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| Sungai Merah Town |
Before 1 June 1873, Sibu was known as "Maling", named after the winding portion, "Tanjung Maling", on the other side of Rejang River. Maling was a small village with a few small and simple shop houses with atap roofs and wooden walls and floors. The main population was Malay; and Chinese were in a minority.
In 1841 "Sarawak" (the present Kuching - Sarawak Capital) was ruled by 'White Rajah', James Brooke. On 1 June 1873, the third division was created and the division was named after the native rambutan fruit because the division had a lot of native rambutan known as "Buah Sibau" in the Iban language.
In 1901 Pastor Wong Nai Siong (Huang Naishang) led the first batch of Foochow Christians from China to Sibu to open up the fertile lands of Sibu for cultivation, a massive opening up of Sibu. This was a landmark year in the history of the development of Sibu.
Pastor Wong Nai Siong came to Singapore in September 1899. From there, he proceeded to West Malaysia, Sumatra and the Dutch East Indies. For six months he explored the places but failed to find a suitable place for the immigration and settlement of his folks in China. In April 1900, Mr. Wong Nai Siong came to Sarawak and got the approval of the Sarawak Rajah to look for a suitable site for Chinese immigrants.
Pastor Wong explored the lower valley and upper reaches of the Rejang River. He soon discovered that the Rejang Delta was very fertile and particularly suitable for cultivation. So he decided to choose the area for opening up for cultivation. With that decision, Mr. Wong went to see the second Rajah of Sarawak, Rajah Charles Brooke, for discussions regarding the matter of opening up of land for cultivation. In those days of the Rajahs, Sarawak was sparsely populated with vast land yet to be developed, Pastor Wong's plan was timely and very much appreciated.
So, when Pastor Wong Nai Siong went to see Sir Charles Brooke and explained to him his plan to lead large groups of Foochows to open up Sibu for cultivation, the Rajah immediately agreed. Both parties signed an agreement.
The Chinese immigrants came in three batches. The first batch consisted of 72 people, the second batch 535, and the third batch 511, totalling 1118 people. Of the total, 130 brought their spouses and families, while the others were bachelors. After working in Sibu, nearly all the immigrants chose to settle down and made Sibu their new home. They were happy to settle down for a brighter future in Sibu.
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| Sg. Merah bazaar is about 15 mins drive from Sibu town and is also the old section of Sibu where wood and cement buildings still stand and its Sg. Merah Heritage Walk where the river has been declared a Heritage River. |
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| The rainfall turned the once upon a time Sg. Merah (Red River) river water red to murky yellow. |
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| From the source: Sibu’s transformation began in 1901 with the arrival of Foochow settlers from southern China, led by the Reverend Wong Nai Siong. |
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| I'd never knew till now, what he looked like. A serious man. |
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| According to history, Rev. Wong was a Methodist missionary who sought to find a safe haven for his followers, who were subject to religious persecution in China. |
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| Rev. Wong petitioned Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, who gladly offered land in the Lower Rajang area in order to develop Sarawak’s agriculture. |
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| The first batch of 72 pioneers arrived in 1901, and by 1903 over 1,000 Christian Foochow had made their homes in Sibu. |
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| They were later followed by a sizeable groups of Henghuas and Cantonese during the 1st World War period. |
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| A little history of Sibu, the name Sibu comes from sibau (rambutan in Iban language). Originally a small trading post, it grew quickly into a major town that supplied sawn timber, plywood, logs, express boats, rubber, liquors, pepper, cocoa, palm oil, mushrooms, pineapples, sago and pottery to the world... |
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| and the State’s largest circulated English daily, The Borneo Post, also started here. One of its famous sons is newspaper moghul and timber merchant Tan Sri Datuk Tiong Hiew King who resides in a stately home in Brooke Drive and owns newspapers in Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia and Hong Kong. |
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| The Wong Nai Siong Memorial Park was built in honour of Sibu’s founding father, is part of the Sungai Merah Heritage Walk that was constructed in 2001 to celebrate the centennial of the arrival of the Foochow (who were largely responsible for the town’s development.) |
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| The well maintained old wooden shop houses at Sg. Merah's bazaar. |
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| Millions in funding for the keeping of the park contributed by The Foochow Associations throughout Sarawak. |
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| Not so sure what's written here, can't read Mandarin. |
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| Foochow Associations, I recognise the Chinese words, 'Fu Zhou Kong Hui' refers to Association. |
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One of the oldest wooden houses (Ting Villa at Sg. Merah.)
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from jg blog
Asal-usul orang Melayu sibu
Pada hujung minggu, teman sekeluarga melepas penat-lelah di Dataran Bandar Sibu fasa 2.. Sempat juga meninjau-ninjau kawasan sekeliling. Di situ dibina sebuah Monumen Perkuburan Islam Kg Pulau sebagai memperingati kawasan perkuburan lama dan penempatan terawal masyarakat Melayu Sibu.
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| Tugu perkuburan lama |
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| sejarah awal pembinaan di lokasi |
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| Asal usul Melay |
Sebahagian catatan yang terdapat pada plak yang terdapat pada monumen itu
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| Sejarah Melayu |
Orang Melayu Sibu
Orang Melayu Sibu berasal daripada banyak kaum seperti Melanau, Arab, Iban, Kayan, India dan Cina menerusi perkahwinan dan pengambilan anak angkat.
Sejak abad ke 13, Kesultanan Melayu Brunei telah menguasai keseluruhan pantai di utara Borneo termasuk Lembah Sungai Rejang dan penguasaannya tersebar ke Belaga .......
Timbul di pikiran teman apakah catatan ini tepat dengan fakta-fakta sejarah setelah dibuat pengkajian teliti oleh ahli-ahli sejarah tempatan. Mengikut catatan sejarah tentang kewujudan masyarakat
Melayu di Borneo amat berbeza sekali..
Sejarah memainkan peranan yang amat besar dalam pembentukan ketamadunan dan jati diri sesuatu bangsa..Barangkali..
dari blog Satu Destinasi
