A Visit to Sibu Development Exhibition 2011

Sibu Development Exhibition 2011 was held at Sibu Trade & Exhibition Center from 28th October -12 November 2011 in conjunction with Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) 30th Anniversary.

I know it was a bit late to write about this especially when I actually visited the place on its very first weekend of this 3-week event. Couldn't find my mood to showcase about this exhibition as in my very personal opinion, there are nothing much to cheer and tell the story about. This exhibition just couldn't give me some kinda "kicks" to write about it.

However as a blogger who mostly highlight on Sibu's events and happenings, I finally found my mood to at least share a little overview about the exhibition. If you want me to describe this event using one word, I'll say "It-is-an-exhibition-with-plenty-of-nostalgic-photos"!

Yes! That's it! SMC itself occupied the most space in the exhibition hall. Once you entered SMC's exhibition compound, you would start to see a lot of very historical photos on the wall. Is good to see how a town named Sibu started with in the earlier years!

Some of these photos could really flash back our long lost memories. Just like the photos about demolition of the old open market which I used to go with my mum when I was kiddie before it moved to the current central market and the outdoor track & field stadium which turned to be the base of Wisma Sanyan now!

Of course besides those historical and classical photos, there were also plenty of modern photos on various venues and occasions in Sibu. Well, I guess only by comparison among the old and new, classic and modern, it'll then serve the objective of the exhibition which is about the development of this land, isn't it?

The miniature of proposed design of Sibu Town Square phase 2 showcased near the exit of SMC's exhibition area is quite nice looking, yet would it turns to be a real project is still a big question mark. Not that I am pessimistic, but I had a bad experience visited SIDEX (Sibu Development Expo) 2005 which proposed the old SMC building to turn into a very unique opera house, (but what the hell an opera house to do in Sibu? that's another story anyway...) but it ended up become Sibu Heritage Center which is a totally different design from its initial planning.

Apart from SMC, among other exhibitors are like JKR, Lembaga Air Sibu, Lembaga Sungai-Sungai Sarawak, Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, Polis DiRaja Malaysia, ATM, Pejabat Pelajaran Daerah Sibu, Sarawak Energy, Lembaga Pelabuhan Rajang and etc etc.

One booth that attracted my attention is Jabatan Penjara Malaysia where they displayed the basic necessities given to a prisoner and also uniform of prisoners in different stages of imprisonment.

What impressed me the most in the whole exhibition is a row of high definition photos showcasing Sibu found outside the wall of SMC's exhibition area. For an amateur photographer holding a compact camera, I personally felt these photos are truly beautiful, heart touching and full of WOW experience!

I am not sure why this exhibition needs to be held for such a lengthy period as honestly there were nothing excited to explore except those historical photos. Yeah, I agree, it is good to organize such event once in a while to either remind or flash back or acknowledge Sibu people about the development of this land, but do it for a week to two should be more than enough. Furthermore, SIDEX 2005 as well as this edition had been held near to its upcoming election which couldn't help me to relate it with the election.

Now I am wondering when will be the next edition of this kind of exhibition?

1Malaysia Broadband Carnival 2011 @ Sibu

When you read this post, the event was actually over, but I just wish to share some of my experience in it and to polish my half-dead blog!

This event was called 1Malaysia Broadband Carnival which was held from 29th - 30th October 2011 at Sibu Town Square phase 2. I didn't really notice about this event, until a friend mentioned to me it was a nation wide program and Sibu was one of the selected venue.

Yes! There were only 5 towns throughout the country been selected as the venue for this year's carnival and Sibu is one of them. It is also the only selected town in Sarawak for the event organized by Ministry of Information Communication and Culture in collaboration with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Please don't be too excited with the name "1Malaysia Broadband Carnival". You wouldn't get any broadband for free, or special cheap broadband subscription on the event really. It is not like "1Malaysia shop" or "1Malaysia meal" where you might get super-duper deal such as 2 chicken wings, fish and vege for a plate of lunch with only RM3!

No! This event is not such kind. It was actually just a program to create awareness on the usage of broadband in the country. There was no 1Malaysia broadband package available!

However, couldn't deny that the carnival itself was so happening and lively with a lot of interactive programs been arranged and lots of prizes to be won from one booth to another. Computer gaming were available for free in some booths and that definitely is the favorite for kids to try out!

The appearance of local animation characters Upin & Ipin mascot had heat up the already-hot Sunday morning. Kids as well as adults were grabbing their chance to take photos with them! Too bad Boboi Boy's mascot never appear or else it would be highlight of the day perhaps!

SibuFM radio station was there to broadcast on location and demonstrated the situation in a real broadcasting studio. A paintball booth also been set up although it is not broadband related activity.

As a whole, it was a nice and cheerful carnival to attend especially for those families with kids. It must have brought so much fun to the kiddies but for an adult like me, really nothing much to gain from it.

No matter how, I wish Sibu will still be selected again for this carnival next year and definitely I'll return to feel its ambiance!

Sibu BASE Jump 2011

Sibu B.A.S.E. Jump is back for its 3rd edition! I had been following the event for 3 years consecutively and this year I had noticed some positive improvement by the organizer.

The jumpers participated in the 3 days event starting from 23rd-25th September has obviously increased if compared to last year! 23 jumpers from all around the world mostly from western countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Austria and Netherlands were joining the event lead by Gary Cunningham from Australia.

There are also 4 Malaysians taking part in this 27-storey or 126-meter height jumping from Wisma Sanyan Sibu, the tallest building in Sarawak. They are lead by Captain Aziz Ahmad, president of Malaysia BASE Association.

[Captain Aziz Ahmad]

Talking about Gary Cunningham, this name is very familiar to me. I had been mentioning about him since I follow the event from its first edition in 2009. If you wish to see my previous write ups, please click here. He returned to Sibu for 3 years in a row and this year, he brought even more jumpers to make the event grander ever and more excitement than before. Gary himself is the world record holder of the most BASE jumps made in 24 hours and also the technical adviser for this event.

[Gary Cunningham]

This year, as there were more jumpers, thus more variation of jumps could be performed by them. Apart from individual jumping, there were also jump-in-2 and trio jumping! It certainly added more entertainment and heart-beating element to the event and spectators were so amazed with the dedicated performance by these jumpers.

Sometimes they even broke the silence by clapping their hands for the exciting performance as a sign of satisfaction and amazement. This phenomenon is more rarely happened as in normal case Sarawakians are used to be shy. If they clap without been forced, it means the performance had really touched their hearts.

This year the organizing committees had put in more efforts to make the BASE jumping a more happening event. Trade fair had been set up at Town Square 2nd phase to make the event more carnival feel. Besides that, there were also night jumping which never been held before. It was a positive improvement and perhaps it was an effort to put this event in national's sports tourism calendar.

However there is still room of improvement to make this event better. In my opinion, for the night jumps, appropriate lighting should be set up so that the jumps could be seen clearly.

Besides the excitement, the spectators also took this opportunity to take photos with the jumpers everytime after they done their jumping. I believe it is a great experience for both the spectators as well as jumpers and I am looking forward to a better event next year!

 [3 Malaysian jumpers]

Who said I only like to shoot photo of pretty girls? Do look for handsome gentlemen here in this blog!

[Rock man!]

[Nice tattoo!]