Elephant's Memory

Once there was a little baby elephant,

sad and alone, just like an orphan.

He was trapped, in one big circus.

He was weak and really helpless.

His four legs, tied thoroughly tight,

couldn't escape, even with all his might.

Four ropes tied to four stakes so firmly,

hammered to the ground, really sturdy.

But he didn't give up he kept on struggling,

till after a year, he finally stopped trying.

Years passed by, he's no longer a baby,

He grew up big, so strong and healthy.

The ropes were now tied just loose, really!

And the stakes were no longer, planted firmly.

But because he has elephant's memory,

his mind tells him he couldn't break free.

If only he would try, and move forward a bit,

He'll realise he's wrong, then he can succeed.

Faisal Abdullah(c) 

Note: This would be my first time sharing my own poem with the readers of my blogs. Some of you might have realise that I have another blog, FirusAzali purely just as an archive for all my written works, including the silly ones. I am sharing this poem because I felt that it is like my first real piece and I want to share it with people who would appreciate it. So, I hope you like it, ... or not. Comments and criticisms are really welcomed. Thank heaps for reading.

About Tongod

The place,

One and only,

Nestled amidst wilderness,

Green and panoramic,

Of natural beauty,

Delightful.

That is to sum up Tongod in just few words. But in all honesty, I’m still discovering Tongod and things that it offers, day by day. Thus, don’t rest solely on my version of Tongod. Because it’s my personal view. It’s just that I think that it would be fair for me to include my brief personal outtake on Tongod as many of those who googled the word ‘Tongod’ would stumble across my blog. So here it is;

LOCATION:

Tongod is a district smack in the middle of Sabah. So if you point your finger at the middle of Sabah’s map, you got yourself the location of Tongod. Tongod consist of numerous small villages; Purutawai, Kiandongo, Sogo-Sogo, Tongodon, Talibu, Lilingkuon and so many other small villages. Most of the villages are located by the river banks, true to the nature of the native people, the Sungai (river).

POPULATION:

I would not even try to estimate the population in Tongod in term of numbers as I am not well informed regarding that point. However, based on my personal observation, I would say that the majority of the population here are of the Sungai people. Besides that, there is also quite a number of people from the Mangkaak tribe and also the Dusun people. In addition to that, due to the current trend of huge companies ravishing the forest in pursuit of lands for oil palm plantation, don’t be surprised if you occasionally found yourself surrounded by illegal immigrants from East Timor, Philippines and Indonesia. In a way, Tongod can be considered as a melting pot of some sort.

CLIMATE:

If you are a Malaysian, chances are, you would be used to the kind of weather that we have in Tongod. Thus, I want to take this chance to inform you that despite being located right smack in the centre of Sabah, the climate are rather quite disappointing. The weather can be terribly hot during the midday and foggy cold hours before dawn. It was not really the kind of weather that you would first expect when you found yourself surrounded by hills and greeneries. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that a lot of the greens of the forest has been replaced by the greens of palm trees.

AMENITIES:

Within the last couple of years, a lot has improved in Tongod. The most apparent and prominently important improvement is the road. The road condition has changed so much that the journey that took almost three hours in the past has already been cut short to less than one hour. Besides that, we also have a fully functioning government health clinic (Klinik Kesihatan) with one dedicated doctor and a number of MA’s, nurses and staffs. As Tongod is a full district, it also has a District Office led by its very own District Officer. A Mini Post Office has also been built and is due to open soon. In addition to that, Tongod also has several Celcom Broadband Centres (Pusat Jalur Lebar) which provide a very good wireless internet connection to the people. Last but not least, for the past 3 months, Tongod has been blessed with the 24/ 7 electricity. Gone are the days of the generators.

ALAS…

I’d want to say that, alas, Tongod is not for the faint-hearted. That may be very true in the past, but those are histories. Tongod is a beautiful place to live for everyone. For so many reasons; the place, the people, the surroundings, and Me!   

Tongod River: it's really beautiful during dry season

School canteen on the left, hostel on the right

My beloved SMK Tongod

Sorry, I forgot to rotate this pic before uploading, but it still shows how beautiful Tongod is, rite?