SUNSHINE STORIES

P osted by R. Jumin Whenever I have difficulty sleeping, which is not very often, I will spent time surfing the net, and if I don’t have good internet connection, I will browse through the collection of pictures I have stored in my computer. This is how I stumbled across this long forgotten scanned picture above. This is another very useful Bajau Laut heritage. I saw Damsek, our boatman, referring to this one morning in 2007 prior to our trip to the islands. Curious, I asked him what was it he was referring to. He showed me this very old paper with matrices of different figures and patterns. On the left margin is the number 1-7, while on the top row is the number 6-12 and repeated again from 1-5. Apparently, the left margin signify the days in the week, and the top row is the time in a day. I don’t know why it stops at 5, but I speculate that probably because the Bajau Laut do not travel much at night. As it turn out, this is a very useful piece of paper. Damsek used this to decide whe

Posted by: Sofia Johari On the 8th February 2010 while we were in WWF-Malaysia Borneo head office, and while we were having our quarterly review on the progress of our work in the proposed Tun Mustapha Park, I received a call from Asri (our staff in the Kudat field office) informing me about the first batch of relocated turtle hatchlings in Berungus have emerged after 65 days of incubation! It was a pleasently distracting news. Everyone are excited about this new development on the conservation effort being done in Kg. Berungus. We decided to release the baby turtles the next day when the tide is high and when Irwan and most of the team members are in Kudat. All photos are credited to Irwanshah Mustapha. Firts batch of turtle hatchlings emerging! 43 hatclings of the first batch of the first relocated nest. The hatchlings are of Green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ). According to the Kg. Berungus communitys' log book, the initial number of eggs are 119 eggs, firts batch only 43 hatched.

By: Angela Lim, SSME Senior Communications Officer On Saturday 30 January 2010 , I was fortunate to join the Kudat PCA team to Pulau Tigabu, within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park ( TMP ). Besides being a weekend, the trip took a bit of sacrifice as it involved waking up at 5am ! The early departure on the Mameng (WWF’s 10m boat) was so that we could catch the tide and avoid bad waves. By 7:30am , we sped away from Kudat marina and were rewarded by a spectacular sunrise and a good calm sea. With us on the trip were Encik Fazrullah Abdul Razak, Marine Park Manager of Sabah Parks, Encik Jimli Perijin, Wildlife Enforcement Officer of Sabah Wildlife Department, and Encik Amillson Baragus, a consultant for WWF’s alternative livelihood assessment study. Encik Fazrullah wanted to promote the establishment of the proposed TMP , while Encik Jimli aimed to introduce Sabah Wildlife Department’s Honorary Wildife Warden (HWW) role and recruit participants for the HWW training coming up in March. A

Posted by: Sofia Johari An hour of walking to Kg Berungus in shallow water during low tide. On the 22 - 23 December 2009 WWF-Malaysia (Kudat-Banggi PCA) collaborated with Yayasan Sabah (Zon Pantai Barat Utara) organizing an Environmental Stewardship Workshop at Kg. Berungus, Pitas. The participants are from Kudat District (Kudat Town, Kg. Air, Kg. Tanjung Kapur, & Taman Orkid), Banggi (Karakit Township, Kg. Perpaduan, & Kg. Singgah Mata) and Pitas District (Kg. Berungus & Kg. Telaga). There were 20 youth participants from different family background and level of education. The workshop comprised of two major activities: 1) 'Bubu' Making 2) Turtle Hatchery Management Pushing the boat during low tide The major objective of the workshop is to instill stewardship on the environment and natural coastal resources among the youths. This is to build their capacity and prepare them towards the gazettement of the Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) where the community collaboratively wi

Posted by: Sofia Johari 11th -13th December 2009. The Maliangin Community has gone one step further in promoting their crafts by showcasing their product at the 'Satu Daerah Satu Industri (SDSI)' Showcase at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), Ayer Keroh, Melaka. The event was organized by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and officiated by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin bin Mohd. Yassin. Two Maliangin women went to Melaka under the joint sponsorship of the Sabah Industrial Development Department and WWF-Malaysia (Kudat-Banggi Priority Conservation Area Project - Alternative Livelihood Activity). WWF-Malaysia with the cooperation of the Kg Maliangin Society, government agencies such as Yayasan Sabah (Zon Pantai Barat Utara), Sabah Art Gallery and District Office of Banggi are initiating and facilitating this alternative livelihood programme in conjunction with the establishment of the 'No Take Zone' at Ma