Most spectacular pagoda in South East Asia gets facelift

SIBU: The magnificent seven-storey pagoda at the town’s scenic river front has been given a RM50,000-facelift for the Visit Malaysia Year.

The Guan Yin Pagoda is a major local landmark that has become a must-visit destination for tourists.

Soon Choon Hoo, chairman of the Eng Ann Teng Temple Trustee Board, that built and manages the pagoda as well as the century-old Tua Pek Kong Temple, said they have had visitors from around the globe.

“The structure is a favourite of many Europeans and those who have been here were from Holland, London and Sydney, and the other westerners were from Vancouver.”

He said the pagoda’s facelift began last year when the ceilings were covered with fishing nets to stop swifts from nesting on them, as they have been wont to do for years.

“It had been a long headache for temple workers to get up each morning to wash the birds’ droppings. Gone are those nightmarish days following the fixture of the nets on all the seven floors of the pagoda.”

With the premises free of bird’s nests, they moved on to re-paint the structure and mended tiny cracks, Soon said, adding that they had also fixed ‘chameleon’ bulbs that changed colours every few seconds to light up their part of the river front.

The Goddess of Mercy Pagoda is a part of the Tua Pek Kong Temple complex built by the Hokkien community as they settled here to carry out barter trade with the local people.

Built in 1871 when the deity statue was shipped in from China, the wooden temple consisted of the main hall for worship and the Yunhu Monastery for nuns at the back portion, complete with a place of worship for the Goddess of Mercy.

The temple was untouched by the 1928 great fire that razed rows of ‘belian’ and ‘attap’ shop houses at Jalan Channel. But it was totally destroyed like the rest of the town due to bombings during World War Two. Yet, somehow the statue of Tua Pek Kong was again untouched.

In 1957, a new concrete Tua Pek Kong Temple finally stood. This is the structure that has survived to this day.

In 1979 it underwent a thorough renovation and repair. In 1987, the pagoda was built at the spot of Yunhu Monastery and the Goddess of Mercy was restored at the same spot.

President of the Third Division Tour Agent Association, Frankie Ting, said travellers who arrived here by boat tended to feel greeted by the temple and the pagoda from afar.

“This is not only a land mark of Sibu, it is a pride of the people as well.”

Ting has been bringing in tourists from all over the world, and their comments about the Pagoda?

“They love the tower. It not only has deep cultural significance for the people; it also provides panoramic view of Sibu and the majestic Rajang River, the longest waterway in the country. It is an awesome experience.”

Ting turns into a storyteller each time he climbs up the pagoda with tourists. From how the town flourished when Chinese settlers arrived more than a century ago to how the Melanaus, Malays, Ibans and all the other ethic groups have been living in harmony, all attention would be on Ting as he relates his stories about this Land of the Hornbill.

Ting also has a story of the Rajang and Igan and how the river and its tributaries have the people here in a motherly embrace.

Tourists so love the pagoda those who have posted comments on the Internet have called it “the most spectacular and the most beautiful of its kind in South East Asia and even Taiwan”.

The online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, has a photograph of Sibu Pagoda in the section where it explains what a pagoda is.

According to Soon, a pagoda could be built anywhere in the world and “its structure is a tell-tale sign of where a Chinese community can be found”.

To the town folks, the Sibu pagoda manifests the brotherhood of Malaysians of various races who enjoy freedom of religion.

Even vandals are respectful of the pagoda, Soon said.

“Did you know that the tower has been safe from vandalism all this while?” he said.

Written By:
Raymond Tan
The Borneo Post
11th February 2007