Setting an example of religious harmony – Masjid An Naim and The Church of the Good Shepherd in Lutong.
THE Saturday before last, I attended a talk on Miri in Kuching. It was held in the auditorium of the Pustaka Negeri Sarawak. Inside, it was freezing.
That was about the only complaint I had of the proceedings. The rest was enjoyable.
To promote the book entitled ‘Miri Past and Now’, the committee members of the Society of English Writers Northern Zone (Soswe) highlighted its contents, namely the well-loved Miri landmarks, past and present. It would not be Miri without the derrick named as the Grand Old Lady on Canada Hill, marking the first site of an oil exploration by the Anglo Dutch Company (Shell). Shell is so synonymous with Miri that a Mirian told me, “No Shell no Miri.” There are many other landmarks besides TGOL – most of them in the book.
My attention was drawn to the landmarks that have disappeared from the Miri scene: the Ferry, the Supply Base, the Shell General Hospital, the Long Jetty, the Cinema, the Court Hose, the Resident’s and District Office, the Piasau Bridge, the Piasau Camp, and the Kampung Dagang.
What remains of the last place in the list is the name, Kampung Dagang. What used to be a village for small-time traders from Kuching, the area has been developed for commercial houses. According to writer Jamila Abdul Basha, among the first settlers at KD was one Haji Talhah Haji Mansor from Kuching.
Fortunately, some people have kept old photos of these landmarks.
Passenger in the basket
However, there is no picture yet available of the creative mode of transferring goods and humans from ships. Miri ‘port’ was not deep enough for vessels from Kuching or Singapore or North Borneo. They had to anchor offshore, and transfer their cargo in a remarkable way: goods, and passengers, were put in a basket and carefully lowered onto a smaller vessel that carried them to the wharf. The smaller boat would not leave before all passengers and their luggage were safely disembarked. The same process was repeated when loading goods and passengers out of Miri.
It must have been a dangerous operation especially during rough weather. Yet no account of any loss of life has been told. Would Soswe like to find out?
My two policemen brothers, their wives, and children were among many other families who experienced this ordeal when they had to be evacuated in the MV Maimunah to Kuching before the Japanese forces landed at Miri.
Another man who had some experience in basket-travel is Tan Sri Safri Awang Zaidell. Safri, a good English writer himself, was born, bred, and went to school in Miri. Years later, he went back to his birthplace in style – from Kuching by plane.
No photograph of this mode of embarking and disembarking has been discovered by Soswe. Jennie Soh’s sketch of it was shown onscreen during the book promotion.
It would be such a valuable antique if one were to be found somewhere. Maybe owners of one of the ships that used to ply between Kuching and Miri might have some photographs of their ships equipped with the facility. For that matter, if I had to be packed in a basket and swung overboard on a crane, from one wave-rocked large ship to another wave-rocked small tub, I’m not sure I would have reached for my camera – both hands occupied with just hanging on!
The fact that Soswe members have taken the trouble to record in a permanent form and published available photographs speaks well for the society. Without such effort many fellow Sarawakians would not be aware of many heritage sites that had to make way for modern development. It is a truism that one cannot eat and keep the cake at the same time.
The presentations by Florence Enau, Jennie Soh, and Jamila Abdul Basha were based on what they had written in the book. Read the book for more information.
There should be more about the history of the division. I’m hoping there will be a sequel to the book. If I may suggest – call it ‘Miri – Past, Present, and Future’.
Talk by David Sanderson
History buffs in Sarawak shouldn’t have missed David Sanderson’s account of his father’s exploits in Bario – dad’s role as a contact man for the ‘party to be inserted into the Kelabit Highlands of North Central Sarawak’. This was a secret mission carried out by the Z Special unit (Semut) under the command of Major Tom Harrisson. This information was top secret at the time, only revealed to the public much later. Anybody who is interested in this ‘no longer secret’ wartime sideshow can read a bit about it in the Soswe’s newsletter for January to March 2019.
The history of the Second World War in so far as it involved Miri is as interesting as its modern development and its future. The more you write about Miri, the more there is to know about the place. Perhaps, Soswe may venture into the hinterland of the division. What about writing about the Miri born personalities?
You know who these are – some have migrated to Kuching.
The Miri residents’ tolerance in terms of religious affiliations is worthy of note. There, a mosque and a church are close to each other. Christians park their vehicles in the mosque compound on Sundays and Muslims park theirs in the church compound on Fridays. A good example of religious co-existence made in Miri, it augurs well for the rest of Malaysia.
To all my friends in Miri and anywhere in between: get a copy of Soswe’s book. Visitors to Miri should have one.
That reminds me of the writers’ club – Sarawak Literacy Society – formed in the 1980s in Kuching. Does anybody know if it is still in existence? I suggest we revive it and show to Soswe that what they can do, we can do better. We shall go to Miri and give a talk on Kuching in Miri.
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