HUTAN MELINTANG

The Town As I Saw It

I have lots to write about this small town where I grew up some 67 years ago. I am still fond of it, although presently it has backtracked as it was never before - rustic, underdeveloped, and totally forgotten.

To most ‘hutan’, literary meaning ‘jungle’. It is not so and never was. Before Merdeka it was a thriving feeder Port-of-call for steamers plying the Straits Of Melaka. Hutan Melintang situated on the Perak bank of Bernam River was linked by tarmax road to another costal town Bagan Datoh 16 miles south and Teluk Anson 12 miles north on the upstream of Perak River with connecting trunk railway networks that span the West Coast of Peninsular Malaya, from Singapore in the south to Padang Besar in the north. At Gemas junction the railway lines branched out to Kelantan of the eastern frontier border with Thailand on the East Coast. Prom Padang Besar in the north the trunk railway lines connected to Thailand rail transportation system through the Isthmus Of Kra to Bangkok the capital city of Thailand pulling coaches laden with tin ores, rubber and copra and other goods of trade.

Bernam River spanned from Ulu Bernam some 30 miles to the Straits of Melaka. Both its banks saw a massive early development of Coconut Estates by European Companies, and hundreds of small holders coconut plantations of Malay Reserved Lands. Thus Hutan Melintang seaport handles copra and rubber for world export, through Penang and Singapore. As a triving feeder Port, The British Malaya Administration had put in place complete facilities of a fully fledged seaport town to facilitate the import and exports of goods.

I am sad to note that Hutan Melintang on Post Merdeka period, was not even included in the country’s main stream massive development plan. It has become a rustic town, that nobody cares. It’s more like a remote Bagan, i.e landing area for fisherman catch. It does not even entitled to be named Fisherman Warf, as it lack the amenities to qualify itself to that status. Slowly it lost its luster and faded to obillivion. Personally speaking, the present day Hutan Melintang has taken its toll for the worst.

The once bustling pier busy with double decked and engine powered passenger boats ferrying people and goods from and to nearby village towns dotting the Perak and The Selangor banks of Bernam River, downstream to Sungai Air Tawar, Sungai Tengar, Bagan Sungai Lang, Bagan Sungai Tiang or upstream Kampung Teluk Buluh, Sabak Bernam Town, Kampung Kota, Kampung Sungai Samak and Sepong Estate. or small sampans rowed by boatmen servicing ship captains and sailors of the costal steamers on anchor in the midstream, for a day trip to Teluk Anson fulfilling their lust for entertainments at the local Bars & Brothels after long confinements on the high seas.

I remember, way back in the fifties and the sixties the town was bustling with activities right from the first dawn till late midnight. The arrival of the last shedulled passenger bus service from Teluk Anson passed midnight closed the curtain for the day's activity. Hutan Melintang was a small town well planned by the then BMA Government, putting in place a complete and proper governing infrastructure of a feeder port of call complete with Custom & Excise Office, Marine Police Post, Harbor Master’s Office, an efficient Post Office, Balai Penghulu, including luxury quarters for personnels. I still remember a small one room brick house next to the new Mosque, the Town Padang, the Post Office and the Balai Penghulu; where my buddy Jalaluddin used to live, as his father was a ‘boat man’ attached to the Harbor Master’s Office.

There was this popular waterfront at Kedai Luar where locals as well some passerby travellers of all race mingled freely all day. It was our popular 'lepak' point all evening savoring the scenic view of distant river mouth from wide angles. (Once in 1970. I took a film crew for location shoot RTM Telemovie of the Anjang Aki fame.)

There was a bus stand managed by Pakcik Karim, where local gossip exchanged and passed from ear to ear. Sooner those undated gossips would spread like wild fire to the delights of many. Once a month the MFU (Malay Film Unit) would screen some locally produced Film Newsreels together with some British Newsreels of PatheNews Production to the delights of the locals at an ajecent outdoor clearing. Rohani B the famous Bangsawan Primadona, had for a couple of times passed through for an overnight appearence at some stageshows across the river to the excitements of some local Romeos for a glimpse of her beauty. Celebrities SM Salim, Normah Salim, Ibrahim Din later joined by Mat Kambing on a few occations staged Planta Magrine roadshow campaign event on a small clearing at the foot of the jetty. (A decade later in 1965 I hosted S.M Salim show at Cathay Cinema in Kuala Trengganu for Trengganu Badminton Association Fun Raising Function. During my tenor as senior Directorate Member of RTM, S.M Salim ( now Tan Sri) was a close professional collegue). Others include Wak Malaya the infamous Travelling Shaman (the character as depicited by dramatist Dato'Syed Alwi in his award winning play TOK PERAK.( During my RTM days, I produced TOK PERAK as a special blogbuster Made For TV Movie catapulting Allahyarham Ahmad Marbawi as a renown charactor actor.)


Also next to the jetty was Harun’s Coffee Shop built on still that protruded out to the river, popular with local fishermen, boatmen, and gangster like street urchins. There was also Ah Fatt ice kacang stall, where we used to buy our ‘ais kepal’ to be suck all way home from school and the newly built Dewan Orang Ramai (Town Hall) that could accommodate less that 50 standing audience, watching my first stageplay IBU KANDUNG debut in 1961. (In 1962 IBU KANDUNG was staged on the 60th anniversary SITC/MPSI Tanjung Malim, a royal performance event attended by His Royal Highness The Sultan Of Perak. I was honored as the playwright and as the director of the stageplay.)

At Kedai Dalam there was this Romeo Barber Shop frequent by most for the latest P.Ramlee's or MGRamacandran a South India movie idol's hairstyle cut. Then there was this Chinese Tample by the river bank. At certain time of the year it would stage Chinese Beijing Operas in its makeship theater. It was not the costumed plays staged most afternoon and into the night that attract us, but the beavy of pretty starlets actress and chorus girls, housed in a temporary camps backstage near the river banks. The few would braved the odds to hang around the backstage area, for a sneak preview of those beauties in their dressing rooms. The Chinese Beijing Opera shows performed by The Hongkong Dramatic Troupe was another form of entertainments comming to town, compared to the sheduled twice a week open air travelling cinemas at two ajacent Rubber Estates, or the alternate sunday outdoor screening of western films by Taukeh Ah Chong Family on the compound of his residence, also the once a month MFU screening of Government Propoganda Films, plus of course the of and on events of SM Salim&Gang gags sponsered by PLANTA or the regular visits of Shaman Tok Perak.

Personally speaking, this little town was a springboard to my future life endavours. My gateway town to the world at large. Hutan Melintang was where I grew up, before I venture out to most part of Malaysia (from Perlis to Sabah), and the world at large during the later part of my life.

Originally this town some 2 Square Kilometers in size was divided to 2 parts known to the locals as Kedai Luar and Kedai Dalam. Kedai Luar was more of Government Administrative Centre, and Kedai Dalam consisted of Retail Shopping areas, fisherman’s wharf, stores and residential areas.There was this big Godown Building deviding the 2 town sectors. It was an 'out of bound' bonded zone where import and export goods were stored and checked by the authorities. Taukeh Ah Chong's company managed the godown.To the local he was the richest business tycoon in the region. His new bunglow house complete with 'special green coloured' cemented batminton court stand majestically in the very center of the town awed by many and a landmark to most. As a school boy the white 2 story brick bunglow inspired my wildest dream of living in one. As a village lad, I used to daydream the comfort of bunglow living. I adored the warm interior and the fenced and gated compound as befitting a palatial residence of only the rich and the royals, that no ordinary peasant like most of us would be able to own one for the rest of our lives.

Call it an impulse or a boy's wild daydream that any sound mind dreaded even to share with others. But that was what it was.  In school I once modeled a bunglow house like it, as my palatial residence for my school 'art and craft' project, not realising  'with Allah blessing' some 20 years later I owned one exactly like it in Petaling Jaya at my prime age 36 years old.

Not bad for a kampong boy childhood daydream... eh?