Scenes - Kuching to Sarikei Sea Trip - Rode no waves

Road trip or sea trip? That is the question when you plan to travel from Kuching to Sarikei and vice versa. If you don't need your car in Sarikei or Kuching and it's the non-monsoon season, then it makes sense to pay MYR40 for the convenience and shorter trip home (3.5 hours compared to 5-6.5 hours by road).

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There's only one company plying the Kuching-Tanjung Manis-Sarikei-Sibu route now with 2 boats, Bahagia No.1 and No.8. Sea Jet has moved its operations to Langkawi.

Wharf at Jalan Perlabuhan, Pending. 2012.

Waiting area and cafe at Jalan Perlabuhan wharf, Pending. 2012.

The "new" wharf has been completed for a while now. It's next to a bridge under construction to connect to the new Kuching convention center. You must allow time for peak morning traffic to reach this Pending wharf 15 mins before 8.30am. Register with your identity card at the counter and if you are early, enjoy a cup of local kopi at the small cafe.

 Express boat docked at the wharf. 2012.

 Bridge under construction. 2012.

Buy your ticket on board. It's free seating on the lower and smaller upper deck. Some people love the free breeze on the open deck. Smokers have no choice but to smoke outside. A fighting cock crowed every now and then and was traced to the first class department (which was locked and not open for business).

Luggage department on the open deck. 2012.

A huge canvas was used to protect the luggage on the open deck from any big waves or rain. No luggage receipts will be issued so you need to monitor your luggage at every stop to ensure that no over enthusiastic passenger make off with your fake LV luggage.

Free seating. Life jackets at the top. 2012.

The seats were comfortable. Trash bins were located under the seats. Life jackets were located at the top of each side. Snacks and drinks were sold at reasonable prices on board. The air con was freezing cold (bring your jacket!) because they didn't need to save on electricity generated by the running motors. A toilet was available for those with weak bladders.

Rejang village jetty. 2012

After half an hour, you will exit the Sarawak River into the South China Sea and enter the Rejang River at 2 hours 15mins after departure. The Tanjung Manis wharf has collapsed so passengers have to disembark at the Rejang village jetty (2.5 hours after departure at around 11am).

Sarikei terminal 2. 2012

The journey from Tanjung Manis to Sarikei will pass by several timber processing plants which tourists are interested to view after reading about the jungles of Borneo. You can reach Sarikei within 3 hours and 15 minutes to 3.5 hours - just in time for kam pua lunch. That is if you remember to get off at Sarikei's Terminal 2 - which may not look as familiar to you as Terminal 1. 

There will be no announcement made at each stop so don't get too comfortable in your own first class.

History: Rajang Teachers' College - Teaching you a lesson

Rajang Teachers' College, 2000s

Most of you can remember Rajang Teachers' College (RTC) as the first place in 6th Division to have a real swimming pool, i.e. not the silty Nyelong or Rejang River. How did RTC come about?

Rajang Teachers' College, 2011

Source: Amy Wong

Rajang Teachers' College was founded in 1966 by a joint venture between the Government of Malaysia and the Government of New Zealand with a site area of ​​32.3 hectares on the route between Sarikei and Julau.  

 Rajang Teachers' College, c1967

The construction cost of RM1.5 million was funded jointly under the Colombo Plan. RTC was officially launched on 31 October 1967 by Tun Abang Haji Openg bin Sapiee, the Sarawak Governor then and ex-student of St Anthony's School. RTC is now known as Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) Kampus Rajang.

 Tun Abang Haji Openg

  Rajang Teachers' College, c1967

RTC had been under the wings of 13 principals with 3 of them from New Zealand.

KJ Hayr from New Zealand,

First principal,

Rajang Teachers' College.

 

List of principals,

Rajang Teachers' College.

Rajang Teachers' College is one of the successful projects of 6th Division. She has churned out countless teachers that had taught several generations of students across Sarawak. Some teachers had taught in boarding schools in the rural communities of the upper reaches of the Rejang River and its tributaries. You should be able to see their booth at Pesta Nanas again this year.

Talk about teaching us a lesson.


Source: 
Rajang Teachers' College website 

History: Methodist School - Mission Possible.

When Americans Rev John Pilley and Mrs Pilley arrived in Sarikei in November 1953 on a Methodist Church mission, Sarikei's Repok Road had just completed replacing its wooden shop blocks with concrete shops at Block 4R, 4L, 5R and 5L in 1953. Bai Sheng cinema (next to Methodist) was showing movies from Malaya (eg: P. Ramlee) and Hong Kong.

 

Mrs Pilley's farewell with staff.

Back L6 Lau Pang Hung

Front L2 Ong Poh Ai 王保愛,L3 Mrs Pilley

20 April 1957

In 1920, a wooden Methodist church was built by 2 gentlemen (Wong Qing Bo黄清波 and Wong Qing Chun 黄清春) with an attached Sze Hua kindergarten 泗華小學. (Source: 1)

Under the leadership of Rev. Pilley in 1954, the classes of Methodist Anglo-Chinese School started at the ground floor of the wooden Huai Ren Hall of Methodist Church (now demolished), Sze Hua Kindergarten and the pastor’s quarters.

In 1955 Rev. Ting Shiew Kee 陳修其 and Rev. Pilley, church members Wong Ngiong Hua 王仰華 (Foochow kapitan), Chen Ko Ming (Cantonese kapitan) and Yek Suk Kang 葉菽幹 (head of Su Kwong 泗光 group) formed a steering committee to oversee the construction of a new school building. In 1956, a double story building with six classrooms was completed.

Staff of Methodist School, 1970

Back: L3 Wong Ngiik Lang; L5 Kong Wei Hing; L6 Mr Chung; L7 the late Mr Lu; L8 Wong Chin Hook
Front: L1 Mrs Wong (Mdm Ling Ngiik Siew); L3 Mrs Chen Ko Ming, L4 Chen Ko Ming; L5 Lau; L6 Tan Kien Sin; L8 Chang Wei Chong

Under the leadership of school superintendent Dr. Tang Ting Hing 鄧忠心 and Hii Kwong Hing 許廣興 a two-storey concrete building with six classrooms opened in 1963.

 

Methodist School. Form 3, 1959 ( a temporary class).

Methodist Secondary School staff 1969.

Front: L1 Teresa Lim, L3 Mr Ed Shields (principal), L5 Jane Celestine

The ladies at the back row were the clerk and librarian.

Source: Mr Celestine

The Secondary School (Form 1-5) was on top of a hill at  3rd mile Repok Road

With the approval of the school committee, Lau Pang Hung 刘邦训, the principal, applied to the Ministry of Education in Kuching to add a Chinese section to meet parents' requests. The process was complex and obstacles of various forms got in the way. However, under the assistance of Chen Ko Ming and the support of others, the request was granted to create a new milestone.

 

Methodist Kindergarten. 1964

The school went through two expansions. Two classrooms and a dental clinic were added in 1971. In 1974, four additional rooms were added to the school, with a library and a filing room. The construction was funded from the school's budget, donations from the academic staff, the steering committee and allowance from the Ministry of Education. Mr. Lau Pang Hung retired on September 9th, 1985. His retirement was commemorated with the opening of a three-storey building with nine classrooms.

Methodist School's history and list of principals.

Source: 1 submitted by Ease Chen

Click to enlarge.

In the academic field, the school excelled in the 1985 Primary Five assessment examination. In 1986, she was voted the best school in 6th Division and the school’s ranking was elevated to Grade A rating with thirty three academic staff and nine hundred students. In mid July 1986, she became the first school in Sarikei to have a three-storey building.

This school owes its roots to the 1920 wooden Methodist Church and its pioneers who deemed nothing was impossible in their quest.

Acknowledgements: 

• Ease Chen for the photos and magazine clips.
• Eddie Wong for the translation of the history to English.

Source:

(1) 80th Anniversary souvenir issue of Methodist Church's Huai Ren Hall. 取自怀仁堂80周年纪念刊