View of sleepy town and first boom

Masjid Assyakiriin in 1987 - Bintulu's new divisional mosque

View of Minaret under construction, circa 1987

View of Minaret, completed with landscaping done (circa July 1988)

View of Minaret today, taken on 17 February, 2015.
Note the changes in the background.  On the far let is the new hotel called "Promenade Hotel" opened in 2014.

Masjid Assyakiriin as seen in 1988.  View from minaret towards the main mosque building complex.

Befitting its status as a new administrative division on 1 January 1987, a new divisional mosque was deemed necessary to meet the growing Muslim population in Bintulu due to the first economic boom (1979 -1983).  The mosque is located about 6 kilometers from the old Bintulu town center.  Planning for the mosque started in 1985 but actual construction works only started in 1987 i.e. after the laying of foundation stone on 24 March,1987. The above picture shows the mosque viewed from the minaret.  What is interesting in this new planning is the location of the minaret.  In most mosque throughout Malaysia the minaret is normally part of the building. Here the minaret is separated from the main building and represented a new design planning concept in Malaysia.  The many arches are inspired by the mosque in Cordoba, Spain.  The blue dome is in the form of a starfruit cut in half.  The mosque could accommodate 2000 people and is equipped with library, indoor gardens, fountains and function rooms.  The mosque compound is fully landscaped.  On the 8th of July, 1988 the mosque was officially opened at a cost of RM 6.5 million.

Visitors and VIP's touring the mosque during its opening on the 8th of July,1988.
Note the orchid tree at right of the picture.

Indoor garden landscaping, 1988.

Note:  I was fortunate enough to be involved with the landscaping of the mosque from day one when I was the officer in-charge of the landscaping of Bintulu town in the BDA or Bintulu Development Authority during the 80's till early 1990's.   The whole planting works and maintenance were undertaken by staff from BDA but the supply of planting materials were sourced from private nurseries. The collection of orchids for the 'orchid tree' was obtained from Orchidwoods, Kuching.

Sungai Terus Recreational Park in 1984

View of the Sungai Terus Recreational Park, photo  taken on 24 November,1984
The picture shows the strategic location of the park in the new Kidurong township. The park served the recreational needs of the new township that accomodated houses belonging to the MLNG Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), Bintulu Port Authority and Petronas Housing built for ABF Sdn Bhd staff.

The Sungai Terus Park as seen today, 28 January,2015.
More additional park facilities are provided over time.  The park is now incorporated into a much larger chain of public parks in the Kidurong township called 'Millenium Park'.

Note the size of the Angsana trees when compared to its height during initial planting in 1984 as in the top picture above.

During the First Economic Boom (1979 -83) a new satellite township was created some 10 kilometers from the existing Bintulu town centre.  The township was called Kidurong New Township which was developed to cater for the staff housing of the companies involved with the first boom .  The companies were MLNG Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Port Authority, Bintulu Development Authority and ABF Sdn Bhd.  In order to meet the recreational needs of the new township, the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) which was the developer of the township constructed a recreational park called Sungai Terus Recreational Park.  Works started in 1983 and the park was fully completed in 1984.  On the 3rd of September, the board of directors of the BDA paid a site visit to the park after their board meeting.  In the early days of the park, it was fully utilised because it was the only large park to cater for the families and children of the new township as well as visitors from other parts of Bintulu.

Sungai Terus in relation to the new Kidurong township, as seen in 1988.
The Sungai Terus ( Sungai is Malay for river) is seen in the middle of the picture above.  The river starts from the hills and passes underneath the Kidurong Highway by means of a big underground culvert.  The big white patch is the pond.  The green area on both sides of the river as it flows out to the sea (towards bottom left of the picture) has been fully landscaped as a chain of public parks which is named today as the "Millenium Park".
Colour photo taken on 17 January, 1988.

Bintulu Port area during the First Economic Boom (1979 - 83)

The Bintulu Port area in 1982 - a humble beginning.
Construction of the Bintulu Port was lead by a South Korean contractor named Daelim Industrial Co Ltd which secured a total of RM 170 million worth of construction packages for the first deepwater port of Sarawak. Works were in full swing in 1980 to meet the scheduled completion by end of 1982.  Total cost of building the port was RM 500 million.
Photo credits: Annual Audited Report of Bintulu Port Authority, 1982. 

View of port in 1988

One of the mammoth projects done to kick start the first economic boom in Bintulu (1979 - 1983) was the construction of the Bintulu Port by the Federal Transport Ministry of Malaysia.  Concerted efforts by all stakeholders were critical to the completion of the port built to handle the first shipment of liquified natural gas cargo (LNG) scheduled in 1983.  The Bintulu Port started operations on 1st January, 1983.  The first LNG cargo that left the port was on 29th January,1983.  The future development and sustenance of the port hinged primarily on its role as the sole provider of berthing and loading  facilities for the export of LNG.  However, to add value to its permanent presence in the Bintulu landscape it acquired vast tracts of land around the port vicinity for future storing, warehousing, transfer and direct loading of many other downstream petroleum and non-petroleum products for local and foreign destinations.  At the inset is a picture of the port area in 1988 which shows at the foreground the long conveyor gallery that transfer the granular urea products direct from the Asean Bintulu Fertiliser (ABF) plant to a shiploading facility at the end of the conveyor gallery.  The ABF plant started exporting granular urea in 1985.

The picture above shows the development of industrial land around the port vicinity in 2012.

Kemena Bridge and Timber Processing Zone

The Kemena Bridge was officially opened for use on 13 December, 1983.
In the picture above is seen the Batang Kemena or Kemena River and towards the background of the picture is the Bintulu hinterland and interior areas.  The first and second phase of the Kemena Industrial Estate is situated on the right of the riverbank (moving downstream) and later phases were located at the opposite side (left side of the riverbank, moving downstream)
Picture credits : Investment Opportunities in Timber, Bintulu, Sarawak, BDA brochure.

 The appeal of Bintulu as a centrally located new growth centre for Sarawak depended on its land as well as off-shore resources.  The first economic boom (1979 - 1983)  saw the birth of new industries for the once sleepy Bintulu.  One of the projects that helped thrust Bintulu into the new industrial age was the the large-scale timber-based manufacturing centre situated on both sides of the Kemena Bridge.  This timber processing zone was called the Kemena Industrial Estate (KIE) by its developer, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA).  The bridge was critical to connect Bintulu to the capital city Kuching, some 600 kilometers away.  With the completion of the bridge in 1983, timber resources from other parts of Bintulu especially from the Tatau river system were able to be sent by land directly to the Kemena Industrial Estate.  The KIE success depended on the development of the Bintulu Deepwater Port at Tanjung Kidurong, the Kemena Bridge and a trunk road to connect the KIE to the exporting terminal at Tanjung Kidurong.  The early investors to the KIE started with sawn timber, plywood and veneer manufacturing activities for export.

The Kemena Bridge and Kemena Industrial Estate as seen in 1990.
Picture credits : An Invitation to Invest in Bintulu (2nd Ed.),BDA.

 The setting up of the Kemena Indusrtial Estate was prompted by Bintulu's factor endowments.  The Bintulu hinterland is covered with 3.4 million hectares of forested land.  The rich interior areas of the Batang Kemena or the Kemena River and the Tatau River systems are densely inventorised of commercially valuable tropical hardwood species.  In 1984 for instance the Bintulu region produced 2.8 million cubic meters of logs or 25% of Sarawak's total production.  Besides its vast forest reserves, the KIE is served by the Batang Kemena which is the chief means of transporting the cut logs or lumber from the upriver or deep interior areas to the processing zone.  Bintulu was also endowed with cheap and adequate treated water supply (9.2 million litres per day) to meet the industrial processing needs at the KIE.  This timber processing zone was and is still kept busy by the successive economic booms of Bintulu as new uses of timber with new technology were introduced like medium density fibreboard.

The Kemena Bridge and surrounding areas in late 1980's

Market Garden at Sungai Plan

Road to Market Gardening Project area at Sungai Plan, near Tg. Kidurong.
The above picture shows the site allocated for the Market Garden project was carved from original jungle.
Picture credits: The Sarawak Tribune, 26th November, 1981.

 Two large projects that attracted people to Bintulu during the first boom (1979 - 1983 ) were the LNG plant (Liquified Natural Gas) belonging to Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd and the Bintulu Deep Water Port.  These mammoth projects were the prime generators of employment during the first boom period.  The influx of people coming to work in Bintulu as temporary workers created a sudden demand for food items such as vegetables.  In those days, enterprising businessmen even imported vegetables by air from Sabah to meet the daily needs.  Due to the soaring prices of vegetables, the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Hj. Abdul Rahman Yakub decided to re-settle some existing vegetable growers from Sibu and Bintagor to become pioneers at Sungai Plan.  Out of original jungle, vegetables plots were  created for the settlers and their families. Later they were given tables at the Bintulu vegetable market as outlets to sell the vegetables directly to the consumers instead of through middlemen.  This project proved successful in the early stages and was able to drastically bring down the prices of locally grown vegetables during those crucial years.  Today, the original settlers are hardly doing any more vegetable growing and they prefer to use their land or allocated lots for warehousing, workshops, light industrial housing, permanent residential  housing development and shophouses.

The old Sungai Plan road  has been tremendously improved over the years.
Today the road is very heavily used  as an alternative route to the new industrial area at Similajau.
Date taken : 4 January 2015.

The face of Bintulu town at first and second boom

Picture shows face of Bintulu town during the First Boom (1979 -1983)
Picture taken circa 1982.

Source : Persatuan Kesusasteraan Sarawak, Our Sarawak, Summer Times Publishing, 1983.

The face of Bintulu town representing the changes after the second economic boom (1998-2000)
Picture shows town status circa 2002, prior to entering the Third Boom (2003-2009)
Photo credit : Jacky J.H. Chan, www.panoramio.com/photo/2632859

After two economic booms, the face of Bintulu town changed dramatically as it began to exhibit the features of a modern town.  The time period to achieve the above physical make-up of the town centre  (approximately from 1980 - 2000)  thus took about 20 years in the making.  The airport runway remained a stumbling block for the town centre development.  It was only during the Fourth Boom (2010 - present) that efforts were started to re-develop the old airport land to a prime property and recreational area.

The old fish market prior to the first boom

The fish market is partly seen at left of the picture.  At the right is partly seen makeshift stalls offering coffee, fast food and cakes, even 'Satay' dish.  Picture illustrates the fish market front area in the late 60's to 70's i.e. Pre-Boom period.

 Bintulu has been well-known for fresh fishes since time immemorial.  During the pre-boom period, it has a very small fish market sited on the river bank as in the picture above.  At high tide the river water would clear all rubbish below the market.  It would mean also that if you drop your coins, it would be impossible to search for them.  The front part of the market have vegetable growers selling their cultivated vegetables and were mainly Chinese farmers .  Pass them towards the river would be the fish mongers.  A jetty extends the area of the fish market to the river and level of the low tide some 20 meters away.

The old fish market site has given way to new fish market (partly seen at left).  The new fish market complex housed both a wet and dry market and food stalls.  At right is the 'Tamu' or jungle produce market.
Picture taken on 6 July'14

Just at the beginning of the first boom, the old fish market was unable to cope with the rising demand for vegetables. For a good year or two during the first boom, vegetables were flown from Sabah to help meet the demand in Bintulu.  The government of the day decided to 'import' many vegetable farmers from Sarikei and other places in Sibu to settle at Sungai Plan to start the vegetable growing project in Bintulu on a big scale. This project site was called 'Market Gardening' project by the BDA or Bintulu Development Authority.  The produce of the market gardening project farmers were sold at the old fish market being its main retail center.  The project and the market was helpful to meet the demand for vegetables during the first boom period (1979-85)

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.

Tanjung Batu Scenic Road in the late 1980's

The Tanjung Batu Scenic Road - under construction in the late 80's

 One of the major impacts of the first economic boom (1979 - 1983) was the growth of population in the Bintulu town and the new satellite township of Kidurong.  With increased number of temporary and permanent workforce to the town the need for recreational activities grew.  One of the projects undertaken by the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) was the construction of beach facilities and a bird's park which was later named Wildlife Park or Taman Hidupan Liar in Malay.  Upon adopting  the masterplan for the development of the Tanjung Batu recreational reserve area in 1985, works on providing improved roads infrastructure to the beach and park areas started in the late 1980's in earnest.  The above picture shows the construction of the Tg. Batu Scenic Road, showing the section going down towards the Aurora Beach Hotel.

Tanjung Batu Scenic Road as seen today....20 December, 2013.

Today the road is a one-lane dual carriageway with a small lane for bicycles and motorcycles incorporated.  The building on the right is Bintulu's first high-rise beach condominium project.  With proper facilities and amenities provided at Tg. Batu recreational reserve area, tourism activities picked up with visitors both domestic and foreign attracted to the beautiful scenery, breeze and many recreational activites at the beach like swimming, picnics,jogging, family gathering or outing, beach games,photography and sunset viewing. Entrance to the beach is free. Visitors especially school children crowd the Wildlife Park especially at weekends and school holidays to see many zoo animals, birds and botanic collections at the park, which is now popularly called "Taman Tumbina" in Malay.

Bintulu town during the first boom (1979 -83)

 Bintulu was a sleepy fishing village and small town when  I grew up there in my teenage years. It was known mainly for its jungle products (rattan, damar etc.), sago, timber logs and sawn mangrove timber species (ramin), and the ever popular 'belacan' or shrimp paste.  The main town centre was located on the right bank of the Kemena river  as it reaches the South China Sea.  It enjoyed fresh sea breezes and wonderful views of the sunset. It has an airfield built in 1938 and was optimally used in the 60's right on till the 90's  before it was abandoned for a new airport in 2003.  The Malay and Melanau kampungs that surrounded the town area have tall coconut and betel nut trees over-topping the villages.  All these makes Bintulu a quaint, quiet and rustic place of the pre- boom years.

Bintulu town of the 50's -60's
Picture credit : Ho Ah Choon,Sarawak in Pictures - 1940's - 70's, Sarawak Press Bhd, Kuching.

Bintulu town centre - shows much development around the town area during the first boom years (1979 -1983)
Note the newly constructed commercial buildings mushrooming .
The hospital is seen at the bottom right of the picture.  In the 1980's the airport served well the growing needs of travel to and out of Bintulu expected of a booming town.
Picture credit : Peter Chay, Malaysia - Wonders and Contrasts, Foto Technik Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, 1986.

The sleepy image of Bintulu town gradually gave way to a bustling town with the discovery of natural gas and the development of the Bintulu deep water port at Kidurong, some 20 km away north from the town.  The town was slowly being provided with better urban facilities and amenities through the re-development of many of the readily available state land around town. For example the location of the BDA-Shahida commercial area (shown at the middle of the picture above) was previously the government offices and quarters area and only public football field site.  It is worthwhile to note too that due to the pressing needs of urban space, many kampungs located closer to the town were removed to make way for shophouses e.g Kampung Dagang later became Kampung Dagang Commercial Centre (shown as newly constructed commercial shophouses at top of the picture, fronting the river)

Tanjung Kidurong point and LNG Terminal

Tg. Kidurong Point as seen in 1960
The Tanjung Kidurong point has a natural bay which was later developed into a deep-water port terminal and berthing location by the Bintulu Port Authority.

The Tanjung Kidurong point was a significant landmark in Bintulu history.  It is located north of Bintulu and in the 1960's it was accessible only by sea.  The natural geography of the area was important in deciding its location as a terminal for LNG export and the development of a regional port due to its natural bay advantage.  This natural bay was later developed into a huge berthing and wharfing facilities by the  Bintulu Port Authority.  During the first boom, the Port had installed a LNG exporting terminal that enabled the loading of the liquified natural gas cargo in safe waters.  The picture below shows two LNG ships berthing at the terminal for loading purposes.

The Tg. Kidurong Point site as seen in the late 1980's'
Shown at the foreground in the picture is the man-made breakwater to enable ships berthing and loading the LNG cargo in safe waters.  In the far background is the Bintulu Port wharfing and berthing facilities for other cargoes for and out of Bintulu like general cargoes, containers etc.,

"Tenaga Satu" - the first LNG ship that brought the first shipment of LNG from Tg. Kidurong LNG terminal  to Tokyo bay.
The picture shows the first LNG ship ready to set sail during the launching ceremony of the first cargo.
Tenaga Satu  set sailed on this maiden trip on the 29 January 1983 and arrived Tokyo on a cold winter morning on 7 February'83.

(Note: Picture credits above : MLNG exhibition booth, 'Pameran Sarawak Gemilang - 50 Tahun Dalam Malaysia, peringkat Bahagian Bintulu' at Dewan Suarah, Bintulu, 26 Oct - 2 Nov'13)

Law Gek Soon Road in the mid 1980's

Law Gek Soon Road, mid 1980's

 The above pic shows the Law Gek Soon Road in the mid 1980's when Bintulu faced its first economic boom.  Compared to the present day (1 October, 2013) there are very stark differences in terms of the buildings structure(e.g. wooden shophouses), movement of traffic (  2-way versus 1 - way streets) and newer buildings that cropped up to make Bintulu town's image  on par with other major towns of Sarawak.  The blue cone-shaped building in the center background in the picture below  is the Main Market building or "Pasar Utama".  The tall pole in the center has a surveillance  camera attached as a crime preventive measure.  Today there is not a single remnant of wooden shophouses in Bintulu town.

Law Gek Soon Road, taken on 1 October, 2013

Law Gek Soon
First Government Chief Clerk of Bintulu.

Mr Law Gek Soon was born and bred in Bintulu. He was the first Government Chief Clerk of Bintulu.  He died during his service in 1918 at the age of 45.  The Law Gek Soon Road is named after him.

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.

From a sleepy town and fishing village to a boom town