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| Sri Aman Town (Simanggang) |
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| Simanggang Sentral Proposed Single Storey Market cum Bus Terminal |
Simanggang Sentral
Proposed Single Storey Market cum Bus Terminal
Sri Aman Town is transforming into a new township with a new hospital, an open air market and an adjoining central bus terminal.
The RM7 million open air market have a total of 100 stalls in the dry market section and 140 stalls in the wet market section.
Traders from the current open air market will shift to this new market which would be more comfortable and conducive for their business.
The present open air market will then be demolished to make way for eight units of a three-storey shop house.
The long overdue Sri Aman Hospital is now ongoing construction. The hospital is already in the second phase of construction which started on Oct 25, 2015 and expected completion by October 2018. This second phase of the hospital cost RM176 million.
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Rumah Sri Aman (former
BritishResidency)
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At that time, I did not know who stay in this house then. What attracted my attention was English songs flowing out of these windows. Those days with no Hi-Fi no Mp3 no even cassette-taps, Simanggang was a quiet and tranquil colonial settlement. With no other musical, these songs mean entertainment to me. That “white house” played the same few songs often. Most probably from an old record of those days played on a gramophone.
J. F. Drake-Brockman was the British Residency between 1962 to 1963.
My father was a government department clerk. We stay in a wooden government quarter on a hill slop few hundred meters opposite this white house. In between is a low wet grass field where they play football. Facing this big white house was two wooden windows of our kitchen. From our windows we hear songs played from the White House. The Resident’s music entertainment also entertained me and very often I listen to intensely.
Two of the English songs burnt into my memories. That two unique songs I could not forget. Recently I tried to Goggled from the internet but with vain result.
How the two songs like:
1- A man is signing while a dog would bark alone “Woh… Woh”. This song has a phase “ow….ow…baradi”
2- A lady is singing sadly with a baby crying at the background. This is a sad song.
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Shen's Grave located below the hill slop of Fort Alice.
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SHEN'S GRAVE
According to the information found on its wooden grave, this grave was built in the year of Tongzhi (1862), belonged to Shen Dasun, from Huamwi Village in Chaoan District, China. In mid 1970's, Mr. Tan, the owner of Chop Eng Kee, Simanggang, rebuilt a stone mark for this grave. The details of this historical grave can be found on pages 156-157 in the Souvenior Book of Official Opening of the New Ciyin Temple (published on 31-1-1993) On 18-4-1997, the members of History Unit, Sarawak Chinese Associationand the associatio's Sri Aman Division Working Committee members made a study regarding this grave. In 1998, with the cooperation of the Cultural dan Education UNit of Sri Aman Division Federation of Chinese Association and Benevolent Society Simanggane, this grave was beautified and maintained as a historical exhibit. This unique grave and many others which are not discovered today, marked the presence of early Chinese settlers in Simanggang who may arrived before 1864 - the year whe Alice Fort was built.
Cultural and Education Unit
of Sri Aman Division Federation of Chinese Association
5 April 1998
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Mike Boon completed the restoration of Fort Alice in 2015. Fort Alice became one of the 14 tropical forts the White Rajahs built in a century that are still standing. It was built more than 150 years ago and was the first to be properly restored.
Fort Alice was built in 1864. Today it became the oldest heritage building in Sri Aman (Simanggang).
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| View of Lupar river from Fort Alice |
View
of Lupar river from Fort Alice
The newly completed
Fort Alice was closed on the day I was there. So Lim and I only
wandered around the fort.
The fort was restored at
RM5million in about 30 months by Mike Boon and his restoration team.
Mike Boon completed the restoration of Fort Alice in 2015. Fort Alice became one of the 14 tropical forts the White Rajahs built in a century that are still standing. It was built more than 150 years ago and was the first to be properly restored.
Today
it is a museum.
The fort's structure is important in terms of its classic belian architecture. And it tells the story of Simanggang and its surrounding development. The fort is also part of my childhood memories. I used to walk alone the road below the fort when going to town. It was painted white and served as prison those days. Once in a while a small group of prisoners in white prisoner uniform would come to do grass cutting opposite my house. They were supervised only by a prison guard. Opposite my house was a semi circle piece of empty space sometimes used to keep stones and sands for construction. So I used to go to play on that empty space walking up and down the marble stones piles. That semi circle empty land, as big as a basketball field, was facing Simanggang town slightly down below. Over the this piece of space was slop down to Simanggang town, before that was two or three row of longhouse style government quarter of policemen.
The fort's structure is important in terms of its classic belian architecture. And it tells the story of Simanggang and its surrounding development. The fort is also part of my childhood memories. I used to walk alone the road below the fort when going to town. It was painted white and served as prison those days. Once in a while a small group of prisoners in white prisoner uniform would come to do grass cutting opposite my house. They were supervised only by a prison guard. Opposite my house was a semi circle piece of empty space sometimes used to keep stones and sands for construction. So I used to go to play on that empty space walking up and down the marble stones piles. That semi circle empty land, as big as a basketball field, was facing Simanggang town slightly down below. Over the this piece of space was slop down to Simanggang town, before that was two or three row of longhouse style government quarter of policemen.
I believe this semi circle space was used as
daily assembly point for flag rising in the early days of the
British. So some point between my house and the space should
have one or two flag pole standing. And that the wooden quarter we
were staying in was earlier the quarter of a high ranking offices.
As time progress and batter living quarters were build for
government servants at other locations. The big wooden quarter was
vacant and downgraded to quarter for ordinary staff and allocated to
my father who has a big family of 4 children. (Later 6 children by
the time we moved out. That means the two sisters were born while
living in this quarter.).
And that semi circle piece of
land originally believed to be used as government officers assembly
point was left to wild grasses and used as a storage space of stones
and sands became my playground in the 1961 to 1964.
But there was certain part were maintained.
That was a ring of plant-fencing at the outer skirt of the semi
circle before the slopping down the hills. This fencing was using
red bibiscurt plants planted in a semi circle row of about 2 feet
thick. These red hybiscuit flower was later regarded as
Malaysia National flower. Hybiscult plant grow tall fast.
However this plant-fencing was often maintain at wrist height by
"gardeners". These "gardeners" were the prisoners from Fort Alice
who would lead by a prison guard police to come to trim this fencing
and cut the surrounding grasses.
In the middle of the semi circle was an opening
for foot path down the slop to the police barrage then across a
wooden food bridge over a drain. Across the drain one
enter to Simamggang town centre.
This drain was about 3 feet in
wide and was not a ordinary household drain of domestic water. It
also flow with clear and almost clean water travel down as far as
from the Government Resident a kilometre away.
Simamggang is a high rainfall location where it
rain every afternoon during the monsoon season. Rainwater accumulate
and flow toward Lupar River. Rainwater from the hills behind the
British Resident white house flow down from small streams passing
the football field (today the sport ground), passing a primary
school (today the ???), entering a larger streams beside the main
road (today the new township), passing the Simamggang Theatre (today
the Theatre Hotel), passing by the police barrages (today the
concrete shop lots), passing under a wooden footbridge then into
Simamggang River via the back of Wet market (today the wet market
cum open market).
That
wooden footbridge was where I cross almost every day to school.
The wooden footbridge was narrow and I always walk across cautiously
looking down carefully my footsteps. And I always see schools of
small fishes in the clear stream water.
Today, the streams were still there flowing as
they have always been for hundreds years or thousands of years. The
stream water in Sri Aman town centre is still "clear" as before in
the 1960s when I saw them during my childhood. This is a
natural gift of Sri Aman and I never ever able to see clear stream
water from hills flowing pass a town the reast of life be it in
Kuching Town (now city), Kota Kinabalu Town (now city), Tawau Town
(most dirty town I every lived in Malaysia).
City and Towns are always networked with drains
contaminated human waste water harmful to human life and even to
animals like dog and cats.
So the clear mountain water with school of
fishes flowing pass a town like Sri Aman is quite a blessing from
God the nature. I wish these clear streams of Sri Aman still
continue flow for hundreds of years if not thousands.
But today, human environment in Malaysia is
decorating not upgrading. New town ship of new market, new bus
terminal, new shopping lots, building right besides these centuries
old mountain streams. It needs only a few years to see human waste
water replaced these mountain stream water.
Very soon Sri Aman lost the tranquillity and
healthy environment of once Simamggang.
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I wanted to enter to see the newly restored
Fort Alice but its official opening will only be in a few days time.
By then I have left and hope for the next coming.
Fort Alice was built in 1864. Today it became the oldest heritage building in Sri Aman (Simanggang).
It was constructed following the
victory of Rajah Charles Brooke over Rentap, the last of the major Iban chieftains. The Fort was named
after Charles Brooke’s wife, Margaret Alice Lili de Windt. It served
as a defensive structure controlling the Lupar River.
For restoration, this 150 year old fort was completely knocked down and rebuilt. It
opened its doors again on 18 April 2015 as a friendly and pleasant museum.
Fortunate that Sri Aman still
has some of these Sarawak historical buildings protected.
Fort Alice has a narrow escape from a almost
successfully “sold” by its local authority to a private commercial
developer untill a protection group partner with Sarawak Museum to
take over to finance its restoration.
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| Old photo in Taman Panorama Benak exhibition hall at Sri Aman |
Old photo in Taman Panorama Benak exhibition hall at Sri Aman
Morning visited an exhibition with Lim. The main entrance was locked. We entered from side doors. We are the only two visitors.
In the exhibition are some old black white photographs of Simanggang during the 1950s and 1960s.
This above image of Simanggang is very similar of the Simanggage when I was there in 1961 to 1964.
Simanggang is a location with high rainfall. Town people have the habit of carry an umbrella. The umbrellas in those years were made of oil paper from China. There were two type of umbrella separately for men and women. The bigger one in brown colour is for man and the smaller lighter with colourful pattents are for girls.
During raining season, the rain usually lasted for the whole afternoon nonstop. These were the time I have to carry an umbrella to school. Usually an old umbrella of the father. (The new one reserved for him). The big brown umbrellas are heavier. The lady's smaller and lighter umbrella were most suitable for boys. But the boys does not feel comfortable to carry the smaller umbrella that means for the girls.
A couple of times I forgot to bring back my umbrella. At one time the umbrella was still in the classroom the next day. At another time my umbrella was gone. Its an old worn umbrella so the adult at home does not boarder about the lost.
And when I went to Sunday school the umbrellas were kept beside the upper stair corner. At that time Methodist Church was renting a 2nd floor corner house in the town centre. The space in the shop house both Sunday School and Adult services. Sunday Children Class will start first. After the class finished the children free up the long sitting benches when the adult started to come and continue with the Sunday worship. A couple of years later, the new church building in Fu Chao Ba completed. It was one of the biggest and tallest concrete buildings at that time. Children classes occupies the two lest and right wing rooms. We had decent classrooms now. And after the classes we have big space to run around the church building. And beside the church compound were all wet land bushes. The nearest houses were the British government staff quarter not too far away before reaching the church.
Though the members of Methodist Church in Simanggang were majority Foo Chow people. The Sunday schools and Sunday worship were conducted in Mandarin language. Foo Chow was used only for necessary explanation. I grew up with no ability to understand or speak Foo Chow even though my peer group are Foo Chow children. (Their parents wanted they to speak Mandarin)
One of my classmate Ling Shau Shu's wooden house was near by in a cut down forest.
One of my Sunday school teacher was Hwang Bin Xian. His father was Reverent Hwang of the church. Hwang Bin Xian only came to be teacher only occasionally when he return to Simamggang. Most of his time was in Kuching where he was working? teaching?
Few years later I completed my primary school. In middle of 1966 my father chartered a taxi to Dragon School bringing me to see the school master in order to be admitted to continue my secondary school. In entering the principle room I was surprise that Hwang Bin Xian was the principal himself. He could not recognize me as his Sunday school pupil a few times in Simamggane.
We visited the student hostel. Small group in each room. Each has a bed and a cupboard. Behind the hostel was slops with tall grasses. Nice and quiet environment.
I liked the school. But the Principal Hwang could not accept me directly. Most probable this procedure had to be go through the Education Officer in Kuching Town.
So we return to town. Went to see the education officer office at the square white building in front the Post Office. I remember walking up the dark brown wooden wide stair case to the up floor.
When we left the building, I was admitted into Kuching High School. I completed my 5 years secondary school in Kuching High School in 1972.
And that white concrete square building is today Textile Museum. Opposite the building still remind as the Post Office.
