A White Apek Single would do...

 Peter Wong a retired teacher and education office now residing in Kuching sent this photo to me.

What he has on was called Ah Pek Shirt (actually a singlet) which was considered a clothing which coud be worn in the public any time in those days.

Such a singlet was even good enough to visit the Resident in the government office. It was worn by wharf labourers, trishaw drivers and boat men throughout Sarawak. No one would have felt under dressed in those days,

It was also worn by basketballers and wolley ballers. 

Great memories,

Memories of Grandmother

 In the last 8 yers of mny maternal grandmother's life she was blind. her blindness was caused by glaucoma and in those days medical facilities were not like today's. the Sibu hospital could not removed the glaucoma as she was deemed too old to have the surgety. Besides Sibu was not even blessed by a good specialist .

Grandma lived with her handicapp and her children and grandchildren adjusted to her plight.

Today I share with you my grandmother's love for Quaker Oats.

One of her favourite meals, without disturbing uncles or aunties in the old house in Nang Chong was Quaker Oats. Something she could make on her own. Third Aunt gave her a flask of hot water, spoon, bowl, cup etc and she felt her way around in her life of darkness,

She would ask Third Aunty to get someone to buy Quaker Oats of Old Man Oats when she felt that her tin was half empty.

It would be my mum or Aunty Yung or a good nephew who would sed a tin of Quaker Oats down river. Down river was a term we learned from the Colonial days. Up river means the parts of the Rajang which was above Sibu.

Grandma would be circulated perhaps 2 months each time Third Uncle moved her. First Uncle lived in Pigeon Road Sibu, When she was with First Uncle my mother and Aunty Yung would visit morre often bringing food to the family and grandma. First Uncle was then a retired barber and wharf labourer. Life with him was not too bad as his children were humble and loving. First Uncle would piggy back grandma when she wanted to visit a doctor likke Dr., Ding Siew Hua.

In those days not many old people had wheel chairs. It was always a son who could piggy back his mother. Praise God for First Uncle.

Second Uncle was working in the logging camp so he was unable to host grandma. Second Aunty as the daughter in law would welcome grandma once in a while. She would cook chicken soup or make beef soup to send to grandma . She was busy too looking after her own grand children.

Third Uncle was the breadwinner who put food on the table, in the house at Nang Chong, downriver, not far from Bawang Assan.

Observing the goings on in those days I took in the great understanding of family connectivity and love.

An old mother with visual impairment needs the love and kindness of all family members.

Grandma was absoultely humble and loveable. Her sons and daughters rallied around her to provide most of the things she needed. She also had one good son in law to depend on,.

She longed to see her fourth son Lau Pang Teck who was in China. 4th Uncle Pang Teck left Sibu in 1954 to study in Beijing Univeristy. But he was actually scammed. He did work with machinery but he never obtain his engineering degree. He got married and had a son who later commuunicated with the family. He was sponsored two trips to visit Sibu happily. Uncle named him dragon. But he never saw his grandma. 

At times when I looked at grandma stiring her Quaker Oats breakfast I believe she was really thinking about her sons and daughters . She missed them in her quiet ways. And I listened to her and put many of her stories in my own memory bank.

She passed away in 1985. 

Mum's 99th Birthday in Heaven

 
Today is my mother's 99th birtthday. She passed away in 2020.

When she was alive for her own birthday she would make a simple preparation.

Early in the morning she would take out her well dried longevity noodles from the tin. The noodles looked so tempting because they were while neat rolls of goodness. Even a whiff of the well dried wheat threads would get you hungry for a good soup noodle.

then she would boil her freshly slaughtered chicken. Mum never wasted her money to get the market lady to dress her chicken. She must do the slaughtering herself until she was very advanced in her age.

Her chicken soup was always with a few dried shitake mushrooms and hardboiled eggs.

We would have brunch and she would therefore pass a year of her life's calendar.

Bundles of Soh Mien

 

My Ngie Mah was best in drying soh mien in the sun.

Our neighbour in Brooke Drive, the Ting family were soh mien makers. So they would always give us the best soh mien (in 5 katis or 10 katis in those days) tied with a red thread per set.

When we took the soh mien home on the day ngie mah came to visit she would carefully made little "zi" or bundles like in the photo to dry in the huge bamboo tray meant for drying food!!

Grandma's handiwork was perfect, each one would be exactly the same size. She would tell us that the cook would easily and evenly cook the soh mien in the boiling water and no one would complain of undercooked soh mien. Or no one would complain that her share was a smaller amount.

Having equal sizes of soh mien would also mean that drying them was easier, without finding out any one bundle being under sunned!!

Grandma was always a good and happy worker.

How we loved her handiwork.

The Jetties along the Igan

 Several jetties are found on the left bank of the Igan. Before the Igan Bridge was built, ferries brought people and motor cycles from Sg. Bidut, Penasu and Bawan Assan, Ensurai, cross the Igan river to Sibu.

Many years ago, when my family wanted to visit relatives in Sg. Bidut, we had to make an appointment with them so that they could pick us up from Kampong Nangka. Today, from Kampong Nangka we can take a fast ferry to several jetties . It is very convenient. The ferries have been in use for many decades.

This is a photo of a big jetty. a double decker motor launch berths at its side to rest for the night.

This is a smaller jetty witgh a ferry on the Igan River. Ferries are the life lines of the people who live along the Igan River. They have to go to work in sibu, earn a living and raise families. Some schools are also built along the Igan River to serve the kampongs. Traditional rice farming and fishing are still being carried out along the river.

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.

Mrs. JB Chong

 As a child I was often brought by my father to see his beloved and only aunt, Mrs. JB Chong in Queensway. 

He would drive his jeep to see her and she would reward him with some rambutans from her trees in the garden, I cannot now remember whether my father ever brought Ikan bertutu (marble goby) from his fish traps laid in the streams behind our house in Brooke Drive. But I do remember my father would pass messasges to her from my grandfather. My grandfather and Mrs. JB Chong were related  by marraige. My grandmother Chong was Mrs. Chong's sister in law.

When it comes to relations many people cannot follow the intricate connections and most young people avoid talking about in laws and relatives.

Some just shrug off and say better not to know.

But from a young age I was interested in cultural relationships and social ties. I find them most interesting and I do have a good memory for most cultural things. I have no problem remembering dates, events and names of people in history. Today I find it harder to remember figures and telephone numbers especially.

Now here I remember Mrs. JB Chong's kebayas, the embroidery and her precious photos. I remember the lay out of her garden which she probably replicated from some Singapore gardens she remembered.

I remember her scents and her powder and the way she combed her her in a nice bun or sangol. She never failed to tell us about her Peranakan history and the way food should be cooked. but later in life, she allowed her daughter in law, my aunt Meng toh to do the cooking without her supervision.

We all loved aunt Meng Toh to bits. Uncle Chung Sing her husband and first born of Mrs. JB Chong was a very very taciturn and talented pianist.

Mrs. JB or Ging Boh (Grand Aunt) was fond of entertaining visitors and relatives. According to my mother one of the best parties she ever saw was her birthday. She had her birthday photo taken and she gave that photo to every one dear to her. My father received one and kept in his album !!

My grandfather called my father BOHYINg (Poh King, his birth name) but my fatheer was DAI Gong to Grand Aunt . Dai Gong was his school name. In those days most Foochows had two names.