On 1st March 2019 , Swinburne Sarawak IET On Campus (SSIET) had organized a visit to Kampung Salak. It was a courtesy visit aimed to find out the current issues faced by the school and the villagers. Through the visit, the SSIET team not only knew the current major problem faced by the villagers, they also found out what they really need. The team departed from Swinburne university at 9am in the morning and reached at Kampung Salak around 10:30 am. Upon arrival, the team was first greeted by Mdm Masni, the Headmistress of SK Salak. The team then went to tour around the school led by Mr. Mohammad, the Deputy Headmaster and Mdm Zaleha, the President of Parent-Teacher Association.
Sk Salak
The interviews with the principal and teachers were conducted successfully. The members found out that there were some problems faced by the school:
Aside from the broken signboards, the school only had limited computers for the students to use. There were only total of 3 computers in the school. One of them was located at the headmistress room, another one located in the library and the last one placed at the teachers’ office. The headmistress was hoping to get some sponsor for the school signboards as well as some whiteboard markers and stationaries. After the school visit, 7 members were divided into two groups and went to interview the villagers.
The details below are the answers and suggestions from the people:
Ridian
Current problems faced:
- Quarry next to the village affecting the living environment of the village.
- Some of the area in the village does not have electricity supply yet.
- Transportation problem when reaching the land.
- Rubbish and wastes were disposed through burning process or throwing them into the river.
- Rock quarry blasting process.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
- Public transport from the dock to the Kuching city area.
Norsiah
Current problems faced:
- Water pollution caused by the rubbish in the river.
- The plantation near the mountain being affected by the rock quarry blasting process.
- Rock blasting process also affected the surrounding of the village adversely.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
Salmi
Current problems faced:
- Suspect that there are drug dealers selling drugs in the village.
- Some of the light bulbs were stolen and some of them are broken as well.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Suggest to have anti-drugs campaign for the villagers.
- The light bulb can be placed higher to prevent people from stealing it.
Riduan
Current problems faced:
- A lot of rubbish thrown into the river.
- Hard to dispose the garbage due to limited space in the village and no transport to fetch them to Kuching land.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
Ismail
Current problems faced:
- Transportation problem
- Improper waste disposal causing river flooding during heavy rain.
- There was a broken bridge connected to the boat jetty.
- Hoping to rebuild the bridge.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Suggest to install the streetlight bulbs higher to prevent people from stealing them.
Azah
Current problems faced:
- Inconvenience due to limited transport from the village to Kuching, will need to take boat to Kuching once per week to buy groceries.
- Improper waste disposal.
- Waste collector from Kuching only came once in a while or one month.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
Hadif
Current problems faced:
- Transportation problem
- Waste collector from Kuching did not often come to pick up the rubbish.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Can held a clean-up campaign by gathering all the villagers to clean up their places.
- Proper way to dispose the waste and garbage.
Harlima
Current problems faced:
- Transportation problem
- Only parts of the areas in the village have electricity, some do not have.
- Some of the newly built houses still have no electricity.
- Improper waste disposal.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Suggest to repair the ceiling for SK Salak.
- Raise public awareness on environment protection and waste management.
Maslina
Current problems faced:
- Transportation problem
- Rock quarry blasting process also affected the surrounding of the village adversely.
- Some of the streetlight bulbs were stolen and some of them had broken.
- No clinic or medical center in the village.
- Improper waste disposal
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
Roslina
Current problems faced:
- Most of the rubbish were either thrown into the river or disposed through burning process.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
Rozi
Current problems faced:
- Improper waste disposal.
- Stated that no one willing to dispose the garbage by sending them to Kuching area.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
Yati
Current problems faced:
- Transportation problem
- No lands for plantation
- Most of the rubbish were either thrown into the river
- Due to not many grocery stores in the village, the villagers have to buy their groceries from Kuching city.
- No clinic or medical center in the village.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
- Increase the number of grocery stores so that the people in the village can get them easily.
Hayati
Current problems faced:
- Rubbish were thrown into the river causing water pollution.
Suggestions for improvement:
- Proper way to dispose waste and garbage.
The interview was conducted successfully. From the interview above, villagers stated that improper way of garbage disposal was the most prominent problem faced by the village. Hence, they hope that there is a better way to dispose the waste so that the river will not be polluted. That conclude the first phase of the community service project planned by the SSIET team.
Report prepared by,
Michael Wong Geng Wu