Small Feet Great Grandmother and 3 Opium Smokers

 A great grand daughter remembers the life story of her great grandmother Nguong Nguon Mu (Tiong family) who was born in China and how the small fragile looking woman with small bound feet managed to over come the social problems and poverty of the day. 

The small feet great grandmother of this Tiong family came with the Foochow pioneer Wong Nai Siong accompanying her husband. It must have been very difficult for her to live in a hot tropical climate where sweat and hardwork was the order of the day.

Being used to long sleeved blouse and trousers, she continued to wear her Fujian styled clothes. She worked hard and moved about with great difficulties because of her bound feet. She was very capable as a seamstress and helped many people to patch and repair clothes.

Although the couple prospered in the first 40 years of their lives in Sibu, 1903 to 1943 and  Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother Nguong Nguong even lived in a beautiful wooden house with glass windows (an innovation in those days) in the present Chung Cheng Primary School area, their fortune was taken away by opium.

The great grand daughter expressed sadly, "The usual Foochow rags to riches story of the Tiongs was a typical story of the Foochow pioneers in those days. But wealth was not meant to be theirs forever for the family suffered from the curse of Opium Smoking. It was so sad that I was born in a coolie house and not in the big wooden house with glass windows.

There was a story of haunting related to the big wooden house next to Chung Cheng School. The house was cursed by the builders who put a talisman on the main beam and no one could live in peace in the house. Although they did move away from the big house, several people met ill fates and eventually no one dared to live there. The glass windows cracked for no reasons and people saw spirits moving around at night. Eventually the house decayed and was finally demolished.

While Great Grandfather was a mild opium smoker, his eldest son and a grandson were wasted. By the time the Japanese arrived, Great Grandfather and his eldest son and a grandson were already beyond medical help. The family wealth was completely gone by the end of the war.

Actually it was Great Grandmother Tiong who managed to get all the other able bodied family members to tap rubber, cut wood, slash and burn land to plant from rubber from the beginning of their pioneering days in Sg. Maaw. 

She was strongly supported by her youngest son who was a teacher while she handled all the problems of opium smoking in the family. Although it had saddened her that she saw the death of three of her loved ones from opium addiction and the loss of the family fortune, she was resilient enough to help the other members get educated and overcome their misfortunes.

By 1945, or the end of the Second World War,not a single piece of their landed property was spared. So Great Grandmother Tiong, her daughters in law, and other sons who were not addicted to opium moved in to work for Lau Kah Tii, and lived in No 4 Company House in Ensurai.

By then the 70+ years old Great Grandmother Tiong was still able to tailor clothes and sew belly covers for those who needed her help. Her little great grand children also needed them. Her eyes were still good as she could still thread a needle very well and she continued to sew clothes by hand. Many people came to see her for their tailoring needs.

Great Grandmother Tiong saw the rise and decline of her family but she never did complain. She went on to rear domestic animals and plant vegetables while her able bodied children and grand children tapped rubber to earn a living.

She was able to forget about the wealth earned and wasted by her husband and sons. With the help of her China born daughter in law, she managed to raise the third generation, educate them (two of them became teachers) after the War.

Unfortunately when she passed away, only a small funeral was held in her honour because her most educated grandson was teaching in Sarikei. there was a strike in Sarikei.

Notes : In 1950, the price of rubber rose due to the Korean war. This had caused a booming rubber plantation in Sarikei. Sarikei Chinese Chamber of Commerce was established in 1932 in order to protect Chinese commercial interests. In 1954, the Sarawak colonial government presented a 1955 budget deficit. In order to increase income, the colonial government decided to increase the price of business permit tax. In December 1954, the legislation to increase business permit tax was approved in the Council Negri (now Sarawak State Legislative Assembly). This caused the permit tax to increase from 500% to 900%. Sarikei Chinese chamber of Commerce decided to organise a strike for ten days in protest of increased taxes. The third division (today Sibu Division) Resident came to persuade the Chinese in Sarikei to stop the strike but to no avail. The strike proceed from 1 January 1955 to 10 January 1955. This strike received full support from Chinese merchants from Kuching, Sibu, Bintangor, and Selangau. Chinese merchants from Kapit strike for eight days while Miri, Bintulu, Mukah, and Saratok strike for three days. However, the strike failed to stop the business permit tax; and the taxation continues after the formation of Malaysia and is listed under the jurisdiction of Sarawak state government. (Wikipedia)