River Boats : The Clock Face

 I grew up loving the Rajang River because I was born on an island right opposite Sibu called the Pulau Kerto. My family lived there until it was time for me to go to Primary One. By that time my father had already gotten a new job and we moved to Sibu Town.

Throughout my childhood my maternal grandmother would bring me to stay with her in ah Nang Chong by river boat during the holidays so that my mother would have one less child to look after. But it was also because my grandmother just loved having me with her!!

I got to know all the names of the river motor launches, recognised the sounds of their engines, their fog horns early in the morning.

In those days we not have the Clock Face to tell us when the boats would leave Sibu. We went by the name of the boats or the boat owner. So we would always take the selected boat at the right time. Every day the boats would arrive at the scheduled time in Sibu and leave according to their scheduled time.

Today, because of the diversity of languages and ethnic groups living along the Rajang River and t he Baram river, we need to the clock face to tell us the time.

Besides with the clock face, touting would not happen. At one time, touting was bad, until boat owners quarrelled with each other.

So the clock face actually helped reduce conflicts.

Customers would also be able to schedule their time in sibu, or Marudi and leave according to the time of departure they select.

But times are changing and soon even the express boats will be obsolete and the clock face would be a cultural artifact.