Climate Witness: Jerome Robles, Malaysia

My name is Mohammad Jerome Robles. I am 37 years old and married with 2 young boys. I am a tour guide and operations manager, and have been working and living in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia for the last 7 years. I have been in the tourism industry for 14 years. I spend most of my time outdoors—around towns, villages, islands and forests.

For the past 5 years I have witnessed changes in the local weather pattern. In the last 2 months, rain has been creating havoc around the country. The monsoon with heavy rains usually starts early November and ends by February. In 2008, it came later towards the end of December. As I write this, the rainy season is still here and we are well into February 2009. In October and November 2008, there were scattered and intense rainfalls. There does not seem to be a distinct monsoon season anymore. The rain is more frequently, random and certainly more intense. I wonder whether the more intense rains could be a result of global warming.

There have been a few deaths as a result of landslides and floods accompanying the recent heavy rains around Miri. Houses were destroyed and many people have had to take shelter and evacuate. I was in Brunei Darul Salam on 23 January 2009 and there was no electricity in most parts of the country because one of the main power outputs was underwater. Many businesses were affected.

In the first week of February there was continuous rain for 3 days which caused bad floods in many areas of Beaufort, Sipitang, Lawas and Miri. Roads got cut off and food supply was interrupted for people affected by floods. People in the city were also impacted. Prices of vegetables and fish increased because farmers were affected, as well as fishermen. This year will be a bad year for rice farmers as harvest will yield less owing to the floods. My brother in-law had to be evacuated from his longhouse together with the rest of the longhouse people, and all their rice fields were damaged.

I do a lot of driving from Miri to Kota Kinabalu, my hometown in Sabah, passing through Brunei. Most of the drive is along Miri’s coastal roads. It is alarming to see an elevated sea level, especially along the road leading to Kuala Baram (Photo 1) whenever there is heavy rain, king tide or strong winds. There is now a long concrete wall built to prevent the sea water from getting onto the road. I suppose it is also to slow down the erosion process. Apart from the concrete wall, a row of big boulders are also piled up along the coastal road to Kuala Baram.

There is a public park with a children’s playground and small eateries at Brighton Beach (Tanjong Lobang - see Photo 2), where the erosion is so serious that one can see trees uprooted and sea water washing onto the grass. Even the concrete wall is in bad shape because of the erosion.

Near where I live is a recreational beach called Luak Bay Esplanade. I can see the tide is higher than it was before. During high tide people only have a narrow strip of beach to walk along as compared to 3 to 5 years ago, when the sandy beach area was very wide. Now we have to wait for low tide to be able to enjoy a walk on the beach.

At home, I remain awake during nights when it rains and try to listen to the waves and be alert since we live near the beach. We don’t spend much time outdoors anymore. If it is not raining, the temperature and humidity is a bit too much for my boys to be running around the playground or cycling. When it rains, it usually is a very heavy downpour. Long gone are the days when children are able to play in the rain like I used to. Now we are afraid of flash floods and strong winds which normally accompany the intense rains. I find myself constantly worried about my family and now when I go for official work trips I bring my family with me.

This is my story; only one story. There are many other people whose lives are impacted by what is happening. National Parks are being closed due to floods. People cannot go to the parks. People cannot go on organized tours at the parks. That means the people will not be spending on tourism, which will result in tourism-dependent wage earners like me earning less. People are afraid to travel. Hence, people in tourism like me are again affected.

Actions should be taken to prevent this from getting worse in the future. I am not talking about the need to relocate to higher places or to develop other places. We need to be aware of climate impacts and be educated on what to do to protect ourselves, to protect our livelihoods.