SLEEPY HALLOW: A row of wooden shops at the old Tebedu town.
TEBEDU has been in the limelight recently but for the wrong reasons.
In May, a land dispute there led to the villagers torching the equipment belonging to a logging company.
In June, some 100 farmers, villagers and traders residing near Tebedu staged a demonstration to protest the charges imposed by SM Inland Port.
Many now say it is practically a “dead” town.
Last week, thesundaypost (myself and two colleagues) ventured a trip to this quiescent border town and found it to be a sleepy hallow.
The old town has two rows of shops with only three still in business – a sundry shop, a footwear shop and a coffee shop.
An old-timer, Bong Kim Khai, 73, operates the shop that sells footwear and sundry goods.
“Life is difficult for a small shopkeeper earning not enough to cover everyday expenses,” he lamented.
Bong, formerly a salesman in Kuching has been running the shop which belongs to his brother, for nine years.
“There is not much hope. Both Indons (Indonesians) and locals prefer going to shop in Serian. But business elsewhere is also stiff,” he reckoned.
But he is staying on in Tebedu because life is simpler there.
Next, introducing ourselves as visitors, we got to talk to a woman looking after the sundry shop. As soon as she learned we were journalists, she became a bit wary.
However, after ‘sizing us up’ and learning that our intentions were honourable, she felt more at ease in our company.
Recalling the early troubled years, she said during the communist insurgency in 1963, Indonesian commandos and communist cadres were active in the area.
This was followed by the declaration of the Emergency in 1965 and the launching of Ops Buaya a year later.
It was during this time that she, together with many Chinese from Tebedu, moved to Beratok, Tapah and Siburan before returning in 1976.
“This is where we belong. We moved back because business was good at the border after peace was restored.
“Many made their fortune during the boom time when Indonesians and locals shopped here. But things changed with infrastructural improvements in the area,” she noted.
Accessibility provided by better roads has resulted in people bypassing Tebedu and moving to bigger towns.
“There are more choices in Serian or even Kuching,” she said, adding that goods elsewhere were also cheaper.
In a small town, there is a lot of trust among the residents. Shops extend credit to customers.
“Some still owe us money, so they come to our shop less now,” she revealed.
She was honest enough to confess that high profit margins helped cover the losses she may otherwise have suffered due to the debts.
According to her, the traders collect jungle produce from the surrounding areas and sell them in
Serian and other towns. They bring back goods and sell them to the local people.
She regretted that the younger generation were no longer all that keen on retail business.
Asked why she had not moved to the new township of Bandar Mutiara, she said the new shops were far away whereas in the old town, the clinic and schools were nearby.