Before
1st 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 shophouses consisted of atap roof and wooden walls and floors.
Main population was Malay and Chinese was minority. In 1841 "Sarawak" (the
present Kuching - Sarawak Capital) was ruled by 'White Rajah', James Brooke. On 1st June
1873, the third division was created and the division was named after the native rambutan
because of the fact that the division had a lot of native rambutan known as "Buah
Sibau" in Iban language. Native rambutan was small and sour unlike the improved
varieties currently sold in the market which are big and sweet with fruit easily removed
from the seed. Prior to 1900, the businessmen in the towns of Sarawak were mostly Kekhs or
Ming-nam people of Chinese origin. Business in those days was mainly barter trade.
In
1901 Mr. Wong Nai Siong led the first batch of Foochows from China to Sibu to open up the
fertile lands of Sibu for cultivation, a massive opening up of Sibu. Therefore, it was a
landmark year or a milestone in the history of the development of Sibu. Mr. Wong Nai
Siong originated from Ming Ching District, Foochow City, China. According to records, his
objectives in opening up Sibu were:
(a) to escape from the sufferings of the
totalitarian government of the Ching Dynasty
(b) to search for new avenues of livelihood for the poor in his village in China.
Mr. 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.
Mr. 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, Mr. Wong's plan was timely and very much appreciated.
So, when Mr. 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. Below are the
first 4 of the 17 terms of the agreement signed and sealed on 9th July, 1900 in Kuching.
Memo of Agreement was made in duplicate between the Sarawak
Government, hereinafter mentioned as the Government, on the first part and Messrs. Wong
Nai Siong and Lek Chiong of Chop Siin Hock Chaw Kang, hereinafter mentioned as the
Contractors on the other part.
1. The Contractors agree to introduce
into the Rejang River one thousand adult Chinese agriculturalists,men & women and
about three children and to establish them in that river for the purpose of cultivating
rice, vegetables, fruits, etc., but of these immigrants not more than one half are to be
introduced during the first year, that is to say before June 30, 1901, and the rest the
Contractors undertake to introduce during the following year, that is to say between June
30, 1901 and June 30, 1902.
2. The Government undertakes to advance
the Contractors the sum of thirty dollars (RM 30.00) for each adult and ten dollars (RM
10.00) for each child so introduced, and of these advances two thirds shall be paid to the
Contractors in Singapore, and the balance to Kuching on the arrival of the immigrants,
there and the Contractors undertake that moiety of the immigrants to be introduced during
the first year as mentioned in Paragraph 1 shall be brought to their destination in the
Rejang within 4 calendar months from the date they receive the advances in Singapore as
above mentioned.
3. The Contractors undertake to repay all
such advances to the Government within six years from the date of this Agreement as
follows: Nothing to be paid by the Contractors during the first year, during each of the
subsequent years one fifth of the advances to be paid each year, that is to say RM 6.00,
for each adult and RM 2.00 for each child in respect to the advances paid on their amount
in accordance with Section 2.
4. The Government undertakes to provide
for the passage of the above mentioned immigrants from Singapore to the Rejang, or, in the
event of the Contractors bringing these immigrants direct from China to the Rejang basin,
the Government will pay the Contractors RM 5.00 for each immigrant as passage money.
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. Some bachelors asked their parents back in China to "Marry
Girls" on their behalf and send them to Sibu. Although many of those new brides who
came to Sibu had never seen their partners before, they were happy to settle down. They
raised families and toiled with their husbands for a brighter future in Sibu.
When news of the efforts of the initial batches of the
immigrants bearing abundant fruits of their toiling and labouring in Sibu reached the
villages in China, more and more Chinese couples migrated to Sibu to join in the
search for greener pastures. Because of the fact that the majority of the Chinese
immigrants who came to Sibu were Foochows, and because the Foochows played a major role in
the opening up of the plantation area, Sibu has been called New Foochow or Small Foochow,
a tribute to the Foochows for their contributions to the development of the land in Sibu.
The term "New Foochow" or "Small Foochow" is not only locally used. It
is clearly stated in the April 1901 issue of Sarawak Gazette: "The settlers are from
Foochow and style their place the New Foochow".
Regarding the other dialect groups, according to records, the
Chiang-Chuan and Amoy people had come to Sibu earlier than the Foochows. But they did not
come in large groups and were mainly concerned with commercial activities. Also, between
1902 and 1917 six hundred seventy six Cantonese came to Sibu to join in the opening up of
Sibu. We are indeed indebted to our forefathers for having laboured and suffered
tremendously in their pioneering endeavours to open up Sibu as a new area for the
settlement of the immigrants. We should also not forget their concerted efforts to open up
school and Christian organizations. Let us, as descendants of the pioneers, strive for
further development and progress of our hometown, Sibu.
Introduction to Sibu