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More buses to cover more routes

By NIK KHUSAIRI IBRAHIM

ALTHOUGH Rapid Penang operations will not be profitable, the Finance Ministry will continue to provide more buses to serve as many routes.

Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the 150 buses allocated under the first and second phases were enough to provide extensive coverage, especially on the mainland.

“We will also look into providing more buses to cover as many routes as possible.

“The government will ensure Rapid Penang provides efficient services for the benefit of the people.

“It will continue servicing the non-profitable routes as the ultimate aim is to provide greater accessibility for the people,” he said.

Dr Hilmi, who is also Balik Pulau MP, said this after distributing flyers on Rapid Penang schedules and routes in Pekan Kongsi in Balik Pulau yesterday.

Info time: Muhammad Farid briefing Fang Sit Mooi on Rapid Penang bus routes in the presence of Dr Hilmi.

Also present was Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad.

Dr Hilmi and his team walked for about two kilometres from Pekan Kongsi to the new bus station in Jalan Tun Sardon to distribute the flyers.

Later, they hopped onto a Rapid Penang coach plying the Balik Pulau town.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will launch the Rapid Penang bus services tomorrow.

Dr Hilmi said even RapidKL was not making profit.

“But train services are benefiting from RapidKL services.

“We will look into ways of cross-subsidising Rapid Penang services through such integrated public transportation services,” he said.

Noting that routes plied by Rapid Penang were not complete, Dr Hilmi said more areas would be covered after the second phase of implementation in December.

“Our aim is to ensure the outskirts are also well-connected,” he said, adding that request for more routes would be studied on case-by-case basis.

Muhammad Farid said he would request Rapid Penang to service the Balik Pulau-Paya Terubong route.

Rapid Penang would be plying from Balik Pulau to George Town through Bayan Baru. It will also be plying Balik Pulau-Teluk Bahang and Balik Pulau Pantai Aceh routes.

SOURCE: The Star Online (North)

A drying trade

By DAPHNE LING

A fisherman and his wife give a little insight into their livelihood of catching shrimp and turning them into heh bee – a difficult and laborious task – that is likely to die out with them.

HEH sek liao (The prawns are cooked)”, booms the baritone voice of 58-year-old fisherman Lim Chang Hoah, as his wife Yeoh King Yong fishes the prawns out with a net from the boiler.

It is about an hour past noon, and the sun is shining brightly overhead in Kampung Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau, Penang. In a corner, the couple’s dog is gently snoozing. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a sleek black cat trotting off with a tiny fish in its mouth, its tail in the air.

“No problem,” Lim says laughing, gesturing towards the cat. There are many cats in the area, all well-fed, and the kind-hearted Lims have no qualms about sharing that day’s catch with the kampung cats, none of which “belongs” to them.

Kampung Sungai Pinang in Balik Pulau, Penang, is home to fishing families who make heh bee, dried shrimp used in Malay, Chinese and Nyonya cooking.

Lim and I are sitting on small, wooden stools in the cool shade of his zinc-roof workplace. Behind us, his old sampan, now fitted with a motor, bobs in the waters.

The weather-beaten face of this man is very wrinkled, and as he speaks about the work that he has been doing since he was a mere 16-year-old, I can almost feel myself sitting in the sampan out at sea with him.

As if reading my thoughts, he wags his finger at me “Beh sai qi. Jin hong hiam (You cannot go. It’s very dangerous)”.

The eldest boy and second in a family of five, Lim is the only member of the family to follow in the footsteps of his father, and his grandfather before that. From the time of his grandfather, the Lims have been specialising in catching shrimp to be made into heh bee (dried shrimp).

He proceeds to show me the nets which he uses to catch the shrimp, colloquially known as the pompang. The pompang is a popular shrimp (and sometimes, fish) catching net used in the waters of Malaysia. Unlike trawl nets, the pompang is mostly used at river mouths, or waters nearer to shore. The catch is smaller compared with more commercialised methods of fishing.

Shrimp fisherman 58-year-old Lim Chang Hoah and wife Yeoh King Yong who are among the few people left who make heh bee on Balik Pulau, Penang.

The pompang that Lim uses has mesh of different sizes: the smallest being 0.5 inches (1.25cm), found at the end of the net; the largest, six inches (15cm), which is found at the head of the net.

“ Wa si liak sae boi heh. Heh bee bo tua chiak si ma? (I catch shrimp. Dried prawns are not big, right?),” he says, laughing, upon seeing the incredulous look on my face at the size of the mesh.

A typical day for Lim starts at around 6.30am. The time when he actually leaves for the sea depends on the tide and wind, but generally, each day is later than the previous by a half hour or so. He usually goes out to sea daily (with another worker) for 10 days in a row, and takes a break for about a week. This cycle is repeated throughout the year. This is because shrimp fishing is highly dependent on the tides.

He usually goes out to collect the day’s catch at about 1.30 pm.

“Wa eh chaboh lang tan tiao khiuk heh (My wife waits at home to collect the shrimp from the net),” says Lim, gesturing fondly to Yeoh.

The shrimps are then washed, and boiled for about 20 minutes. The cooked shrimp are then scattered on the cleaned pavement to be dried. This takes up to 6-8 hours on an average day, and bad weather spells disaster for this fishing family as the prawns will become bad from the moisture.

“Eighty per cent, Lim says when I asked how dry the prawns must be to be taken in.

Lim’s RM4,000 shell-separator machine he bought 10 years ago has saved him from the laborious task of deshelling prawns by hand.

After the shrimp are dried satisfactorily, they are then put into a shell-separator machine. The RM4,000 machine, bought 10 years ago, has proven to be a worthwhile investment.

“ Ku si, wa ka-ki pak (I used to do the work)”, says Lim, bringing out a pink bag from inside the cupboard. Before the machine, Lim had to manually de-shell the shrimp by hammering the shrimp-filled bag on the floor an average of 80 times.

Lim grade the dried prawns according to size by sieving them four times.

If you think that would take eternity, guess again, for Lim quipped: “80 second nia! (Only 80 seconds!)”.

The de-shelled shrimp are then put through four different sieves of various mesh sizes. The result is four different grades of shrimp, according to size. The dried shrimp are supplied to wholesalers in the nearby vicinity.

As I finger the worn-out sieves, I see the same black cat back for his second fish, this one slightly bigger than the first. I reach out to stroke the sleek fur, and receive a swipe of the claws in return; evidently, kitty thinks I am out to steal his share of the tiny fish.

The Lims roar with laughter: “Mai ka ee sio chiou (Don’t fight with the cat).”

By now, the sun is in a very homicidal mood. We retreat to the back of the house where the Sungai Pinang runs, and our conversation continues. The Lims, it turns out, have five grown up children. None of their two sons and three daughters, however, will be continuing in their father’s footsteps.

In all honesty, I expect Lim to be sad that his children will not be following in his footsteps. After all, his first love has always been the sea. But he says he has no regrets over that; he has not passed on his skills because the work is difficult, dangerous and sometimes unprofitable.

One event that stands out in the Lims’ mind is the 2004 tsunami. Their livelihood was affected by the change in tides and it brought home the dangers associated with the water, and the general fear the public has with the sea-faring trade.

“ Jin khang kor (Very difficult),” says the husband, “jin hong hiam (very dangerous)”, says the wife.

He treasures his love affair with the sea, but accepts that times have changed and his children need to move to greener pastures for the sake of themselves and their future families.

Yeoh scattering cooked prawns out to dry to remove 80% of the moisture.

For that, he and his wife insisted their children all had a solid education as “ Bo thak cheak, beh tahn chiak tong keem (without an education, you cannot survive nowadays)”.

As Yeoh says: “ Wa lang sayang chi lei khang-khui, tapi knia thiuk-thiuk ka sayang (We love what we do, but we love our children more)”.

As I bade the warm and friendly couple goodbye, Yeoh calls to my retreating back: “ Ae ki soon kia, thak cheak (Remember to study, little grandchild)”.

For the Lims, who must believe they have read the signs, the future is not out at sea anymore.

Family of fisherfolk

AT Kampung Sungai Pinang, there is a small community of fishing families (Yeoh King Yong, wife of a fisherman, estimates the number to be 15) specialising in catching shrimp to be made into heh bee, the much sought after dried shrimp that is used in Malay, Chinese and Nyonya cooking.

Most of these fishermen were out to sea during my visit, and their wives were patiently waiting for their return to help in the harvesting of the tiny shrimps.

It was a heartening sight to see the wives welcoming their husbands safely home from the sea, and how the couple would then work hand-in-hand to harvest and process the catch of the day.

In KSP, the cry “Wa tnui lai liao (I’m home!)” is a celebration of a safe journey, a victory cry against the elements, and an acknowledgement of a day’s hard work.

But their days are numbered as many families have not passed on the skills to their offspring. Many young adults have opted to leave the village and work in fields a lot less dangerous than the open sea. One cannot help but wonder if the supply of our beloved heh bee may one day dry up. That's something no one really has the answer.

I guess, however, that if things continue the way they are, the heh bee industry will become a trade of the past. Only time will tell.

SOURCE: The Star Online (Lifestyle)

PM Wants Women Entrepreneurs To Show Commitment In Business

BALIK PULAU -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants women entrepreneurs in the country to show commitment in their business undertakings and avoid the tendency to give up halfway, as exemplified by the Malay adage "hangat-hangat tahi ayam".

The prime minister said showing strong commitment in the beginning before losing steam later on would not help them achieve success.

"They should work hard and be patient if they want to be successful and able to penetrate the international market," he said when launching a carnival for women entrepreneurs organised by the Penang Wanita Umno here today.

Abdullah noted that the success of many women after having to go through the ups and downs of the business world could be attributed to their perseverance.

This, he said, was reflected in the large number of women who were able to repay loans obtained from the Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun) compared to men.

Abdullah said he was proud of Penang Wanita Umno's success in organising the carnival and its strategies to market items produced by the women folk to reach a wider market.

The prime minister described efforts to bring women entrepreneurs to greater heights as timely given that the country would be celebrating its 50th independence anniversary.

He was glad that women in the country were taking steps to empower themselves and becoming successful professionals and businesswomen.

"The move to market products made by the villagers could also benefit single mothers to enable them to support their families," he added.

-- BERNAMA


PM Launches Brandname For Products Of Penang Women Entrepreneurs

BALIK PULAU -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today launched 25 products of Penang women entrepreneurs under the "Cinoni" brand which are targeted at both the domestic and international markets.

The launch took place at the Penang Women Entrepreneurs Carnival organised by the state Wanita Umno at the Balik Pulau Sports Complex here.

Among the products under the brand are spices for cooking nasi kandar, herbal oil, aromatherapy soap, Tambun biscuits, Mami Tanjung pickle, local fruit juices and preserved tropical flowers.

According to organising chairperson Datuk Jahara Hamid, Jeramayang Sdn Bhd has been set up to market the Cinoni products, initially at the Mydin and Sunshine supermarket chains throughout the country.

Later more products will be marketed under the Cinoni brand, she added.

Besides off the shelf sales, the products are also suitable to make up hampers and as corporate gifts that symbolise Penang, Jahara said.

Wanita Umno, according to her, will extend the Cinoni brand to products made by women in 13 parliamentary constituencies in Penang.

It will also cooperate with other Barisan Nasional component parties in including under the Cinoni brand the products of their women entrepreneurs.

"Although the word cinoni isn't in the dictionary, for us in Penang it portrays something cute and beautiful," she added.

-- BERNAMA

Last-minute rush to put up Rapid Penang hub

Brand new: The newly-built bus terminal at Jalan Tun Sardon near Balik Pulau town.

Read the full news article at The Star Online (North).

More photos showcasing the new market complex and nearby facilities were posted on 15 JUNE 2007 and here's the slideshow of more photos:-