Sibu Tales : Cold Feet in a Motor Launch

Typical way of taking off shoes in a motor launch. Foochow style

Here is a story about travelling in the early morning down the river in Rajang to teach in Kwong Hua School. My sister was a secondary school English teacher for many years in Kwong Hua School. For six days a week, every morning she had to be in the motor launch by six a.m. Sometimes it was extremely cold. On other days it would be wet and rainy. But she was able to bear it all.

On cold days, she had a special way to warm her feet. She would take off her shoes and put her feet under the cushions of the seat in front of her. And naturally she would be able to get some warmth out of the cushions without many people noticing.



 One day, her cold toes touched the butt of an Iban who was wearing just a loin cloth accidentally. He jumped up as if a snake had bitten him. My sister quickly pretended that nothing happened and kept a straight face, putting her own feet under her skirt. 

If her students had known this story, they would have a lot to say and laugh about!! It has been a well kept secret and she has been retired for more than 10 years now.

Sarawakian Local Delights : White Fish Soup with Lemon Grass

Any white fish, especially those which are freshly caught from the river or sea, makes very good soup for the evening meal.

Lemon grass is a good ingredient to use. Boil enough water for your need, add three or four stalks of lemon grass, some chllies and ginger to the water. Once the water is boiling, add slices of white fish.

Cook until the fish eyes pop out and the flesh of the fish is white and firm.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze limes over the soup and garnish. Serve.

Sibu Tales : Kebaya

When my grandfather Tiong Kung Ping was introduced to his future wife by Rev James Hoover, he was very touched by Rev Hoover's gesture, who knew that my grandfather, from a very humble, impoverished background in China was determined to marry a hardworking wife.

Rev Hoover had found a kind  Fuqing lady of about 20+ from Java and Singapore, willing to serve in Sibu, in what many people then considered a "mission field of hardworking Foochow Christians ". My Grandmother Chong must have been starry eyed with a good heart filled with hope when she met for the first time my grandfather who was strong and tall, good looking and a good Christian. She herself was brought up in a Christian home, mission and English educated in Singapore.

According to senior Foochows, my grandmother wore Kebaya or "doll blouse" Nerng Yang Ee (a corruption of Nyonya blouse in the Foochow dialect). Hence my grandmother was nicknamed Nerng Yang because she was pretty as a doll and very fair skinned by the Foochow settlers in Sibu. However when the hardworking days started for her, she found the sam foo more convenient and she started wearing the white sam foo top, in those days, the common wear.

My own maternal grandmother at that time had seen my Grandmother Chong arriving in Sibu in 1909 with teacher JB Chong, her brother. She told us when we were growing up that our Grandmother Chong learned to speak Foochow very fast and soon she was able to mingle with everyone in Sibu.


Photo above shows my Grandmother Chong's 3 nieces from Australia with my mother, Aunty Chong Eng (in kebaya) and Aunty Meng Toh, and my sister Yin.


One of the ways she helped my grandfather was to read the English manual of machinery and my grandfather was able to fixed up many different kinds of engines for the people of Sibu. Grandma Chong however passed away early at age 38 at child birth, when the infant mortality rate in Asia was high.

Today many of the Chongs and Changs continue to wear the kebaya for special occasions. There is now a special interest in the wearing of kebayas in Malaysia. My late aunt Chong Eng was very fond of wearing the kebaya and sarong. And often she was seen wearing the costume when she went around her church work, ( pedalling expertly her bicycle).

(The Chongs and Changs are dispersed world wide although many continue to live in Sarawak. Some of the Chongs also live in Bogor, Java.)

Nang Chong Stories : Hock Ming Methodist Church

Middle Nang Chong Village Methodist Church

The Middle Nang Chong Village Methodist Church is called Hock Ming Church or Blessing the People Church. It was founded in 1927. The land, 2 acres in all, was donated by Lau Kah Jui, the younger brother of Lau Kah Tii, the Foochow Headman appointed by the Rajah to help Rev James Hoover.

Together with the church an adjacent primary school, the Tiing Nang Primary School was also established. The church was completed first and started its service by 1927. 

When both buildings were completed, Lau Kiing Juo was appointed as both the lay preacher and headmaster for three years. There were only a few families of worshippers then but it was a good beginning. The following years saw the services of Lau Ing Kee, Wong Lee Huo,  Lau Ngo Kee and Wong Ding Ming.

The primary school gradual intake from a few students to a few hundred.  When the Second World War ended and the school was restarted, the population shot up to 105 with three teachers. the headmaster was Lau Yiing Chiong, and my mother taught there for two years before she married my father in 1948. She was replaced by her sister in law, Ting Ing Ngai who later was transferred to Tien Chin School in 24 Acres. My second uncle Lau Pang Kui also taught their for a while.

The Chairmen who led the Board of Directors before 1950 were Wong Dien Ching, Kiing Chiew Siong, Ting Siong Kuan, Lau Pang Kui and Wong Kah Chii. The headmasters were Lau Kiing Juo, Wong Liong Nung, Lau Ing Kee, Lau Buoh Sing, Lau Kiing Chiong and Ting Cheng Hui.

The school closed down after political upheavals and communist insurgency in the 1970's.

Loin cloth and bra

Ancient Greek and Roman women wore a binding cloth called 'strophiae' as a bra and 'subligaculae' - a form of loincloth.




In Sarawak, according to "cultural watch dogs", loin cloth can only be worn by men, not women. Thus there is a big storm over a special loin cloth design worn by some beauties at a beauty pageant.

Many politicians have come out to speak against the sad situation.

Sibu Tales : Bandung Boat

This is the interior of a model bandung boat , on display at the Fort Alice, in Sri Aman.

The shelves are typical wooden shelves used for keeping plates steady in a rolling boat. It is such a good idea. This is similar to many kampong houses which have shelves for plates in the kitchen.
An enamal mug is used to contain water for teeth brushing.

The bags are made from hemp,and probably have rice in them.

Names can be written on the gunny sacks with black marker pens. In the olden days, probably a Chinese calligraphy brush was used to do the writing.

Usually the Bandung boat owner would have a cat to accompany him on his lonely daily trips if he did not have a helper.

The bandung boat operator did act as match maker and post man as he had a definite route per week.

In case of emergency he was also able to provide some kind of boat service to help the sick person to reach the nearest clinic.

Sibu Tales : fish lip soup

The word "fish mouth" or "fish lip" (in Chinese character '魚唇') is a popular ingredient in a soup served in good Chinese restaurants. The dried form of "fish lips" can be bought in any Chinese food store, and in good Chinese medicine shops. It is in act the skin of big fish, especially to skin around the tail fin of shark. (In many restaurants it is added to bulk up the sharks' fin shoup).

soups made from fish lips are getting more popular as the popularity of sharks' fin soup decline.

Sibu 1962 : Mrs. Chih Mei Xi

 We were to gather together for a small reunion in Sibu with Miss Ida Mamora, Mrs. Wong Bing Sing, and Mrs Kwang Ik Ung. Probably we would have 2 tables at a restaurant and that was our informal plan.

We went over many photos at Miss Ida's house to look for photos which may help us remember more. 

We always enjoy going to her house in Brooke Drive, have coffee and eat sweet local cakes. And if we over stay we can always get some take away from Rajang Park.

As I write this post I remember how it was like in those days long ago..looking a photo albums. It was one of our favourite things to do when we visited elders. 

And Miss Ida has many photo albums which we can really pour over, again and again. Besides she has a good memory of all the teachers who have taught in the school. She herself was a student in the early years. Her most famous school mate is Madam Luk Dai Hee.

2018 is a year of just ordinary lives, ordinary stories and ordinary teacher and student events. 

One of the teachers we remember is Mrs. Chih who taught us Science in Form One, 1962. Miss Ida herself had just come back from the USA with a degree and her Home Science Room was just next to my Form One A classroom. From our class, we could smell the aroma of biscuits and cakes most mornings. Hence we could be quite distracted.

I remember Mrs Chih vividly because she was extra ordinary. She was a driver of her own car and she would come early in the morning to the school. I remember she was never late.

She had come from Shanghai and she was held in awe by every one in the school. Besides we were told that her husband was a very senior Government Officer (Information Officer).

1962 was also a year when I first became a Secondary School student, and it was the year when we had to wear school uniforms.

Wearing a school uniform gave us a mark of identity. The blue skirt for the girls was a very practical colour which occasionally hid the stains from our monthly period!! Miss Ida remembers that, as many girls had to go to her Home Science room to wash off the stains and change their pads (at ten cents a piece).

 However when we looked at teacher's outfits we were impressed by what Mrs. Chih wore. When teaching she wore a white blouse with a nice floral skirt. for school occasions she wore cheong sams which were remarkably elegant and probably very expensive.

Our other Chinese teachers like Mrs. Deng, Miss Wong and Miss Hii wore cheong sams to teach.

These three Chinese ladies had told us that teachers in China wore cheong sams because it was classic and a traditional befitting wear. - a mark of a high standing professional. I remember that. But not every one had the figure to wear cheong sams.

Mrs. Chih was good in class and no one dared to misbehave. She was really very charismatic. 

Now that I think back to those days, she actually did not smile very much. But we could see that she was very kind hearted from the way she marked our exam papers. She would always leave some kind words like, "You have improved!" "Always try your best!" "Please try harder!"

And when she told our class she was leaving Sibu, almost every one cried. We had a good science teacher who opened our eyes to a brand new world. And she was a grand Shanghai lady.

Sibu Tales : River Snails

"Humans have consumed land snails for thousands of years.  They are low in fat, high in water and proteins."

In fact it was recorded that during the Roman Empire, snails were part of their cuisine - they even farmed snails to meet to great demand!!

Heliciculture is the practice of snail farming for food. (Roman historian, Pliny, the Elder) It was documented that snails were served at wine parties during the Roman time.

Today, in France and Great Britain, especially, dishes made with land snails are rather exclusive and they command very high prices.

The best way to cook river snails is to just boil them in soup laced with pepper, salt and soy sauce. A favourite Foochow way is to stir fry them with lots of ginger, with Foochow red wine, sugar and soy sauce for a better flavour.

During the Japanese Occupation, although river snails were plentiful, all families living by the river side would rush to the river banks to collect as many river snails as possible. Those who were late could not even get a small bowl. My mother told us that as a teenager she was fast in collecting and within half an hour she would collect a pailful. And all the young ladies, when they had filled their pails, they would rush home. Snails were nice to eat, but they could not fill their stomachs.

Whenever the engine of a long boat was heard, announcing the Japanese patrolling soldiers, the snail pickers would either run for their lives into the nearby woods or submerge themselves in the river.

Once or twice my Foochow relatives suffered a few blows from the butts of their bayonet. They told us that they were lucky they were not shot for collecting snails.

One of them remarked, "The end of world would be with us if the Japanese put a tax on snails."

Foochow Almond Drink

 

When was the first time you had Almond Drink with Milk in a Coffee Shop?

Almond drink or milk is now a trendy drink in western countries.

But when I was young, heng ying lu or essence was a home remedy for cough. Many parents did not bring their kids to see doctors because they did not have the time. They had to tap rubber every day or work in some companies.

Whenever I visited my grand parents during the holidays and I happened to have a cough, my grandfather would always buy me a cup of hot almond drink (without milk) in a coffee shop . It probably cost only 5 cents.

I would always think that that particular gesture was a loving act. What great memories of a kind old man who loved his grandchildren.

Fujian people love almond drink. Heng Ying Ngor

Sungei Merah : Police Station

This Sg.Merah Police Station served the people well for more than 60 years since the Japanese Occupation. It was built on top a hill, quite near to the Tiong Hin Secondary School. Although Sungei Merah is actually on an alluvial plains, there are several hill locks in the plains.

The Brooke Government must have found the hill a strategic point to build a police station. Many people said it was built before the war.

The Police station was visited by many local people who had different problems and the police must have recorded a lot of tragic cases as well as some amusing ones.

Sometimes the police would lock up the local thugs for a night or two. Headmen have told stories how they would go to the station to get some innocent people out of the lock up.

According to some women police officers, many people believed that the cells of the police station were a little haunted.

During the Communist insurgency in the 60's and 70's some people even found shelter in the station on top of the hill. It has always been a very strategically located.

One day there was a big fight between gangsters in Sg. Merah. The losing gang ran all the way from the shop houses and up the hill to the police station. Without saying much to the police, the quickly locked the gates themselves. In that way they saved their own lives. This story was told to many trainees who were doing teaching practice in Tiong Hin School during that time. It was quite a worrying place actually in those days because Sg. Merah did not really have a good repution.

During the Tomb Festival or Ching Ming, the police became very active because the population of Sg. Merah would more than triple. Every Chinese who had relatives buried in Sg. Merah would make their way to the cemeteries. In fact Sg. Merah was known as a place where the dead are buried.

So it was only normal for the Police Station to have more manpower during those few days.

A few murder cases were handled by the Police Station.

The local people have found it quite convenient to have a police station in Sungei Merah, where they can lodge police reports more conveniently.

Robert Kuok's Wisdom

Robert Kuok Hock Nien could be the most famous Foochow man in Malaysia.

Chinese: 郭鶴年
Born 6 October 1923 (1923-10-06) (age 85)
Johor Bahru, Johor Malaysia
Occupation Chairman, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Chain
Net worth ▲ $10 billion [1]
Children 8

Has the nickname of the "Sugar King of Asia"
Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien (simplified Chinese: 郭鹤年; traditional Chinese: 郭鶴年; pinyin: Guō Hènián) (born 6 October 1923, in Johor Bahru, Johor), is an influential Malaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his net worth is estimated to be around $10 billion on May 2008, making him the richest person in Southeast Asia.[1]

Kuok is media shy and discreet; most of his businesses are privately held by him or his family. Apart from a multitude of enterprises in Malaysia, his companies have investments in many countries throughout Asia.[2] His business interests range from sugarcane plantations (Perlis Plantations Bhd), sugar refinery, flour milling, animal feed, oil and mining to finance, hotels, properties, trading and freight and publishing.[1]


[edit] Biography
Kuok's father arrived in Malaya from Fujian, China at the beginning of the 20th century, and Kuok was the youngest of three brothers, born on 6 October 1923, in Johor Bahru. He claims he began in business as an office boy, and later started a business with relatives' support. [2] In fact, upon graduation, he worked in the grains department of Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi between 1942 and 1945

Kuok senior died in 1948, and Kuok and his two brothers founded Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd in 1949, trading agricultural commodities. Under the new post-colonial government, Kuok began in the sugar business alongside the government. In 1961, he made a coup by buying cheap sugar from India before the prices shot up. He continued to invest heavily in sugar refinery, controlled 80% of the Malaysian sugar market with production of 1.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 10% of world production, and so earned his nickname "Sugar King of Asia".

In 1971, he built the first Shangri-La Hotel, in Singapore. His foray into Hong Kong property was in 1977, when he acquired a plot of land on the newly reclaimed Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, where he built the second hotel, the Kowloon Shangri-La. In 1993, his Kerry Group acquired a 34.9% stake in the South China Morning Post from Murdoch's News Corporation.

His companies have investments in many countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Mainland China, Indonesia, Fiji and Australia. Businesses in China include 10 bottling companies for Coca Cola, ownership of the Beijing World Trade Centre.[2]

Freight interests include Malaysia International Shipping Corporation and Transmile Group.

His political influence is attested by his having been selected as one of the advisors on Hong Kong's future in the runup to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, and his minority stake in CITIC Pacific. He was also instrumental in conveying information and setting up the meetings between Malaysia and China governments leading to full diplomatic cross recognition of the two countries.

Kuok has married twice and has eight children. He officially retired from the Kerry Group on 1 April 1993. One of his sons, Kuok Khoon Ean, now handles most of the day-to-day operations of his businesses. He currently resides in Hong Kong.

Sarawakian Local Delights: Tumeric

Nonya Cooking Ingredient - Kunyit or Turmeric


The Nonya cooking ingredient Kunyit or Turmeric an essential root in Nonya cooking, its flavour and yellow colouring makes dishes distinctive. Another well-used ingredient belonging to the ginger family that appears in Asian cooking.

For example, "Nasi Kunyit" or yellow coloured and flavoured rice is well known to most people in South-East Asia.

Kunyit or Turmeric, common name for an erect, perennial herb, of the ginger family, native to parts of India and used widely in Indian Cuisine especially in curry.

The familiar form of the Kunyit or Turmeric seasoning is in a powder form, but it can be used chopped or sliced.

Kunyit or Turmeric comes from the root of the turmeric plant, the root resembles its relative Ginger in appearance, it has a pungent taste and a yellowish colour.

Sarawakian Local Delights : Three Chillies and Birds' Brinjals with Ikan Bilis

Birds' brinjal or terong pipit can be grown very easily in the upper valleys of most rivers in Sarawak. Thus the longhouse people are blessed with this special vegetable. Tiny little pearls of terong pipit can be harvested and carried home by the farmers as they completed their day's farming.

One of the easiest ways to cook terong pipit is to stir fry the vegetable with chillies, some belacan, ikan bilis (ikan pusu), lots of onions and some slices of ginger. This dish can become a good side dish and stored for several days, especially  if it is made quite salty or with lots of soy sauce. This side dish is a real rice pusher.

Besides, the dish, which can be eaten cold is often carried in the back packs by the farmers for their afternoon meal while they are at the farms.

Vinegar can be added to the dish, to change its tastes and flavours. It is an amazing dish. It is just so practical to cook quite a bit of the terong pipit before the birds come and eat them all up from the tree.

Sarawakian Local Delights : Tumeric Chicken and Terong Pipit

Small holders and local longhouse residents often cannot get curry paste easily. But they can usually grow their own tumeric or kunyit in their small farms. Hence they use this ingredient to add special flavours to their chicken. Tumeric is a very flavourful natural spice.

Traditionally tumeric or kunyit is used for medicinal purposes. A rhizome, it is of the same family as the ginger and is therefore considered a heaty herb,used by mothers who have just given birth. It is pounded and made into a tea for the new mothers.

Besides, warm turmeric tea helps to expel wind from the body. Thus it is a very important ingredient in the preparation of many different kinds of jamu (local herbal concoction). Sometimes pounded fresh turmeric is used as a poultice over boils and wounds.

When a chicken is available for a meal, the longhouse housewife would also look for terong pipit or Birds' brinjal, those little green pearls, from a tree which can be easily found everywhere, she can put together a dish that is very tasty and flavourful.

This dish is simple to do. Stir fry bite size pieces of  chicken with 3 tablespoons of freshly pounded tumeric, two or three stalks lemon grass, some ginger,one large Bombay onions and some chillies. Add water and two cups of coconut milk (optional). Simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Finally add the terong pipit and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Scientists today have found that the active compound of turmeric curcumin have many scientific proven health benefits such as the potential to prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer. It’s a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and may also help improve symptoms of depression and arthritis.

Besides many research has been made to study its positive effects on reduction of  inflammation of the bones and muscle aches.