the seat.

• His main contender was BN's SUPP "fighting cock" Robert Lau Hui Yew (aka Robert Lau Jr. although they're cousins).
• Narawi Haron, representing himself as a Bebas or Independent party entered the fray to evaluate his popularity after his defeat in 1999 election.
  

The Vote-Fishing

• DAP used the 'Allah' issue as well as some native land rights issues to convince voters. Also they managed to slot in the Block L & M (off Limbang), two oil wells the government sold to Brunei in order to maintain Limbang.
  
• SUPP used how they have money and DAP is all talk. Surprisingly SUPP used the 'kampua will be banned" as another twist to gain voters because DAP supports PAS (another Pakatan Rakyat component party) vision of an Islamic state. I for one am offended by this offensive insult. There's halal kampua in Sibu la boss, 5 shops I know sell them e.g. Sunny Cafe near RTM, Mas Corner near Lau King Howe Memorial, that small cafe not far from A-Plus, that smaller cafe near the old Cathay road, and many more random roadside stalls.
• Bebas used, well nothing. The candidate just wanted to win back his pride after he lost in the 1999 election where he lost his deposit. Narawi Haron assumed he could get 4,000 voters and get his votes back.

The Epic Mistake BN Made:

• It is this speech made by PM Najib Tun Razak on Saturday night, less than 12 hours before polling begins. His blunder? Offering a bribe to the Rejang Park people RM5 mil if they vote for SUPP's Robert Lau Jr. That is taxpayer's money man... listen to his speech:
  

The Polling Day
Everything went alright and smoothly. But by 7pm ballot counting began. The ticker went up tremendously at all tweets, blogs, facebook groups and other online site Sibuians, Malaysians and others can access. The world was watching.

SPR (Election Committee) Controversy

• The results were clearly favouring DAP with a 3,000 majority lead (18,000 against 15,000). But the results' announcement was delayed without any clear notification.
• There were rumors of '2 missing ballot boxes' as well as 'miscounting of the postal votes'.
• Postal votes are basically BN's last resort weapon where the votes comes from Sibu government personnel (e.g. army) working outside Sibu. it's like a money cheat code because those outstationed did not get a chance to know how the vote-fishing was going. 2 hours passed with the results 2 hours late...
  
• Speculations about "dark magics" by BN occured with an ironic blackout at the ballot counting station in Dewan Suarah Sibu/Sibu Civic Center.
  

The Rocket Launches

• Finally, and officially, at 11pm DAP won with a majority of 398 even after BN's postal vote reinforcement.
  
• This was a miracle and a WTF moment for the Sibu people as a whole, both DAP and BN supporters.
  
• Drunks were sobbing by the roadside as they lost their bet, Najib and the Deputy Prime Minister left the polling scene, facebook saw a spike of several pro-progress youths and adults alike.
  

The Aftermath

• Sibuians now look forward to the new era of progress under the wings of Wong Ho Leng. Sibu is established as the second DAP base after Kuching.
  
• Despite their lost, BN intends to keep all the promises made by PM Najib Tun Razak (that means you still lose your taxmoney...). As a Sibuian said "u no need to sign that cheque on Monday la Najib"...
  
• No updates from Bebas candidate.

Sarawak Geo-Political Map as of May 2010 AD. With DAP getting a foothold in the south and the new central region, the future looks bright for the democratic socialist party.

• They now can face Sarawak's Pehin Abdul Taib Mahmud's stronghold in Mukah. To the folks in Mukah, please consider voting for progress, because the Sibu-Mukah road has been horrible (read) for many years. Despite the Pehin's presence in Mukah and the millions of RM the government has, I don't see much effort for the road.
• Hopefully our neighbors of Kapit, Sarikei, Betong, Sri Aman and Samarahan would join us in ignoring the money politic and go for progress.
• Bintulu and Miri is still a stronghold for BN in the north, where progress are clear but some are not known e.g. Senadin area, or the deadly e-Mart-Senadin road (read).
• This is just an analysis based on Total War experience.
  

Kampua 4 Life
The inappropriate threat of kampua banning by BN is no more. Kampua is safe again for now, both halal and non-halal. This just shows how we Sibuians cannot be separated from our beloved dry noodle. You have already politicized religions, don't politicize our food bro...

At the end of the day we stood united, no matter what race/religion, despite all the segregation propaganda gimmicks like what they have done in the West. I'm proud to be a Sibuian. Viva la Sarawak!

Burglar enters Myanmar women’s dormitory but fails to rape them

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!" - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Clearly this dude didn't listen to Sun Tzu. I'm not sure what hurts him the most after he fled; unable to stand up on his own in a room with 7 nude young women OR his new found discovery that he could be homosexual. Read the full article here.