'I lost my entire family to Sungai Dipang'

Pos Dipang was a tranquil Orang Asli village until tragedy struck 17 years ago, when the raging waters of Sungai Dipang almost wiped out the entire village and its residents, writes Jaspal Singh.

Whenever it rains heavily, Sapie Bahoi shudders. Despite having re-married and becoming a devoted father to three children, the memory of having lost his first family 17 years ago almost always comes back to haunt the 43-year-old rubber tapper whenever the rains come.

"I cannot forget my late wife, my three-year-old son and the unborn child who died when our village was wiped away by a sudden torrent of water and debris.

"In a matter of minutes, I lost them ... my only solace was being able to bury their remains," said the resident of the Orang Asli village of Pos Dipang, about 8km from Sungai Siput Selatan town.

With tearful eyes, Sapie recalled that fateful evening on August 29, 1996, when an unexpected gush of water from Sungai Dipang swept away nearly 60 homes from the village that used to be located along the river bank.

The tragedy killed 44 villagers, including six members of a Chinese family living about 6km downstream from Sungai Dipang. So extensive was the damage caused by the gushing river that only two Orang Asli houses were spared as they were located on higher ground, unlike the others.

According to Sapie, who is also the assistant Tok Batin (village head), most of the villagers were resting in their wooden huts after returning from the jungles nearby.

"It was the fruit season then, and the villagers spent most of their time in the jungles picking durian, plucking petai and harvesting rotan.

"We had returned home in the evening and were spending time with our families when the river overflowed its banks and the water suddenly gushed down and hit the village around 7pm," he said.

Sapie was visiting his father, several houses away from his own, when villagers started shouting and running helter-skelter, during which time he saw his wife and son trying to escape the murky and debris-filled river.

"I shouted at them to run to higher ground, but the force of the river pulled them in.

"That night, when the remains of the villagers were being recovered, I saw the bodies of my wife and son.

"I lost everything ... many families lost everything ... we lost our families, our belongings and homes.

"The sight after the water receded was like 'padang jarak padang tekukur' (total wilderness). Nothing was left."

For Sapie, who follows the traditional beliefs of his ancestors, the incident itself was a mystery because prior to 1996, the Orang Asli settlement was never hit by Sungai Dipang's raging waters, nor has the river risen since.

After the incident, the Pos Dipang village, with its population of about 400 people, was relocated to higher ground downstream, about a kilometre from its original site.

The present site sits on hilly terrain, part of which was once mined for tin.

Village Tok Batin, Bah Semu Bah Udin, said the incident had taught him to be more firm with the villagers as well as outsiders who pass through the village to go to a picnic spot upstream.

"I keep reminding the villagers to check on their children, especially when dark clouds start forming above Gunung Kinjang where Sungai Dipang originates.

"Villagers will sometimes remind outsiders to get out of the area when the skies threaten to unleash heavy rain.

"Although nothing similar to the 1996 tragedy has taken place since then, we are not taking anything for granted," said the 50-year-old security guard, who was appointed as the seventh village head about 10 years ago.

Bah Semu, who took the New Sunday Times to revisit the original site of Pos Dipang village, said the river water struck the village as its natural flow had been diverted by a dam-like trap of boulders and trees.

"It happened so fast. I had just returned from the jungle and was resting at home when I heard shouts and loud cries. When I looked out, I saw that muddy water had already engulfed the village.

"I quickly climbed a langsat tree near my house and stayed on it until the water receded. My wife and all our six children were unharmed. But I lost my brother-in-law."

Asked if it was raining heavily prior to the incident, Bah Semu said it rained lightly for about three hours, adding that it must have poured heavily upstream.

Describing the situation as chaotic, he said more than 500 rescuers from various agencies, including firemen, police, the army and the Orang Asli Affairs and Welfare departments were mobilised to help.

The search operation lasted three weeks, during which time rescuers recovered 39 bodies, mostly found buried under sand and debris at Kampung Sahom, downstream of Pos Dipang.

"The entire village was devastated. There was nothing left to be seen. Maybe it was 'takdir tuhan' (God's will). The survivors have moved on, but the memory of the tragedy remains.

"Of course, we now have better and safer homes. But when it rains, we still shudder. How can we forget such a tragedy? We can't," he said, pointing to the many large boulders which have made the river banks at the former village their home.

Sunday 16 June 2013

http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/i-lost-my-entire-family-to-sungai-dipang-1.301191