Sibu : Good Teeth Bad Teeth

Photo by Steve Ling : Dr Ling Wang Hong, with wife and Wong meng Lei in Sibu

 I came across a photo of young Foochow girls in school in Fuzhou on Google and thought about a remarkable business woman I knew when I was a young girl in Sibu.

This is her story and her exceptional marriage.

Chinese girls from a day school class pose on the footsteps of their school building.; This photo is from the papers of Emily Susan Hartwell, who was an American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions missionary stationed in Fuzhou in 1884.

Grandfather D was a respected business man dealing with jungle produce. He spoke excellent Malay, and Iban and was often seen in the Kapit wharf waiting for goods from Kapit, be they rubber sheets, latex strips, balls of jelutong, and fruits. But his special love was for engkabang, which he would dry himself very often on the pontoons he rented from friends and relatives along Lanang Road. He would pay young boys RM1.00 for keeping an eye on the drying engkabang. One of my friends from Sacred Heart Boys school used to tell me how smelly the seeds were but he also told me that Grandfather D would say, "Never mind the smell. What is smelly out there on the wooden floor, and drying in the sun is good money." He gave my friend a good lesson. My friend learned it well and he worked hard and is today a successful businessman who keeps his eyes out for opportunities.

Grandfather D loved everything to be very sweet. By the time he was 60, he lost all his teeth and suffered from diabetes. In spite of his medication, and lots of advice from doctors, he continued to have a very sweet tooth.

Occasionally he would give himself a treat and drink three cups of coffee with lots of condensed milk.

during his old age, his daughter in law had to mince all meat,to make meat balls, fish balls, etc for him. The good old man passed away at a fairly old age and enjoyed all kinds of good food. He had dentures made for him after he lost every natural tooth he had.

Grandmother Sia on the other hand would eat nothing sweet. Being born into a very poor family in Fujian, she did not know what was sugar. She drank only jasmine tea, and had only plain food flavoured by salt. 

She did not KNOW how to eat curry, or rendang, in the town she came to live for the rest of her life, Sibu.

She, who lived right in the middle of the town, with the market in front of her, was not tempted to eat food which she was not used to as a little girl. She could not eat any biscuit or cake which was sweet. She lived a life without spices, except a bit of pepper in her fish balls, according to her grand daughter, who went to school with me.

How did she come to live in Sibu?

When Grandfather D earned enough money to find a bride, he took the boat back to Minqing where word spread around that the almost 30 year old gentleman from Nanyang was looking for a bride. He was tall and lanky and not really that particularly handsome. But he had rubber trees and a few pieces of landed property. 1930 was a good year in Sarawak and the dollar was good. The Brooke government was doing well, and Foochows have already set up Sibu for almost 30 years and have ventured into the Baram, opening a new area called Poyut for more rice and rubber planting. He was not only a Nanyang VIP but a good catch!!

People flocked around the very confident and mature man making suggestions. However he took a fancy on one tall and fair lady and decided on her. His first thought was that she was capable of bearing children, working hard in the hot tropical sun. She was about 17 years of age, he was told (but she could have been younger). There was no birth certificate for her. 

Within days, a wedding was held in the village. And so after paying respects to the ancestors, heaven and earth, the newly wedded left for Nanyang, most probably even without a marriage certificate.

In the early days, certificates were mainly landing certificates (for the China born wives or employees) and some kind of paper documents endorsed by local headmen.Travelling documents in the olden days were just pieces of paper, with a simple studio photo.

Her grand daughter told me that her grandmother probably only had a Malaysian passport and a Sarawak Identity card after 1963, two documents which she kept in a safe!! 

Grandmother D became a very dutiful business woman from the time she arrived, counting cash every day at the cashier's desk, a job she loved very much, while Grandfather D employed a accountant to do all the accounts. No money was ever short in their accounts with both being very accountable. theirs was a very typical Foochow "OPIK" or office in Sibu. the front part was the shop, with a middle part acting as an office with 2 employees and the back portion as kitchen. There was an air well where a staircase would go upstairs to where the family members lived upstairs.

Grandmother D was only able to see her birth village in 1980 when she was already in her 60's. But she was healthy and strong. Although she gave birth to only one son Grandfather D was very faithful to her and never desired to have a concubine although he had all the wealth to have multiple wives. Unfortunately he died a little too early after the visit to China. However she lived a very long life, surviving him for more than 20 years.

Her almost sugarless life was exemplary and remarkably she had all her teeth during her old age. Her grand daughter used to tell people,"My grandmother's teeth were made in Fujian, with more calcium and other hard substances. She could bite a chicken thigh bone any time." 

A dentist cousin of mine, Dr. Ling Wang Hong,once told my mother that if every one had teeth like Grandmother D, he would have had a very hard time earning a living!!

Great Grandfather Chong Kheng Swee - Hock Chiang Nern

 My great grandfather Chong Jin Swee(Kheng Swee) , the father of my paternal grandmother Chong Ching Soon was a  big sized Fuqing man who originally came from Shatang Village of Fuqing.

He migrated quite early to Java first, where he and great grandmother had three children, Chong Jin Bok, Ching Soon and our grand aunty Java (or Ho Soon). According to several stories he might have been a Church man, or a Bible reader, or even a teacher. He was a devout Methodist, probably baptised in Fuqing before leaving China to settle down in Java.

Like most Fuqing man, he was very hardworking and must have made some money to educate his three children in English schools in Singapore. My Grandmother Ching Soon for example went to Nind Home for Girls, where she received an English education. And so did Grand Aunty Java. 

Grand Uncle Jin Bok was educated in English and married Ms. Ng (Mrs. JB) who was also English educated, and a Singaporean Nyonya. Both went back to Java to teach for about 12 years where they had three children, Chung Sing, Chung Eng and Chung Hian (who became professor Chong Chung Hian, and State Medical Director of Sarawak). Professor Chong later served in WHO, in New York. (NewYork has a very large Fuqing Overseas Chinese Population!)

My Great Grandfather Chong Keng Swee, father in law of my paternal grandfather Tiong Kung Ping.

Rev Hoover was instrumental in matching my grandfather Tiong Kung Ping with Grandma Ching Soon.

My English educated grandmother Chong arrived in Sibu from Singapore in 1909. When many of the Lau relatives first saw her, they described her as a dainty Nyonya (or Doll). She was pretty and very fair, like most of the Fuqing people. 

When my father was born, he was known as "the fairest baby any one had seen" . My Tiong grand uncles from Sg. Bidut used to say that.

 Rev James Hoover later engaged both Grand Uncle Jin Bok and Grand Aunty JB to manage the Anglo Chinese School for boys in Sibu. When the ACS moved to Bukit Lan to form the Agriculture School for boys, Grand Uncle JB became the assistant principal of Yuk Ing Girls School , teaching mainly English.

Grand Aunty JB then moved to teach in Chung Hua School, and she opened a private tuition centre for English. According to my aunt Chiew, that was the first"foreigner's Tuition Centre " for English language.

Great Grandfather Chong was very enterprising and together with his son in law, he opened up land in Binatang, and Sg. Merah. He was good with household chores as he managed his home in Sg. Merah and his grand children, soon after Great Grandmother passed away (stories collected from relatives). He was known to be a good cook and a very intelligent man.

We have a few photos of Great Grandfather, especially the most treasured one of his 60th Birthday when all three of his children were together in Sibu. His rubber plantation formed the background. It was quite possible Rev James Hoover took the photo for them.  My father then was around 14 years old.

He passed away in 1942 and was buried in the Methodist Cemetery in Sg. Merah during the Japanese Occupation, His beloved son Jin Bok passed away in 1940, two years earlier.

The Sg Merah land has been developed and there is a road named after Grand Uncle Chong Jin Bok, running through the residential area.

(We are still trying our best to piece together the history of my Grandmother Chong's family. I would love to hear from the Chongs in Java, Australia and elsewhere)

Confinement Lady - Lurk Ee.

 Sixth Aunty was my mother's best friend and cousin (china born) and unfortunately we dont have a photo of her .

She was a very tiny lady, even smaller than my maternal grandmother. When she first came to Sibu, she was supposed to marry one man, who rejected her because she was a child bride who did not bring a dowry. Her parents did not even give her a decent name, like a flower name, or a name from nature. She was Six Sister. Number Six. Probably her mother gave birth to ten children. Most of her sisters were given away as child brides, meaning a life sentence to work, slave for another family, to give birth to children, look after the elderly and husband, etc. That was the role of a female in those days. Education was not for them, the big footed, not bound feet women.

We never knew what happened to the bride groom to be's family, which by right had to take care of her until she could find another man to marry. My mother's family took her in and she offered herself to be a confinement helper from the age of 14 . She learned to serve new mothers from that time onwards.

People had to line up to book her and she worked for 8 or 9 new mothers per year, earning as little as 60 dollars in those days for a month. A baby boy would provide her with a bonus, a piece of material, and perhaps even more gifts. And at the same time, her food was taken care of during the confinement month. She had important tasks like washing the clothes of the new mother and the baby, bathing the baby, cooking for the new mother and sometimes the whole family and generally keeping the house clean. When guests arrived with gifts to see the new baby she had to prepare the chicken soup and noodles to serve to them, and it was really unending list of work to do. Very bone breaking but she did everything with a smile.

When my brother was born, my grandparents were very happy and gave her quite a bit of cash reward. My mother went on to get her for every one of her children's births. And when my turn came, my mother got her to help me for my first two babies.

When my third baby came, she said she was too old and she needed a rest. All in all she was a confinement lady from 1940's to 1980's. It was longer than a full term of civil service.

When she was retired from confinement service, she took a three wheel cart to sell green beans soup, dieh bian, and other kuihs along the several roads of sibu, from Kampong Nyabor to Tong Sang Road. Because she could not cycle, she pushed the CART!! Besides she was too small in height and body weight to be on the bicycle seat. Many people didn't realize that.

But her customers loved her because she was such an honest trader.

I last met her one morning when she was pushing her cart towards Kampong Nyabor. I called out to her, telling her that I was moving to Miri. It was such a bitter sweet farewell. I was not to meet her again. It was good to see her so cheerful. Because it was a busy time for her I could not get out of the car along the busy road to give her a hug.

Later I thought to myself, I should have followed my sixth sense and bade her a better farewell.

Not long after that my mother called to tell me that she passed away.

I will be forever grateful to her. May angels envelope her with lots of hugs.

Sibu Tales - Baby for Sale

25th May 1975 

On the day my eldest daughter was born, my expert midwife, Aunty Lau Fong Fei told me how lucky I was to give birth to a healthy girl, and that I had a working husband with a steady monthly salary and a loving mother. The child was blessed because she created the third generation in a loving family. 

She probably said all these to comfort me because I had given birth to a baby girl. But nevertheless, I was not disappointed that I had a baby girl. Besides, since I was healthy I could have another baby. 

But 1975 was still during the days when relatives were quietly disappointed when baby girls were born. the Chinese community in general still valued baby boys more than baby girls It was paramount for mothers to have baby boys to carry on the family surname,etc.

the Chinese call this, "giving more weight to boys than girls."

My aunt was different.

As a midwife she had seen lots, and heard lots so to speak. She was very comforting and kind. 

Initially I was a little disappointed that I had a baby girl. But then when I saw here brilliant eyes I was absolutely captivated. She would be fine!! As good as any boy if not better. That was my thought. As I too, had tried to be better than a male child all my life.

Aunt Fong Fei came by after I was rested from the delivery and shared with me the case of the woman who came in the same time with me to have her baby delivered. She pointed out to her as she left the counter after paying her bills. Her husband had already taken the baby, not because he was a caring husband.

It was her 14th baby. Mine was the first and my baby came only 10 hours after hers.

The mother was a pitiful case.

Her husband was a gambler and ne'er to do well kind of wastrel. Each year he would make her give birth to a baby and he would sell the child. A boy would give him around RM20,000, and a girl RM7,000 or below.

This was the first case of human trafficking in a family I heard of and I was so traumatised.

Aunt Fong Fei said that every one in the maternity home knew about the mother's story. She was a washerwoman who went from house to house to wash clothes. And for 9 months she would carry a baby to full term, deliver her baby in  the maternity clinic for RM400 and her husband would give her 600 extra for her chickens for the confinement. Usually she would rest only 2 weeks before she started work again.

I asked Aunty Fong Fei what could be done to stop the selling of the babies? She said that nothing could be done because all parties were willing partners.

In those days selling a baby was not considered criminal if the buyer was only too happy to buy a baby boy to carry on with the family surname. Or if the family had been childless for years, the Ah Pek was considered a Saviour!! So if the family was willing to pay RM 7000 for a baby girl, the Ah Pek was only too happy to let go of his own child.

My aunt said that the transaction would have been done before the baby was born. If a sale did not go through the Ah Pek will have to go to the market and look for a new customer. The birth mother had no say. Because the birth mother was the victim of the situation, my aunt could not do anything to help. She would not want a fist to land on her face or back.

How many babies do you know have been sold and bought? 

I have often wondered about the 14 babies this particular husband had sold in Sibu. And what happened to the mother, the woman who brought 14 babies to the world? Did the man suffer any punishment? Did karma finally catch up with him? Is the mother having a good life now?

The Great Wall of China

The Foochows of Sibu by 1990 had settled down in the Rajang Valley for more than 80 years. One can say three generations of Foochows have lived in this geographical area of Sarawak, Borneo,  since the arrival of the first Foochow Pioneers led by Wong Nai Siong between 1901 and 1903.

Many Foochow pioneers who were born in Fujian look at the northwest, from Sibu, and dreamily would say "I would go BACK to Dong Sang" one fine day. Some did prosper and went back to Fujian for a visit or two. Some never went back (like my paternal grandfather) while some younger ones brought their whole families to see their ancestral villages.

Later the Fujian Overseas committees arranged for family reunions in China and that really made "return to China" easier.

My maternal grandmother said that phrase often, whenever she was not happy with family matters. And indeed she returned but it was a failed attempt because she could not stay on in Minqing. She returned to Sibu to live out the rest of her life with her many children and grandchildren. She had wanted at least her second son to live with her in Bang Dong, 6Du where she would built a huge mansion with the fortune my Ngie Gung gave her.

The Japanese war disrupted her dream.

My Ngie Gung was happy to be in Sibu, and all my mother's siblings were happy to be in Sarawak, as they were born in Sibu. My eldest and third maternal aunts went to school in Fuzhou, and so did my second Uncle, before World War 2. My youngest uncle, Pang Teck, went back to China in 1954 to pursue  his university education. And only he lived and died in Dong Sang. 

My mother however did not have the opportunity to have higher education because the Japanese Occupation began just as she was about to finish her Junior High. 3 years 8 months later, she completed her Junior High and graduated in 1946. She was very proud of her certificate which qualified her to be a primary school teacher that very same year. 

"My mother dedicated her whole life to her family, her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, her own children and grandchildren, honoring God and her fellow men."

She did dream of visiting China but only as a tourist when "life was better". She would not have spent money to visit a land and people who would not know her at all.

 She had dreams of seeing the Great Wall of China together with my father but then the dream was shelved because my father passed away untimely.

Between 1965 and 1980, the Chinese were not able to visit China because of political reasons. Even getting a passport to travel was a bit difficult then. She shelved her dream of seeing the Great Wall and sacrificed everything for her children.

After 1980 China opened its doors my mother was still busy educating her children. However, she visited England, Australia and New Zealand but she never visited China.

By the 1990's she deemed herself too old to visit China.

So she watched a lot of documentaries about the scenic places, and TV dramas with beautiful historical backgrounds covering the various dynasties of China.

We as her children often wondered about her DREAMS of seeing the Great Wall of China. But she was a very practical woman.

She had said, "No point going to see the Great Wall of China, because I cannot walk there. Let the younger people go." My sisters and brother did visit China as tourists.

I went on her behalf in 2018, May and saw the Great Wall of China, the parts nearer Beijing. My thoughts were full of her, but I also realized that what she had said was correct 20 or 30 years ago.

"You go and see the Great Wall of China only when you are young and healthy, when you have legs to run. Don't depend on others to push and pull you."

My mother had always been a thoughtful and mindful person, kind to others at all times especially when she was travelling.

She was born in the same year as Queen Elizabeth 2, and Tun Mahathir in 1926. When these two had their birthdays, she would comment. She passed away on 31st August 2020,

Queen Elizabeth is celebrating 95 birthday today. My mother would have commented, "Ah,she has a good life, accompanied by her husband for 73 years. She becomes a widow only at 94. Jing kuai oh. Eh hor ya......"

Sisterly Love : Kacang Ma

There have been many angels in my life. One of them was a senior police woman who came to introduce me to kacangma, when I gave to my second daughter .

Beautiful motherwort flowers from my backyard.

She had heard that after I gave birth to my first born, I was often not well even though I had a very good confinement. I will always be grateful to my mother and my aunt (Sixth sister Lau) for helping me through the whole month of Foochow confinement. However I started having high blood pressure, lots of anxieties and had to struggle with household chores in spite of my headaches and extra school work. I was fortunate to have my mother and sisters helping me.

I was full of anxieties before my second confinement but this nice angel came. She cooked for me and stayed with me for a day. She taught my mother and the confinement lady how to cook the dish.

Indeed after a week, I was more cheerful and "steady".

I felt stronger too and the after birth bleeding was not long drawn. the midwife commented on my after birth care. My mother was delighted. I did not suffer a long drawn confinement after birth bleeding.

What an angel in uniform. Not long after I was transferred, she was transferred to Kuching and we never met again. Life is often like that. You never meet a particular angel after a few meetings.

God sends us angels to look after us when He is busy elsewhere.

Years later I found the real plant to grow. From time to time I would have one or two plants in my garden. It is a beautiful plant.

And I often cook kacangma for friends and relatives in Miri. It is an awesome dish for young and old too.

Ah Nang Chong Theatre

 My uncle Lau Pang Ping had wanted to be an owner of a village cinema. He decided to build a wooden house to rent out to Mobile Movies, an idea which was already in practice in Kong Thye sawmill. It was quite big, the width of two terrace houses (by today's measurement). the benches were wooden, properly made to last long. 

A cousin told me that the hall was also used to teach traditional dances for schools and church. When SUPP first started, the leaders and members rented the venue for meetings. 

Village cinemas were fairly normal then for during the 60's villagers found it hard to go to Sibu as it would incur a lot of costs, meals, accomodation etc. Besides it was not a wise move to bring the whole family to Sibu just for movies. It was not the done thing.

Once when Fung Bao Bao came to Sibu the headmen even arranged to charter motor launches just to bring the villagers to Sibu for a night performance. It was the talk of the town for weeks!! I was a kid then and my grandmother was delighted to be part of the social scene - just to see the child star in Sibu.

A group of young men decided that they could make some money by showing films from village to village. Most importantly there must be a hall. With the possibility of earning extra money, my uncle decided to build a wooden shed. In fact before the hall or cinema was built some movies were already shown in my Grandmother's Ah Nang Chong house.

The white screen was pulled up from floor to ceiling ,with the help the big staircase goig upstairs. And stools were placed on the balcony and right to the back into the kitchen. About 80 people could easily sit in that space. Collection or entrance fees were collected by the organizers. The organizers came in their chartered motor launch, set up their equipment, with generators and all. It was quite a grand occasion when a film was shown!

So, in the history of Ah Nang Chong, some movies were shown in a small wooden "cinema" built by Lau Pang Ping, who had the land and the audacity to build a wooden cinema!! 

In fact, my cousins remembered that there was quite a bit of excitement for a few years in Ah Nang Chong. Some romances blossomed, while some wives got very angry with their husbands because they were not allowed to go to the shows.

Village movies were only shown once a week. And sometimes there were double features. The young men in charge of the reels brought their projectors by motor launch and left for the next village by the next morning. Quite a nice kind of business I suppose.Movies were shown for quite a number of years until disaster struck. The unexpected curfew put a stop to all the movie shows!!

So it was good bye to Lin Dai, Yu Ming, Yen Chung, Zhao Lei, Peter Ting Heu...and a string of other Chinese Shaw and Cathay organizations movies.

My grandmother enjoyed some movies, many of which were repeated many times. Yet she went to see the movies. So did the other villagers. In 1978 she became totally blind. But I am sure she was able to "see" those scenes in her mind. 

She must have been quite proud of her eldest son for thinking of doing some social services in the village. 

But eventually when there was so much controversies both social and political, he demolished the wooden cinema.

(NB. My ngie ma had a remarkable mind. She was very strong mentally until the last days of her life.)

Liquorice or Gang Chao

 Before the war and after the World War 2, the Foochows of Sibu and surrounding areas suffered economically because rubber prices were not good. And the Japanese Occupation took its toil more than what the people had expected as politically Sarawak's fate changed dramatically.

Many girls were married off as early as 14.  One of my distant aunts was married at 14 not long after her first mensturation. She said she was just a child. She used to laugh about this. While we talked about child brides from China, she was a child bride from the Japanese Occupation. She had a hard life because her husband did not treat her well.

You can imagine the abuses and the loveless marriage. She suffered mentally.

But on the other hand, young men were abused and were forced to do hard labour. 

My own mother told us tales of the Japanese Occupation. Food was scarce and even clothes were thread bare by the time the Allied Army came to liberate the country. She said that some poorer people had to go without shirts. Some women were bare chested by the time the Allies came. They brought clothes to distribute among the people, each one only ONE piece. My mother was delighted to get one too. She had to queue for the clothes distribution she remembered.

However my aunt remembered the agonies of  sick children most. She was only 15 when her first baby was born and was hardly able to take care of the baby. While the war was raging, many young children suffered from diseases. One of the easiest herbs Foochow mothers could get from the backyard or jungle was the wild licorice or gang chao.

I had asked my maternal aunts to tell us stories. They said that before the war my China born grandmother used to boil the roots and asked children to drink the sweetish tea to reduce fever. In fact children and even adults who had difficulties to sleep and lots of nightmares often had their problems reduced by drinking this tea. Most China born elders were knowledgeable about herbs and health plants.

My aunts told stories of village children who suffered from very high fevers, so high that they became delirious during the war. My cousins born during the war were not spared. There was no ice to lower temperatures.

One young girl even attempted to jump from the window according to a sinseh in Sibu when she related how difficult life was in Sibu in those days.

She said that it was good that women whispered among themselves and learned by word of mouth how to cure ailments by paying only a few cents for Chinese herbs.

Many Chinese sinseh went to the forest to look for suitable herbs during those 3 years and 8 months to help reduce illnesses.

It was important to know about herbs and curative plants at that time.

Years later when epidemics like JE, bird flu and other diseases spread people remember the importance of a humble herb like gang chao. 

Now on Sundays, the tamu in Miri sell herbs and curative plants, and this is how common local knowledge is passed on from one generation to another. However you have to believe, if not the knowledge will all be lost.

So far with the Pandemic raging, no one has claimed any natural cure for the virus. Hot lemon juice seems to be a popular drink.

Dating in the 60's in Sibu

 

There were lots of funny instances in playgrounds like this. How young couples dated, how they quarrelled and split up. This playground "merry go round" is no longer found in many places in Malaysia because it is deemed children unfriendly.

Playgrounds were meant for kids to play but on many occasions our school principal Mr. Lau would check this playground out at the ARcher Road junction throughout his headship in the 60's in Sibu. He was very keen to nip any young romance in the bud so to speak.

There were lots of school romances and they were thus well hidden from him.

Even cycling with a boy was frown upon. So when a boy and a girl were found cycling together a few times, suspicions were aroused.

A very precious moment for me was during the Curfew time when a classmate cycled with a friend and I down Kampong Nyabor road through the Police Check Point, right to my gate. This was after MYF or Methodist Youth Fellowship. He then cycled with my other friend to town. He was so patient following us quite closely. It was very gallant of him to offer. Somehow I would always remember that scene at the Police Check Point. The police looked at him and laughed. "Got escort kah...." The word escort was an innocent word in those days. I think I have never thanked him for escorting us because I was glad to be safe at our gate

Later most MYF meetings ended earlier and I was able to cycle home myself when the curfew was lifted.

May be Mr. Lau was right in so doing.  Young People must concentrate on their studies and not digress from their ambitions.

Years later when the Islamic teachers came to teach in Sarawak, they were very militant about dating. Benches, merry go rounds, were taken off school compounds so that young couples could not sit around They even set up vigilant groups to catch and punish the young couples who were dating.

Then Social Media came in. Facebook, whatsapp, etc. Girl Meets Boy in the virtual world. Militant cybertroopers come into play.

I suppose an ERA of girl meets boy and fall in love, get married and live happily ever after is gone. No more fairy tale romance?

Preserved Radish Omelette

 My mother often made a very frugal but tasty dish which we all enjoyed when we were children..

Now. half a century later, when we think of her we will make it.

Preserved radish was a very reasonably priced item in the salted vegetable and fish section of the Sibu market. We had several relatives who were owners of the stalls there. From them we bought salted eggs, fish, vegetables and even bottles of soy sauce and other preserved food. In those days every one knew every one and almost adult knew who the children belonged to.

A few generous salted fishmongers for example would slip a small packet of salted fish into my shopping basket and whispered, "For your mother."

The salted vegetable and fish market was in the middle of the central market in Sibu before it was moved away and the area was turned into a huge car park.

I particularly remember two uncles who sold salted /preserved items. In Foochow they were called Jak Geng stall towkays. Uncle Tiong was beloved and was my Ngie Mah's favourite relative too. She would always go to the stall to get some of her favourite items. My mother would also get salted radish from him and his wife (who would once in a while be there).

The other uncle was Tang, whose sons became my student in the Methodist School. He was a kind man who would give his usual customers a discount.

Normally housewives would buy soy bean curd, soy bean sprouts, a bit of salted fish and some salted vegetables early in the morning. Before they returned home, they would pick up some fish or pork. Some housewives buy fresh food every day. For them it was their daily chore and duty.

Because my mother was not healthy all the time after my father's untimely passing, she would not go to the market some days and she had to cook with whatever food we had in the cupboard.

On days she had her high blood pressure (extremely high), we would have some notable dishes on the table. As we did not have a maid, we would know that she was not feeling well. She would not think of any one of us to discontinue our schooling for her health's sake. I was 16 when my father passed away and my youngest brother was only 11 months old.

Mum said she must grit her teeth to see us all educated.

We were grateful to the Cheng Kuok Kong, my father's best friend and school mate and his family who supplied us with discounted eggs every week. His two sons Hua Ging and Hua Chuan would deliver the two trays of eggs every week by bicycle. These eggs saw us through for years until they stopped their egg business. My mother and Mrs Cheng forged a very good friendship.

She would prepare preserved radish omelette for our lunch, and in the evening we would have a soup, like cucumber and salted fish bones to go with our white rice. We might have porridge because that would help her recover too.

We thank God during those days she never fainted, or stayed in bed due to dizziness. She grit her teeth and stayed strong for us. In 1972 she had a major operation in Kuching. By then I was at uni and my youngest siblings were 9 and 10. Our maternal grandma came to help her. Throughout her life my mother had fear of going to the hospital.

We loved her preserved radish omelette. 

God indeed answered her prayers - to stay healthy and capable of working in the house until her very last days.

Note : She would visit a doctor instead of the market. You see for years before we bought a car, she walked to the town to do her marketing or she would send one of us to do what she had to do - buy food. 

Kwong Hua School and Rev Wong King Huo

 The Kwong Hua School was established in 1916, making it one of the oldest Primary and Junior High schools in the Rajang, founded by the Foochow Pioneers.

The man behind the founding of the school was the far sighted Rev Wong King Huo. He was supported by the group of hardworking Kutien Foochow pioneers like Ting Hing Yu of Sg. Sadit. The first classes were taught in the family home of Ting.

(This photo was sent by Rev James Hoover to the USA, Methodist Conference. He is in the photo with Rev Wong King Huo's family) 

In 1919 Yek San Dak donated a piece of land for the school to be built much to the excitement of the villagers of Nang Chong, San Hor Chong (Sg. Sadit) and even Sungei Merah. It was a good school for both boys and girls who could not go to school in Sibu.

One of the earliest Headmasters of the school was the father of Temenggong Ting Lik Hung , Ting Chang Tang (who was a landed, educated, rubber planter as well)

After that there was a long series of Headmasters. The Japanese Occupation closed the school for a few years.

After the war  the big school supported by the Chinese community continued and prospered.

There was boys hostel facilities for those boys who could not go to Chung Cheng School. Girls from the vicinity came, instead of boarding in Yuk Ing Girls School.

In 1949 the school had enough funding to split into Primary and Secondary school as the school population was growing, with more day scholars due to the increase in population in the region. 

Graduation Day, 1949, January 15th photo shows how much financial assistance the local people were able to provide for the establishment of the school, and to build such a big school with belian.

Indeed Rev Wong King Huo started a good school with a good vision for the convenience of the the rubber tappers' children.

(According to family stories, my uncles Pang King and Soon King attended this school after the war before they went to study in Singapore where they gained an English education. I believe my uncles must be in this photo.)

Geese in Hua Hong Ice Factory

Now that I am rearing my first THREE geese ever I can share some stories about my Grandfather's geese in Hua Hong Ice Factory during the Japanese Occupation and the first few years of my mother;s marriage.

The Ice Factory was on  the eastern side of the Pulau Kerto. Grandfather had started the Ice Factory because in the early 1930's electricity was introduced by Rev James Hoover to Sibu and he decided, with Rev James Hoover's help to get the first ice making machine from the USA, via Singapore. 

He also installed electricity for all the quarters in the Ice Factory Complex. There were three Management Quarters, which were really quite big along a mud path extending from the factory, the main complex. The office complex was towards the river bank. The staff quarters were behind the factory. It was good for every one to have not only electricity but ice!!

I was told that Grandpa and his partners, the two Wong brothers, (Wong Hung Kwong and Wong Liing Kwong) employed more than 30 people to run the ice factory - rubber crepe factory - rice mill . It was a Three in One kind of business which really prospered for many years.

I heard was my great grand parents and grandparents were very frugal and did not want any food scraps, vegetable waste and rice husks (from the milling ) to go to waste. And they, in particular, had wanted their great grand children to be involved in food production before, during and after the Japanese Occupation.

The kids were given tasks to feed geese, ducks , chickens and pigs.

The trend of having domestic animals continued when my mother married into the family. Great grandmother who was very fond of domestic animals encouraged my mother to rear ducks, chickens, geese and even goats. At one time my father even reared three buffaloes, provided by the Agriculture Department . But he did not succeed to breed any because the kampong people on the other side of the island did not like the marauding buffaloes which wondered into their land. They shot one of the buffaloes. My father gave up rearing them

My mother remembered that whenever the family slaughtered a goose during the holidays, each goose would be more than 8 katis and here was so much meat, filling up a whole basin. We Foochows called this kind of basin as Wash Face Basin, or Seh Mingmuong.

 A whole basin of the chopped meat would be ready and Great Grandma would be there to look and decide how to have the meat cooked. My mother said that chopping up the goose meat was a daunting task. The bird was so big that she felt that her left hand would drop off. My mother had the typical rustic Foochow way of expressing herself, using a lot of metaphors and old style Foochow expressions.

My mother used her left hand to do all house chores like cutting meat or chopping a branch but she wrote with her right hand, as was the norm of the time.

Great grandmother liked to eat braised goose meat. She would add half a bottle of home made Foochow rice wine.

A cousin, Yew Ping, used to tell us that Great Grandmother made salted vegetables. She told us that the soup of any meat and salted vegetables was awesome. Great grandmother really knew how to flavour food in the kitchen. Perhaps it was because she was brought up in a scholarly family in Fujian.

if there was any left over meat , especially the boney pieces, Great Grandma would ask her to make soup with the salted vegetables.

Cousin Yew Ping stayed with the family until I was about four years old and she was old enough to get married. She married into a Lau family in Tulai.

Goose eggs according to my mother were huge and very often one egg was enough as a side dish. That was another side dish that Great Grandmother liked.

Great Grandmother moved to stay with Grandpa in Sg. Merah when we moved to Sibu in 1956. She missed rearing all the domestic animals in Pulau Kerto. But by then she was more than 70 years old. Her bound feet were really tiny and she could not walk very well up and down the two storeyed house, newly built by Grandfather.

She would have loved to live with us but as more siblings were born, my mother had more to do, so Grandfather thought that she should live with him instead and not with us. My mother never had a maid servant in her whole life.

We also stopped rearing geese in Sibu but mother continued to rear ducks and chickens because they could be caged.

My Maternal Grandfather and Loi Ling Jing

Tubai or Tuba are the local names for a plant which grows wild in Sarawak, although many Foochow pioneers grew it in Tulai, Sg. Maaw and Ensura areas.

In the 1920's and following decades, the Foochow farmers even sold the roots in Sibu town. The roots were very smelly because the milk white juices flow out easily when cut. Farmers pounded the roots to extract the milk and used the liquid as pesticides and mosquito repellent.

In Foochow it is called LOI LING.

We had a few interesting anecdotes from my mother about farmers bringing loi ling to sell in Sibu town. The roots would be bundled and tied up, all muddy and smelly in two bundles. The farmer would carry the precious goods with his bian dang from further inland. These farmers would catch the early boat to Sibu and return by the afternoon last boat to reach home before nightfall.

One evening a man came from the back hills and asked for a night's stay with my grandfather. Grandfather being very hospitable allowed him to sleep in the living room and provided even an evening meal.

However not long after every one turned in, my grandfather was rather annoyed by the awful smell from the man's belongings.

He came out to check and found that it was two large bundles of tuba roots.

 

He opened the front door and gave them a kick and sent them flying to the stair case.

The man was dumb founded and said, "Hey, that's money."

My usually taciturn Ngie Goon replied, " Money? It's smelly. Not welcome !"

The next day the man quickly rebundled his precious goods and took the boat to Sibu. Mum cannot remember if he ever stayed the night in the Nang Chong house again.

My grandfather although he was a rubber tapper, carpenter, and farmer, liked things around him to be neat and clean. This could be his Fujian background.

He also could get very annoyed with people who had no manners.

Whenever my mother mentioned about my Ngie Gung's hospitality I would think of a sign he should put up at the entrance of their sanba home : No smelly Loi Ling Roots allowed. Just like today, No Durians Allowed in the Hotel.

I am sure he is smiling up there in heaven.

Mum therefore taught us how to be polite guests and also never to overstay our welcome. One important point would be to bring a gift at all times, even if it is for flying visit.

Messages from the Grave

What are messages from the grave?

Easter is often a time when we pray more. But to me, it is a time to sing more!!

My friends and I in these difficult days of the Pandemic also talked more on the phone. We talked about a lot of things, good and bad, happy and sad.

Lately we talked about the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew "sending" a message from his grave.  Those who have been his keen and lasting admirers would like to think that he does have a message or many messages for the public. Others pooh pooh it.

My family members do believe in messages from the grave, like the Korean actors and actresses in the TV Drama. People appear in their dreams either to tell them something good or something bad.

Two  events I know of have been sort of resulting from some kind of messages from the grave. 

A church sister one day came to pastor and told him to pray about her heart palpitations which have been occurring for a while. Even though she had seen her heart specialist, and had a clean bill of health, she still had her heart palpitations. The pastor prayed with her and asked a few other church sisters to lay hands on her.

That night she had a dream and her brother spoke to her, asking her to help him with floods in his house. Immediately she knew why she had her heart palpitations. She drove to her late brother's grave and found it was already water logged due to a landslide near by. So she called her church committee and immediately they exhumed the grave and had her brother reburied in a new grave. 

Her heart palpitations stopped after that.

Sungei Merah from the Methodist Old Cemetery. 

In another case, an old widow was hesitant about a property that the government wanted to acquire and her in laws were hard to connect with because some were reticent and not in good terms. She prayed about it. Then suddenly out of the blue, one of her daughter's school mates came to visit her. He seemed to be in the know about the matter and they discussed her difficulties and awkwardness. He told her it was quite straightforward and need not worry about it.

Later her pastor also helped her pray about the legal issues. She was so worried that her nephews would think that she was going to take away their inheritance.

After prayers were said, the widow slept quite well but that very night her father in law came in her dreams and he told her every thing was arranged and she only had to sign her name . He even told her about not engaging a lawyer!! Her father in law had passed on more than 50 years ago!! But that piece of land was bought by him to be shared properly by his descendants. Everything was very proper according to his will.

Indeed the next day, the Land Office called her and said that everyone concerned had sent in written acknowledgement. Her share was unopposed as every one agreed to the shared proportions. No legal action was necessary.

My friends and I agree that God works for our good in different ways. Sometimes through dreams.

Happy Easter!!

My Grandfather and Church Flowers

Today is Good Friday and it is celebrated in Sarawak as a Public Holiday. It is a long weekend since the Brooke Time with Easter Monday also a public holiday.

Methodists since 1902 also celebrate it by going to church. A Passion Play would be enacted.

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My grandfather decided to build a house on the hill he was given by the Brooke (when he arrived in Sibu in 1902, he and his fellow pioneers were alloted land to open up and he quickly seized the opportunity to take the hill because he came from a hilly background in Minqing, I was told. He was not afraid of hillier land as he had no idea how to plant padi!! The others from the lower areas in Minqing were padi farmers.

My grandfather came from bamboo shoots and mountain vegetables hilly land of Wun Chieh. In Sarawakian terms, he was a highlander or Ulu man.

He planted bananas, bamboo and fruit trees and later rubber on the Sungei Merah land. He moved around to do various work for Rev James Hoover, started Binatang with Rev Yao shiao King and Ling Ming Lok, upon the advice of Rev James Hoover,a sawmill, and later he started Hua Hong Ice Factory because he could then afford an ice making machinery from the USA!

By the late 1940's he was more than 60 years old and he wanted to retire (he never retired actually until he passed away). He decided to build a new house on top of the Kwong Ang Hill, the land he originally opened up.

He reconnected with Rev Ho Siew Liong, who had been his good friend from the early days.

Every Sunday he would be in charge of the floral arrangements and my aunt Hiong would send the flowers to the Church usually alamanda, or bougainvillea. Orchids were not yet in fashion then.

Besides it it was the blooming time for the Bang Ngiik Lan, he would personally pluck the buds, place them in a basket and every church member would be given one bud at the door. It was his idea of a door gift according to Mrs. Wong, who later taught in Kwong Ang Primary School and later in Sarikei. I was very touched when she told me the story. She loved bringing home a bang ngiik lan bud.

My grandfather would help Rev Ho to make wreaths for any funerals. Yes ANY funeral. He would make one on behalf of the church, and one for the church committee. All FOC. He just loved making them. I suppose he would be thinking of the Hoovers when he was making them.

I will always remember the bougainvillea he grew which leaned on a belian tree stump. He told us a vine like bougainvillea must have a strong post to lean on. And the best post would be a strong belian post. Instead, he used the buttress of a belian tree !! How ingenious. The flowering plant never stopped blooming for as long as he lived and for a long time after that. The belian buttress might still be there on the hill if no one had stolen it.

As a child and later a teenager, I would always look at him and wonder what was actually in his mind when he went about doing things he loved. He was such an intriguing quiet man. He was holding a lot inside him.

Milk Powder for Minqing 1960's from Sibu

 Today milk consignment could be arranged to be sent to China from the UK, New Zealand, Australia etc. It is called MilkMail, managed by Seven Seas Worldwide. How convenient!!

Terms and Conditions"

• You must classify your shipment as 'personal effects'
• The quantity of milk powder must not exceed 6kg per parcel
• If your shipment exceeds this weight, it is automatically classed as 'cargo' and tax will need to be paid on it
• The tax rate is 10%
• If the total value of items sent exceeds 2000 RMB, these will be taxed too

After reading this on Google I was reminded of the days in the 1960's and 70's when many of my relatives were sending milk powder to Minqing. their favourite brand was Li Too Gin or Lactogen.

A grand uncle who had come to Sibu and prospered had his daughters send two tins of milk powder at a time as they to wrap the tins together with paper and then a white piece of cloth. The two daughters had to sew each parcel neatly with good stitching. Small tins of milk powder would be wrapped with cloth for making of baby clothes too. This went on for a few years until the babies were older. It was to fulfill the promises he made to his brother. And he did help his brother's family until he passed away. His brother's grandchildren were like his grand children. He was always so happy to receive photos from China.

In his words,"I have come to Sibu and had made promises to help those left behind in China. Now I can afford to send milk powder back to feed the little ones."

The Post office in the 60's in Sibu were always full of Sanba (down river) people who wanted to send parcels to China, especially after the days of good rubber prices. Every one in the Post Office spoke Foochow in those days and the service was extremely friendly.

It is very much like today's Iban oil palm growers who will  buy loads of food supplies and fill up their hiluxes when the prices of oil palm are as high as RM 700 per ton.

Lactogen made in UK was the favourite milk powder for China relatives.

(Borneo Company was the main agent for Lactogen in Sibu in those days)