DRIVING across Sarawak, hopping from town to town, most people would
have passed by Sarikei, the Town of Swallows without having much
impression of the place. But if one cared to look deeper by
learning more about the town from the locals, one would know that
Sarikei, though classified as a second-tier town, is enchanting with a
lot to offer.
For starters, the place produces excellent
pineapples and one is reminded of the fact when passing by the two big
icons of the fruit, situated strategically at two different parts of the
town. Sarikei pineapples are, indeed, something the Division
should be proud of. They are well-known for their sweetness and
crunchiness which cannot be found in other pineapple species or the same
species planted elsewhere.
“Our pineapples are of the Maruritious
variety which thrive on Sarikei peat soil which is inundated by saline
water during high tide once or twice annually. Due to the soil type, the
pineapples grown here are crispy and tasty. “There was an attempt
to plant the same species elsewhere. But Sarikei pineapples grown
elsewhere cannot match those (of the same species) grown here,” Sarikei
Chinese community leader Pemanca Frederick Wong told thesundaypost.
Sweet-sour juicy
Apart from pineapples, Sarikei is also known for its green oranges which are sweet-sour juicy. “The
green oranges here are unique. When farmers in Bintangor first moved
the green orange trees into their gardens, they failed to produce fruits
as good as those of Sarikei.
“Later, they discovered if they were
to put some salt on the tree mounts, they were able to do so. The
practice has been in use since,” Frederick explained. Pineapples
and green oranges aside, if one were to stay longer and get to know the
place, one would find Sarikei far from being just a simple town with no
character or personality.
In fact, even its very nature of being a
simple town has been something that makes it stand out among others,
especially in time of economic downturn. “The people here are very
thrifty. They don’t live a lavish life. They save during boom and bad
times – and they are able to sail through,” he added.
The fruit basket
Sarikei
has been known as The Fruit Basket of Sarawak where there is a long
history of agricultural activities such as the planting of rubber,
pepper, pineapples, green oranges and other seasonal crops. Even until now, the Division is still the biggest pepper exporter.As
early as the 1950’s, engkabang (illipe nuts) was also one of export
items to Holland. Due to intense logging, the production of engkabang
has greatly decreased and now, export of this jungle produce is almost
nil.
Between the 1950’s and 80’s, Sarikei was the trading centre,
serving the surrounding towns of Pakan, Pantu and Bintangor from where
various agricultural produce would be sent to Sarikei to be traded. Agricultural
activities among the Chinese there have been on the decline as the
younger generation is moving away from the town to work abroad, leaving
behind elderly farmers and farm hands.
“There are now very few
young farm hands around. Most prefer earning big salaries in other parts
of the world such as Singapore, Papua New Guinea, South American,
Solomon Islands and Africa,” Frederick noted.
However, Sarikei’s
long history in agriculture still makes it strong economically although
sole dependence on agricultural activities has ceased to be the main
income-earner for the Division. While other traditional
agricultural activities have been slowing down, small-scale oil palm
planting and swiftlet farming are gaining significance in Sarikei.
The
former has been taken up by the Iban community while the latter mainly
by Chinese businessmen and also some of their Iban counterparts.
FOR THE BIRDS: These fortresses are meant for swiftlets, not men.
Colourful swiftlet farmhouses
Driving around Sarikei, it’s difficult to miss colourfully-painted swiftlet farmhouses that stand out from their surroundings. “The
swiftlet farmhouses here are characterised by their bright colours.
There are so many of them and their colours so distinctive that they
have become part of Sarikei’s characteristics,” Sarikei Resident Michael
Dawi Alli said.
Within the administrative Division of Sarikei,
the Chinese constitute 70 per cent of the 60,000 population while the
Iban and the rest 30 per cent.
Basically, a Chinese area, the town
recently regained its former reputation as the state’s trade centre
through competitively priced goods, quality services and products.
“Small in population as we are, there are about eight to 10 supermarkets of various scale in Sarikei town.
“These
supermarkets offer very competitive prices, attracting people from
Pakan, Spaoh, Saratok, Loban, Sessang, Julau, Pusa and even as far as
Beladin to do their shopping in Sarikei,” the Pemanca said.
GOLDEN ATTRACTIONS: Apart from Chinese herbs, the gold in Sarikei is cheaper than in other parts of the state.
Cheaper herbs and gold
Two very obvious examples of cheaper merchandise compared to other parts of Sarawak are Chinese herbs and gold. Sarikei
has been offering very reasonably priced Chinese herbs — and its Eight
Precious Herbs are famous for their modified combination which Sibu
customers find more acceptable and tastier.
The Chinese,
especially the Foochows, will make a special trip from Sibu to buy the
herbs while those from Bintulu or Kuching will acquire some before
continuing with their journey. Chinese herb business owner Ling
Soo Ming, 40, believed outstation customers made the effort to come due
to the better deals her shop offered.
“To have a competitive edge,
we offer cheaper prices. That way, though we have a lower profit
margin, we can make it up by making more sales,” said Ling who set up
the business with her husband, Ling Sien Chung, 45.
Gold accessory
shopowner Wong Hua Ting, 53, said Sarikei has been selling the
preciouis metal at a cheaper price than Sibu and other parts of Sarawak
for many years. According to Hua Ting, the gold sold in Sarikei is
RM2 or RM3 per gram cheaper than in Sibu and RM5 per gram cheaper than
in Kuching and Bintulu.
Wong and the Pemanca both claimed cheaper price of goods had been possible in Sarikei by cheaper rentals and lower living costs. Frederick noted: “It has been a conscious strategy businessmen came to realise after many years of trial and error.”
It
is the result of more than a decade of persistence and consistency,
hard work and sincerity of the Sarikei business community that has
finally established the town as one that offers “cheaper but good
quality” goods.
Road connectivity
Apart
from the good business acumen of the residents, thriving economic
activities in Sarikei have also been due to the good road connectivity,
especially after the construction of two bridges. Sarikei town is
surrounded on three sides by Batang Rajang, Sungei Sarikei and Sungei
Nyelong. With the completion of Sarikei Bridge and Nyelong Bridge, the
town is very well linked.
What is now lacking is a few bridges to link the town to Tanjung Manis, now reachable in 30 minutes by expressboat. Meanwhile, Michael Dawi said all facilities were in place for the town to be further developed into a high-income economy.
Sarikei,
now the fifth largest town in Sarawak after Kuching, Miri, Sibu and
Bintulu, is looking forward to the construction of the 15km-road linking
it to Tanjung Manis. “When this proposed road is completed,
Sarikei too will benefit from Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy
(Score) and its Halal Hub where our strength lies in our food and
agro-based products,” Michael said.
Proud of its tagline Sarikei
Towards an Agro-polis, the Resident believes the Division has been
moving in the right direction and will achieve its dream of becoming one
of the most popular towns in Sarawak.
“The next step is to modernise the farming sector,” he said.
Sarikei
is not far from its dream. It has been producing fresh fruits and
vegetables to serve other towns such as Sibu, Bintulu and Miri. With
continuous efforts to carve a distinctive identity for itself, coupled
with a progressive local business community, Sarikei will emerge as one
of the most popular and productive Divisions in the state.
A BARGAIN: Even the birdnests in Sarikei are cheaper than those in Sibu.
No comments:
Post a Comment