Krokop – from backwater to high end real estate
For those who are interested in Miri during Lee Tung era. He stayed in the hilly area in Riam east of krokop.
Krokop – from backwater to high end real estate
Originally, the boundary of Miri town ended at the Chinese temple and where the kampungs started.
NAMES of roads and places bring soul to a geographical area. They tell the history and the remarkable achievements and life stories of the inhabitants, leaving an indelible mark on both the land and the mindscapes.
It is said in many old places of the world where scripts and languages have been frequently changed by politics, people continue to remember the original names of their roads. Politics may even change the use of a language but the memories of the people remain loyal to their ancestral lineage.
When the first itinerant Chinese trader named Ah Chong arrived in Miri, he was said to be living in his boat.
By the time Claude Champion de Crespigny was installed the first Resident of the Fourth Division in 1883, there were reportedly some Chinese trading shops in Miri and about 20 kampung houses, believed to be the original dwellings in Kampung Pulau Melayu.
According to oral history, the Krokop area was established by a few Chinese pig farmers before World War II. These smallholders were able to till the swampy land to grow some vegetables while foraging for edible ferns like midin and paku to sell to market vendors.
So even though the land was swampy, drained by a few small streams, pig farming thrived and some fruit trees and vegetables were also grown.
On the other hand, pepper farming, rice, and fruit cultivation in the olden days in Miri were carried out in the hillier Riam area, a few miles further inland from the Miri River.
There is a small stream called Sungai Krokop, which flows from the hills to the Miri River, passing by the Ching Loong Confectionary Factory at Krokop 3.
According to the Sarawak Gazette, when the Duke of Edinburgh visited Miri in 1959, 100 or so students and teachers from the Sungai Krokop School lined up to welcome him.
This Sungai Krokop School must be the Krokop Chung Hua Primary School set up in 1946.
In Chinese, Krokop is Ju Bah, which means Pig Estate or Village. Today, two Chinese words which sound like Ju Bah are used – Pearl (Ju) which sounds like pig in Chinese and Bah which sounds like bazaar. Regardless, Pearl Estate is now the preferred term of reference.
The Krokop area begins from the Chinese and Muslim Cemetery at Sungai Baong and ends at the Sin Shang Hai Furniture Company at Krokop 10. This remarkable biracial cemetery may be the only one in the world.
In the early days, and even right up to the 1960s, the Chinese cemetery along the Miri River was the most convenient to the community in other parts of Miri, Bakam, and even Subis.
Rituals were held in the Chinese temple near the Miri fish market by the riverside with the funeral procession proceeding to the cemetery by boat. So it wasn’t necessary to carry the heavy hardwood casket to the Krokop cemetery from Miri town.
On the eastern side of the Krokop boundary is Jee Foh Road, while on the western side, the Miri River. At first, there was only a mud road for the farmers but the government gradually started to improve the road system.
In the early 60s, Krokop was still considered a backwater by the town folk. Many young people preferred not to venture beyond Sungai Baong separating the town from the villages beyond.
Today, there are 10 major roads in Krokop running like a grid system, branching out from Krokop Utama Road – from the west to the east. Crisscrossing these roads are small lanes named after Chinese pioneers, flowers, and plants, depending on when the lanes were developed.
Chan Chak Road is a long lane named after a man who came in the 30s. It connects Krokop 10 through to Krokop 6, intersecting Krokop 9, Krokop 8, and Krokop 7.
According to former councillor Chong Kong Kee, more than eight roads have been named after the Krokop Primary School founders, who played significant role