This is the story of a wonderful mother who had bound feet. Born during the late Qing Era, she was fated to marry a man from Nanyang who came from Singapore to ask for her hand. She was Maria Ang, She was brought to Singapore by her newly wedded husband Paul Lim, who was at that time working as a supervisor of tongkangs in Singapore Harbour. She was to live an amazing life in Sarawak.
His job required him to make rounds of rubber estates in Sarikei. He was accompanied by two policemen and two coolies making the rounds of the rubber estates every morning before six. This made him a “very powerful” man.
One day, Paul was upset by the dwindling reports on rubber production. When he questoined the tappers, they told him they had seen a big monster snake coiled around a coconut tree at the rubber estate.
Paul took a huge family parang which could cut a nail in two, and several helpers to kill the snake.
On arriving at the spot, they found snake asleep. When Paul struck the reptile with his parang, the weapon was cracked a little. He made a second strike – the parang was cracked a second time.
As the story goes, the snake suddenly woke up and in a fit of anger, pulled down all the coconut trees in the estate before slithering away.
It was a horrific experience for Paul and his men.
Those who believed in superstitions say this snake was actually going through the process of gaining immortality and should not be disturbed.
The parang which could decapitate a person with one stroke had two cracks. It was a mystery.
That night Paul had a dream which he related to his son the next morning. In the dream, the snake appeared to Paul and told him if it died he would bring him with it. If the snake lived, Paul would also live.
Paul knew the snake had died and soon he fell ill and died two months later. He was only 49.
During the Japanese Occupation, their son, Lim Thian Beng (born 1922) was a teenager, an almost adult so to speak. Thian Beng had been sent to study in St. Joseph's School Kuching and was taught by nuns in those days. With a very sound grounding in English, he reached Standard 7 by the time he Japanese arrived.
He worked in the Kuching airport, conscripted by the Japanese after his education in St. Joseph's school. He was made an orderly for the runway to raise flags for plans to land. He had to raise a red flag if the plane was not to land due to lack of runways. A blue flag meant it was safe to land. He got this light job because one of the Japanese pilots was a Taiwanese Min Nang man who, like Lim, spoke Hokkien. They had become good friends.
One day Lim was in a hurry to buy food at the canteen. While he was away from his post, a plane circled the airport twice. Lim had left the red flag flying because he thought no plane was coming in. Everyone shouted at him to switch flags. He immediately rushed back to his post and raised the blue flag.
Shortly after, the plane touched down. Luckily, the pilot was his friend and he did not get slapped – which would have happened had the pilot been a Japanese. His pilot friend told him the fuel needle was already at zero when the plane landed. He however decided to quit hisjob to return to Sibu to be with his mother in Sibu.
The Sibu during the Japanese Occupation was not easy for the dainty young widow and she depended on her eldest, reliable and responsible Thian Beng to make some money from peddling, selling yiu char kuih from house to house. He also fished like other young men and did odd jobs in order to feed his family. Some how Maria and her children managed to eek out a living in Sibu.
When the war was over, Thian Beng left for Miri to seek his fortune, leaving his mother and younger siblings in Sibu. Fate helped Thian Beng to be one of the first Chinese land surveyors in Sarawak. After his training in Kuching, he worked in Miri, as a permanent government servant, probably something he prayed for. He surveyed the rural areas so that land titles could be given out. He saw the Miri division developed in front of his eyes so to speak. His collection of black and white photos is a great legacy to Sarawak, depicting vividly the lives of surveyors of those days. Lim's wealth of surveying experience and knowledge is an archivist's dream.
A keen photographer, as soon as he got back to Miri, he would develop the film – 12 shots each time – make prints and send them to his widowed mother, who was still living in Sibu. And on the back of the photos he would write her a message in English.
He made his promises to his mother that he would stay in touch in the way he knew and she must not be afraid of the future.
His mother thus waited anxiously for mails from her beloved son, who was so far away from Sibu.
Lim's career, starting in 1948, saw him surveying land in Lawas, Limbang, Niah, Bekenu and Bintulu. Surveying in the early days was very dangerous. The men had to go deep into the swamps, jungles and the unknown.
They would set up camp using attap and a few pieces of wood. A tent would be a luxury. Lim had to carry a gun to protect himself and his men from wild animals.
“In those days after our surveying, the superintendent would print the GRANT and ask me to sit outside the office to offer the land titles to the people of Sibuti. No one was interested even when the land was free. I was often left with a stack of land titles in my hand at the end of the day,” he recalled.
Maria Ang had brought up a son who was a very sincere and honest civil servant, Thian Beng never owned a piece of land throughout his career.
Lim’s son sitting on one of his motorbikes.
Maria was blessed with a daughter in law of mixed parentage. Thian Beng's mother in law was a Kadayan (Lumok binti Prian) from Brunei. Lim and his wife were to be married for more than 60 years.
His salary was $45 a month – plus $20 travelling allowance – in the 50’s it was all the cash he got to feed his growing family and his mother and siblings. He had to supplement the family diets with the help of his gun.
When one day she learned that Thian Beng had ridden on the back of a crocodile she must have been most perturbed. But mother and son must have had a good laugh. Thian Beng was quite a story teller and joker.
During the amazing and intriguing time of the Brunei Rebellion which put Bekenu bazaar under the control of the rebels for more than a week in Dec 1962. Lim and his team were marooned in Satap.
It was while making his way across a stream at this remote outpost,he had an incredible experience. He thought he had stepped on a huge log in the water. The lumber he was standing on was moving towards the other bank but he did not suspect anything unusual. His men kept “very quiet” until he had reached the other side. Then he suddenly realised he was actually “riding” on the back of a crocodile to get across the stream.
Maria Ang's fervent prayers for the safety of her children and grand children must have been heard by God who protected him that day. It was a miracle the reptile did not turn around and swallow him.
Conducting a survey of Miri town.
Maria Ang lived in Miri after Thian Beng brought her from Sibu to live with his family. Thus through her son's eyes, she saw Miri grow from its infancy after the Second World War.
Every now and then she and her son would take out the black and white photos to recall the earlier days.
As Maria Ang aged she was happy to note that her son was a good man who brought so much happiness to her and their relatives and friends.
Thian Beng and his children continued to look at their family keepsakes until he passed away. They had all been well kept by Maria Ang.
These photos and stories are truly and certainly worth cherishing.
(This post will be refined from time to time as I am still collecting more information.)
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