Society Development 1

Opium Trade

Opium poppy in scientific name, papaver somniferum, produced the dried latex, opium. Opiates are the product of the opium and the drugs obtained from here. Apparently, opium is known as illegal drugs trade as it contain morphine. According to the respondents, the opium trade abounds during 1964 along this street. There was an ‘opium’ house for the local people who consume opiates. Sometimes, the local police department will make operations and arrested some local people there as they consume illegal drugs. Certain local people were able to avoid from police investigation and continue consume the opiates there. However, the ‘opium’ house has been diminished few decades ago.

When we ask about the opium dens, Uncle Yang state that now the opium are become illegal activities but for that particular time , that is the popular trend for the Sarawak people especially the labour who called “Ku Li” to release the tiredness. Furthermore, like gambling joints and brothels in that time are considered as the legal activities and nobody will catch you because of that. This evident also be conforming by another two people which is Mrs Lo ,age 50 and Uncle Lim , age 60 who as a shop owner in Carpenter Street. Yet, these types of activities were eventually cleaned up by the British after their occupied Sarawak.

Harbour

Harbour is important to each of the country because there is the place where the buyers and sellers trade goods and services each others. Most of countries around the world enlarged their economies and combined with world economies by deleting trade barriers. As the trade started growing, harbours are the backbone of the world trade and play a key role in economic development. You can see all the exports and imports arise here. Based on the respondents we interviewed, the port is known as ‘Ma Tou’.

Normally, most of the labours are consist of local people. Local people who work at the ports there were known as ‘Ku Li’. Every day they loading the goods almost 7 hours in order to get the jobs since this job were very competitive during that time. They worked for long hours for low pay. However all labours are provided with a house called ‘Ku Li Keng’ and they stayed together. All the merchant ships unloading their cargo nearby here have to pay the tax according to the size of the ship and the quantity of the goods.

Rivalry

Rivalry is a competition for the same goods between sellers in the same field. One of the respondents, Mrs Ko, mentioned that nowadays rivalry tend to be more fierce than olden day. In olden day,  the shops along the street were various such as coffin shop, tin-smith shop, restaurant, tattoo gallery and many more whereas now more and more new shops were almost the same. For instance, along Carpenter Street, there were around 7 or 8 goldsmith shop. They compete each other hardly every day to provide sustenance in their families.

Preserve Cultural Heritage

It’s hard to find the tinsmiths at this moment. Nonetheless, this street still nourishes this legend. You will hear of some unusual sound of clanging hammers with sheets of tin. Last Saturday, we come to interview Mr Ho, very famous tinsmiths since 1927 at Carpenter Street. ‘Although tinsmithing is very hard, we still need to preserve our heritage’ he said. Today, more people prefer to buy tin or other tools made by tin directly with huge factory.

 He also mentioned handmade is more durable compared to technology. His work is very specific to stick down the bottom of the container to the cylindrical body with thin filaments of hot melted led. This process doesn’t allow any hand shaking or vibrating to prevent leaking. There is no any fancy or high technology equipments here except for the small stove that provides a strong flame, a few tools, a tin sag machine and calibrate instruments. The handful of dedicated China Street self-taught artisans take pride in their work and will continue as long as their services are needed. Click "Videos" at the above page to view the process of tinsmithing.

Although the shop house of Carpenter Street are tend to attract the attention of tourism compared to previous times , yet, we can considered that still most of the shops selling mostly non-touristy stuff. You will find bicycle shops, book stores, hardware stores, antique furniture stores and quaint kopitiams and even a shop house which the owner didn’t sell anything but just published the antique and curio he has.