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Thursday 15 July 2010

Gambar : Galeri Pengangkutan Air Pekan Bandar DiRaja


The Watercraft Gallery building is located across the road from the State Museum, on Pulau Beram. As a state with 208 km of land facing the South China Sea and the longest river (Pahang River) in Peninsular Malaysia, water transport played an important role in the past social and economic development of Pahang.

Historically, the rivers of Pahang, Kuantan, Bebar, Rompin, Endau, Tembeling, Jelai, Semantan and other river tributaries were used as the main transportation system for travels between villages and districts in Pahang and also to other states in Peninsular Malaysia. Small boats called perahu jalak were used to carry both cargoes and passengers then. This is because, before the advent of the bicycles and motorized vehicles, only watercrafts which used raw human power to row and peddle, sailboats and later steamboats were used to move around and transport goods between the villages and towns along the coast and river banks upstream.

This unique gallery depicts the various designs and types of water crafts used by the population in Pahang in the past. We can see various types, designs and sizes of perahus (boats), koleks, sampans, and other water crafts. Original perahus or sampans made from the bark of trees and those carved out from big logs and tree trunks like the Perahu Tembeling, are displayed.

There is also a small model of a local fisherman’s traditional wooden house displayed. Like some traditional Malay house, the houses of the fishermen along the coasts are built on stilts. Visitors will observe that no nails are used in the construction of the house, but instead bamboo floors and rattan strings are used in constructing it. Although it looks flimsy, it is actually very strong and durable.

The Watercraft Gallery of Pahang exhibits actual size craft as used by the Malay people in the past. Magnificent watercrafts, such as those with intricate carvings like the Perahu Burung, Perahu Pinas, Perahu Pontian and Perahu Payang, will make the visitor feel awed and amazed at the artistic and craftsmanship skills of boat-builders of the past.

For trade with foreign countries, the Perahu Besar (big boats) like Pinas Gobel and Pinas Dogor were used for the transport of bulky products while for the domestic trade smaller perahus like the Perahu Bedar and Perahu Katar were used to distribute commodities needed by all fishing ports along the east coast of the country.

History books also tell us that besides consumer goods, there were also trading activities in timber and wood products which were carried and pulled by the bigger boats known as Tongkang Balak from Kuala Pontian and Kuala Endau to the sawmills in the Johore Straits.

During the early days, the Pahang River served as a water route to reach the internal areas. There were archaeological findings which showed the remains of primitive craft like boats made from the bark of trees, bamboo rafts and boats carved out of logs. These findings proved the existence of prehistoric settlements along the Sungai Tembeling, Sungai Jelai and the upper stream of the Pahang River as early as 4,000 years ago.

Pahang, even in the 17th century, was also linked by river routes to Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak and Selangor. The Penarikan Route was a very important and regularly used route by traders and travelers from Kuala Pahang to Malacca through Sungai Pahang via Sungai Serting to Sungai Muar.

Well, it is said that the introduction into Pahang of the outboard motor in the late 1930s and the bicycles and motor buses, led to the gradual demise of the popularity of the water crafts.

The construction of roads in Pahang, beginning with the roads from Kuantan to the interior (1910), from Jerantut and Kuantan to Kuala Lipis (1918), Pekan to Kuantan (1933), and new highways subsequently constructed after the country’s independence plus modern airports and seaports complete the end of the sole dependence on the old water-way systems in the state.

Consequently and inevitably, these beautifully carved and artistic boats are now cast to the annals of history and displayed as museum exhibits.

Nonetheless, we should never forget our past. Remember, those were the ways of our forefathers who valued the rivers and seas as means for transport of goods and travels, and not only as providing the food (fishes, etc.) for their livelihood.

So while we should remember to move forward and develop into a modern economy, we must also remember to preserve and maintain in good condition, those machines and objects which our forefathers used for economic and social activities during their time.


Sistem Perhubungan Awal Di Negeri Pahang

Pada zaman dahulu di Negeri Pahang Darul Makmur sungai-sungai seperti Sungai Pahang, Sungai Kuantan, Sungai Bebar, Sungai Rompin, Sungai Endau, Sungai Tembeling, Sungai Jelai, Sungai Semantan dan cawangan-cawangan sungai itu serta beberapa buah sungai kecil yang lain telah digunakan sebagai jalan perhubungan. Begitu juga perhubungan antara Negeri Pahang Darul Makmur dan negeri-negeri lain di sekitarnya. Orang yang hendak pergi ke Kelantan ikut Sungai Tanum anak Sungai Jelai atau ikut Sungai Sat dan Sungai Sepia, kedua-duanya anak Sungai Tembeling. Sungai Sepia itu boleh juga digunakan jika hendak pergi ke Negeri Terengganu. Perhubungan dengan Negeri Perak dihubungi oleh jalan-jalan yang lebih sukar iaitu ikut Sungai Bertam dan Sungai Lipis. Kedua-duanya adalah anak Sungai Jelai. Perhubungan dengan Negeri Selangor pula melalui Sungai Semantan dan cawangannya.

Jalan yang utama digunakan oleh orang pada zaman dahulu ialah jalan yang menghubungkan Negeri Pahang Darul Makmur dengan daerah-daerah di Hulu Muar dan Negeri Melaka. Jalan ini dari Negeri Pahang Darul Makmur ikut (mudik) Sungai Pahang; kemudian masuk ke sebuah anak Sungai Pahang yang bernama Sungai Bera, selepas itu ikut pula sebuah anak Sungai Bera bernama Sungai Serting. Pada suatu tempat di hulu Sungai Serting, naik ke darat sejauh tiga ratus ela, masuk pula Sungai Jempol, menghilir Sungai Jempol dan masuk ke Sungai Muar. Dari Muar bolehlah pergi ke Melaka dan tempat-tempat lain di barat Semenanjung Malaysia. Jalan inilah yang telah diikuti oleh Sultan Mahmud Shah Melaka dan putera baginda Sultan Ahmad setelah ia dikalahkan oleh orang-orang Portugis di Pagoh dan Bentayan (Kuala Muar) pada akhir tahun 1511. Jalan ini juga yang digunakan oleh Sultan Ali (putera Sultan Husain Shah Singapura) dari Kampung Umbai, Melaka yang pergi berjumpa Bendahara Wan Ahmad di Pahang (Pekan) pada tahun 1863.

Manuel Godinho de Erédia, seorang pengarang dan pegawai Portugis di Melaka (tahun 1613) menyatakan: "Dari Melaka jalan menempuh Penarikan itu boleh sampai ke Pahang (dan sebaliknya), hanya enam hari perjalanan".

Perahu jalak telah digunakan bukan sahaja membawa kargo dan barang-barang tetapi juga untuk membawa penumpang. Jalak boleh memuatkan dua belas penumpang dan lebih kurang 15 tan kargo. Dari Kuantan ke Kuala Pahang sewa yang dikenakan untuk satu perjalanan ialah $25.00. Syarikat Lombong Bijih Timah Sungai Lembing (PCCL) telah memulakan perkhidmatan harian antara bandar Kuantan dan Pasir Kemudi. Dari Pasir Kemudi penumpang dan kargo dibawa dengan keretapi ke Sungai Lembing.

Sebelum siap jalanraya dari Jerantut ke Kuantan, pegawai di Ulu Pahang yang hendak ke Kuantan akan menggunakan perahu atau rakit menghilir Sungai Pahang atau untuk pergi ke Pekan.

Setelah beberapa tahun kerajaan Inggeris mentadbir Pahang, usaha membina jalanraya pun dimulakan. Pada penghujung tahun 1910 jalan sepanjang 18 batu dari Kuantan menuju Ulu Pahang siap dibuka kepada orang ramai. Feri mula dibuka dan digunakan oleh orang ramai pada 5 September 1910 di Kuantan. Dalam tahun 1918 jalan raya Jerantut-Kuantan dapat dihubung terus ke Kuala Lipis. Hujung tahun 1933, jalan raya dari Pekan ke Kuantan dibuka dengan rasminya. Kemudahan perhubungan negeri ini terus maju dengan banyaknya pembinaan jalan raya, jambatan dan lapangan terbang serta pelabuhan. Kesemuanya ini dapat memendek dan memudahkan perjalanan serta perhubungan antara satu tempat dengan satu tempat di Negeri Pahang Darul Makmur di Malaysia dan negara-negara jiran seperti Singapura di sebelah selatan dan Thailand di sebelah utara.

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