The Foochows of Sitiawan - 3 : My take

The Yu family pioneers in Sitiawan

The Foochows of Sitiawan : A Historical Perspective by Shih Toong Siong is a very interesting and inspiring book for me ... off cos .. since he is writing about my roots .. agreeing with him -- not much has been written about the Foo Chow people in Sitiawan. This is a book that all Foo Chows of Sitiawan must read to understand and appreciate our roots and rich heritage ...

I would just like to highlight and connect with some facts in this book that rings a bell to me :

Sample of photos sent home to Fuzhou relatives ..
with the backdrop of rubber trees

a) Rubber tappers
I have always thought that Sitiawan was a rubber plantation area where our ancestors came to Sitiawan to "dig" for gold thru the rubber plantations. It never cross my mind that it all started as a plan to plant paddy .... and somehow this does ring a bell through the stories that Dad used to tell me when I was very very young ... of how the Government will give us land to plant paddy ... though I have not personally met a FooChow family that plants paddy. But I also have heard of Mom and Dad working in the paddy fields during Japanese Occupation or at least long long time ago when Mom was small. But I could never understand and comprehend or connect with the stories Dad told me till I read the book.

Almost everybody tapes rubber. Mom and Dad started their marriage and family life by tapping rubber. Mom have always vowed that she does not want her daughters to be married into rubber tapper family cos that will mean that we will also be rubber tappers. Out of 6 of Mom's children, only one knows the art and skill of tapping rubber. My only memory and perhaps experience of it was to collect the latex milk when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old in our plantation in Kpg Koh. But that was only for a short time.

Sitiawan Estate .... my once upon a time neighborhood

b) Estates
The rubber estates are just so familiar. I personally was born when our family moved to Sitiawan Estate. Yes, we got friends who lived in Bintang Estate - Gloria, Susie's Dad had a mango plantation in Bintang Estate and Aunty used to live in Bintang Estate before she move to Tmn Guru. Think it was from standard 4 or 5 till 6 that I've got a classmate, Evelyn Lian, who's Dad is the Estate Manager of Suffolk Estate. Remembering visiting her house - very English cottage style with a swimming pool.

Sungei Wangi Estate is not that "wangi". The smell from the factory that processes the rubber can be quite a smell .... Remembering passing by the estate on the old road from Sitiawan to Ayer Tawar ... normally as Mom's pillion rider. It's very cooling cos the road actually cuts through the estate. So, along the left and right are rubber trees that gives shade. But in the night, it can be different story -it can be "cooling"or "cold or chilly" ... :). It's very scary at night cos we need to pass by the huge graveyard and the road used to be very dark cos no street lights. There were also lots of accidents - instant death and ghost stories from the old road between Sitiawan to Ayer Tawar, nearing Sungei Wangi area. A little girl riding at the back of her Mom's motorbike always imagines that she will be pulled away by some huge cold unknown figure or by some black monster in the night. So, the little gal will hold her Mom super tight as we approach this place. I also recall Mom used to take the shortcut from Simpang Tiga (from the road next to the "hong-moon" or the "smoke house" that processes rubber in Spg Tiga). We will pass the rubber estate, the estate worker's houses and come out at the main entrance of the estate. But Mom seldom takes that road later cos the road is in bad condition with potholes, especially on rainy season. But I know that 3rd Aunty always use that way to Ayer Tawar or Sitiawan.

There is also an estate call Pundut Estate. It's half way from Sitiawan to Lumut ... the primary school is still there.I used to have a classmate from this estate when I was in standard one. i will always remember her cos she is very small in size - short but she had a huge belly. It seems she eats sand and soil from the ground. Perhaps her family was really poor that as a child she was malnourished and hence, to kill her hunger she just eat sand. I know she died later cos she stopped coming to school and became very ill. It's so sad ... the families in living in the estates are really living in the very bare basics of life. Lastly, there was a Revathi -- SM's classmate whom they will visit every Depavali.

c) The "cangkul aunties"
I don't have never heard of the aunties who sell water from the famous well in Kpg Koh -- maybe cos I lived in Sitiawan town or Simpang Ampat all my life but I do remember the aunties who came to our house when I was little to manually "plough" our land at the back of our house so that we can grow vegetables or was it tobacco or chilies that Dad was growing. These aunties are from Spg Dua, late 40s-50s perhaps. Their job is to go from farm to farm offering the service of clearing the farm with their cangkul. Armed with a cangkul, huge straw hat, hand gloves, long sleeve and pants, rubber shoes, a silver color water canister and their simple lunch packed on the huge old bicycle.

They work in teams of 5-7 ladies and besides gossiping, they will also recite or sing short poems or idioms in Kutien. They will work for a couple days in a row to complete their task.

O yes, we are the Kutiens of Sitiawan - since both Mom and Dad are from the Spg 2 and Spg 3 settlement which is known as the Kutien area.

d) Methodist Church
Ahh .... now I know why I am a Methodist. :0 ... I am the product or the fruit of the Methodist mission seed that was sown in Sitiawan in 1903. Since we lived in Sitiawan town, I attended the Methodist Church (Tamil), Simpang Ampat. But off course, we attended the English service - the church building was shared with 2 other congregation. Our English congregation is the Sitiawan Wesley Church where we eventually moved to our own building in the early 1990.

But the Simpang Ampat church building is quite nice and cute ... and even the parsonage.... I recall, Esther and her hub's wedding .... it was soooo cool and grand. The hub was a major in the Navy and after the wedding ceremony, they were greeted by navy officers with swords .. they walked thru it ... so cool right ...

e) Yong Peng & Nabon Nakonsri
The guy who is said to move to Yong Peng from Sitiawan is Yu Teck Pook ... I just feel that he must be one of my relatives from Mom's side ... actually Grandpa's somebody somebody ..since Grandpa's name is also Yu Teck something something ...

Anyway ... Nabon is really close to our family since our 1st aunty was married off at a young age to a guy from Nabon. I have not personally been to Nabon but from all the stories Mom or others who have been there visiting our relatives - Nabon is a small rubber plantation village ... something like Simpang Tiga ... and the place is quite remote ... Our cousins speaks Kutian with a different accent, but they speak fluent Thai and have Thai names. I remember hanging out with them in my teens and I asked one of them to write something ... hohoho ... his handwriting is all so curly like Thailand writing ... Today, we still have relatives in Nabon but many of them have moved to bigger cities like Bangkok. Most of them are now involved in running their own business.

f) Ong Boon Hua
I attended Our Lady's Convent School for almost 10 years and our school is located next to a green wooden double storey house which is said to belong to Ong Boon Hua's family. I remember a girl from the family -- she is younger than me. Eventually, I make friends with a friend who is his niece. But we never discuss family matters.

I also recalled during the funeral of the grandmother of the family .. I was perhaps in my early teens. It was a schooling day .. so I get to see a little of things since the our school is just next to it. Besides the grief that is in the air ... one can also sense tension in the air ... as there was a huge crowd ... including reporters and police. It was rumored that CP came home for his Mom's funeral disguised as an old lady .... after reading the Biographical sketch of OBH in the book, my heart aches for him if he did not manage to come home to pay his last respect for his precious Mom and my heart aches even more for his Mom who "lost" the gem of her heart ...

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Sitiawan may be a small tiny town .. with a group of simple hardworking people but indeed it is a town that had birth many "warriors" in the fields they are in ... all over the world ... yes ... all over the world ... making impact in the community that we are in .... and I am proud that I am born in Sitiawan ... and proud to belong to this rich Christian heritage community ....

The Foochows of Sitiawan - 2

I found another article in my google search. It's an article found in NST Travel section. So, the following article is taken from it in : http://travel.nst.com.my/Current_News/TravelTimes/article/HeritageCulture/20050509102847/Article/index_html

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Foochow Pioneers of Sitiawan

DIANA YEOH

Foochows in Perak who want to trace their ancestry should go on the Sitia

wan Heritage Trail and visit the Sitiawan Settlement Museum.

IT was an eye-opener for 12 members of the Perak Heritage Society who joined the recent Sitiawan Heritage Trail for the first time. The trip traces the legacy of pioneer immigrants of the Christian Foochow Chinese who arrived in 1903 and for some of the members, it was a good opportunity to discover their own “roots”.

The members, led by PHS vice president Law Siak Hong, were briefed on the history of the Foochows in Sitiawan. They also went on a one-day tour of Kampung Sitiawan, Simpang Dua Tionghua Cemetery Manjung, Sitiawan Settlement Museum (Kampung Koh), Pekan Gurney, Simpang Lima and Ayer Tawar.

The name Sitiawan comes from two words, setia and kawan. But the story behind it is by far more fascinating. It’s about the extraordinary friendship between two elephants used to transport tin ore along the Dindings River near the area in the late 1800s.

The story has it that one of the elephants got stuck in the soft sand of the riverbed. Efforts by men to save it proved futile. But the second elephant refused to let go; it clu ng to its friend and both eventually drowned. In memory of this friendship between the two elephants, the town was named Setia Kawan or loyal friend. Over the years, the term evolved into Sitiawan. On the flip side, the place is also fashionably called City A1 (Sitiawan) by the locals.

In 1903, 363 Christian Foochows (Fuzhou) led by Reverend Ling Ching Mi arrived here from China. It was the Chinese Colonial Government’s second population transplant experiment in the Malay peninsula, following the success of a similar scheme in Sibu, Sarawak in 1901.

The group that arrived in Sitiawan consisted mainly of Kutian, Hockchew, Hockch eng and Henghua. Each was allocated its own agricultural settlement on a 1,000 ha of land in Kampung Cina.

One of the settlements was called Kampung Sitiawan on a tributary of Dindings River. It is a historical spot as this was where the Foochows first landed in Sitiawan.

The settlers grew padi to meet the growing demand for rice due to increase d economic activities in the area during the period.

The long-term objective was to establish a population growth centre for future labour supply to exploit the rich resources of the land.

Unfortunately, the padi programme failed but quick action to switch to rubber sa ved the day. Over the years, the Foochows became a formidable group that spurred commerc ial activities in the area.

In 1999, the Sitiawan Settlement Museum was set up in Kampung Koh in 1999 by the area’s Pioneer Methodish Church (PMC).

Interestingly, and unknown to the public, the museum building was once an old wooden house which was home for the church reverend. It now showcases many old pictures, utensils, bicycles, tools, clothings and antiques once used by the Foochows.

Outside the museum is a well which supplied water for the Foochows for 30 years as there was no piped water then. Next to the museum stands the Pioneer Methodist Church, a majestic building in the shape of a “cross” originally built in 1904. It was burnt down in 1906 and rebuilt in 1907. Near the church is the grave of Reverend Ling.

The Sitiawan Settlement Museum is located at K-6, Jalan Chen Mei, Kampung Koh. Call 05-6920612 (opening hours from 9am to 5.30 pm, and entry is by appointment only).

p/s : the photos are taken by Uncle J in Dec 2010

The Foochows of Sitiawan - 1

The books which I have heard of for so long at last came to my hands 2 weeks ago thru Lyn. As usual before I write my comments on it ... I googled ... and this is what I found ... and as usual ... I kiasu.... cut paste what I found into my blog for I fear one day the site cannot be found and the info is lost .... so I got to credit that the following article is from - http://www.kirkbyites.net/1960-61/foochows.htm

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A take on the Foochows

By: Llew-Ann Phang (Sat, 28 Aug 2004)

Known as 'Soldiers of Axes' and sometimes 'Soldiers of Cangkuls' the Foochow people were cajoled to set up home in Malaya by the British at the turn of the last century.

IF YOU ARE in Sitiawan, Perak you may come across some local Chinese speaking a language that sounds almost like Korean or Japanese.

This foreign-sounding language is in fact a dialect spoken by the Chinese clan called the Foochows. When the Foochows migrated here, they first settled in Sitiawan.

Sounding rather different from the typical Mandarin, Hokkien or Cantonese, the Foochow dialect comes across as somewhat slurred and gentler than the other tongues.

The Foochow community is also found in Yong Peng and Batu Pahat in Johor and in Kuching, Sarawak.

Aiming to help Malaysians become more familiar with his community, Shih Toong Siong (left), an educationist, set out on a mission to collect bits and pieces of data on the community.

Shih, 65, who is vice-principal of the Jalan Sentul Wesley Methodist School, started gathering the information 20 years ago.

His efforts culminated in six months of writing which resulted in a book entitled The Foochows of Sitiawan: A Historical Perspective.

Shih recounts that he endured two heart attacks, several heart surgeries and a lot of "agony" to complete this pet project.

Described as a "labour of love" by Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim of the Universiti Malaya History Department, the 340-page book penetrates deep into the lives and times of the Foochow community who were called "Soldiers of Axes" and "Soldiers of Cangkuls" as they pitched into working the land on the "invitation" of the British.

Embarking on his journey with hardly any written records for reference, Shih drew inspiration and encouragement from Khoo who told him to take the first step and to look at his work as research.

"I am thankful for managing to get some information from here and there. I sometimes had to slash my way through graveyards with a parang and a camera in search of my ancestral history.

"My mother called me mad but I merely told her I was looking for my roots," Shih said. He feels grateful that in the 1980s, he had the opportunity to interview some octogenarians and nanogenarians over a cup of kopi-o, because they passed on not long after he met them.

It was Shih's father who had prompted him to write the book, lamenting the lack of records on the Foochows' roots in this country.

"He threw me a challenge to research the roots of our clan and I responded. I hope the book serves as an anchor and adds flavour to the cultural melting pot of Malaysia," he said.

Shih pays tribute to his wife of 40 years Ching Hia Kong, a retired teacher, for bearing with him through his labour.

"She stood by me through all my weaknesses and shortcomings. I would not have any other to lean on."

Although he faced tricky financial moments while writing the book, he pushed on, travelling around Malaysia and abroad in search of information about the Foochow clan.

In Malaysia, famous Foochows include former Transport Minister and MCA head Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha and also Communist Party of Malaya secretary-general Ong Boon Hua, better known as Chin Peng.

Rice-planting pioneers keep the faith

The Pioneer Church is the flagship of the Chinese Methodist Mission in Sitiawan. It was built in 1927 and is the fourth building. The first was a thatched-roof hut built in 1903. The second church which was built in 1905 was burnt down in a bush fire and the third was demolished in the sixties. It was replaced by the current Sunday School Complex (pix). The tower was added in 1905.

THE FOOCHOWS had emigrated in a "population transplant" from China to Sitiawan in 1903.

Travelling to Malaya, a place they called the "promised land" they hoped to return to China rich.

The Methodist Episcopal Mission was selected and commissioned to undertake this project which the British colonial administration financed.

In his book, Shih explained that the Foochows were identified as the rice-growing community and the land alienated for this purpose was in Sitiawan.

In 1901, a similar group from Foochow settled in Sibu, Sarawak, led by Wong Nai Siong. They called Sibu "Sin Hockchew" or New Foochow.

In China, Foochow has 10 sub-districts -- Pingnan, Kutian, Minqing, Yungtai, Minhow, Futzing, Mashu, Cheng le, Lianjiang and Luoyuan.

The clan were fervent Methodist Christians and had held up through thick and thin during their stay in Malaya. They established schools and the Pioneer Methodist Church in 1927.

The original intention of establishing a Chinese settlement in Sitiawan was to grow rice. The settlers did not have the slightest idea of planting rubber. With hardly any rice planted, they survived on cash crops and pig farming.

Three persons played a significant role in getting the Foochow settlers to start rubber planting in Sitiawan -- Perak Chinese Affairs Officer W. Cowan, Guarantor of Perak-MEMO Agreement Foo Choo Choon and Rev W. E. Horley.

"The Methodist Mission acquired some 200 acres (80.94ha) styled under the Sitiawan Mission Plantation in addition to the 10 acre church lot (4.047ha) and the 50-acre (20.23ha) orphanage acquired in 1905.

"The rubber trees were in full production by 1915, the prosperity of the Foochow rubber smallholders were described as most remarkable," said Shih in his book.

He said the Foochows then went on to build a new Anglo-Chinese school and a seven acre (2.833ha) plot of land was even acquired for a hospital.

"Today, Sitiawan is considered a Methodist stronghold with churches in almost every village.

"Kampung China, the Methodist Mission Concession, remains the rock of Methodist Christiandom - there is yet a non-Christian temple to breach the Christian fortress at this locality as Sitiawan continues to support the Mehodist church in producing outstanding leaders, pastors and even Bishops in the Methodist hierarchy.

"In the field of education the number of schools dotting the district reflects the priorities of these earlier pioneers.

"Likewise, teachers also tapped rubber before donning respectable clothes and cycling to school.

"Even going to both English and Chinese schools on the same day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon just as Chin Peng did -- such was their lifestyle.

"Despite the limited opportunities in Sitiawan, many made good through sheer hard work and a fighting spirit to become successful educationists, businessmen and politicians in both Malaysia and Singapore," said Shih.

"The pioneering spirit of the forefathers lives on. The younger generation must learn about the past to appreciate the hard work of their people and the spirit that propelled them forward.

"The contributions of the Foochow to this country are tremendous. They have given so much to this country and yet so little is known about them."

Shih's book is priced at RM49 and is available through the office of another popular Foochow businessman, Tan Sri Ngan Ching Wen, president of the Manjung District Kutien Association. He can be contacted at 05-672 2003.

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