Beladin : Life in a Fishig Village

 

My cousin a Chinese school teacher used to teach in Beladin for may years. She was happy to be there and brought up her kids well.

A long time ago teachers and pupils had to travel for small coastal boats to reach Beladin. they would walk in the mud and then wash off the mud at the jetty.

Life in the 1970's was simple and people were happy to have food on the table and a bed a sleep on.

They were happy to be able to send their kids to school. Teachers were so well respected.

May God bless the people of Beladin. My cousin is now retired and living in Kuching. She has good memories of teaching in Beladin.

Visiting Beladin in the 1970's

My cousin was a trained teacher who taught in Beladin during the 70's.

My Uncle Lau Pang Ping. His wife, Aunty Sia (baby in arms)
was a very hard working and determined aunty. My cousin in the middle,front row, taught in Beladin.

After graduating from the Rajang Training College, many new teachers did not even know where their schools in remote Sarawak were. They had to ask help from local education office and made their own way by boat or by land. These remote places could be Trusan near Lawas, Pedawan, Ngemah, Beladin near Pusa, places they had never heard of before in their lives.

In 1970, my cousin was just happy enough to know that she was qualified and was to receive a handsome teacher's salary. With stars in her eyes and a heart to teach the diverse races of Sarawak she was ready for any challenges and hardship. Nothing was too tough for her because she had grown up on the lower banks of Sarawak and the college had given her the right orientation to serve the state with dedication, especially in the remote areas. She had gone to school in Chung Cheng Primary School, barefooted, and had to tap rubber before attending school!!

She remembered her first journey. It took her quite a few days to travel from Sibu to Pusa by stages. Because there was no direct road from Sibu to Pusa then, she went by coastal motor launches from Sarikei to Kabong, and then from Kabong to Pusa.

She said,"I was so brave at that time. Probably I did not even fear death!!"

Recent photo from Google of Pusa.

A few months later, her mother decided to check on her. Equally courageous, her mother my late aunt travelled from Sibu first by motor launch to Sarikei and then by a bigger motor launch.

She told her daughter that she "blindly" went from one place to another by asking people where to go and how to get there, in fact with no knowledge of any local languages.

When she reached the tiny village of Beladin, she was glad that she could see her daughter. She stayed for a few months to get the feel of t he place and realized that it was like any Chinese village in t he Rajang, except that the people were different and they spoke a different language. She and her daughter travelled by boat to see Debak, Pusa, Saratok and even Simanggang.

There was no government electricity. They used pressure lamps. They were not even able to buy their own generator.  There was no piped water so they depended on rain water collected during the wet season and well water during the drought.

My cousin collected her monthly pay in Pusa and my aunt accompanied her  there. Compared to her, my mother was so blessed because my younger sister was posted to Kwang Hua school. just one hour by boat from Sibu. Life was hard to imagine by many mothers who did not suffer like my aunt and other mothers whose daughters worked in remote areas.

It was not easy to see a daughter who was newly married and teaching in a rural school. Seeing each other was perhaps once a year at the most, or even twice in three years since travelling in Sarawak was difficult in those days. It was even worst for grandmothers who, in their old age could not travel at all and could only see their grandchildren who were working in remote places in Sarawak once in several years.

Here is a snap shot of those days of hardship. From Debak, my late aunt had to go by another small motor launch to Beladin which took one night and the next day she would reach the kampong.  There would be a lot of fishing boats moored by the river side. The jetties were not really wooden jetties as we Foochows would know of. They were just wooden posts for boats to tie up and the fishermen would just jump knee deep into the mud.

In the same way, during low tide, the travellers had to go knee deep in the mud when they alighted from the small motor launches.

It was just normal to do that. Upon reaching dry land, the travellers just had to wash off the mud!

Babies were carried on the back. It was the life style then.

When the tide was high, the motor launches could berth more easily and the passengers could just jump onto the bank at the estuary.

Beladin in those days was a fishing village. Fish were caught and traders would come to buy the fish and send them to Debak and other places around the village. The fishermen and t heir families prepared salted fish, dried fish maw and also processed jelly fish.

2021......Many fishermen are still doing small time fishing using small boats. But now deep sea fishermen from Beladin go more than 12 nautical miles away from the shore and fish. They usually land their catch in Kuching. Their boats are more powerful and they bring in better income. This is indeed a great progress since the 1970's.

The population of Beladin has grown to more than 20,000. The village has a good jetty for boats to berth.

The Rajang : Crossing the Rajang to Kanowit

I was a teacher in SEDAYA in 1975. The school had 2000 students and there were more than 80 teachers and 20 non academic staff. It was a very rural school, with most of the teachers staying in the campus and the school had a social life of its own.

I lived in the Principal's quarters on top of the hill. The house was rumoured to be haunted. I had some nightmares and even saw a white apparition but my friends said that I was very imaginative and some said it was because I was pregnant and it was normal to have nightmares.

As the house was fairly big, we shared the house with one Malay lady teacher Jauyah and two bachelor teachers. It was again for me a kind of  happy family arrangement, rather like an extended family. There was room enough for three kitchens.

What I remember most was our daily crossing of the Rajang to Kanowit town. The school was originally a school which was called Rural Agriculture Improvement School.

The school had a huge long boat and we all scrambled onto it immediately after the 4 pm bell to have Mushroom juice, or hot kopi O in one of the two coffee shops in Kanowit. We would buy our groceries at Hock Tong Seng, and perhaps buy some bread, hot from the oven.

Life was very normal, life was good. All the communist guerrillas seemed to have gone from the jungles behind our school.

Balingian : The Migration of Foochow

Balingian was a wooden Chinese (Hokkiens, Teo Chews and Hakkas) bazaar in the 1940's  then more than 100 km from Mukah by small boats. It was considered far from any town in Sarawak, hence a remote settlement.


Photo above by Pro Steve (Steve Ling) showing old wooden shop houses of Balingian - Kongsi House of the Foochows.

The Foochows started to settle down in Balingian in the early fifties, then known as "late comers". Several Chinese families from the Hakka, Chao Ann, Minnan and Teo Chew groups had already arrived.

When the timber industry started to gain momentum in Sarawak, many towns started to boom and Balingian was one of the centres of timber logging.

A group arrived in Balingian in the early 50's, working for the Foochow timber company, Hua Lee Sdn Bhd, owned by Datuk Hii Yu Chiong. All of a sudden the bazaar started to teem with incoming "migrant" workers from Sibu and elsewhere. Business started to pick up.

The early Foochows pooled their resources together to buy a Foochow Kongsi House in the bazaar to provide accomodation to the migrant workers. The Kongsi house was home to the Balingian Foochow Association which was actually set up as early as 1948. Today it has been sold and the proceeds was used to buy another building in Selangor.

The logging and sawmill  kept Balingian active until the early 2000, thus spanning almost half a century.

Many of the Foochow enterprises moved to Selangau when the Sarawak interior roads linking Sibu to Bintulu and Miri were constructed in the 80's.  Selangau became a thriving township and continues to grow as a significant pit stop along the Pan Borneo Highway.

The Foochow Association of Balingian also moved to Selangau. The distance between Selangau and Balingian is roughly 85 km and Selangau can be reached by boats, along the Balingian River.

Before 2007, there was a private wooden ferry (RM10.00 per vehicle and RM1.00 per passenger) serving this area. The Baligian is a large river that drains into the South China Sea.

The Balingian Bridge, constructed by Naim Cendera, connecting Balingian and Kuala Balingian, was completed in 2007.

Balingian town is surrounded by around 140 Iban longhouses and 6 Melanau  kampongs.Balingian has grown from a small bazaar town, located about 60 KM from Mukah to a modern township 

Source: Steve Ling, Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association.

Source : Wikipedia

Photos by Chua Cheng Choon

Oya : Tuanku Qedah Well

A long time ago, there was a trader who travelled around Mukah and the surrounding areas with his men and his big ship. According to a local legend, he had a magical stone,  and it was believed that it could make him disappear. He was able to do many good deeds. One day however he lost this precious stone in Oya.

There was also a story that he eventually made his way to Labuan.

The people of Oya believed that he helped their ancestors to prosper . One of the good deeds he did for the people of Oya was helping them find fresh water during a very severe drought. Today a  well in Oya is named in his honour.

The Kaul Festival ( a sea festival) held in Oya, Mukah, Dalat is to thank ancestors and the gods for bringing prosperity to the people.

Long Banga : Bamboo Tube cooked Rice

Long Banga  is a remote Saban settlement in the upper reaches of the huge Baram Valley. sited next to the small Banga river, it has about 100 families, mainly of the Saban ethnic group with some Kenyahs.

About 100 years ago, the Sabans migrated from Indonesia and finally settled down in the Banga valley. Some old ladies are still able to tell stories of how they walked for months as young ladies across the border to visit their relatives. A few still have tattoos made by their Indonesian relatives to show.

The Sabans continue to have their exquisite cuisine, and develop their art of using bamboo stems to cook rice and many other dishes.

Their bamboo being really long and with good walls have good stems between the nodes which are really good as cooking vessels!!

These stems or internodes are cut with a closed base and an open end. Washed rice (with or without coconut milk) is slipped into the bamboo stem which is lined by daun long or irik.

Once an adequate amount of rice is poured into the shaft, and water is added, the opening is closed with tapioca leaves. The bamboo stem is then put over a slow charcoal fire, at an angle of about 60 degrees. The slow cooking, and the slow turning of the bamboo stem will result in a long tube of perfectly cooked rice.


This is Ludia Apoi's family home, Lemidin, which is also a great homestay in Long Banga.

Long Banga Sabans also produce some of the best organic rice in Sarawak, and may be the whole of Borneo.

Photo shows bamboo stem rice cooked by Ludia Apoil, homestay manager of Lemidin Homestay, Long Banga. 

Mukah : Penakub, a Chinese Settlement

Group photo of Sibu members of Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association visitng Penakub, Mukah. October 25 2019.



Penakub, a old Chinese settlement with one row of wooden shop houses was probably established after 1901. The Chinese migrants  who arrived here were traders who came from Kuching and later some may be even Brunei to settle down here and raise their families in the serene backwaters of the Ulu Mukah River. At the height of its importance as a trading centre for Mukah river, there were 12 shop houses. The businessmen traded in sago, the most importnat product of Mukah and had the processed products sent to Kuching and other parts of Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya.

These traders also served the local Melanaus and other ethnic groups well.  Small jetties were constructed on the river bank and small boats from all the kampongs along the Mukah river arrived to do business and to buy up goods too.

 Today it is a quiet Chinese settlement, still mainly dependent on River Mukah for transport. But since the 1990's roads have changed the life style of these residents, bringing them into the exciting 21st century.

A boat building enterprise is thriving here. A small primary school, SJK Ek Hua, established in 1927, and temple , put up in 19 17 ,continue to serve the Chinese community.

Marudi : Cabbage Rolls

It was a very interesting walk around Marudi when I chanced upon a shopkeeper laying out several dishes on a long table on the five foot way. She was a good cook, as she had several dishes on the table for her children who must have come home from strenous playing. It was school holidays and I was in Marudi for just a break.

The shopkeeper was Foochow and she was so polite as to invite me to sit down with her and her children. It is a true mark of Foochow courtesy extended to travellers. It is the traditional habit of foochows to provide a meal for people who walk a long distance from somewhere (and to another place).

(Photo taken 29th October, 2014, Five Foot Way Lunch, Kampong Cina)


In fact many old Foochow travellers in the olden days who asked for directions would often be offered tea and even a bowl of noodles. My maternal grandmother was very generous. Any one passing her house in Nang Chong and it was past lunch time, would be invited to have at least some rice with vegetable soup and some salted pork. Many people remembered her kindness and in her later years, they would pay for her bowl of fish balls or noodles in town if they met her.

This traditional Foochow hospitality is something I do have as a Foochow. Foochows who are Methodists practise the teachings of John Wesley and the teachings of Confucius, carry on this kind of love for their fellowmen.

"To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness."

By the way, I did not eat a whole meal with the shopkeeper but I did taste her cabbage roll. She was very happy that I tried. I won't forget her kindness.

Mukah : Ek Hua Primary School

The Ek Hua Primary School of Mukah was established in 1927 by four Chinese pioneers, Tai Ah Suok, Kueh Chi Ming, Ho Tian Chai and Kueh Woo Sien.

The school used the Fook San Temple (established in 1917) before the school building was completed. Its first Headmaster Mr. Ho was specially recruited from China by the management.

Closed during the Japanese War it was reopened in 1947 and is still a small but vibrant primary school serving the Chinese, Melanau and Iban communities today.

The school is situated in Kampong Panakub, the first Chinese settlement of Mukah, which is also called Kampong Cina. It is one of the few Kampong Cina in the coastal regions of Sarawak. The Chinese chose the upper reaches of Sg. Tellian, the life line of Mukah people, to settle down. This was most probably due to their fear of pirates, floods and strong sea storms.

Source : United Daily News. 2013, Oct 25. Page 5 ( from Dr. Wan Kong Ann)

Mukah : Ready Breakfast

In many small towns, little food stalls have "ready" breakfast on the table.

The food mainly kuih, pulut panggang, bao,tapai , cakoi, nasi lemak, porridge and hard boiled eggs are placed on the tables. Any one  sitting at the table would pick the food and pay later. A drink like hot tea or coffee is ordered. A small stall with 4 or 5 tables would have a brisk morning's business, served probably by one man or woman (the stall owner).

This  market eating stalls in Mukah are always full of people. Men and women who came to the market early in the morning to buy the best fresh fish would enjoy a good breakfast without any fuss. Sometimes during the holidays children will come with their parents or grandparents, making it a good day's outing.

For some senior men, it could be a coffee morning, every day.


His definitely has his loyal customers.

Choose and eat is a very traditional way of serving customers in small towns.



The food offered is very delightful and really warms the heart. There is no cooking facilities. Only coffee and tea making facilities.

Mukah : Umai

Mukah is a small town in Sarawak and has many historical significances.

The name itself might have come from the word "muka" or face in the local langauge. But it is most probably named after the river as it is found at the mouth.

The raw fish dish is a favourite of the Melanaus who are the main ethnic group of this area. Umai is made from freshly caught fish like ikan empirang, duai (pomfrte) and tenggiri (mackerel).


There are more than 15 stalls which sell freshly made umai at 10 ringgit a box. This is the unique feature of Mukah town. No where else do fishmongers prepare slices of fresh fish for umai and sell in this way.

Recipe for Fish Umai :

1 kg fresh tenggiri or duai puteh (pomfret) or any white fish. Ikan empriang is the best.
Juice of 2 lemons 
Extra 1 or 2 tablespoons of good vinegar if you like
Juice of 15 green limes (limau kasturi)
1 bud of bunga kechala or kantan (wild torch ginger) finely sliced
5 small onions - finely sliced
3 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
Coriander leaves
daun sup (sawtooth coriander)

Slice the fish flesh very finely and mix with salt, lime juice and lemon juice
f.  Cut chillies

g. Salt+ pepper to taste
h. Coriander and /or daun sup
Slice the fish fillet very finely and mix with the salt, lime juice and vinegar. 

Add sliced bunga kechala, coriander, daun sup, cut chillies. Mix well and chill in fridge for 20 minutes or until the fish turns white.

Sarikei : Special Charcoal Toasted Bread

The Aik Seng Coffee shop of Sarikei has more than 80 years of history as it was started by the Wong family who originated from Changle, Fujian. Today the shop is run by the second generation.

The charcoal stove which toasts the bun for the roti kahwin is just as old.

According to local history, GRandfather Wong was one of the victims of the Pulau Kidjang tragedy, a maritime disaster of enermous gravity. More than 200 victims perished. Many bodies could not be identified and even more passengers were never found. There was no manifest to check with. Today an unmarked grave in the Kwangfoo Cemetery remains solitary and melancholic.

Every visitor arriving in SArikei would make a bee line towards this coffee shop for a taste of the kaya and peanut butter and real butter roti kahwin and enjoy their Kopi.





In a visit recently we were taken to the coffee shop by Dr. Lu Chan Woon and the Chinese community leader.


It was a lovely visit to Sarikei.

And of course no visit is complete without tasting roti kahwin of Aik Seng.

Matu Daro Oya

Matu, Daro and Oya are three coastal towns of Sarawak. Oya is found at the mouth of the Oya River. Daro is found at the mouth of the Rajang, flowing into Muara Lassa. Matu is between Oya and Daro.



Daro is a small town with about 20,000 people, mainly from the Melanau community.
(Photo of Daro)

Matu is a small town with two rows of wooden shop houses. It is reachable by road and by coastal boats.

(Oya River)

Oya is the town next to Mukah. It is connected to Dalat which is connected to Sibu by the Kut canal. Travellers from Mukah would go by road to Oya and the Dalat in less than an hour, and then take a speed boat to Sibu, via Kut canal, Igan River. This takes about 2 hours. It is an adventure by river!!

Dalat's Chinese Temple.

Dalat is a nice place to visit. However remember no shops would be opened after five p.m. So have your dinner before that time.

Simanggang Airport 1957

Yes there was an airport in Simanggang (now named Sri Aman). It was built in the 1950's.
Its construction started in February 1957. It had a grass runway of 2,400 feet and 90 feet wide. The land was originally rubber land, and was above flood level.




During the Confrontation period, the airfield was mainly used by the British army.

Rivers were the main mode of communication in the early days and few would have the financial standing to fly.

However, many Foochow business men did fly from Sibu to Simanggang as the road in the 1950's and 1960's was very poor. Apart from them most government officers enjoyed the air service made available.

Most people would take a boat from Simanggang, sail down the Lupar river and reach Sibu via the Rajang River. 

Secondary school students in those years would also sail on a Chinese motor launch to Kuching, and from there they would take a sea going vessel to go to Miri to attend a school like Tanjong Lobang School.

The Chendol Maker of Bintulu

More than 70 years ago when this ice shaver was invented in South East Asia, many children did not have enough pocket money even to buy a simple ICE Ball or "Kantong Peng". I have never found out how to write the Kantong in Chinese though. I often wonder how that term originated from.

Shaved ice ball was a luxury to me too. And Red Bean Ice was even more luxurious because none of use had refrigerators at home in the 50's in Sibu. I still remember visit a wealthy relative near Lee Hua Sawmill and we were shown the outside, the back and inside of the kerosene run fridge.

The Sibu Wet Market had a portion selling chendol, ang tou peng, and rojak. It was a good place to rest and relax in the 60's and 70's. Today it is still there but it is probably the biggest wet market in the whole of Malaysia.

This ice shaver I found in Bintulu should already be a museum exhibit but she is still using it. Stall no 57 Bintulu Tamu. A kind lady Mrs. Chua (from Malacca) brought me to visit her because of my interest in vintage things.

The stall owner's grandfather in law made it when they started their business of making chendol, ais kacang etc. in the Bintulu open air market.

She said that her fingers are often numbed from handling the ice, but she won't get an electric ice shaver. She will continue to use this!!

Amazing food producer.

Sungei Kut

The first time I travelled to Mukah was the year Three Rivers School organised the Soft Ball tournament for schools. Our school team under Miss Fries got very excited as we were to travel by river boat and we would be away for more than four days. And for that, many of us were to be away from home for the first time with school mates and staying in a school in the rural area. Many parents were not too willing to let us go.

And furthermore we were to sleep in classrooms, and not in homes. There were not hotels in Mukah for any one in those days.

To travel to Mukah by river boat , we had to sail down the Igan from Sibu and then take the small man made canal called Kut to Dalat. And from Dalat we sailed down the Oya River for about 20 km, to the river mouth and then we sailed fairly near to the sea coast for another 20 km to reach Mukah. It was quite a long journey. Luckily none of us were sea sick and we did not even ask Miss Fries if she felt comfortable or not. We as kids just thought that adults fared better than us!!

Actually the Sungei Kut is just a very short canal and it is just about 50 feet wide.

But in those going to Mukah by river motor launch was like going to the other side of the world. We girls in the Softball team will never forget our trip to Three Rivers School.

　　Map showing The Igan, and the Oya Rivers.

Today, almost 50 years later, the journey may still be the same, but we have several choices : by boat, by road and even by air, from Sibu to Mukah. There is a good road from Sibu to Daro, then Matu, and from Matu one can drive up to Igan, Oya and finally Mukah. It will take less than a day to reach Mukah. In those long ago days, it took one whole day from Sibu to Mukah. If the tide was low, a bigger motor launch would have to wait for the water level in Sungei Kut to rise and passengers might even reach Mukah about midnight!!

Today Sungei Kut is lined with small wooden houses or huts and they are all so pretty to photographers.

The distance between Kampong Kut and Sibu is only 90 km, while the Igan will reach the South China after it has meandered around for 130 km from Sibu!!


Today, Kampung Kut has a Chinese primary school called Pai Yuk founded in 1957. The two rows of 15 shops are all Chinese owned. These Chinese are Hokkien, Foochow and Teo Chiew dialect speaking people. The primary school has a population of 100+ and it has only one pure Chinese student!!The rest are Malay, Melanau and children of mixed Chinese Malay or Melanau backgrounds. (Ref : Steve Ling)


　


　

Photo by Steve Ling. This is a Hainanese man who has been operating the only coffee shop in Sungei Kut for over 40 years.

Today there is a new road and it is on the other side of the kampong.
Passengers from Sibu, using speedboat will stop at the jetty in front of the shops. those who wish to come over to this side of the stream, have to jump into a long boat, and drive over, which is just a few meters away!!

this is Sungei Kut's lifestyle!!

Twin Ottering in Sarawak : Journey to Bario

The Twin Otter has long been associated with Sarawak's rural air service. It is one of the most functional and safest small planes in the world.





My Sibu journalist friend (from See Hua Daily News) travelling for the first time by Twin Otter to Bario...We will be flying to more smaller towns in SArawak on Twin Otters in the near future for my writing and photography adventures.



Will the Wings of Love give us MORE joy in Sarawak? Wait and see.


Look at the flap door hanging high about the ground...

May you see blue skies, white clouds and clear water always. May fair winds be behind you and may strangers become friends after a good first handshake...

Bario Homestay

All these photos are copied from the Internet to help my friends from Sibu know more about Bario. In another posting I will be able to give a more personal introduction to Bario. For the moment, this posting is for your info only  ahead of your Bario trip in the near future. I will be able to supply more telephone contacts too.

Besides, one of the places you must visit and write about is the Bario Radio Station. So stay tuned....You can cycle all you want in Bario. No traffic at all and you can break all the rules. (Photos by Audrey Lui)

A pretty homestay in Bario...

A nice map.Joanna owns the homestay near the Bario Airport. Two very happy Inner Wheelers who have enjoyed staying with her.

Simanggang or Sri Aman

The latest Foochow Event is in Sri Aman in the last few days. Thousands of Foochows came for the Foochow Association Anniversary. The guests were given FREE meals in certain shops in Sri Aman. That was a real treat from the Simanggang Foochow Association. Well Done SFA!!

My friend Law Vun Ngee has shared many photos on his fb and with some photos I could write a post on Simanggang or Sri Aman for you.






My mother's cousin, a daughter of Headman lau Kah Tii, Lau Hung Ing married Tang Yew Tung at a tender age because the two saw each other before they were match made. Teacher Tang was engaged as a teacher for the new settlement of Ensurai by Grand Uncle Lau Kah Tii.

A very loving relationship was formed which turned into a very good marriage. Although Teacher Tang was very poor and also sickly, he was a good man. Together they had 7 sons and 2 daughters. Having 9 children was fairly normal in those days. although my grand uncle was extremely wealthy, my aunt never received a single cent as a daughter after she got married. Her dowry which she brought to her husband was a decent 10 acres of rubber garden in Tui Hoo, next to Hiong Ga (or Fragrant Uncle), which in those days, was very grand indeed. Even by today's standards, 10 acres of land is a gargantuan dowry. This helped the couple to raise their children until they were adults and able to earn a living.

Tang Chok Ching, the eldest moved to Simanggang to do business and Chok Lik became a Headmaster in the same town in the 50's. From that time onwards my aunt was in better financial position. Two other sons, Chok Tiing and Chok Ming went to teach in Miri and stayed on.

The Foochows traditionally distributed their landed property to their sons (and their eldest grandson) only if they died without leaving a will. They would never leave any property to their daughters or children of their daughters.

Only some in the olden days left some property to their daughters.

My mum has a great sense of justice and she has always been rather vocal about property rights of children. She felt extremely sad when her cousins and her siblings and herself were not able to inherit property from their parents. If she had lived in China she would have carried a red flag and cried "Down with chauvinism!!"

I am glad that she has brought us up to believe that we girls are equal to boys and that we too should inherit properties belonging to our parents.

Hoover Hotel. Photo by Borneo Tip

Taiwan / Alishan HotelNo. 123 Council Road,95000 Sri AmanTel : 083-322497Fax : 083-321167
My late cousin Tang Chok Ching owned the Alisan Hotel in Sri Aman for many years until he passed away.Today the Alisan Hotel is also called Taiwan Hotel. My Aunt Lau Hung Ing lived to a very riped old age, surrounded by loving children and grand children. I remember her as a loving, gentle,soft spoken, Christian Foochow lady, who never allow her Bible to be out of sight in her bed room. She had a grateful heart!! Today many of her children and grand children continue to serve God in many different ways, in Miri, Sibu ,Simanggang , Kuching, and Singapore. This is the small link between Simanggang and the Second Foochow Headman, Lau Kah Tii.

TS.K. Airport, Belaga

There is indeed a school called S.K. Airport in Belaga








Here you are...a site map to show where you can find the school in Belaga.

Belian bridge to the school staff quarters of SK Airport( Photo by http://faizaleda.blogspot.com)