Jalan Mesjid at Kampung Dagang in 1979

Jalan Mesjid in 1979 (Colour photograph)
Picture shows me and my sisters, cousin and nephews posing in front of my car Mazda 323 saloon parked on the right side of the Jalan Mesjid, looking towards the kampung area.
Note the tall 'Pinang' (betel nut) and coconut trees over-topping the kampung houses.

 As part of the multiplier effects of the Bintulu's first economic boom (1979-85) there arose a pressing need for more and better commercial shophouses in Bintulu.  The Kampung Dagang which shared the limit of the town's boundary was sliced for development.  There were two developers involved in the project.  In Phase One, Bintulu Realty Estate Sdn Bhd developed 1.44 hectares of land with 36 landowners.  Phase Two of the project was developed by Hock Peng Realty Sdn Bhd on a 4.12 hectares piece of adjoining land.  The Phase two involved 146 landowners.  As part of the deal in Phase Two of the project, the landowners owned shares in the new shophouses besides receiving cash compensation to help them out in their resettlement expenses.  It was estimated that the Kampung Dagang Commercial development project resulted in about RM 50 million worth of real property and cash compensation to the 182 mainly Malay and Melanau landowners.

Jalan Mesjid taken on 6 January 2014, at the same spot in the top pic .
Today the road is a single carriageway 4-lane street.

From Tanjung Batu Beach to Pantai Temasya Bintulu

"Pantai Tanjung Batu" (Malay) or Tanjung Batu Beach in 1979

 In 1979 I used to go for picnic and scrambling at the Tanjung Batu Beach.  The above picture shows me riding the scrambler at the beach area.  The site of the scrambling is today's car parking area.  The site was rich with white silica sand. However, for more fun and thrills, we would scramble along the beach and off-road areas further up the coast towards the Agriculture Department's fishery station where the present Bintulu Golf Course is.  Often times I used to bring my school students for picnic and swimming at the beach when a teacher at Bintulu Government Secondary School from 1975 -1976 and when I was the Headmaster of the school in 1979 - 1980.

Pantai Tanjung Batu has been re-named "Pantai Temasya Bintulu"
Date taken : 10 October, 2013.

The present site is one of the many car parking areas provided at the well-patronised and most popular beach spot in Bintulu.  It has been re-named 'Pantai Temasya Bintulu' in Malay to mean 'a beach for recreational, picnic, play and fun'.  In the November 1980 I joined the BDA (Bintulu Development Authority) and during the mid 1980's was greatly involved with re-developing the beach area especially the development of the beach facilities and amenities, landscaping and the Bird's Park (later re-named "Taman Tumbina").

Keppel Road in 1979

Keppel Road in 1979

Keppel Road in 2013
Date taken : 23 September 2013

In the early late 60's and throughout the 1970's,  Keppel Road was very well-known for the site of the only bank in town called 'Standard Chartered'.  It was also popular as the site of the old food market.  In the top picture, the low-rise building at left (only roof shown) is the old food market.  Today the site is turned into a small town park.  The old wooden shophouses have been demolished and replaced by three-storey concrete shophouses. In 1979 the centre of the road was turned into car parking area and traffic was two-way.  Today the road is a four-lane single carriageway with parking lots located on the left side as we enter the town proper.  1979 is significant for Bintulu because it marked the start of the first economic boom.