| Faza Suraj |
HAPPINESS swept across the hearts of the family members of the remote Mukim Melilas of Belait as keys to their new modern longhouse under the Julangan Titah Project were presented yesterday. The construction of the longhouse took six months.
The keys of the 15-unit longhouse located 62km south of Mukim Liang were presented by Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar, the Deputy Minister of Development, to Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Haji Mohd Ali bin Abdullah Itam, the Acting Penghulu of Mukim Melilas, who is also the head of the communal longhouse which accommodates around 500 villagers of which 90 per cent are Muslims.
In a press release, it was explained that the Julangan Titah Project is an initiative of the Office of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and has been implemented with the collaboration of the Ministry of Development through the Public Works Department, Land Department and Survey Department with the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF) acting as the Secretariat of the project.
Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Haji Mohd Ali told the media that during early 2015 they found the longhouse unsafe to live in.
“So we wrote a letter to the military to request help for repairs which soon enough, they made a visit to perform an assessment with contractors,” remarked the acting penghulu as he mentioned that there were problems with the stilts and the walls due to termites.
An aerial view of the new longhouse built under the Julangan Titah Project. – INFOFOTO
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar, the Deputy Minister of Development with Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Haji Mohd Ali bin Abdullah Itam, the Acting Penghulu of Mukim Melilas, who is also the head of the communal longhouse, and other officials during the key presentation ceremony. – INFOFOTO
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suhaimi greeting the residents of the longhouse. – FAZA SURAJ
A group photo of officials with the residents of the longhouse. – INFOFOTO
“They made a decision and informed us and the villagers that instead of repairing, they would rebuild the house from ground up,” he added as he expressed rejoice that he didn’t expect such a decision which led to the committee accepting the offer from the Julangan Titah Project which commenced demolition and rebuilding in November 2015 with the estimated cost of B$2 million.
When asked about the previous wooden longhouse, the Chief of the Melilas Longhouse stated that it’s been around for 40 years since 1975 prior to its demolition and when compared to the new longhouse, he mentioned that it has now 15 units instead of the earlier 14 units and these were made of mostly concrete.
According to the information delivered during the presentation ceremony, each unit is equipped with a living room, four bedrooms, a kitchen area, two toilets, new plumbing system and a shower room with all 15 sharing one common hallway.
Furthermore, each unit also have one water tank, one water pump and one diesel generator to power up the electrical appliances of each accommodation.
The Chief of the Melilas Longhouse also expressed hope that the new longhouse will encourage the family members living in housings in the urban areas to visit their hometown more often.
“Even though we have around 500 registered residents, most of them live in the city because of their commitments to their career and their family,” admitted the head as he further informed that only around 200 people would return to the longhouse during weekends or holiday season.
Besides that, Sandi Batu, 57 the Chairwoman for the Women Bureau of the Melilas Longhouse of Mukim Melilas said that the community plans to use some of the units for their homestay programmes as Melilas has been known to be a transit point for those who wish to experience the Ingai Hot Springs or the five waterfalls which is within an hour’s journey from the longhouse by boat.
“This is hoped to encourage visitors to come to our place and experience the environment of Melilas. They can choose to experience our farming activities or explore our traditions such as handicrafts and since most of our residence are Muslims, they need not worry as our delicacies are Halal guaranteed,” added Sandi as she mentioned that in the future, they hope to improve more of the longhouses especially by installing an Internet connection for better communication purposes.
Also present was the Commander of the RBLF Brigadier General Pengiran Dato Paduka Seri Pahlawan Aminan bin Pengiran Haji Mahmud, Legislative Council member YB Haji Mohd Shafiee bin Ahmad, Belait District Officer Haji Haris bin Othman, senior officials, officers and staff from the Ministry of Development and RBLF and the community of Mukim Melilas.
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