Bekenu’s last shophouses face imminent demolition
THE history, written on every plank of the wooden shophouses in Bekenu, will be buried under a rubble of dismantled building materials when the last row of these structures, built more than 80 years ago, is demolished after the Chinese New Year (2017).
Bekenu town will then take on a completely different complexion – modern perhaps but with a big chunk of its heritage effaced and gone forever.
Lamented K Suring, a regular visitor: “It’s sad knowing businesses run by the Chinese in these wooden shophouse are going to disappear from the social and economic landscape of Bekenu in less than two months.
“There is no sense of community in modern malls. I love the soul of old wooden shophouses where the legacies of our ancestors are felt in every nook and cranny.”
He said he always enjoyed coming to Bekenu during the weekends with his parents to visit some family friends, adding that the rustic atmosphere was good for the soul but after the demolition, only memories of the good old days would linger on.
For farmer Ahmad, the wooden shophouses are “very cool.” He said they had been around for “as long as we can remember.”
He and his friends were chatting on a bench along the five-footway which may soon be a thing of the past in Bekenu as well.
Overhead is a Singer (sewing machine) signboard which has been hanging there for more than 50 years!
Ahmad and his fellow farmers had come to Bekenu to buy equipment and being selfemployed, had time on their hands.
Standing behind his counter but still able to talk with the group sitting on the bench outside his shop, was the shophouse towkay.
“I don’t know where my future will be. I have not decided whether to continue my business here or to move away.
“This shop has been my life, my history as my family, including my grandparents, came to settle here many many years ago. It is also where I have doing business and living for the past 40 years. May be I am too old and too tired,” he said.
The towkay chuckled when he said he did not want his photo taken because he was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt or baju apek.
His vintage cash desk, most probably inherited from his grandfather, fronts a very old and dusty glass cabinet which reaches almost up to the ceiling. He literally runs the whole shop alone.
He was chatty. “Everyday my friends from all races will come and sit on the bench, telling me the latest news about their families, their gardens and also their problems. I don’t really need to read newspapers. I shall miss these morning moments with them.”
He said in Bekenu, they were all the same people, adding: “Just call us Orang Bekenu and we are all friends. The pace of life is slow, of course, and customers and towkays get along well. There is no hurry.”
It’s sad knowing businesses run by the Chinese in these wooden shophouse are going to disappear from the social and economic landscape of Bekenu in less than two months. — K Suring, regular visitor
Kedayan coffee shop My friends and I went to the next shop, the Kedai Kopi — Rosnisa Cafe. The proprietess quickly came to the table to take our orders.
Knowing us by sight, she soon struck up a friendly chat.
Asked about the age of her coffeeshop, she quickly pointed to a cement pillar outside, saying: “Cikgu, you look over there — the pillar has bullet marks made by Japanese guns. That was what my grandmother told me.”
Her Kedayan family, originally from Brunei, have been doing coffeeshop business here since her grandparents’time.
“But soon we have to move to an outlet behind this shop,” she said.
Day trippers from Miri and elsewhere love the fried noodles and mee jawa of the café. They come in the morning for a good local breakfast, then do their marketing with their families or friends.
The proprietess is the third generation running this Kedayan Kedai Kopi where people meet to exchange news – both good and bad – make land deals and even arrange marriages.
She also took thesundaypost to see the old staircase at the back of the shop.
“No one builds it like this nowadays. There are no nails in this staircase, built in the 1930’s,” she said with nostalgia.
The people who know her shop will miss the wooden panelled walls and the special “sliding wooden windows” which attest to the exquisite carpentry of yesteryear. Sweet memories Cikgu Zaharah Omar, Cikgu Asmah Ahmad, Cikgu Selina Liew and a few others frequented Rosniza Café during the heydays of Bekenu’s wooden shophouses and the Sarawak Teachers’ Training College there.
During the months of teaching practice, mentors and mentees would meet up at the coffeeshop for discussions and have lunch and fellowship before the mentors returned to Miri.
There are several primary schools in Bekenu District. When the roads were in bad conditions, the mentors had to stay overnight at the teachers’ quarters in the school.
So a bit of ‘urban Bekenu treats’ for the trainee teachers were heaven sent in those days. A lot of development Today, Bekenu has seen a lot of development. Most of the people own cars while some have their own longboats to go back to their kampongs in. The roads to all the kampongs are now well-surfaced, making it very comfortable to drive even to the remotest schools.
“I have happy memories of my Pasar and all my friends here. We used to gather for gendang (drum and music) and some happy hours at the old coffeeshops.
“But today, we feel the atmosphere is different. The oil palm plantations and private gardens have made the people quite prosperous, enabling the town to progress very fast in the past 20 years or so. People rush to buy things and drive off,” Haji Seduah, a local resident, noted.
“A lot of land is being developed and our younger generation can attend bigger schools. They don’t have to go Miri to study like I did.
“When still very young, I had to travel by boat to reach Miri, then walk to Tanjong Lobang School. Those were really slow days. Today, even teenagers can use motorbikes to go to school.”
The row of wooden shopshouses still standing sell traditional kuih and biscuits made in Miri, Sibu and Kuching, and traditional farming implements such as parangs, coconut scrapers, coconut splitters and fishing hooks.
And surprisingly, the general stores continue to sell rubber tapping knives, latex tin plate and
even latex cups. Council still there Bekenu District Council is still on top of the hill, overlooking the “kuala” or the mouth of the Sibuti River, where it was first established by the Brookes to keep the peace and collect customs and excise.
In those days, there were already many fishing villages along the coast and riverbanks.
The fish market at the foot of the hill has since moved to the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC), about 2km away.
Many people miss the old fish market but the biggest boat jetty of Bekenu is found at the site and still used by the kampung folks when they need to travel to see the District Officer, or Sarawak Administrator Officer, or attend court. Bekenu godown The colonial wooden godown is still one of the landmarks of Bekenu town. It had seen brisk business when jungle produce such as rattan, dammar, and rubber were kept there before boats transproted them down to Miri. That was before the road was constructed by the government.
Longboats still are berthed on the riverbank while the drivers bring red gasoline canisters to buy ‘minyak gas’ from the Shell station in the area.
The wooden godown is a truly convenient store, providing a peep into the days and the lives of a by gone era. How long will this scenario be in Bekenu? Only time will tell.
For K Suring, driving to Bekenu during the school holidays with his friends to do some sightseeing, check out the local food and fruits and enjoy walking along the riverside one memorable experiences.
They park their car at the esplanade, then walk up to the government offices on the hill.
It is amazing how fond he is of the river breeze and the occasional chat with fishermen casting their jala by the riverbank.
“Those were the good old days,” he said.