[#1] Tales From the Past: A True Love Story in 1958
As narrated to Emily2U – A True Love Story During the 1958 Construction of the Concrete Bridge Across the Pinji River in Front of the Goddess Ho Seen Koo Temple in Tambun, Ipoh.
In 1958, just a year after Malaysia gained independence, the Perak state government decided to replace the old wooden bridge across the Pinji River with a new concrete structure. The bridge was located in front of the Goddess Ho Seen Koo Temple, just before entering Tambun town from Ipoh.
A tender was called by the Public Works Department, and my late uncle, a well-known Class ‘A’ government contractor, was awarded the contract to build the concrete bridge that same year.
As construction began, government engineers from the Public Works Department regularly visited the site to supervise the work and ensure it followed the approved design.
At the time, many people in the area lived from hand to mouth, and most children completed only primary school before starting work to support their families.
The male labourers wore khaki shirts, long trousers, and straw hats to shield themselves from the sun, while the women dressed in samfu: long-sleeved black or blue blouses and trousers, with hoods covering their heads like tin dulang washers. Their faces were barely visible under the hood.
Meanwhile, the construction site was bustling with activity.
Those days, pre-mixed concrete was not available, so my late uncle procured a mobile mortar mixer to prepare the concrete manually. The labourers then carried the concrete in the traditional kandar style, with two pails of concrete at the end of a long pole across their shoulders, transporting the concrete to the moulds.
After setting up the formwork and placing the steel reinforcement according to specification and design, my uncle had to apply to the Public Works Department for the start work order.
Upon approval, the Public Works Department sent a young engineer of Chinese descent to supervise the work. Among all the labourers, one 19-year-old Chinese female worker caught his eye — not for her appearance, as she, like the others, was covered from head to toe in protective clothing, with a hood shadowing her face.
Perhaps it was the way she moved or her strength as she kandar-ed the concrete to and fro the moulds, or something he couldn’t quite explain. Whatever it was, he felt an immediate fascination and resolved to make her his wife.
Without hesitation, the young engineer approached my late uncle and asked him to arrange a meeting with the lady’s parents. The meeting took place at my uncle’s office along Cowan Street in Ipoh, and shortly thereafter, the couple got married.
Was it a divine intervention by the Goddess Ho Seen Koo, a mere coincidence or fate that brought them together at the construction site?
Even after 66 years, I still wonder what intrigued him. It is still a mystery.
Regardless, I can only hope that they are married happily ever after and blessed with many children and grandchildren.
