Nang Chong Stories : Repairing a Jetty

During the early days of Malaysia when general election was a new idea my maternal grandmother was inclined to believe that only Three Rings would bring prosperity to the rural areas like the so called "down river" villages like hers.

My Uncle Pang Sing's jetty was a well known and popular jetty because it was where Tulai villagers would alight from the river motor launch coming down from Sibu. From the jetty they would walk about 3 hours to their home in Tulai. This was their route from the 1930's to the 1960's.

My grand mother's house was often used as a rest stop by many Tulai relatives. But when they bought their motor cycles, they rode further up to Paradom, where they could catch the early morning boat to Sibu, and come back before night fall after the mid 60's.

Jetties like this have disappeared from the Rajang River and can oly be found along the Igan today..

In that era, when politicians came knockig at her door, she would get all her grand children to come out to shake hands. Politicians would not sit down and visit, do small talk for instead, they would just walk from house to house, shaking hands and probably saying a few words only. A gathering would be held in a school hall for example  where it would be too far for my grandmother to walk.

In the school hall, like Chung Cheng School Hall, the politician would make promises for the coming election. And he would talk for hours to impress the villagers how well he could talk. And the party members would shout their slogan every now and then.

Most of the villagers would ask for repairs of jetties and their wishes would be granted, before the election day. And our jetty got repaired to the tune of a few thousand dollars accordig to the SUPP sub branch. The jetties along Nang Chong would all have  a few new planks, and may be a new log or two and many new nails. Some even had a new shed on the platform, or a new plank walk. It was a good windfall for the villagers.

My Ngie Mah would say, "It would be good to have a general election every year."

However she could ot vote because she had a Red Identity Card.

(Note : Today politicians provide funds to repair roads or supply gravel to build new paths.)