Heavily-decorated trishaws line up the street in front of the Christ Church Melaka building.
MELAKA: Beads of perspiration trickled down Arshad Abu Jabar’s wrinkled face as he peddled his trishaw along the streets of Bandar Hilir’s historical quarter, taking this writer on a tour of the area.
His sunburned skin is testimony of his 20-year service as a trishaw rider and mini ambassador of the historical city of Melaka. And, he has yet to grow tired of dishing out information on the various attractions to the local or foreign tourists who get to ride in his trishaw.
Arshad, 56, who is fondly known as Pak Arshad, sighed loudly when asked to share his thoughts about the current state of the trishaw scene in Melaka. Smiling wryly, he said the trishaw community’s earnings have improved compared to 10 to 20 years ago but at the expense of the state’s heritage value.
“Thankfully, we can still survive for as long as we have the stamina to peddle our trishaw. Indeed, the trishaw has developed as a tourism product in this state and we can earn quite a good income as a trishaw rider,” he said.
He lamented, however, that the local trishaws are at risk of losing their identity as an intrinsic part of Melaka’s heritage.
“The trishaws we have now are decorated with characters from cartoons and movies and blare out Western songs. Can we say that these are truly reflective of Melaka?
“They may attract children and tourists but over time,
Melaka’s heritage value will be lost on the trishaws,” he told Bernama.
According to a study by Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, it is found that 54 per cent of the respondents are uncertain about the trishaws’ decorative elements, while 13 per cent disagree that the decorations reflect Melaka’s identity. — Bernama photos
Traditional motifs
Arshad’s concern is spot on. This writer too could not help recollecting the trishaws of the past that were adorned with designs depicting the native flora and fauna, as well as motifs of nature, while the riders played ‘dondang sayang’ tunes or traditional ballads that originated in Melaka; ‘ghazal’, which are poems set to music; and other Malaysian melodies.
The present-day trishaws sport characters like Anna and Elsa from the movie ‘Frozen’; the Minions from ‘Despicable Me’; Lighting McQueen from ‘Cars’; popular Japanese characters like Doraemon, Shin Chan and Pikachu; and local characters from ‘Upin Ipin’.
Popular western songs like ‘Let It Go’ from ‘Frozen’ and the ‘Doraemon’ theme song have replaced Malaysian traditional tunes to draw the attention of tourists.
According to a study carried out by Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka in 2015 on the impact of trishaws on Melaka’s tourism sector, it is found that 54 per cent of the survey’s 30 respondents were uncertain about the trishaws’ decorative elements while 13 per cent disagreed that the decorations reflected Melaka’s identity.
Arshad said the modern decorations, though a pull factor where children are concerned, fail to introduce the beauty of Melaka’s heritage to tourists, as well as the nation’s younger generation.
His own trishaw flaunts fauna and flora designs to promote the state’s heritage and he prefers to play ‘dondang sayang’ songs when taking his passengers on a sightseeing tour of Melaka.
“I would tell them what the ‘dondang sayang’ songs are all about and talk about our heritage. Only when I explain it to them do they understand what our heritage is all about and become fond of it… not only Malaysians but even tourists I’ve met like Melaka’s heritage,” he said.
Synonymous with Melaka
Duyong assemblyman Damian Yeo, who is of Peranakan heritage, also expressed his
concern that the trishaws, which are synonymous with Melaka, are fast losing the identity of the state.
Tourists from various countries visit Melaka to get a taste of its interesting history and not to witness its progress and development, he said, adding that any tourism product of the state has to reflect its original culture and traditions.
“I know it’s hard to find a traditional trishaw in Bandar Hilir; for instance, as many of the operators have commercialised their services and prefer to decorate their trishaws with designs depicting the themes of animated movies like ‘Snow White’,” he said.
Determined that the traditional trishaw, which is an important heritage of Melaka, would not fade into oblivion, Yeo said it would be among the elements to be included in an upcoming theme park in Perkampungan Hang Tuah, located in his constituency, which is expected to be opened early next year in conjunction with Visit Melaka Year 2019.
Besides the trishaw, the theme park would also feature a bullock cart track, horse carts and models of old bicycles that were used in Melaka in the past.
Lucrative trade
According to Arshad, the state government became serious about promoting its trishaws as a tourism product some 20 years ago.
Initially, its objective was to help improve the livelihood of the trishaw riders who did not earn much then but eventually when tourism operators found that it had turned into a lucrative trade, they started to offer their own trishaw service by acquiring the existing trishaws.
“Year by year, more and more trishaws are being controlled by the tourism companies and now we have fewer trishaw riders who possess their own trishaws. Now what many riders do is rent a trishaw from a company for between RM30 and RM50 a day,” he pointed out.
The big players also make arrangements with hotels and travel agents to take tourists sightseeing in their trishaws.
“In the end, those of us with our own trishaws are marginalised,” grumbled Arshad.
Arshad and others who have their own trishaws can make about RM70 a day on weekdays and up to RM200 on weekends and public holidays. However, those riders who rent their trishaws from tourism companies can earn higher incomes.
On an average weekday, there are about 80 trishaw riders plying in the city, while weekends and public holidays will see more than 300 trishaws on the streets with many of them ridden by part-time trishaw riders. — Bernama