Remembering Sia Boey

Still standing: A bird's eye view of the old market (centre) which used to be regarded as the 'land of gold' by the locals.

FOR about a century, the Sia Boey Market in George Town, Penang, was the place to get fresh produce.

Located next to the Prangin Canal, the wholesale market was established in the late 19th century with its name literally meaning ‘end of the village’.

Former Prangin Market Traders Asso- ciation chairman Tan Ban Bee said the market used to be a gathering place for locals to offer their fruit and vegetables for sale.

“Like me, my parents were also traders at the market, which was the most popular one back in the 1940s.

“At that time, Air Itam, Balik Pulau and Sungai Ara all had vegetable farms and people would transport their goods by bullock cart or by boat up the canal to be brought to the Sia Boey Market to be sold,” he said in an interview.

Tan, who is now the Pulau Mutiara Market Traders Association chairman, said the big crowd and many rickshaws con- gregating in the area had set off alarm bells for the Japanese during the Second World War.

“The crowd attracted attention and (from the air) the rickshaws resembled anti-aircraft guns.

“This may have created the illusion that the locals were preparing for war which resulted in a bomb being dropped on the market in the 1940s,” he said.

“Many people and traders were killed and injured,” Tan said.

Currently, plans are afoot for the old market site that was vacated around 2004 to make way for development under Komtar’s Phase Five.

The state announced a plan on Tuesday to turn the site into a new heritage en- clave which will include, among others, the restoration and expansion of the mar- ket as well as the rehabilitation of the canal.

A visit to the site now, however, reveals several individuals who can still remember Sia Boey’s heyday.

Trader Ooi Ah Thong, 68, established an egg distribution business at the mar- ket some 50 years ago and moved into a nearby shophouse when the other traders relocated to Macallum Street Ghaut.

“This area used to be the heart of Penang and people used to flock to the market to restock their merchandise.

“The market even catered to British soldiers who relocated here during the colonisation,” Ooi said.

He said the area now attracted tourists, who liked to snap pictures of the old houses and roads that still retained strong characteristics of the past.

In fact, the former market also attracts locals who frequent a tiny group of food and drink stalls.

Koay teow th’ng seller Koay Teng Chye, 59, said many elderly residents still came to eat at the old market.

“I set up my business near here in 1985.

“Now, many old-timers, who ate my food in the old days, still come,” he said.

“This site was even a location for a film many years back, and I have had tourists, who asked to buy sets of my bowls and chopsticks for remembrance!” he ex-claimed.

Sixty-year-old Yeap Say Xaa, a long-time customer of Koay, said the street that housed the old market used to be called the ‘land of gold’ as whoever opened their business there would prosper.

“I have deep affections towards this place since I was raised here. So, I hope that its character will remain as it is,” she said.

The Sia Boey Market is one of the heritage sites covered in the new 6km route for non-competition Starwalkers on Sept 17.

The other sites include Tan Kongsi, Chew/Lee Jetties, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, Customs Building (formerly Malayan Railway Building), Logan Heritage, The Whiteaways Arcade, Pinang Peranakan Mansion and Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh.

Penang Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas will flag off the walk at Birch House, Penang Times Square, at 6.30am on Sept 17, a replacement public holiday for Malaysia Day that falls on Sunday.