Tebedu: Yesterday & Today.

Tebedu, a sleepy small border town (I prefer to use 'bazaar')  has attracted both domestic and international attention. Sometimes  ago, after  the State Legislative Election, the sleepy town had rocked the nation (probably the world) with its news related to logging activities in a few kampung. Recently, once again it was highlighted for its Inland Port issue. Today, it appears again but for good reason. I could not resist but to share my memories. So, it gives an idea for my entry after a long break.

Back to the 50s and 60s (according to my father), it was an international trading centre. Going upriver, it was the last trading 'post' after Tebakang. It is situated along a small Suhu River, a tributary of Kayan River (down river after Serian, it is known as Sadong River). It had served both the local (Sarawakian) and Indonesian Bidayuh communities for a very long time. They travelled either by boats or on foot. The villagers from Tema, Sungan and Sejijag would use boats whereas those from Temong, Ntubuh and other Indonesian villages would be on foot. Villagers would spend the nights along the five foot ways and the river banks because they could not make it a day trip. It was alive. Besides getting their basic needs the villagers also would work for the Chinese 'towkays'. They would transport rubber, pepper, engkabang and other jungle produce down the river to Tebakang. Tebakang was their destination because the road from Serian stopped there. From Tebakang, the goods would be transported by lorries. According to my father, they would transport the rubber by using bamboo rafts whereas pepper would be transported in boats (they could not afford to get them wet). Chinese New Year was always celebrated together. The Chinese towkays would invite the villagers to Tebedu. The villagers would come to celebrate the "Gawai Bisina" (Chinese Festival) together. The five-foot way was the place. Food and drinks would be laid out similar to the longhouse way. Those were the brief stories from my father.

In the mid 70s, I experienced spending my early education in this very small sleepy bazaar. In 1976, I stepped my foot in SRK Tebedu (now SK) for my primary one class. At the age of six (not yet 7), I had to stay at the boarding house because there is no school in my kampung (to this day). This was quite an experience. First, my age, second, the sad condition of the hostel in those days. I just did what the others were doing, waking up in the morning, general cleaning, washing, breakfast and going to class, without really knowing why I was there. Our daily meals only consists of pumpkins, noodles, canned sardine and salted fish. These was because there was no electricity supply and there was no way fresh or frozen food could be served. The menu consisted of the combination of only two: either pumpkin plus sardine or noodle plus sardine. If we had pumpkin + sardine for lunch then we would have noodle + sardine for dinner. Repeated for the whole week (weeks, months and years). Just imagine how malnourised we were. Weekend stay would be the worst- salted fish (kembong) for lunch and dinner because our cook was too lazy to come and prepare our lunch and dinner. She (hehe) would fry the kembong and cook rice early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Food was cooked by using firewood. Who supplied the woods? We did! We had to look for firewood in the afternoon and weekends. We endured for SIX YEARS. Longer than the  Japanese Concentration Camp!!!

The town itself was alive especially on Sundays. Since the Bidayuh in this area are mostly Catholic, Sundays are off-days. In the 70s, the villagers stopped using Suhu River to get to Tebedu. On Sundays, the Chinese would wait for villagers from Kampung Tema to bring the jungle and farm produce in Kampung Sa'an. Sa'an was the transit point because there was no road to Kampung Tema yet. The Chinese lorries were waiting to transport rubber, pepper, banana and other jungle produce back to Tebedu. The villagers would use the lorries to Tebedu to spend their money to get their basic needs. Salt and salted fish were in high demand among the farmers. The Chinese would give them another free ride back to their repective villages. Those were the days when the relationship between the Chinese and the locals were very close (actually to this day).

Back to my own experience. We used to "lepak" at the town after school and during weekends. On weekdays, the town was very quiet with very minimum activities going on. The local villagers were on their farms. The 'dwellers' were the Indonesians and us. It was very common to see Indonesians in town. They traded rottan mats and other jungle produce. They would bring back lots of salt and biscuit tins (unsure what's inside). According to them, they had to walk for a week or  more to reach Tebedu. Beside the boarders (the word we used to refer to students staying in the boarding house), the other kids were from the nearby police station, children of the police and border scouts personnel. Even those from the nearby Tebedu village were seldom seen around. There was nothing much to see. Recalling it today, I am not sure what really attracted us in those days. May be that was the only civilization available. There was nothing else to do in the hostel and school. No library no extra classes. School was strictly teaching and learning from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm. THAT'S ALL.  To overcome boredom, there we were, loitering around the bazaar, full of emptiness. Once a while we would scavange the dump site looking for thrown away toys and anything that we could treat as toys.

The Suhu River was once our bathing place. Our school was not only unequipped with electricity but also water supply. We would go to Suhu everytime during dry season. Our water tank was strictly for cooking and washing utensils. There is (because it is still there) a stream nearby the school but due to the muddy and murky water, we preferred Suhu.

My attachment with Tebedu is as strong as ever, from now and then I will visit it. Once a while I will drive all the way to the clinic passing by the two rows of wooden shophouses. It is a sad moment, passing by the near deserted bazaar. Once a while, I would purposely walk into the shops. Looking at the dust accumulated, I know that business is not as good as the 50s, 60s and 70s. I reconised the faces appeared in today's paper, they look very old and lament that business is not as good as before. The villagers prefer to go to Serian (by-passing Tebakang). Suhu is overgrown with bushes and shrubs. I do not think anyone is using it both for transporting goods and bathing.

SK Tebedu has transformed. Recently new buildings were built at the site where our football field was situated. Our hostel had long gone. The old wooden walls of the classrooms had been replaced with concrete. Everytime we passed by, on our way to the new township, I would point to my kids where certain buildings used to be and where we used to spend our childhood. They seemed not interested with my story. They never experienced the concentration camp lifestyle.With good road and transportation system, kids from my kampung no longer study in this school. They go to the nearby school. The school is also having proper electricity and water supply. The boarders are now having proper meals and good food. It looks like a school, not a concentration camp.

This year, Tebedu has created history in the country's education institution. It has its own secondary school. It started its operation this year in January 2011. Secondary school students no longer have to go to SMK Taee and Tebakang.

The Sarawak-Kalimantan border is a very busy transit point. Transaction in million ringgit is happening everyday. Goods are transported in containers and trailers. We do not see Indonesians carrying the rottan mats and high-stack biscuit tins anymore. People from both sides are crossing the border in thousands a day in both commercial and private vehicles.

Trying to balance and rationalise the changes is not an easy thing. Part of Tebedu is diminishing while another part is developing. The old wooden bazaar is in such a deplorable condition while the new township, the border town is modernising. One aspects of the social life is slowly forgotten while another aspect is developing. Whatever happens, my memory with Tebedu is still as fresh and vivid as ever. "Bidapud lagi".




The old wooden shop.




The unoccupied police station




The new SMK Tebedu