Sibu Tales : Hills of the Red Hair (Sibu)

When I was quite young, relatives would come from Lanang Road and Bukit Lima to visit my parents in Kung Ping Road, Sibu. Most of the time they would stay for lunch. Such a simple reunion of relatives was always very meaningful because in those days, most of them had to take a small bus and walk part of the way.

Cars were few in number.

One of the areas our relatives lived in was Ern Moh Long where they tapped rubber and had quite a simple life, with a bit of income. Life there was quiet as each rubber tapping family would live in their scattered way, with only a small rubber garden path connecting them. Most would just walk, while a few had invested in bicycles.

My mother reminded me the other day about our relatives living in Lanang road and beyond. She said that Ern Moh Long was then probably the further Foochow settlement reachable by foot in those days, before Malaysia.

In the 1950's for example, Whenever the relatives came down to town, they had a mission mainly to remit money to China through the rubber middle man like Hock Chiong. Sometimes they would send a cloth wrapped parcel through the post office and if they came to ask for help, my father would help them write the name of the recipient and address in Minqing.

My father was quite good in Chinese calligraphy but what was important was that my father could write the address in English.

As a child I would ask why the place was called Ern Moh Long, Red Hair Hill.

Apparently it was the place where some priests first came to evangelize according to the local legends and they put up a place. Indeed, there is a Catholic Cemetery there.

In the late 1960's times were bad and many of my relatives moved away from Ern Moh Long. Many actually left to live in Limbang, Lawas and even KK.

All their rubber gardens were abandoned.