Sibu Tales : Prostitutes in Sibu,1960's

 Sibu Urban District Council (Sarawak Gazette, 31.7.1965) announced , "The Council is taking steps to eliminate prostitutes and waitresses from coffee shops to reduce troubles caused by them."

What are the better synonyms for the word PROSTITUTES?

This brings back my classroom story of a Form Six boy who wrote an essay entitled "My Mother" for Mother's Day.

He started by writing, "My mother is a hooker." As I marked his essay, I knew he was writing about his mother, a hawker.

I did not reprimand him but instead went on to teach many lessons on synonyms. I think till this day I am the only one who knows how he mispelt words in his writing. Lovely student who went on to do well in life.

The Confrontation period saw many coffee shops, hotels, and eateries doing good business. It also coincided with the timber boom of Sarawak which caused  Sibu to become a busy and bustling town then. Mercedes were imported and other big cars filled the road where once bicycles ruled. Sibu was a town where drivers feared to drive because of thousands of bicycles which zoomed in and out of small lanes, back lanes and major and small roads. Many cyclists were even brought to court for unruly cyling or causing hurt.

The Indonesian Confrontation also brought about a new era to the Rajang Valley. With an army camp sited in Sibu, Gurkhas and Australian soldiers, the town population saw a marked improvement in a lot of businesses. New businesses also appeared. Cold storages came to the once sleepy down, to the pleasant surprise and actually delight of many housewives!! I had my first taste of imported Magnolia Ice Cream in the first Ice Cream Shop in Sibu. 

Wives must be accompanied by their husbands when going out to town,etc. Policemen walked the streets in their khaki uniform (shorts and knee length socks!!), carrying batons which frightened little and very innocent , wide eyed children.

We children were told that we had to be careful because there were lots of MATA Gelap or Special Branch policemen around who would capture naughty children.

Many coffee shops, especially the larger, corner ones, were full of soldiers in their uniform, enjoying good food and their beers. They loved being entertained by the ladies of the night especially those who were able to speak English. A few coffee shops became really famous and prosperous because of the new business.

While the Chinese community was not overly perturbed by the "economic boom" in Sibu, the Councillors were sort of distressed but they had to be careful not to disturb the general situation in Sibu. Money was being made by the towkays, the soldiers were keeping the peace. And there was a greater influx of women from the rural areas into Sibu.

When "chauffering"  a special lady, the trishaw man would discretely have a cover over the carriage.

Should the SUDC (Sibu Urban District Council) play the role of Keeper of Moral Standards?

Besides, it was at that time that the rural - urban migration picked up its tempo. Many of the nearby wooden houses were rented out to the ladies and their families. These wooden houses, being within walking distance to the coffee shops were noisy part of the day, sometimes the women would quarrel loudly, causing a ruckus. 

Besides, the trishaw drivers also started to pick up more business at that time. In those days Sibu really had a large number of them as each ride was just a few cents from the wharf to the Lau King Howe Hospital, or to Tiong Hua Road. A ride from the wharf to Brooke Drive was only 50Cents. I am sure the rickshaw drivers had a lot of stories to tell.

School children were taken to school by trishaws for a mere 20 dollars per month. A family with 4 children would spend t hat amount to save time of t he parents on school runs. It was a very economical kind of transport. These were the days before school buses and private vans.

Overall it was a boom time in Sibu especially in housing. Rentals increased. While the poorer housing was rented to the rural migrants, better housing was demanded by the richer families of the rubber tappers and the timber workers and the nouveau riche.

Money also came from the timber boom in Indonesia for example, a few relatives of mine started buying "concrete houses" newly built by the Sarawak Construction Company. Glamourous names like "estates", "park" offering new homes sprang up around Sibu and beyong. Owning a new home was the talk of the town. People also started to move from the crowded Tiong Hua Road and Tong San Road to the better areas along Queensway especially. Your new address was a sign of newly acquired wealth.

 It was good to see so many detached houses being built. Double storeyed terrace houses were snatched up like hot cakes.

Back to the main topic.

Many of the ladies of the night often were hauled to the courts resulting in hilarious anecdotes, told and retold by lawyers and friends of the legal circles. 

But the profession being one of the oldest in the world carried on in Sibu, in one or two more "dressed up brands of the trade". The hidden ones are hard to find but those in know, know.

Ten or so years later in the 1990's the ladies of the night disappeared from the coffee shops.

Sad to say, the colourful traditional trishaws also diminished in number as more Japanese and foreign cars replaced them on the roads of Sibu. When I started teaching in Sibu, I heard stories of trishaw men who sold their blood for a good price to the Lau King Howe Hospital. And there were many good men who did the same thing to get some quick cash. It was really sad to hear of such stories.

A colourful period of social history has passed by.