SRB the new hero...

Sunday, September 16th, 2007
A regatta to remember By Dr Chung Tsung Ping
IT was a memorable event — the Sarawak River rippled with colours from boats of all sizes and shapes, while the Kuching Riverfront was filled with people from all walks of life.
Some knew their roles very well, some oblivious that they were part and parcel of an exciting event.
They all played a part as an important contributor to the Sarawak Regatta 2007. History has it that the regatta was held annually by the British since 1899 to encourage healthy competition among the communities.
The Sarawak Museum has documented the beginnings of the regatta and show how the communities have traditionally played a role at such an important event.
Preserving traditions, this year’s theme was aptly selected by the organisers as The Race for Peace. The 2007 regatta was also SRB’s first year as one of the main organisers working alongside key partners from the Kuching Resident’s office, the Marine Department, Fire and Rescue, and the City Councils to name a few.
This year’s regatta was also in a year where there was great knowledge sharing and exchange between the Marine Department and SRB in terms of the management of the event
Another first in this regatta was the Parade of the Oars. The oars symbolise the rules and regulations of the race and the commitment of the paddlers to respect these rules.
The honour was given to the Orang Ulu from Baram to present the oar to the Chief Minister of Sarawak. This is a commendable effort to keep Sarawak’s traditions alive and it is hoped that this Parade will be performed at future regattas.
To make this event successful, perfect coordination and teamwork was vital. Walkie-talkies were the main communication tools for the teams from SRB to coordinate with the other teams. It was a good opportunity to be able to watch and observe how teamwork came together consciously and unconsciously, especially by SRB personnel.
Each person and team knew their roles very well and automatically went into action to ensure that the job was done professionally and swiftly to keep the event running on time.
Even the Kuching Barrage under the care of Captain Goh played its role in ensuring that the river’s water levels were appropriate for the race.
At the grandstand, the ushers were in place to welcome the VIPs, including the event’s guest of honour, Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and other guests for the launch and the Governor Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin for the closing ceremony.
On the sides, one could observe busy caterers preparing the food and refreshments for the guests, police personnel on hand to ensure the safety of the crowd, and ambulance personnel in line to help in the event of a health emergency.
As the crowd cheered and enjoyed the races and event, the race crew worked hard to keep the jet skis in place on the race platform, the marshals on their vehicles to ensure that the rules of the game were observed, the rescue teams all ready for the man overboard and the judges with their watchful eyes to ensure fairness as its first priority during the races.
While it was a scene of hustle and bustle at the grandstand and the riverfront, approximately 30 persons worked behind the scene at the starting line. The marshals coordinated with their colleagues in charge of announcing the races. I learned that the starting line was one of the most important sections of the event. SRB had allocated approximately 30 persons to man the starting line.
Marshal 1 played its role behind the starting line, ensuring that the starting rules were not flouted by the participants while Marshal 2 kept a watch at the front of the starting line.
The umpire boats took over at the 100 metre mark from the starting line, racing alongside the participants to make sure that the rules of the competition were adhered to.
The atmosphere at the starting line was full of eagerness and anticipation as each team waited for the sound of the starting gun to kick off the races.
Paddles were all ready, submerged in the water; participants hunched forward all raring to be the first team to leave the starting line. The community lined the banks of the river to watch the races, cheering for their favourite teams.
I was informed that many came from as far as Sebuyau, an hour away from Kuching, Limbang and Lawas. Some came with their mobile homes in the form of boats equipped with cooking utensils and washing facilities making them known as the ‘gypsies of Sarawak’.
Some took the opportunity to have picnics along the river banks bringing families together to witness this annual event. As the boats reached the finishing line, the judges were on their best to catch the photo finish to determine the winners of the individual races including the one to crown ‘Raja Sungai’ (‘King of the River’).
This event displayed the team spirit embedded in SRB — or as the SRB Controller puts it “great things small people can do”.
One of the five strategies of the UNDP-SRB SIWT project includes a component to strengthen the institutional and capacity of SRB as the rivers gain additional responsibilities in the masterplan, which will be developed through the project.
This show of large-scale event management by SRB has helped provide early signs of potential capacity to implement Sarawak’s Masterplan for its rivers.
It was definitely a sight to remember as I was in one of the two large boats, one carrying the Governor plying the Sarawak River at the height of its glory. The people of Kuching thronged and filled all corners of buildings located on the river to catch a glimpse of the colourful event.
The commitment by our development partners, SRB was praiseworthy as seen through their daily regime of morning briefings at 7.30am for the three days of the regatta followed by the evening sessions of post-mortem meetings. We definitely look forward to the next Sarawak regatta 2008 which could well have an Irish team participating.
The other event to look forward is the Baram Regatta due to be organised and held in October 2008. Kudos to SRB and partners for a successful Sarawak Regatta 2007.
Dr Chung Tsung Ping is an Assistant Resident Representative (Programme) with the United Nations Development Programme and Steven Selvaraj is a freelance photographer.