Not much singing in Song

	By Badrolhisham Bidin, May 16, 2010 Visitors sing songs of praise for this little town, but Song residents tell BADROLHISHAM BIDIN they want development to be on par with other towns in Sarawak.
	THOSE who are expecting youthful exuberance and all-night song-and-dance sessions in Song will be disappointed.
	It's mostly the village elders who are left in this little town in Sarawak.
	The young and restless have moved to bigger towns in the state and some, to Kuala Lumpur.
	The pace of life in Song, a two-hour boat ride from Sibu, is slow and lethargic.
	The only place locals and visitors can take part in a little revelry is at the town's karaoke centre.
	Even then, it is not open every day. But when it is, residents can sing songs at the top of their lungs.
	The karaoke centre appears to be the only source of entertainment in Song, apart from the hundreds of channels available over satellite television.
	A village elder, Lim Su Khiew, explained that there is nothing significant about Song, which originally grew from an Iban village that survived World War 2, besides its unusual name.
	How, then, did Song get its name?
	"It is probably based on the name of the river in front of it.
	"No one really knows. It doesn't mean anything in Iban.
	"The origin of the name has been swallowed up by time. Even my grandfather doesn't know," said Lim, 74.
	But Lim, who lived through World War 2, could recall what it was like during the Japanese occupation. He was only 6 then.
	"The Japanese did not fire a single shot during their stay here although the British kept dropping bombs to wipe them out.
	"When the Japanese told us to nominate a male from each family to build the Sibu airstrip, all those who went came back in one piece."
	Lim said Song was originally built across Sungai Rejang by the Iban at the mouth of Sungai Song.
	However, the Iban decided to start a new settlement after being urged by the British government following the surrender of the Japanese.
	"And so, a new Song was born. The hilly terrain here made it difficult to build houses, but the Chinese who arrived earlier decided to build a row of shophouses fronting the river in 1940."
	For a small town like Song, the residents are surprisingly disciplined on the road. Motorists fasten their seatbelts even for a short drive to the sundry shops.
	Motorcyclists have their helmets secured, probably out of respect for the handful of policemen there.
	Lim said government officers who were transferred to Song would "cry for one week" upon arrival.
	"After that, many of them would beg not to be transferred out.
	"With a dwindling population of about 20,000, Song will become a place for the old folk, unless the government builds proper roads linking this town to the bigger towns around it," said Lim, who once served as a councillor in the local council.
	A dental nurse, 27-year old Ismafiza Wan Adnan, who has worked in Song for two years, said it was difficult to find lodging there.
	"I am currently staying at the government quarters but I would like to stay on my own.
	"Basic medical equipment is also lacking. Once, I was rushed to Kapit on a boat after suffering a bout of diarrhoea," said Ismafiza who is from Sibu.
	Her colleague, Mohd Ramli Ahmad, 27, who is also from Sibu, shared her predicament.
	However, he said the government had assured them that a helicopter would be dispatched to the area in the event of an emergency.
	"I can take comfort that Sibu is just two hours away," he said.
	Express boats from Sibu to Song are divided into three classes - first class, business class and economy.
	First class and business class have movies shown on flat-screen televisions and reclining seats.
	Locals usually get their furniture, mineral water and foodstuff from Sibu and place them on the roof of the express boats.
	Song is one of the three administrative districts in Kapit Division.
	The Iban forms the majority of townsfolk in Song, followed by the Orang Ulu, Chinese, Malay, Melanau and Bidayuh.
	The town is located on the banks of Sungai Kitibas, a tributary of Sungai Rejang. It is an important stopover for river traffic going up the Rejang.
	It has primary and secondary schools which offer classes up to Form Six.
	The town also has a magistrate's court complex, mostly handling minor cases as it is a relatively quiet place with nothing much happening, said Lim.
	"We used to have strangers coming over and introducing ganja to the teenagers.
	"Some of them had ganja plants planted in their compound but now we are free from drugs," he said.