Galeri Pengangkutan Air - The Watercraft Gallery of Pahang

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 Peninsula 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.

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