Opium TAX during the Brooke Rule.

In small towns like Sibu, Miri, Binatang and Sarikei, opium dens were set up to entertain many addicts who were mainly Chinese. Some of the migrants had brought their addiction from China, their home land, while some got into the habit because opium was fairly easy to obtain. Opium dens were quite an open secret, like prostitution, gambling parlours, etc.

People from Zhangzhou and Xiamen (Hokkiens) were the first Chinese to settle in Binatang/Bintangor. According to a Chinese document, a Chinese, Huang Zhi Yung, bought a piece of lad in Binatang in 1908.

In 1922 Ling Ming Lok, Tiong Kung Pig and Rev Yao Siew King with the encouragement of Rev James Hoover obtained a grant from the Brooke Government to start a Foochow settlement. 300 Foochows as a result came to open up more land with this grant. Rubber  was the preferred crop.

My grandfather Tiong Kung Ping cleared 70 acres of land beyond the Meradong river and he was helped by his younger brother. However prices of rubber were not steady e.g. 1929 rubber prices collapse but in 1933 the prices went up again. So paddy and vegetable farming (later pepper and fruit trees) were important crops that my grandfather encouraged his employees to grow. Besides his rice mill and sawmill flourished during that time. Like many Foochows my grandfather was anti Opium. Wong Nai Siong was a great social activitist who fought against opium smoking in Sibu and in China.

In fact the Brooke Government raised a lot of revenue from tendering opium farms (thus it collected rent) to some business people. And perhaps this was one of the conflicts Wong nai Siong faced when he brought the Foochow Pioneers to Sibu. Later Rev James Hoover also helped to control opium smoking amongst the Foochow Methodists.

In Binatang before the Second World War there were at least two open Opium Dens in the shop houses ( there were only two rows of shop houses then). The then urban population was small and there were no societies to help with the social problems. Many men were addicted to opium and in a way unfortunately, when the Japanese came, they were not able to buy opium and several of them passed away. The town folks were just beginning to get some government amenities with the starting of urban councils etc.

A few opium addicts did try to kick their habits according to some people, but it was difficult.

Most of the opium addicts were homeless, family-less although one or two could have come from good families.

The general public was quite tolerant towards them and in a way, they were just like "ghosts" in the town. Some one did say that one opium addict became so sick that he collapsed and died on the street. He was probably killed by TB too

The Binatang District Coucil was only set up in 1947.

(In memory of my Grandfather's brother, Grand Uncle Kung Eng, who was suffering from mental ill health due to the trauma he suffered from the post natal death of his wife, Madam Sii, and the death of his son 5 months old. He was given treatment by Lau King Howe Hospital, purported with some opiate related medication. But his death was caused by a bacterial infection from unsterilized acupuncture needles , treatment given by a local barefoot doctor. May he rest in peace.1944)