sarawakbahai.org

We left Kota Kinabalu for Labuan at 8 in the morning. Everyone was excited and full of spirit to teach. Some were revising their flipchart. We were greeted by Mr. Goh Kok Kyiu in Labuan ferry terminal and was treated lunch too. Thanks to Mr. Goh for being so hospitable. Also thanks to Mr. Naysan Lee for assisting in printing of the Iban flipcharts. Upon arrival to Limbang by ferry, we were greeted by Mr. Kong Siew Moi, Dr. Johun Teh, Mrs. Jubang and a few youth. They brought us straight to Mendamit Bahá’í Centre which is 45 minutes from Limbang Town using two cars and a school bus. There at Mendamit Bahá’í Centre, we met Mr. Sumbang and Mdm. Rata, Mr. Changgau and Mdm. Sema, Mr. Suili and his brothers – Richie and Junaidi, and other youth.

During the visit of Counsellor G. Soraya to Miri on 18-19 August 2007, two rural communities had the honour of hosting a gathering held in conjunction with the visit. The first visit was to Sungai Nipa in Bakong cluster and the second to Rumah Tambi, in Niah cluster. In both gatherings, the focus is on increasing the number of tutors for study circles and having more children’s classes and junior youth groups.

Jesion Meding of Kampung Selampit graduated with distinction from University of Medan, Indonesia

He wrote: “Yesterday was my graduation day. It was a historical moment in my life and a gift from the Blessed Beauty. I was awarded “Best Student of the Year”. After the ceremony, I was interviewed by a news reporter… and I told him the source of my motivation is the Word of God and Bahá’í principles like truthfulness is the foundation of all virtues, peace and sincerity and the meaning of true education. It was a special time for me…as I was able to share some of the teachings with the reporter.

Two representatives of the Spiritual Assembly of Sarawak, namely, K C Yong and Robert Ting, joined members of the national and local institutions in Bintulu for a 2-day retreat at the Likau National Park on 23 - 24 July 2005.

The institutions involved were Regional Baha’i Council for the Northern Region of Sarawak, Area Growth Committees, and Local Spiritual Assemblies. Among the participants was also an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.

The 2-day retreat was held to prepare the friends for the launching of an intensive programme of growth in the Bintulu Cluster before the end of the year. The participants studied documents related to growth and discussed on the institutional set-up necessary for such growth as well the strategies required to advance to the next stage of growth in their cluster.

For the more than 40 friends who turned out last night at the Kuching Baha’i Centre for a review of the results of the 2-week Intensive Teaching Campaign that was launched at the same venue on the evening of 25 March 2005 amidst much fanfare in an inspiring candle-lighting ceremony, the results could not have been more inspiring.

Though the 20 odd teaching teams could only manage to get 365 contacts out of the 540 originally set as the goal, the number of receptive individuals was more than expected. The original goal set 10% of the 540 contacts (i.e. 54 people) to be receptive individuals. But by the end of the campaign, the actual number was 245, that is, nearly 5 times the original target.

The Kuching Baha’i Centre was packed with friends on 20 March evening. More than 85 friends from the Kuching City North and South areas came to celebrate Naw Ruz, the Baha’i New Year, which began at the Spring Equinox. The celebration also marked the end of the Baha’i fasting month of Ala.

The celebration began with a beautiful devotional programme prepared by the youth. This was followed by a sumptuous dinner done on a potluck style, with a great variety of dishes being served. Thereafter, all present were treated to an evening of songs and impromptu dance presentation by the children, youth and adults.

In conjunction with the spirit of charity and gift giving in celebrating Ayyám-i-Há, the Local Bahá’í Youth Committee of Kuching organized a blood donation campaign at the Kuching Bahá’í Centre last 26 Feb. More than 40 friends turned up to support the event. Ayyám-i-Há is the Intercalary days (26 Feb to 1 Mar) before the last month of the Bahá’í year, ‘Alá’, which is the month of fasting. Bahá’u'lláh designated the Intercalary days as Ayyám-i-Há in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and specified when they should be observed. The Ayyám-i-Há are devoted to spiritual preparation for the fast, hospitality, feasting, charity and gift giving.

The Baha’i community of Kampung Selampit recently hosted the Unit Convention to elect 6 delegates from the Lundu/ Bau and Kuching/ Padawan/ Samarahan clusters for the coming Sarawak Baha’i National Convention.

The event, held on Sunday 13 Feb 2005, was organised by the Area Teaching Committee of Bau/Lundu. It was attended by more than 137 eligible adults. Held at the kampung’s only community hall, the event started off at 9.30am and ended at around 4pm. Mr. Nissen Nyogiam was elected the convention Chairman with Mr. Terrence Tinggi elected the convention Secretary. Altogether 201 ballots were cast; 137 cast in person and the remaining 64 by postal ballots.

Kuching 23-24 October 2004: The third state level institutional meeting was held at the Crown Towers, Pending with Counsellor Paul Lample from the International Teaching Centre as the guest of honour. Also present was Counsellor George Soraya. Among the 139 participants were representatives of the various national committees and institutions based in Kuching, Regional Council of both north and south region and the teaching committee of central region. Nine ATCs from the southern region and ATC Mukah. Local Assemblies of Miri and Sibu and those of Kuching-Padawan-Samarahan communities were also represented.

Verbal comments from a few participants showed that the meeting not only had instilled fresh inspiration but also had brought about a higher level of understanding regarding the whole process of entry by troops. It had assured the community that it is treading the right path, albeit slowly. The main issues to analyze now are “Where are we now?”, “Where are we going?”, and “How are we going to the place we want to go?”

In response to the Government’s call to religious bodies in Malaysia to hold special prayer gathering during the just concluded month-long Merdeka Celebration with the aim of “seeking divine protection for the nation and its people from upheavals and untoward incidents”, the Baha’is in numerous localities throughout Sarawak held special prayer gatherngs on 28 August, 2004 for the said purpose.