Dewan Undangan Negeri sarawak Building construction

A red perahu tambang pass by the still on going construction Dewan Undangan Negeri sarawak Building - Circa 2007

Pak Tambang of Sarawak River

A Pak Tambang at Jetty waiting for customers

Yellow Penambang of Sarawak River

Yellow Penambang of Sarawak River

Old Photo of Penambang of Sungai Sarawak

Penambang of Sungai Sarawak - Circa 1950's

Penambang of Sarawak river in 1970's

Penambang,Sungai Sarawak with background of Malay Kampung - Circa 1970's

Sungai Sarawak circa 1981

Pemandangan di Sungai Sarawak sekitar tahun 1981.Jika dibandingkan dengan sekarang (June 2017).Terdapat banyak perubahan yang kita boleh lihat dan bezakan ,antaranya

1.Bentuk Perahu Tambang - Rata-ratanya pada ketika ini banyak yang masih menggunakan kayuhan sahaja membelah Sungai Sarawak.Berbanding sekarang menggunakan Engine Boat dan Kayuhan (bergantung air pasang-surut atau cuaca dan arus sungai)

2.Tebingan Sungai Kuching - Tebingan Sungai Kuching atau Kuching Waterfront dibina sekitar awal 1990an.Sebelum itu kaasan tebingan Kuching ini adalah Pelabuhan untuk kapal-kapal dagang ,Kapal Tentera,Kapal-kapal dari jabatan kerajaan lain dan kapal-kapal Swasta.

Terdapat juga gudang-gudang besar yang menjadi tempat penyimpanan barang-barang yang diturunkan dari kapal ,Kebanyakkan gudang  tersebut telah dirobohkan kecuali satu yang dijadikan "Godown Ampithetre" untuk tujuan persembahan seperti acara tarian,nyanyian dan sebagainya.

Terdapat juga sebuah bangunan yang dikekalkan menjadi kedai dan restoran.
Dengan terbinanya "Sarawak Barrage" dan dua Tambak iaitu Tambak bako dan Tambak pending,Sungai sarawak telah berubah kegunaannya,dahulu banyak kapal-kapal bersaiz dari kecil hingga besar termasuk bot ekspress yang menuju ke perkampungan pesisir bergerak melaluinya.Namun sekarang sudah agak sunyi,hanya kapal nelayan Bot Tunda,perah-perahu kecil nelayan dan paling besarpun kapal persiaran penumpang yang ada merentasnya.

Salah satu kebaikan yang diperolehi dari terbinanya barrage dan tambak ini ialah,air pasang surut dapat dikawal dimana mudah untuk menganjurkan pesta sungai seperti Regatta,yang mana dahulunya terpaksa menunggu air pasang barulah dapat dilangsungkan.Selain itu,ia dapat mengawal  air semasa banjir .

3. Bangunan DUN baharu - Bukit di belakang yang luas itu adalah tempat dimana DUN Baharu Sekarang.Berhampiran kawasan DUN itu pula terdapat Kuarters dan Ibu Pejabat Pasukan Polis Hutan yang lebih dikenali warga tempatan sebagai Brigade.Keseluruhan kawasan Brigade sudah diluaskan untuk pembinaan DUN.Brigade sekarang sudah dipindahkan ke batu Kawah iaitu kem Pasukan Polis Hutan ,Batalion ke 11.

Terdapat juga sebuah perkampungan tempatan berhampiran kawasan DUN ini iaitu Kampung Astana,kesemuanya telah dipindahkan ke kawasan lain untuk penempatan semula.

Retro Image of Perahu Tambang of Sarawak River

 
Retro Image of Perahu Tambang of Sarawak River, probably sometimes in 1950's or 1960's

Kuching Old Photo

Once Upon a time in Kuching , a perahu Tambang ,young girls playing in the river and  Kuching Old Mosque and Brooke Dockyard.

Pengkalan kampung Lintang, Kuching

Sungai sarawak mempunyai beberapa Pengkalan yang menghubungkan kedua dua belah daratan ,dimana satu bahagian adalah kawasan Pasar dan Bandar manakala sebelah bahagiannya pula adalah Kampung-kampung melayu tradisi. Ini adalah salah satu pengkalannya iaitu Pengkalan kampung Lintang,Kuching. Foto ini diambil dari bahagian seberang sungai.

Sarawak River Panoramic View

View of Sarawak River with Penambang,Wisma Bapa Malaysia and State DUN.

Credit to : jeraul 75

Pak Tambang of Sungai Sarawak

View from Inside of Penambang of Sarawak River.

New Water Taxi of Sarawak River

Photo : From Uncle Awang
Recently, water Taxi of Sarawak River launched in waterfront during Satok Fest (Satok fest in waterfront??) New concept modern in style and full with safety measure.Few months earlier ,there was a competition organised by SEDC (sarawak Economy Development Authority).Competition to public designing water taxi for Sarawak River.

There is a proposal to make a water taxi in Sarawak River similar to Gondola in Itali.The idea is in context of tourism where it reflect that Kuching is River city like in Milan..huhu..that's is so far away and European,that is their trademark.As a Kuchingite, i opposed this idea.We have our own pak Tambang and this is our Sarawak River Trademark.You think of Sarawak River,the other thing you think is Pak Tambang.So there is no connection between Gondola and Sarawak River.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNwtLCUlPy0

Sarawak River 1966

Time : Sometime in 1966 Location : Sarawak River
Back then the Penambang of Sarawak River the boat pattern doesnt have much different from today,accept back then they dont use boat engine and no aevertisement on the roof of their Sampan

Kuching view From Kampung Gersik

Kampung Gersik located across the Kuching Golden Triangle,located near to kampung Boyan whicjh just opposite the Kuching Waterfront and mopst of well known Hotel in Kuching Sarawak.You can go there by road take 15 to 20 minutes by car or motorcycles or only 1 minute acrossing the Sarawak River by Penambang (river boat)

Penambang of Sarawak River

Bor mengebor rak mengerak

bunyi perahu melanggar ombak

Kampunglah gersik,kampung boyan ,kampung semarang

ya sayang

sourabaya ulu,panglima seman

di kampung ulu sinjan,ke kampung Lintang

Dari sinjan ke pengkalan batu

singgah di ceko ke pasar minggu

o ya sayang

o ya sayang

bawa penumpang sepanjang malam.

1.For those who are not sarawakian,this song is dedicated to Pak Tambang of sarawak River that his job carrying passenger across the river from the village across the river to the other side.This song is aired in the radio during middle and end of 1980's.On that i'm still in primary school..mm about 9 to 11 years old.So when wake up and want to go to school,almost every morning i can heard this song. Its just an ordinary song telling the Pak Tambang daily life crusing the river from morning to midnight.From which location to which location.I did blogging about pak tambang before,a few months ago.

2.In my previous blog,my blog is relating the proposed bridge that will be build from the new Dewan Undangan Negeri to other side of the river.It maybe useful for tourist or people who lived across the river,but for Pak Tambang..the future hold nothing but confrontation (huhu sound like lyric from song)

3. No one knows about the reality and life of Pak tambang beside the villagers living by the rivers and daily users of this Pak Tambang..( it was me before..)So where should i start,i live at the kampung of sarawak River Shore not exactly near to river but my kampung is near to river..its kampung semarang.nearby to kampung panglima seman and kampung pulo(exactly between).So during the years 1960 and 1970's according tomy fahter,when there is no jambatan Tun Abdul Rahman at Satok,there is no car in our road kampung.

4. So when everybody want to go for working,go to town ,go to school they use Penambang or sampan.So penambang is the main transportation on that time.as what i can recall during my childhood days,early 1980's is when car entered our kampung Road.But still that time people prefer using penambang as it save time and money of course.You see,Kuching is made from several island and lagoon(if usee from google earth) the Kampung and city centre is just opposite each other but it takes times using car to reach for the destination.

5. My father was a marine police and work at Bintawa Marine police base andto save time etc we stay at the police quarters.When we want to return to Kampung semarang,so we use the penambang.The jetty is at Padungan area at jalan Ang Cheng Ho( not far from the elephant Bistro and snooker centre).The jetty shared by Kampung Pulo ulu to..and not far from the jetty there was "Tukang Besi" area which blacksmith working and staying there.And there was Kampung Buah Jetty which used by kampung Buah folks from across the river (Kampung Buah is another name for Kampung Panglima Seman lama..actually buah in malay meaning fruit but until today i cannot relate the fruit and the village)
6. And so on,time change..Tukang Besi Area now become part of Kuching history and Tukang Besi(Blacksmith area) now become Blacksmith Road and now there is condominium there.At present time there is two other bridge build along sarawak river beside Tun Abdul Rahman Bidge at satok..one at Demak Jaya and the other one is Jamabatan Tun Salahuddin at Bintawa area.So road access to Kampung area nowadays is easier and much better.But the other side of reality,Penambang become an endangered job.There is few jetty that have not used for several years and demolished like :-

a.Bintawa tengah and Bintawa Ulu jetty(both at kampung and opposite river)-beside old Kuching Port Authority
b.The kampung buah and Tukang besi jetty(now become condominium)
c.Kampung panglima seman Ulu Jetty(in kampung)
d.Kampung Pulo tengah and Hilir

7.Compare to Kampung Upriver(Kampung seberang Ulu) Lot of the jetty still in operation.Or like at Kampung Boyan,pengkalan haji Omar,the jetty is still active with local kampung people and tourist using it.But for those who doesnt know,there is slightly differences sampan use by the upriver kampung and my kampung.I dont have the photo with me but most of the difference is :-
a.the size of the boat
b.the boatmen(pak tambang location) at ulu the pak tambang is in front while in kampung hilir the pak tambang is behind.
c.and usually pak tambang in my kampung area is local fro kuching while the others are from kota samarahan.

8.Yes Kota samarahan,and its far from kuching considered they use their boat to come to Kuching...away from their home..the Pak tambang actually sleep inside their boat,eating,praying and doing other stuff there..so pity of them.They come with shift.ususally for one week a month in Kuching and change their shift with other members.Life nowadays is not like during 1960's,1970's and 1980's.I can say it that this is not their time anymore,people prefer travelling by land than using penambang.penambang is just merely become Kuching iconic symbol..sarawak River with Pak Tambang..thats all..

9. During my school years i always use penambang to go to school ..that was on 1995 and 1996(my form 6 at s.m.b st thomas)During that time school children charge 10 cent ,adult 20 cent,compare to today it rise 10 cent..(what i heard from my father during 70's it cheaper..)..For those school children using the penambang,usually they went to :-

a.smb st thomas
b.smb st mary
c.kuching high school
d.st theresa
e.st joseph etc etc...

10. that time,i use my uncle bike (yamaha 100) and then park the bike at kampung boyan then use penambang then walk about 5 minutes to school..i remember one incident ,morning times,we were nearly accident as the pak tambang actually customised his boat into something weird,he change the navigator into a car stering..just imagine,its hard to control when the navigator which was simple then customised into car stering..and so a fisherman boat pass infront of us..the wave give a big impact,the pak tambang doesnt have enough time to navigate it and we nearby drown...

perghh that was really scary experience for me..as i dont know how to swim heheh

this story will be continue other time in another blog topics..as now pak tambang still exist,but it likely to become extinct soon..huhu