Recently my colleagues and I travelled to Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo.
Shared with Indonesia and Brunei, Borneo is a huge island encompassing more than 740,000 square kilometers.
Like the rest of Borneo, the state of Sarawak has an incredible amount of natural mineral and wood resources along with rainforests containing a wide variety of wildlife, including the Bornean orangutans and many other flora and fauna species. Sarawak's human population is also quite diverse, with more than 20 ethnic groups represented. Sarawak is unique insofar as the Malaysian Constitution has provisions that protect Sarawak's semi-independence; the local government has been granted power to regulate entry and residence, employment in public services, etc. Some political observers have said that when general elections are held in Malaysia, Sarawak is often the swing state that decides the results.
My colleagues and I arrived in Bintulu, a small town northeast of Kuching, Sarawak's capital. It is located in the coastal region of the central coast of Sarawak, which in recent times has seen a boom in industrial activity.
I decided to go for a swim before dinner, but someone warned me that a crocodile was spotted living off the coast near the hotel where we were staying. Always aware of the risk-reward of any situation, I decided not to go for a night time swim since crocodiles are known for their good nocturnal vision, and I didn't want to risk becoming a meal!
However, the next morning, I surveyed the situation and decided to take the swim, happy to see no crocodile in sight.
My colleagues and I came to Bintulu to visit the Samalaju Industrial Park, part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) programme. The programme was established in 2008 to leverage the abundant hydro and other energy resources in the state to support industries that require a lot of energy, such as aluminum, glass and steel production.
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