Bintangor : The Mahjong Room

In the old days in the 60's, there was a Mahjong Room on the first floor of my uncle's shoplot in Binatang.

It was run by a distant uncle, Tiong Dan Yew, a friendly and humble man who was well liked by every one, especially the Foochows.



One of the memories his daughter had of him was the way he would give destitute men some cash for a good meal. It was well known in Bintangor when poor men needed some help, they could go up to the first floor of the corner shop house and ask Uncle Dan Yew for some cash for a meal. It was a quick fix for a poor man in need of a meal.

He would say to the man, "Go and fill your stomach. Work harder!"

Uncle Dan Yew was in charge of Mahjong room. His small income came from the revenues he obtained from the tokens given by the players and a small supervisory salary. In the 1960's and 70's there were already a few table of Mahjong kaki in Bintangor.

Uncle's wife was a dressmaker and his daughter, Nguok Hiong, also a dressmaker and embroiderer (that was very popular in those days for with good training, she was tasked with making of embroidered pillow cases and bed sheets for Chinese weddings).

They lived in the back portion of the first floor and offered their tailoring services there. My cousin, the only daughter, married a Mr. Lau, later moved to Miri.

I have always loved the clicking sound of the Mahjong tiles.