My parents, John Chan Hiu Fei and Mary Kong Wah Kiew. 陳鹞飛/陈鹞飞

陳鹞飛/陈鹞飞

Handsome couple Mr. and Mrs. Chew Chiong Tack. Mr Chew Kindly let me use this photo. Mrs. Chew made the dress. What a beautiful dress it is. My mum would have been a beautiful bride. I love the bouquet,

I was pleasantly surprised to receive this email. It's from the 

son of Mr Chew. We older kids knew Father's good friend 

Chiong Tack. He had a shop near the wharf. Father was the 

Secretary of the Old Boy's Association, and Chiong Tack 

was the treasurer. I was indirectly involved because I help 

father to collate the annual report. We remember the DA 

POW from the association dinners. ( That resulted in my first

 published article in the Dolphin magazine).

I will copy Dr John Chew's first email, and his brother Paul 

Chew's comment to my blog post.I am sure they do not 

mind. Both my parents are dead, and finding Mr Chew 

Chiong Tack is like finding our relative.

Dear Ann, 

We have not met but our parents were good friends.

My brother was googling my father's name and came 

across Sarawakiana blog and your posting about my 

mother's wedding dress. My parents are 90 years old 

now and they remembered both your parents well. My Dad

 said your father and him were very good friends,and 

being in the Old Boys committee together for many 

years before your Dad was transferred to Sarikei. . He 

talked about their two heads clashing and my father 

ended up worse off with a black eye.My Mum remembered 

the unfortunate accident involving your Mum. 

This is a picture of their wedding 12th September 1942.
They are in Kuching now with us, and lately have not

 been of their best health.

My brother Paul tried to reply on your blog but I 

think email is better.

I  got to your blog through Sarakiana's blog after googling 

my father's name. My father is Chew Chiong Tack. Yes, he 

was your father's good friend. He even remembered your 

father's black eye from football injury. My parents are now 

staying with us in Kuching. They are both 90 and have fond 

memories of the good old days. 


Paul Chew 

My parents were married during the World War 2, (Japanese 

War), they didn't take a wedding photo. Sometime after mum 

had died in 1988, I tease dad if they eloped. I asked dad if 

Mother wore Aunty Kok Fei's wedding dress because I have 

see Aunty's dress and her wedding photos. Dad said he 

borrowed Mrs. Chew Chiong Tack's wedding dress. I never 

asked why his friend's wife and not Aunty Kok Fei's. I am 

curious, and now I have the opportunity to find out. Uncle 

Kok Fei was sort of Father's best man when they paddled 

the canoe up Rejang River to Durin and fetch Mother down 

to Sibu. 

The Japanese came, at fifteen, Mother gave up her dreams of studying in the big city and became a candidate for a child bride match making session. Ah Tai promised her that she would choose a young man of fine character, educated and from a good family. Ah Tai went out to reconnoiter with her cousin Lai Siong who was a match maker. She must have loved her granddaughter so much to travel during the perilous war time in a little canoe. Together they scoured fifty miles of both sides of Rejang River, and the whole of Sibu town. Word came that five miles upriver was that fine young man who fitted the bill. He was unfortunately not a Hakka but a Kwong Ning boy and a Chan.

Traditionally the Hakka Kongs married only the Hakka

 Lais, and vice versa. The Cantonese Chans married 

only the Cantonese Lees, and vice versa. But then beggars cannot be choosers.

 Was Father a willing partner? Father had to be practical and 

quickly find a wife. For him, it was the fear of forcefully 
conscripted to the Japanese army. 

I have got permission from my Mum for you to use the

 photo.

Answers to your queries:

1. My grandfather owned a shop selling clothing 

material besides practicing as a Chinese Physician.

 During the Japanese Occupation cloth was in very 

short supply and there was a rush to get married amid 

rumours of conscription and comfort ladies. The 

wedding gown was made by "tukang" 
.
My Mum made the head band and bouquet out of paper 

flowers herself. Many brides did not wear wedding gown 

because of the rush and of the short supply! My Dad 

said many weddings were celebrated by as much as 

letting off the firecracker and nothing else! Mum said 

your Mum was about her size and she lent the gown to 6 

other brides!

2. The name Rose probably came the Catechism teacher 

so there were many Marys and Roses.

John Chew.

Living with the soil.

We love working with the soil, my brother Joseph is a lawyer, he has a beautiful garden. 

In the midst of a 21st century concrete jungle of Singapore, I protected myself with a green jungle, Nanyang technologgical University.  This jungle gave reprieve and enjoyment to my overseas friends. 

I had a gardening column in a website which provided a lot of information on "How to grow in a tropical island."

Here are just some of my plants.

Johor Ferns give a good carpet cover

I grew the bird's nest fern from a little seedling, and put it under a big tree.

Blue ginger aka galangal for curry, Thai and Chinese dishes.

Yellow ginger aka Tumeric,

Peace lily.

Dracaena

Pandan

Banana for fruit and leaves

Papayas.

The others are local herbs.

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

Documentary made in Sarawak.

I was 15, in Form Three in Methodist Secondary school. I was excited. My class was chosen to be part of a documentary some Americans were making. Stardom was hard, we sat through takes and retakes. 

At the end of the day, most of us were not even in the documentary. It is interesting many many years later in 2012, the documentary made it to the internet.

I wrote to Michael Rogge who uploaded these documentaries.


Dear Michael,

I watched this year and again today. I was one of the students in that Class Form 3 B which was shot one Saturday morning, Unfortunately, the camera didn't show the rest of the students, including me. A Malay girl Aminah was featured. I enjoyed all the scenes depicted in the documentary. The Iban boy, his real name was Martin. I am happy to share with with my family members who don't live in Sarawak anymore and my foreign friends. Sadly Lee Ming Dan was killed in an accident last year, Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd0sylp3Zm4&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ge3013xK7Nc

Cultural Beliefs.

                            The Chan Family 1970 January

The capsize of the recent Kawan Mas express boat in the upper Rejang River reminded me of another, almost 40 years ago. This one at the mouth of the Rejang River.

In the December of 1973, an overloaded ship Pulau Kijang from Kuching to Sibu sank at the mouth of Rejang River. It was at the height of the torrential monsoon. A few hundred people drowned, there were few survivals. Most of the people were from Sarikei. 

While there was no one we personally knew who were affected by the drowning, the Chans were involved in the aftermath of it.

Father was in the committee for the Pulau Kijang Ship disaster. Mother was a “volunteer” as the wife of a senior officer. She was to accompany relatives to identify the dead.

They set up a temporary morgue. It was next to where Father was staying. Mother said, she could smell the terrible stench every time they passed by the building.

The bodies were bloated, there were many missing parts. He had to comfort grieving relatives. He accompanied the Chief Minister, Datuk Tan Sri Yakkub. The CM cried, Father and Mother were sure those were real tears. Mother said she could not eat for days after seeing the drowned, body parts and their grieving relatives. 

Mother told us that people believed that when a blood relative went to identify a body part, the part would bleed, but a non blood relative will not, even if they were a spousal relation. 

She did not know how true it was, but she did not poo poo them. It was gut wrenching to see relatives going from one part to another. Mother respected this, and matter how much Mother wanted them to rush through, she just stood by letting them cry out their loved ones name, and then in disappointment, move to another body part. They didn’t want their relatives to be homeless ghosts.

A 3rd Chan was involved. In 1977, my oldest brother Charles returned from New Zealand to work for the law firm that represented the ship owners.

We were all involved indirectly. Father moved to a class 2 senior servant quarter at Repok Road. The immediate previous occupant was the pilot who was supposed to drive the ship safely into the river. Some people asked us if we dared to stay in the house. People say the ghosts of the victims might come and haunt us.

Cultural beliefs are very sensitive issues. There is no right or wrong. I am an ESOL teacher, I am trained to respect another's culture. In New Zealand, I have seen where there are drowning at the beach, people come and leave flowers. 

OLD AIRPORTS AND OLD PLANES.

"What are your childhood memories made of? A game? A park? A special place you used to visit? OR Look around you. Watch for places and things you'd like your children to remember. Or maybe you see children creating memories as we speak. What will be the thing they remember as classic?" Ellisa


This is a sweet story dear to my heart and my siblings' hearts. It has a special meaning to us.

During the Second World War aka as the Japanese War in Asia, the Japanese soldiers conscripted all able bodied men to break rocks and build the road leading to the Sibu airport. 

In the morning, the men in our village had to walk, barefooted,  5 miles to the site and in the evening , 5 miles back. There was still animosity with the Foochows who had arrived in Sibu before us. The young immature green horns would get in a fight, and the Japanese punishment was harsh, both groups were punished.

My Grand dad was old, and it was back breaking work for him. The Japanese were cruel and beat the labourers at the drop of the hat. My dad knew my grandpa would not survive this cruel treatment and volunteered to take his place. Fortunately my dad who was in his late teens had studied his high school, and the Japanese relieved him of this hard work and gave him a clerical work going to the fields to assess the produce of farmers.

After the war, Dad and Granddad were proud that with their blood and sweat, they had built this road. When we were little, Dad would take us his his little Fiat and drive to the airport and watch the Fokker Friendship take off. He would say," I built this road."

These days, Fokker Friendships are not the only planes that fly from this airport. But for reminiscence, my brother Henry took his kids in a Fokker Friendship. He told them great grandpa and Grandpa's story and also by flying a Fokker Friendship, you get to feel how it is like to embark and disembark a plane.

Sam and I flew this Fokker Friendship to the Mulu Caves and he got to know a bit of his roots.

• Cobalt Aviation Great story and memory Ann. The 

  
  

  Fokker Friendship was a real hard working plane those 

  
  

  days. I remember them coming into Miri- Lutong airport 

  
  

  back wen I was and too. This plane now going to Mulu Is 

  
  

  not a Fokker, but the ATR-72-500. I believe it's made in 

  
  

  Brazil. Fokker was Dutch made. But I think we just call all 

  
  

  planes " Fokker" coz that's our memory, right ?  I love 

  
  

  reading your blog !!

  Like · Reply · 14 minutes ago via mobile
• 

  Freddie Wong Ann Chin it is MAS WINGS ATR-7 and

  
  

   looks exactly like the pic

  Like · Reply · 1 · 9 minutes ago

  
  
• 

  Cobalt Aviation Yes, ATR-72-500 series

How Great Thou Art.

Miss Jackie Fries was a missionary from USA to Sibu twice. She taught me Maths and Physics in Form 4 and form 5 in Methodist Secondary School, Sibu. She was my form teacher. I have forgotten the formal education, but I have not forgotten the two hymns she taught. Amazing Race and How Great Thou Art.

Photos show Miss Fries listening to 3 years old Sam read. I was privileged to host Miss Fries during her Singapore legs of the Reunion in 1999.

Our visitor singer David Morris came to sing in Mt Albert Baptist Church last Sunday. . http://www.davidlylemorris.com/ . He led us to sung How Great Thou Art, first in Maori, and then in English. He said that the Maori Battalion sang it before they went to fight in World War Two.  It was the 28th Maori Battalion, a legendary 

unit that in World War II fought across Greece, Crete, North

 Africa and through Italy.It was the legendary Maori Battalion song;

Almost 3600 men served overseas with the Maori Battalion 

between 1940 and 1945. Of these, 649 were killed in action or died on active service.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2CHyXDJtfU

By

How Great Thou Art _ Whakaaria Mai Lyrics Sir Howard Morrison

http://www.youtube.com/embed/I6NMlFoaESM

Preserving our culture: Our Cantonese Zhung

This is the plant we use the leaves to wrap the zhung.


The standard big one is more than 1/2 a kg. Some mums make it smaller so it cane be eaten by one person.




Our Kwong Neng Cantonese make a special big Zhung. It is big enough to feed a family. To be extravagant, we would have 2 at one seating.

Grandpa went to the jungles and found this big leaf plant which is bigger than the galangal plant and tamed it as a cultivated plant. I have seen him make it and mould it into a pyramid with a rectangle base. 

This Zhung is very significant, we don't eat it only during the Duan Wu aka Dragon festival. We eat it at all special occassions. It is auspicious, the wrapping represents clothing, and the filling food. We have a big slab of belly of pork. Fat means prosperity. The ingredients are glutinious rice, pork, peanuts, shitaki mushroom, white nuts aka ginko nuts and dried shrimp.

When we eat it, Ah Kung would say, got food to eat, and clothes to wear. We don't have any need in life.

To eat it, Ah Kung would use a clean pair of chopsticks and cut the zhung into two. Then he mixes up the rice and ingredients so everyone gets a bit of everything. Thus signifying harmony.

Our Ah Kung made this, mum learnt from him. My two older sisters Rose and Elizabeth too have learnt it. Sister Margaret has a clump of this plant in her garden. It's my roots, and when I visit the old home country, I must ask Rose to teach me.

This zhung is made by my 3rd Aunty Ah Fong and kindly posted on Facebook by her daughter Catherine. Thanks Catherine.

Thanks Sharlene for taking the photo of the plant.