Shining example of tolerance

YA sui, ya sui!” Nusi Razali hollers in Chinese as he hawks his coconut drink to Buddhist devotees who pass his stall on their way to and from Ching San Yen Temple on a hill near Kampung Muara Tebas, about 30km from Kuching.

The 60-year-old grocer has been selling drinks outside his shop for more than 10 years and he enjoys brisk business every Lunar New Year as devotees from near and far flock to the traditional Malay fishing village where the temple is located.

He said the village had co-existed with the temple for so many years that no one could could actually remember how old the temple was.

“My late father, who lived to over 80, told me that he grew up in the village next door to the temple.

“Our Government now talks about the 1Malaysia concept. Well, we are proud that at Kampung Muara Tebas, we have embraced and practised that concept since a long, long time ago,” Nusi said.

He added that he even picked up a few phrases in Chinese from friends and these helped him communicate with his customers.

Nusi said the villagers looked forward to the Chinese New Year festival every year because the celebration would bring employment and business opportunities to the sleepy fishing village.

As thousands of devotees flock to Ching San Yen temple during that period, they would buy drinks and fresh produce like fish and vegetables from the villagers.

“Now, I look forward to the business that the festival brings. My grocery shop and drink stall do very well throughout the Lunar New Year,” he said.

Hazwan Morni, a temporary worker at the temple, said he and many youths in the village also looked forward to the festive period as it meant job opportunity.

The 24-year-old factory worker said the part-time work of clearing candles and joss sticks would earn him RM30 a day.

“The smoke from the joss sticks stings my eyes but the work is easy,” he said.

Located on a hill about 40m above sea level on the left bank of the Sarawak River estuary, the Ching San Yen Temple is the biggest temple within the Kuching City North Commission’s jurisdiction.

According to The Sarawak Book of Amazing Facts And Records published by the state government in 2001, the temple is described as the most decorative Buddhist temple in Sarawak.

Based on oral history, the temple was built some 200 years ago. Over the years, the temple had undergone renovations.

In May 1984, the Kuching Hokkien Association took over the temple’s administration. Ten years later, major renovation works were carried out on the ageing temple to ensure the safety of the rising number of devotees and to cater to their needs. The work was completed in 1996.

Association president Dr Chou Chii Ming said that during the 15-day celebration of Chinese New Year, about 100 villagers worked daily from 5am to 7pm.

He said such temporary employment provided income to the locals who live next door to the temple.

In the true spirit of sharing, Dr Chou said the association would distribute festive goodies to their Muslim friends before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and visit the homes of villagers during their open house.

Sometimes, the association had an excess of Mandarin oranges donated by friends and other organisations for the new year and the association would share these oranges with the villagers, he said.

“The villagers will ask if these oranges have been offered for prayers. If no, it’s okay for them to eat. We understand and respect their religion, so we only give them new oranges that have not been offered for prayers,” he explained.

“We have a good understanding with each other and we are a living example of 1Malaysia. Our existence complements each other,” he said.

Meanwhile, the area’s community leader Suhaili Sahari, 47, said in the past, devotees could only reach the temple by boat but with the completion of a road about 10 years ago, the number of devotees had sky-rocketed.

He said the locals did not mind the sudden influx of people to their little village because they brought additional socio-economic activities which improved their livelihoods.

“The temple’s management told the village’s security and development committee to collect a parking fee of RM3 per vehicle during the new year celebration because that is when we have a lot of vehicles coming in from sunrise to sunset,” he explained.

The money collected will be used to pay the wages of the villagers who take turns to manage the traffic, he added.

Suhaili said the temple also hired the village’s womenfolk to fry vegetarian noodles to be served to the devotees, and youths to help clear the thousands of joss sticks and candles placed by devotees at the altars.

“We live in peace and harmony. We are tolerant of one another. We are 1Malaysia,” he said.