Tin mining heydays in Taiping

By Laura Lee

With the latest news that Perak is keen to revive its tin mining industry with the help of an Australian company after the industry collapsed about 30 years ago, my visit to Matang Museum on 23 November was timely as it took me back to where it all started in Taiping or Larut as it was known then in the 1840s.

It had to do with the pet elephant Si Larut that belonged to Che Long Jaafar, son of a minor chief in Perak.

Thus, when you enter Matang Museum, you are greeted by a diorama of Si Larut with Long Jaafar and his men looking at the tin ores which were accidentally discovered in 1848 when they were found embedded in mud on the legs of this elephant which had gone missing for three days. It is believed that Larut obtained its name from Long Jaafar’s elephant. 

According to the text provided in the museum, Long Jaafar was also credited later for bringing the first group of Chinese miners from Penang to work in the tin mines in Klian Pauh as the Malays “lacked knowledge in tin mining”.

The influx of Chinese miners in the state later saw the emergence of two clans, the Ghee Hin and the Hai San, (which I remember studying in my history lessons during my secondary school days) and the start of the Larut Wars between them. The three Larut Wars, captured like pages from a comic book at the museum, attracted my attention.

When Long Jaafar died, he was succeeded by his son Che Ngah Ibrahim, who was instrumental in settling the first Larut War (1861-62) dispute between the two Chinese clans. The latter was granted the Orang Kaya Menteri title by the Sultan of Perak.

He built his residence and fort, which is now the Matang Museum.The place has an interesting history as it had been used as Larut’s administration centre by our British colonial master and during the Japanese Occupation to store tin and farm produce.

The British had used it as a prison to house Malay nationalists who fought against their administration.

They included Datuk Maharaja Lela and his followers who were involved in the murder of Perak’s first British Resident JWW Birch in Pasir Salak. They were held here before their hearing. The prison is depicted in one section of the museum, whose building had been turned into a teacher’s training institute and Malay school before its current use. 

Upgrading works, which covered within and outside the first floor of the building, was on-going when our group visited it under Jelajah Media @Muzium, which was organised by Jabatan Muzium Malaysia although our invitation had come from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) Corporate Communication Unit.

The upgrading exercise had started on 9 November and should be completed by 29 November, according to a signboard placed at Matang Museum. As a result, our visit was limited to its ground level. Well, that’s a good reason to return here for another visit in the near future.  

Admission to the museum is free. It is open daily from 9am to 5pm except on the first day of Hari Raya Adilfitri and Hari Raya Adiladha.

Womenwill: Time for women to own their successes

By Laura Lee

At my first Womenwill lead workshop on 26 October at Google Malaysia’s office in Axiata Tower, Kuala Lumpur, I could not help asking myself, “Am I in one of those feminist movements or one of those cell group sessions where you pour out your woes to your mates around you?” 

After pixs of me were tagged in Facebook, I had some queries from my female travel mates and social influencers who wanted to find out more about Google’s Womenwill initiative.

Well, I was told that night that through Womenwill, Google is keen to empower women through training, events and advocacy. It has been organising a number of activities since its launch.  

Why women? Because we make up half of the world’s 7.63 billion population and by equipping us with technology and the necessary skills, women will be inspired as they connect with one another.

Collaborating with Google Business Group chapters, Womenwill hopes to address the gender gap between men and women, particularly when it comes to economic opportunities for women.  

Womenwill’s other noble objective is to help women learn, connect, succeed and be heard. Its objectives will be achieved through four programme areas, namely digital literacy, entrepreneurship, inclusive workplace and leadership. 

At the lead workshop: Instilling Self-Confidence, Julia Koh from Womenwill KL Lead told us that our session that night was focused on the leadership pillar. Raising questions like “How do women see themselves”, “Where do we shine?” and how women are depicted by the media, Julia, who is also Brand360 founder, remarked: “We want to be known for the work we do.”

Through my blog, I would like to highlight the many achievements women have made. As Julia pointed out, “Women are very self-critical. We are not our own best friend and constantly underestimate ourselves. We do not take compliments easily.”

This is particularly true of Asian women who are very modest about their achievements. “Be more vocal, you are not gripping,” said Julia.
It’s time that women own their success and we can start by writing it down personally. While we recognise others for their success, we should learn to focus on our own value.

Julia also reminded that we should not allow our fears and insecurities to rob us of our self-confidence. We can start by writing down what we feared last year and how we overcame it.

Another thing we can do is to list down our strengths and weaknesses, and what are the things that holds us back, thus affecting the confidence in ourselves.

“Find a way to turn those negative thoughts into positive ones. Have the courage to go for the things you want,” she encouraged the women in the room. “Write down where you want to go and what are the things that will lead you there. 

“What are the 10 things you enjoy doing? What are the three things you enjoy doing daily? What are your most important values?” These are among the things you can do for a start as you embark on this journey of self-discovery.

Gorgeous Geeks is one of the supporting partners for Google’s Womenwill. Its president Alecia Heng observed that women are good in their jobs but do not know how to present themselves. “Women are too comfortable in their domain.” 

Alecia, who is also ATD Solution director, felt that it is imperative for them to have content, be able to offer solutions and get others to support their idea. “Be yourself but at the same time be sensitive to those around you.” 

Another speaker that night, Alison Chin, chief executive officer of Curves Malaysia, an American fitness franchise for women, also concurred that women tend to put themselves at the bottom of list. 

Her advice to women is, "Keep learning and equipped yourselves with technical knowledge. Additionally, surround yourself with like-minded people." 

By doing so, she has learnt more about being affirmative and having greater self-belief. Alison has also started a gratitude journal where she lists down at least one thing that has impacted her.

Well, I hope all these ideas will inspire all the women out there to improve themselves further.

Jom, Let's visit Muar

By Laura Lee

I haven't been to Muar in Johor for ages and was thus stumped when I was introduced to its many new attractions during my two-day visit at end-January 2018!

Before we started on our bus tour of Johor’s royal town which is filled with heritage, we were each given a T-shirt featuring The Loving Sisters beautifully packed in a rectangular white box.

I haven't heard of these two sisters before and was drawn to the picture of them in close embrace printed on our charcoal grey t-shirt and on the box cover, which contains the salient details about this mural.

Located at Jalan Arab, this mural made it into our Malaysia Book of Records as the country’s biggest portrait mural on 18 July 2016, two days after Russian mural artist Julia Volchkova, 28, completed it.

Measuring 11.9 metres high and 9.8 metres, it took her 10 days to complete the mural.

Sponsored by Aking Advertising and Signcraft Sdn Bhd, a board by the side of the mural explains that the affection shown by these two sisters – Nur Najwa Alieshia, seven, and Nur Najiyah Amani, three, represented the strong sense of belonging and attachment the Muarians feel towards this royal town.

This aptly captures the local expression, “Orang Muo, Gaya Muo”.

Muar, which is fondly referred to as “Muo” by the locals, derives its name from the word, muara, which means river mouth.

It was proclaimed an "empress town" in 1887 by Johor Sultan Abu Bakar after his consort Sultanah Fatimah. In 2012, the present Johor ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, proclaimed it as the royal town.

Our next stop was a short walk to the Jalan Meriam where Muar’s oldest Hindu temple, Nattukkotai Chettiars’ Sri Murugan Temple is sited. We were treated to some Indian savouries and teh tarik and had the privilege to catch a glimpse of the chariot that would carry the statue of Lord Sri Murugan during the Thaipusam procession on 31 January. Thaipusam is one of the festivals celebrated in Malaysia.

Our lunch stop was at Pantai Leka in Parit Jawa, a small fishing village, which is famous for its asam pedas fish cooked with tamarind sauce and chilli paste.

Thumbs up for a hearty lunch that includes mussels, omelette, squids and a vegetable dish.

For bird watchers and avid photographers, have your binoculars and zoon lens ready to catch sight of the migratory birds at this idyllic setting of Pantai Leka.

We headed next to watch a high pole lion dance performance by Kun Seng Keng, defending champion of the World Lion Dance Championship. Founded by Tan Chong Hing in 1988, the Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association has its roots in Muar.

We had the opportunity to see here the many trophies and titles that they have collected over the years.

I was asked to lift one of these trophies. It's very heavy. So, don't think it's easy carting them away.

By the way, Malaysia’s high pole lion dance is going for submission as an intangible cultural heritage under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in March.

Our afternoon activities included a boat ride to one of the kelongs to see how the kupang or mussels we had for lunch were reared. It was an interesting ride as we could see some of the locals catching prawns and ladies having their mud baths.

I enjoyed my visit to Desa Kerome Eco Resort, particularly for its food although there are activities like archery that you can participate in. Just love the spicy dips that go with its goreng pisang or banana fritters and another savoury. 

We returned to town to board a leisurely cruise  at Tanjung Emas jetty of about an hour to soak in the sights along Muar River that included the clock tower, Sultan Abu Bakar building and the sun setting. 

Sunset view of the clock tower

Most of us could not wait to return to Muar Traders Hotel housed inside the Muar Trade Centre at Jalan Peteri for a quick check-in before dinner. Next to our hotel is Laman Ole Ole Maharani, a community-based market that promotes local food and products, including handicrafts.

I managed to catch an overview of its offerings before our bus departed for our dinner venue at Restoran Marina Tanjung Emas, near where we were earlier for the riverine cruise.

With our packed group of four bus loads comprising travel agents, bloggers and media, it was a long queue for the buffet style dinner for some of our travel mates.

We had cultural and live band performances to entertain us while we ate. 

After dinner, we were free to explore the grounds of Tanjung Emas recreational park, with had bicycles and LED lighted vehicles for rent. 

The bus later dropped us at near Jalan Meriam, where we headed for Muar Soup House, where all the night market stalls are located. This eatery, which is famous for its soup kambing, is as old as I’m.

It’s a short walk to our three-star hotel and that’s just my first day in Muar, thanks to Tourism Johor, Muar Tourism, and Travel Writers Association Malaysia.

The illustrious LEE surname

By Laura Lee

I've always been curious to find out about the origins of my surname Lee. What greeted me when I signed in for Sunway Velocity Mall's Spend and Win prize presentation was my big surname staring at me on the red board.

Wow, what a welcome, I thought but I was to learn later from the emcee that the mall had selected the use of the different surnames to encourage the gathering of the Chinese people as a community. It certainly stimulated the interest into my surname. 

Lee or Li is the second most common surname in China after Wang in northern China and Chen in southern China, according to Wikipedia.

However, when China released the top 100 surnames after its latest study which was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, the website, http://en.people.cn listed Li as the top Chinese surnames in 2006.

China is one of the earliest countries to use surnames, which is passed from the father to son, reportedly started as early as 5,000 years ago.

In this summary provided by the board at Sunway Velocity Mall, it says the Li families were descendants of Emperor Zhuan Xu (2,513-2,435 BC).

Also known as Gao Yang Shi, he is a mythological emperor of ancient China and grandson of the Yellow Emperor. He lived to rule from age 20 to 78 until his death. 

Whoops, as I swim into the deep ends of my Chinese ancestry, interestingly it is a wild “Muzi” fruit that saved my ancestry and led them to change their surname from Li to Lee, another Chinese character writing form.  

I googled “Muzi” and the picture of a kiwi fruit pops up. A native to China's ancient wild vine fruit trees, the kiwi, commonly known as a mountain peach or pear peach, was introduced when a New Zealand female teacher brought the fruit back to her country for cultivation.

I’m not familiar with the famous Li in ancient Chinese history. In my lifetime, the most famous Lee I know are the late actor Bruce Lee; Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first premier who passed away in 2015; and the 89-year-old Sir Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong’s business magnate and the world’s 23rd richest person with estimated net worth of US$36.7 billion as at January 2018.