Arsonists back at work in Kg Ayer
By A M Zukarnaen & Ayu Sulaiman

Skeletons of Kg Tamoi Tengah houses that were engulfed by a fire early Saturday morning.

Less than 24 hours after the Kg Tamoi Tengah blaze that killed an elderly woman and left scores of families homeless in the wee hours of Saturday, the arsonists were back at work, however meeting little success this time.

There was yet another attempt to set alight a vacant house on Saturday night, this time in Kg Bendahara Lama.

And had it not been for some quick thinking and slick-footed action by nearby residents, another tragedy was in the making.

According to an official at the Fire Services Department, the Kg Bendahara Lama residents had reported that two men with long hair were standing in the porch of the vacant house, with its curtains ablaze.

As the residents raised a noise, the two men fled and remained elusive despite a long chase given by those first to the scene.

The residents claimed that they spotted the blazing curtain in time and succeeded in dousing the fire before it could spread to other houses. They then called the fire department and reported the matter.

While the residents of Kg Tamoi Tengah, as some of them disclosed to the reporters, were given a telephone warning that their village was about to be burned down, the Kg Bendahara Lama dwellers were simply lucky to escape unhurt.

Saturday night's incident is just one in a series of Kg Ayer fires that have caused a lot of concern among the residents of the village.

Residents of Kg Ayer are taking their extra safety measures, including voluntary all-night patrols. People are also keeping their boats as close as possible to their houses so that they are able to flee to safer grounds in case of a fire.

In most of the case, residents have suspected arson since time and again the fires have been started in empty houses.

Pg Hj Halus Pg Hj Kadar, Ketua Kampong of Pekan Lama, on Sunday described the fire that hit his village and destroyed a large part of it last month as an act of arson. Once again, an unoccupied house was set afire.

Only hours before, there were reports of an attempt to start fire in the neighbouring Kg Setia Negara. However, the attempt by the suspected arsonists there failed.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin