Batu Sapi: Heaven turned to Sewage pond
Batu Sapi is the site of a famous island even better than Kelambu Beach because this island looks like a cow, where the name Sapi comes from. There is a village called Pukul in the early days, or Jaya Lama, but later renamed Berjaya and then Istimewa, then back to Jaya Lama. This is not really a village but a land given to the family of Timbul, by the British Resident of Sandakan. Timbul is my wife's great-grand father, we have the letter given by a British District Officer allowing Timbul to stay at that piece of land. This is granted due to the facts that he was the earliest native to stay on this piece of land. He was a fisherman. His house is wooden built on stilts on the beach. According to my wife, she used to play on the white beach and fish can still be found. Now this beach is gone to be replaced by sewer because there is no proper sewerage or rubbish collection system enforced. To make matters worse, what used to be discharged to the sea, is blocked by land reclamation for factories, that did not provide enough drainage for sewer and rubbish to escape to the sea. Look at the houses. These used to be more than 9 feet above ground. Now the water underneath the left house is stagnant. The road has just been completed by Ir Edmund, just before the March 2008 election.