Places of Worship & Devotion

A more than 170 years old Indian Mosque in Kuching, Gambir Street, is facing demolition... “Currently, the plan for a new mosque or for Masjid Bandar Kuching is in the final stage of approval and very soon we can start building from the present site,", as reported by the Borneo Post... “The SHS is dismayed at the realisation that it is the private organisations and owners charged with the care of these historic buildings, who are promoting the destruction of these venerable examples of their own heritage, as in the case of the Summerhouse in the Museum Gardens, traditional shophouses, two town-centre Chinese temples.", as reported by the Star... "...although the mosque is the oldest in the State, few youths know about it.",  from e-borneo.com

Tann Hua Foo Sibu is situated in the town center of Sibu, among the various churches of this Christian town. The monastery is said to be initiated long before the Eng Ang Teng (Tua Pek Kong Sibu). The current new monastery was named Guan Yin Chamber temporary during the construction, as the old temple was still operating, since there could not be two 'Tann Hua Foo' in one place. The name, 'Guan Yin Chamber', remains after that. There are few similar places of Tann Hua Foo in the outskirts of Sibu, such as Tann Hua Foo Sarikei; many of those were said to be (branch off) from here, Sibu. Tann Hua Foo Sarikei Tann Hua Foo or similar places of worship are found only in Central Sarawak where most of the Hockchew live, as the host deity is originated from China Hockchew (Fuzhou) province.

Extracts from The New Straits Times... KUCHING: It may not have the grandeur of Batu Caves Temple complex in Selangor, but Mount Matang Sri Mahamariamman Temple complex can lay claim to be the first Hindu temple built in Sarawak. Located at the foothills of Mount Matang, the temple complex is also fascinating as it is made entirely of wood. Although it is only about 45km from here, one needs to spend about 45 minutes hiking up the hill. The temple was originally built by Indian workers who were brought here to work on the coffee plantation run by the state government back in 1867, and later with Rajah Charles Brooke, who took over and switched to tea in 1897. "The Indian workers brought a bronze deity when they arrived here but it was transferred to a temple in Batu Lintang when the tea estate was closed in 1912 due to poor harvest. "The temple was abandoned for 55 years until it was rediscovered by a local villager who was hunting nearby,"said penghul...

Sebuyau, a small coastal town resided between the Batang Lupar and Sungai Sebuyau; the small Sungai Sebuyau flows past Sebuyau directly to the South China Sea just at the Batang Lupar river mouth where the town is situated. This small fishing town is famous for the Ikan Terubuk, which is in high demand both locally and the West Malaysian market. Tze Yin Khor is situated near the Sebuyau river mouth; Tze Yin Khor Sebuyau shares the same host deities with Tze Yin Khor Sri Aman and Tze Yin Khor Lubok Antu, both are at the upstream of the Batang Lupar. The Main Host, Tze Pei Niang Niang, and two other host deities, Lord Hock Teck, or Tua Pek Kong. and Xuan Tian Shang Ti (玄天上帝; Heavenly Emperor). There are over 10,000 villagers in Sebayau, of whom two-thirds are fishermen living near the Sebuyau river. The Chinese, mostly Teochew, live near the town central, as grocery shops operators or businessmen.

Extracts from The Borneo Post... "Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – The Lost Temple of Matang THE Sri Maha Mariamman (goddess of Mercy) temple, 1000 feet up the slope of the Matang mountain in the Kuching district was ‘lost’ for more than 50 years before it was discovered accidentally by a hunter back in the mid 1960s. It was said the hunter Abi bin Bengggali, stumbled upon an abandoned building on the slope of the mountain while searching for game. Intrigued, he explored the interior of the sturdy building made of belian which despite the ravage of time was still largely intact. Inside, he discovered relics of what was clearly a Hindu temple and taking fancy of a carved wooden elephant, he took it home. It proved to be a traumatic mistake for that night his house shook violently and in his sleep Abi dreamt that he must return the statue to the temple. Needless to say the hunter lost no time returning the statue to the temple and his strange adventure became the talk of ...

One of the many traditional Chinese temples in Batu Kawa, Kuching

Woon Hua Kung, one of the many small traditional Chinese temples in the Batu Kawa area. There are many such temples in this area, mostly built in the early Chinese settlement time, nearby to the Sarawak river tributaries, as river was the most economical & convenient means of transport during that time. In the Batu Kawa area along, there were around 10 such early settlements in these Sarawak river tributaries.