Pastoral visit to Tatau- 29Jun2017

Local Parish priest - Fr Peter Mering

Photography - Jason Kho
Story compiled by Ben Chang


Glamorous Tatau, a picturesque  town is  located about 245 Km due south of Miri or about 3 hours 20mins drive via  Jalan Similajau / Batu Niah highway. It is traditionally  home to the  Iban, Melanau, Chinese, Malay and Orang Ulu people. There is one ethnic named "Tatau" which is unique to Tatau district.

Most Ibans are scattered throughout rural areas of Tatau. Whilst, Melanau people (or Melanau Bintulu/Vaie people) and Malay people are concentrated at Tatau and Kuala Tatau. Many Malay people are not originally from Tatau, however, intermarriage with locals especially Melanau people has made Malay as one of the major ethnics in Tatau. Chinese people are more concentrated at Tatau, while some resides at Sangan and Kuala Tatau. Orang Ulu people, such as Kenyah, Kayan, Tatau, Penan and Punan are more scattered throughout Tatau district compared to Iban people. Most of them still live deep in the rural areas like Ng. Tau, Kuala Baggiau and Sungai Anap.

Today, Tatau is well connected to other parts of Sarawak with good networks of road. People of Tatau District can opt for regular shuttle bus service to Miri or Bintulu town, where then connected to other parts of Sarawak.


The readings of the day  emphasise the presence of God in the work of his Church. Peter’s faith and acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah-Christ and Saviour-King are rewarded by his being made the foundation on which Christ will build his Church. Through Peter, Jesus gives his Church a guarantee of never-ending protection. And he gives to Peter, as his representative, the powers, which he himself had received from the Father, the “keys of the Kingdom”.

At the same instance, a changing world involves new challenges of what is right and wrong, a changing world brings about new social problems, new forms of poverty, of injustice, of exploitation and discrimination, of lack of freedom and the absence of peace.Hence there have to be new ways of preaching and witnessing to the Gospel of truth, of love, of justice, of freedom, of peace.

For this we need the prophetic role of the Church, built on the foundations of tradition and continuity. We have to avoid the two tendencies either of digging in and looking only to the past or of neglecting the traditions and bringing in innovations with no foundations

Through the centuries, the Church has been battered and countless efforts made to wipe it out but it continues to benefit from Christ’s promise and overall to grow in numbers. And as long as it remains faithful to the principles it received from Christ, principles which are of the very nature of God and consonant with the deepest longings of human nature, it cannot fail. Truth and love cannot be suppressed.