Bohari manning his umai stall.
“THIS is an anchor we made ourselves,” the friendly fisherman said with the heavy equipment in hand as he prepared to show us around the place.
We were photographing the fishing boats berthed at the fishermen’s boatshed, built about three years ago for the 18 registered fishermen of the Piasau Utara Fishermen’s Association.
The main jetty is well protected from the sea by the Piasau sandspit. The former Piasau Camp is on the opposite bank of the Miri River.
We came to Kampung Piasau Utara or Northern Coconut Village because there were nice boats, unique-looking kampung houses, and a lovely river to photograph.
But the weather turned out to be a spoilsport – cloudy and grey. Not a good day for photography but in the face of Covid-19, coming to this small enclave seemed safer than other crowded places. We had our masks on.
The boat, berthed at the jetty, belongs to the Northern Piasau Fishermen’s Association.
The fishermen were having their morning break while our friendly piscator with the home-made anchor waited for a friend to come and test his 40HP outboard engine.
“When we put out to sea, usually in pairs, we cannot afford any mechanical breakdown. We have to maintain our outboard engines like taxi drivers maintain their car engines.
“Any mistake may cause delay, profit loss, and even deaths if a big wave happened to hit our boat drifting in the open sea with a dead engine and help could not come in time.
“As fishermen, we frequently spend long hours at sea. We need to have faith in our ability and judgment to fish and return home safely,” Hassan said.
The fishermen were in a cheerful mood despite the gloomy weather. They brought their own coffee with milk and some cakes. They invited us to share their snacks but we declined and thanked them for their hospitality.
The sea was rough with big waves that day and the fishermen decided to remain onshore. On normal days, they go out at 11pm and return by six the next morning. When the tide is right, they go out at 4am and return at 9am with good fresh fish for the market.
“We are the suppliers for this area, including Pujut, Krokop, and the surrounding kampungs. Sometimes we don’t have enough supply. But what to do,” Hassan shrugged.
A cafe offers local and Korean cuisines.
The association
The Piasau Utara Fishermen’s Association has 18 members.
It owns a twin engine boat with a collapsible canvas cover for general use and official functions. The maritime officers would drop by to meet with the fishermen and conduct a general check.
“We abide by our rules and regulations,” Hassan said.
The members apply for diesel and petrol subsidies and are happy with the help of the government.
The price of fish is good at the moment because of demand and quality.
The fishermen do not increase prices just anyhow, according to Hassan.
Ice is supplied by a few companies and orders and delivery are just a phone call away.
A fisherman shows a home-made anchor.
Berthing facility
The bigger boats are also berthed at the jetty for easy loading of ice onto the waiting boats and delivery of fish from the hulls.
“I think we maintain our boats very well. So far so good,” one of the fishermen said.
Losing their bearings at sea during a storm is one of the fishermen’s greatest fears. But “so far so good” seems to the morale-boosting catchphrase of the fishing community in Piasau Utara.
Diverse customers
The fishermen’s market draws customers of all races. It is well maintained with properly tiled and clean stalls.
“The fish here is very fresh and we get a good price for them. We don’t have to pay extra or drive to Krokop or the main Miri Fish Market to buy. We get good fish here, especially in the morning. I can also get fresh sea prawns for my weekend cooking,” said J Bong, who lives nearby.
All ketupat have special names based on their shapes and purposes. This one is ketupat lepas.
Munah (name has been changed), who makes Melanau-style wet salted fish and sells them in containers, commented, “I get my supply from the local fishermen. Those small fish that many people don’t buy immediately can be made into a Melanau delicacy. We season them with salt and eat them with our sago.”
Another resident, J Yang, bought 1kg of fresh squid at a fair price and a good-sized fish for dinner.
“This is a good market – small but very clean. The fishmongers are friendly and we can even communicate by WhatsApp.
“I’m glad I got to know about this place. There’s no parking problem here. I’d rather drive here than to the Miri Fish Market and the Krokop 10 market, which are quite far away.
“Besides, I know the fish have not been kept in ice overnight if I see them being offloaded from the boats to the market.”
Umai surprise
Fishmonger Bohari provides a special service, slicing fish flesh and putting the flesh into boxes.
“You can have an umai meal in the afternoon,” he said happily.
He prepares the favourite umai fish – empirang – when he gets some from the fishermen.
Umai or fresh fish slices for lunch.
His work is welcomed by busy housewives who make umai at home using their own ingredients.
Dayang Lasung, the wife of Yusup Marcell Pak, said they loved eating umai, especially made of fresh fish from Miri.
“We need lime, chillies, and shallots. Of course, we bring our precious sago from Sungai Telian, Dalat.”
Bohari is certainly doing a good job, serving a community of diverse races.
Cafes and Korean cuisine
There are three cafes next to the Piasau Utara Fish Market. As Miri is under CMCO, takeaways are preferred. The three operators there are doing well, especially the Korean cuisine stallholder.
“This operator worked for a Korean before and is now running her own business,” the stall assistant told us as we ordered coffee and noodle takeaways.
The signboard for Korean cuisine has not been put up yet, indicating the stall is still quite new.
The Korean menu includes kimbap, Korean noodles, japchae, and others.
This particular stall also has an appetising item on the menu – special fried rice with deep-fried ikan terubok.
Business opens in the evening until 10pm.
There is a temporary stall, operated by a woman from Bakong, selling fritters and ‘fat and meaty’ cakoi at three pieces for RM1.
Everything is three for RM1 and one can pick and mix. The operator even serves vegetable fritters. And when prawns are available, she will cook prawn fritters.
A tray of Melanau pulut.
Surprise at veg stalls
We were pleasantly surprised by a hawker doing two types of ketupat shells – ketupat hidup and ketupat lepas.
She did her anyaman or weaving while selling vegetables, sago, linut, and Melanau salted fish.
“These ingredients are for a Melanau takeaway lunch,” she said.
The little sago pearls were very attractive and we bought some from her.
There were lots of home-made cakes, including a new and tasty variety made of glutinous rice, freshly grated coconut, and fried dhal.
At one stall, a young woman, wearing rubber gloves, was helping a fruit seller slice off the tough skins of pineapples, removing the ‘eyes’ of the fruits with dexterous cuts.
Overall, it was a pleasant outing for my friend and I despite the wet weather in Miri. We took some great photos.
We mingled with diverse cultures and saw various occupations in Kampung Piasau Utara, leaving after a pleasant visit with photos, a basket of food, and sweet memories.
For us, meeting friendly people and seeing happy faces warmed the cockles of the heart during this pandemic.