News - Sarikei (Episode 4) on Astro AEC, 20th Dec 9pm . Part 5

The barber business is very competitive.

In the early 20th century, the Foochow had reached Sarikei. One of the more representative trades of the Foochow is the barber industry. The Old Place barber shop is co-managed by Liu Gong Bao 刘宝恭 and Huang Yong Sheng 黄永胜. The 57-year-old Liu Gong Bao has been in this line for 40 years. His dad, the 94-year-old Liu Bang Zi 刘邦 X, supported the family with his barber trade and his two sons also inherited his skills till today.

"I started learning barber skills at 16. The barber trade in my father's days was more vibrant because people trim their hair every 20 days,"said Liu Gong Bao. Initially his customers were mainly Chinese but today Ibans and Malays have become his customers.

Source: See Hua Daily News, 19 Dec 2009

Submitted by Desmond Chen

His brother, Liu Gong Yao 刘宝耀, and his friend, Zhu Yu Xiong 朱宝雄 ,also started a barber shop called Everyone's Fine 大家好. " The more matured folks go for 'army cut' or 'navy cut'. The younger ones keep long hair for an 'aeroplane cut'," explained Liu Gong Yao.

"Now our prices are very poor because of a lot of competition. Our old shop depends on regular customers, " lamented Zhu Yu Xiong.

Side picture caption:
In Sarikei, inter-marriage between Chinese and Ibans is common. The 80-year-old Chen Qiu's 陈求 father was a Cantonese and his mum was an Iban. He has also been married to an Iban wife for 50 years.




Pineapple planting as a hobby

In the early years of Sarikei, besides pepper planting, pineapples were also grown. Sarikei pineapples are widely accepted for its fragrance and sweetness. These experienced Sarikei siblings, Weng Yue Nan 翁宇南 and Weng Lai Man 翁来满, have a pineapple plantation at Bukit Huang, on an island at Rejang River not far opposite Sarikei wharf. Every morning, they will ride their motorbikes from their home to their plantation to work.

"From young till now, we are used to it and we will continue doing it, "said Wang Lai Man who works under the scorching sun everyday. To manage the plantation well, the first task is the hard work of getting rid of the fast growing weeds but she enjoys the work.

Pineapple planting needs a lot of work and patience to wait for it to bloom (3 months) and for it to ripen. "Pineapple plating is not like planting vegetables where harvest can begin after 1 month. We need 1 to 1.5 years for pineapples."

"People asked me why I don't change jobs. No choice ah. I love and like pineapples a lot. It's a hobby. It brings me happiness and hope." Pineapples bring her a sense of satisfaction and this has influenced her two kids who also help in the plantation after school.




Mee suah making - Foochow specialty

Foochow is no stranger to mee suah noodle. When there is a celebration or festival, Foochow gather to savour mee suah because it has a good omen for longevity. Mee suah making needs a lot of time and good weather. In Sarikei, the famous mee suah noodle maker, Liu Shen Cong 刘腎从 and his family start making mee suah from 2.30am.

The ingredients like flour and water is stirred in a machine. The dough is then manually kneaded. A wooden rod is used to roll and flatten the dough. The dough is then cut into strips and rolled into finer threads. The threads are wound around two poles and hanged outside. He then used one pole to pull and flap the noodles into longer and finer threads for drying.

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This is a great episode on the life of the Sarikei Chinese. There are other missing stories including the swarms of swallows of the 1960s-80s and the transition to the biggest swiftlet nest ranching district in Sarawak in the early 2000s. Astro AEC, please come back again next year.

Long live Sarikei!

News - Sarikei (Episode 4) on Astro AEC, 20th Dec 9pm . Part 4

Pineapple Town short film attracts Sarikei audience.

(The body text is almost the same as the United Daily article)
Source: Sin Chew Daily, 22 Dec 2009
Submitted by Desmond Chen

"Short film on Pineapple Town attracts Sarikei audience," headlined Sin Chew Daily News. See Hua Daily News also jumped onto the pepper bandwagon and did a comprehensive review of this unprecedented TV coverage of our historic town with a headline that told a sign of the times, "Previously famous for pepper, Sarikei farmers switch to oil palm."

Previously famous for pepper,
Sarikei farmers switch to oil palm
Source: See Hua Daily News, 19 Dec 2009
Submitted by Desmond Chen

Sarikei, previously renown as the Pepper Village in the world, recorded the life of various dialect groups of Chinese over the last 100 years. From the earliest Hokkien to the Cantonese and then the Foochow and other dialect groups, the generations of Chinese had diligently farmed and didn't give up for for the society, culture and economy.

Source: See Hua Daily News, 19 Dec 2009
Submitted by Desmond Chen

When the Chinese ancestors sailed into the southern seas, Sarikei was one of the landing places. According to historical records, around 1864, the Hokkiens from Zhangzhou 漳州 prefecture level city arrived and started building houses with attap roofs for doing business along the Rejang River in Sarikei.

In the early 20th century, more Cantonese and Foochow continued to come to Sarikei for the agricultural industry. Sarawak was known globally as the Pepper Kingdom with Sarikei as the main growing district.

Interview with Mr Wong,
Chairman of Sarikei Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Using backdrop of the ~100-year-old association
Source: Sin Chew Daily, 22 Dec 2009

The key industry in Sarikei is agriculture. Due to the changing needs of this industry and the price fluctuations, the history of Sarikei's agricultural sector had undergone different phases. "In Sarikei and the surrounding Rejang River areas, the earliest produce was rubber, then pepper and now palm oil. The most famous fruit is pineapple because it is most delicious," explained Mr. Huang Liang Ming 黄良明.

56-year-old Liu Hui Dong 刘会东, one of the few people who persisted with pepper farming and has about 30 years of experience, lamented, "In the past, it can be said that almost every family in Sarikei had planted pepper. I started planting at 13 years old while I was at secondary school. At that time, my parents toiled and I tried my best to help." As an adult, he went outside Sarikei to make a living but came back to his ancestor's industry. Now he has about 1000 pepper plants and a piece of land used as a nursery.

The processes for black and white pepper are different. He said, " For white pepper, select the better quality peppercorns of similar big size. For black pepper, it does not matter because the the berry will shrivel around the seed when sun dried"

The white peppercorns, which command a higher price, are selected from better quality berries. Initially, the berries are soaked in water for 10-12 days to make the berry flesh soften for removal. The seeds are sun dried for 2 days to bear the white peppercorns.

The black peppercorns do not need to go through the process of soaking. Simply separate the berries and the stems in a machine and sun dry the berries to produce black peppercorns.

From 3 plants to 3000 plants,
Liu Hui Dong persists with pepper planting

The 45-year-old Chen Cheng Hui 陈承辉 is a farmer that still specialises in pepper planting. He reminisced, "I already had an interest when I was young, probably because my parents were pepper farmers. When I was 10 years old, I planted 3." From the original 3 to 3000 plants now, these are the fruits of labour of his wife and him.

To plant a pepper vine, stick a 12-foot-long wooden pole into the soil for the growing vine to creep up for sunlight. When it's growing, leaves are used to cover it to avoid too much sunlight from dehydrating it.

"When the peppercorns are mature, it's a busier period. They have to be trimmed from dawn. Time is tight. If the peppercorns are too ripe, the birds will come to eat," said his wife.

Pests are another headache. The pepper disease can destroy a whole farm. The volatile prices, the escalating cost of fertilisers and pesticides are all acid tests that farmers have to face.

Sarikei was formerly the Pepper Kingdom. Although the peak of pepper planting was already over, some people don't give up. They want to pass the delight from pepper planting to future generations. That's the spirit of walking out of the past into today and into the future.

To be continued ...

News - Sarikei (Episode 4) on Astro AEC, 20th Dec 9pm . Part 3

And now for the print promotion in United Daily News. Below is the English translation for those who do not read Mandarin.

United Daily News, 17 Dec 2009, Page B7
Headline: Pineapple town - Sarikei
Submitted by Desmond Chen

(Sarikei, 16 Dec) - Though there's only one Malaysia but there's East Malaysia and West Malaysia. In line with the PM's 1Malaysia concept, Astro AEC will broadcast from 29 Nov 2009 a series full of local flavour called "Home in Malaysia". Every Sunday at 9pm, the series will cover local culture, how people live and the century old history of the Chinese migration from Southern China. Hopefully the series will bridge the East and West Malaysia to develop better understanding, unity and harmony.



The series was filmed by Astro AEC in July 2009 in Kuching, Bau, Bintawa, Sarikei and Sri Aman. The 4th episode on "Pineapple Town - Sarikei" will air on 20th December at 9pm. The episode will cover Mr Chen and pepper farming, Mr Liu and pepper processing, Wen siblings and pineapple planting, interview with Chinese Chamber of Commerce chairman (Mr Wong), Mr Liu on mee suah noodle making, Old Place traditional barber and Chinese-Iban inter marriage (from a Cantonese, Mr Chen, on tens of years of life in a long house after marriage).

After 20th Dec, the series will cover the development of "The New Fuzhou". This is a rare local series. Don't miss the opportunity to watch!





Barber - this old trade will not give up with the flow of time. "Old Place" barber shop will appear in the episode as one of the topics.



In the current open society, Chinese and Iban inter marriage is very common. But after the Chinese and Iban inter marriage, those able to live in an Iban longhouse for tens of years are believed to be only a handful. Mr Chen made it and more interestingly, he was the former vice leader of the long house for many years.



Pepper prices has slipped into the abyss and everyone has given up on pepper farming. In Sarikei, a youth, Mr Chen, believed this is the best investment time. He had selected a piece of rural land that normal pepper farmers will not choose and a undeveloped slope for pepper farming. From the labour and investment angle, it's believed that no one is willing to choose this type of land contour to develop pepper farming in a big way. But Mr Chen believes he has to find opportunity in times of crisis. New rural hill is the best and the only choice for survival in this situation. What long term vision is that? Don't miss the episode at 9pm.



Mee suah is one of Sarikei' special products. If you come to Pineapple Town and ask around for top quality mee suah, everyone will point to Mile 1 of Repok Road and tell you, "End of Hua Tai Road. That's the best." Want to listen to the explanation of mee suah master, Mr Lau? Don't miss Astro AEC's 9pm show on 20th Dec 2009.



This show should be recorded for showing at the Sarikei visitor centre. Tune in tomorrow night!