I learned that Jalan Badruddin in Kuching was named after the brother of Raja Muda Hashim, a close friend of Sarawak’s first White Rajah, Sir James Brooke.
Raja Muda Hashim had a road named after him too.
He was responsible for seeking help from James Brooke to quell a rebellion by Kuching Malays led by Datu Patinggi Abang Ali Abang Amir against Brunei chief Pengiran Indera Mahkota, who apparently irked the locals with his unpopular and despotic rule.
In return for Brooke’s help, Kuching was ceded to him as a “token of appreciation”.
Badruddin was allegedly killed in a Brunei Palace revolt and the road was a reminder of Sarawak’s historical ties with the Brunei Sultanate, however bumpy the relationship, but not the road.
Older Kuchingnites also referred to the Badruddin Road area as “Sugarcane Field” – “Kam Chia Hui” to be exact.
A lot of sugarcane must have been grown there to merit such a recognition.
Sugarcane must have attracted pests like ants and rats for “Yaw Chooh Hui” to emerge.
“Yaw Chooh” is the Hokkien term for rats.
The rats must have caused considerable trouble for them to be remembered as such.
That’s just an urban legend, handed down from grandparents to grandchildren, once upon a time.
Since then, the rats must have migrated too after the town was officially named Kuching.
But then, Hokkiens do celebrate their New Year by hanging sugarcane on their main doors to symbolise their history of hiding in safety in a sugarcane field “once upon a time in China”.
That brings us to another four roads with a unique history – Jalan Satok, Jalan Rubber, Jalan Nenas and Jalan Pisang.
My mother told me that Jalan Satok was popularly known as “The First Road” or “Tay It Tiaw Loh” in Hokkien – possibly the first major road in Kuching.
But she avoided my question of why it was called “Satok” and not “Satu” or “Pertama”. This, I leave it to the historians among our readers to clarify.
Of course, after the first road, the second one was expected, and “Jalan Rubber” was built. Again, it’s confusing to the present-day Kuchingnites to drive along Jalan Rubber and explain to visitors who are trying to reconcile a rubber road without a rubber tree in sight.
Hokkien, being the lingua franca among the Chinese was responsible for many of the terms as well as the conditions in Kuching’s early history.
Hokkiens were influential in the social, economic and political history of Kuching.
However, my ancestors were mostly found in coffee shops as well as the Rajah’s kitchen – being more renowned for coffee, toast and food like chicken rice and buns.
Though humble in background, they must have done a good job as Kuchingnites seemed to enjoy spending more time in Hainanese coffee shops than at work.
I am not sure who introduced the famous kolok mee to Kuching but chicken rice was definitely from Hainan though the chicken and rice were locally sourced.
Unfortunately, no roads were named after the Hainanese community as they comprised only a small percentage of the population.
But there’s a part of Jalan Pisang Barat which was nicknamed “Hainan Village” due to the presence of a Hainanese settlement there.
Hainanese must have loved bananas for the road to be named after the fruit.
Jalan Pisang was popularly referred to as the “4th Road” among the local Chinese – in sequence after Jalan Nenas which was the “3rd Road”.
Again, it’s kind of difficult to explain the absence of pineapples or nenas and bananas or pisang along the roads named as such.
Throw in Jalan Rambutan and that should justify an “Orchard Road” in Kuching.
The road name sounded more appropriate for Jalan Palm as coconut palms used to dominate the landscape in the vicinity.
In the early days, the chances of being hit by falling coconuts were higher than being hit by a passing car as coconuts vastly outnumbered cars then.
Jalan Green obviously doesn’t need much explanation as it was originally a track lined with green grass to remind the rajah of home as he rode his horse along it.
In modern day usage, Jalan Green sounds more like “Go Green” with an environmental connotation to it.
Road and street names in Kuching, or Sarawak, were generally divided into five categories – those named after historical persons, government officers, important citizens and for other reasons, like community, landmarks and so forth.
These are just a fraction of the many roads in Kuching and their background history.
I will try to expand on the other major roads as well as buildings in the city and if space and time permit, other areas in Sarawak too.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
