Children Of The Sea

The children of the Sea Bajaus in most of the islands off the coast, between Kunak and Tawau are stateless. Stateless is a demographic term which defines a person as having no geographic state from which he or she originated from.

Technically they are not Malaysian, even though they were born and raised on Malaysian soil/water. The Malaysian government doesn't recognize them as citizen. So are the other two neighboring governments.

With no citizenship, they therefore have no education, medical and employment benefits, making them totally hopeless on land.

Just like their fathers, grandfathers and forefathers,these young Sea Bajaus will continue living off and living on the sea.

Copy from : Trekearth.com by Rabani HMA

High Risk Collect

The birdnest collector stand on the bamboo that they hang up using the rope to collect the birdnest. It's about 500 feet high.

The cave ceiling and each dome is owned by inheritance, a family or group of families. Collectively, Madai Cave is owned by the Idahan people, one big racial family.

Gua Madai is about 15 minutes drive from Kunak. This cave is strictly limited to tourist and visitor during harvesting season.

by: zuccar9

Projek Ladang Rumpai Laut di Kunak

Felda akan memulakan Projek Pengkulturan Rumpai Laut di daerah Kunak bermula tahun depan. Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Ahmad Maslan berkata, projek itu melibatkan rakyat daerah ini yang terdiri daripada golongan miskin dan miskin tegar.

"Empat daerah dipilih untuk projek perintis iaitu Semporna, Lahad Datu, Kunak dan Kudat. Projek ini akan bermula di Semporna dengan keluasan 200 hektar," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas sesi taklimat Program Pembangunan Felda Sabah di Sutera Harbour di sini hari ini.

Katanya lagi, projek itu yang meliputi empat daerah dijadualkan siap sepenuhnya pada 2020 dan mereka yang terlibat dinamakan sebagai peneroka laut.

sumber: utusan

A Water Village Girl

She was sitting pretty on the small landing of her home, in a water village called Kampong Pangkalan, on the waterfront of Kunak, a small coastal town on the East Coast Of Sabah.

A young kampong Malay girl in her green traditional "baju kurung" with a plastic red "thingy" keeping her tussled windblown hair down. Even with her sweet subtle smile, you can't keep wondering of the scar she has on her forehead.

By : Rabani HMA

Cave Village

In the almost pitch dark main chamber of Madai Cave, on the soft thick carpet of swifts'and bats' droppings, sit a small village of wooden huts. The only light filtering into this village is from the natural skylight on the cave's ceiling above. For most parts, it is dark and gloomy with the pungent smell of droppings scenting the air, with the voices of people, echoing through the dark passageways.

The villagers who lived here during the harvesting season, are the owners of the holes or domes of swifts's nests on the ceiling,tens of meters above. High above,you could faintly see "tookang" or nest collectors,peeling off nests from the limestone rockfaces.

They lived here, amidst the darkness and the pungent smell, to harvest as well as to protect their inheritance from other owners and poachers. On average, a sizeable dome 2 meters across has between 50 to 80 nests sticking on it. With a kilogram of bird nest or about 100 nests, fetching USD500 or more in the open market, and with an annual turnover reaching USD2 million coming out collectively from Madai Cave, paranoia is good. Altogether, there are 114 domes inside the cave and each is privately owned through inheritance by an Idahan family, an indigenous race populating the Kunak and Lahad Datu countryside.

The harvesting seasons, Papas, Penanggah and Penengging are respectively in April, August and November with each season lasting for three weeks.

Info from : Rabbani HMA

SPIDERMAN IN MADAI CAVE

This man name Wahid, one of Ida'an man working as birdnest collector. Only the people of Ida'an can collect the birdnest in Madai Cave, Kunak.

by: zuccar9

Fishing in Kunak

Fishing is a hobby for some peoples. For them who lives near the sea have an advantage for it. This man spend his time fishing near the jetty. This is the fishing village in Kunak, Sabah. The wood in the sea side maybe to build a house or jetty, its like a piling to maybe to build ahouse or jetty.

by: zuccar9

GIANT CASSAVA CRACKER IN KUNAK

If you are a tourist or a traveler who use the road transport system returning from Sabah famous island resort of Sipadan in Semporna to the state capital Kota Kinabalu, you have to pass through Kunak, a small town located just at the deepest mouth of Darvel Bay. Seconds after passing through the main roundabout of Kunak, you would notice a row of stalls on the left hand side shoulder of the road. Items sold are mostly locally produced food items as well as canned and bottled drinks including, of course Coca Cola and Pepsi. If you are a passenger of one of the express coach buses chances are good that you will have the opportunity to stop by at the stalls as bus drivers and conductors are among the regular customers of those stalls.

Presently the most popular item among tourists and travelers is the Kerepek Ubi, a kind of wafer or cracker with cassava or tapioca (Manihot esculenta) as the main ingredient. It is often referred to as the Giant Cracker as a piece of kerepek ubi measures about 10 by 15 inches compared to normal tapioca crackers or chips that measure to only about one square inch. A packet of kerepek ubi that contains 3 pieces of the giant size crackers is sold at RM 2.00 per packet.

Health conscious consumers prefer the Kerepek Ubi of Kunak as it is free of chemical preservatives. The ingredient is simple and made up of only four items, i.e., fresh tapioca, tapioca flour, white sugar and cooking oil (for frying).

info from : Traveljournal.net

Pulau-Pulau di Kunak

Pulau Tabawan

Merupakan Pulau terbesar di perairan Kunak

Pulau Silumpat
Terkenal dengan Industri penternakan Mutiara


Pulau Burung
Sesuai dengan aktiviti Memancing

Pulau Malundangan

Pulau Majingkil

Pulau Maganting

Pulau Bohayan
Terkenal dengan Pantai dan Terumbu karangnya

Panorama Pulau Bohayan

Pulau Bakubang

Suasana Pekan Kunak 1983

Foto ini diambil pada 1983 di atas bangunan Singapore Trading kalau aku tak silap. Kelihatan bangunan pejabat Pos (a) seterusnya Klinik Kesihatan (b) yang pertama di pekan kunak sebelum berpindah ke JKR lama. Tangki simpanan CPO BAL Plantation (c) di Kg. Pangkalan, Masjid Lama Pekan Kunak (d) dan Panggung wayang (e).

Kawasan semak samun di tepi Panggung wayang ini, sekarang telah didirikan premis bangunan rumah kedai dua tingkat yang diberi nama Bangunan Pangi. Kelihatan juga Ruamh pangsa balai polis Kunak sedang dalam pembinaan.

Mercu Tanda Baru Daerah Kunak

Kerja-kerja pembinaan sedang rancak dialankan

Pada 29hb Oktober 2009 yang lepas, sewaktu saya dan keluarga pulang bercuti ke Kunak. Penulis sempat melihat kerja-kerja pembangunan infrastruktur di sekitar pekan, dan salah satunya yang menarik minat penulis ialah pembinaan mercu tanda baru bagi daerah Kunak di persimpangan bulatan jalan ( Round about ) yang menuju ke pusat pekan dan jalan ke Semporna.

Mercu tanda tersebut kelihatannya seperti replika tiga Udang besar berdasarkan bentuk senibinanya yang masih dalam proses pembinaan, dan jika siap nanti ia bakal menjadi salah satu penarik bagi daerah Kunak yang kita cintai.