Tebing Tinggi villagers question the cause of the fire

HE was the centre of attraction, but showed no expression as people gathered around him to pose for pictures to be published in the media.

Slumped in front of the clicking cameras, Choy Chu, 88, was still in a daze after a fire the night before had robbed him of a roof over his head and all his belongings.

This scene at a tea stall in Tebing Tinggi Village on Monday was very sad, though the politicians and welfare officers had presented him RM500, a blanket and towels in a simple ceremony.

The old man who collected and sold used cardboard for a living had been staying alone with his 67-year-old tenant, Cheong Seow in the village.

Aid given: Kinta Welfare Department assistant officer Noor Fazila (left) presenting a blanket and toiletries to Choy (seated) at the village. Looking on are Tebing Tinggi Barisan Nasional coordinator Tony Khoo (right) who presented RM500 aid to Choy, village chief Mohd Din Mohd Noor (second right) and Ipoh Timur Wanita MCA deputy chief Kathleen Wong (second left, partially hidden).

According to Cheong, Choy who had a severe hearing problem, had lost touch with his family members for about 50 years.

That perhaps has made Choy's story an interesting read compared to his neighbours, a family of five, who also lost their house in the fire.

Choy could not have slept the whole night after he was rescued from the burning house and warded at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital.

But he still managed to slip out of the hospital and return to his burnt down house on Monday morning.

A former villager, John Foong who returned to help Choy said the latter wanted to search for his gold chain and savings account book from the debris.

Villagers helped him retrieve his gold chain and locket and some coins.

The fire that razed down three houses, including Choy's has a twist to it.

The affected houses, including a vacant lot, are among 47 that came under an eviction plan.

Their landlords have proposed RM15,000 compensation per house and the occupants must vacate their units within three months upon signing the agreement to vacate.

The proposal was made known to the houseowners just a week ago, and the fire certainly had added fuel to the rumours mainly on what caused it.

Some claimed it was arson to send a strong "signal" to the houseowners.

While some may be quick to blame drug addicts for the cause of the fire, villagers at the scene were not convinced and instead came up with their own conspiracy theories.

One villager who stayed across the road from the gutted buildings, said her son heard loud sparking sounds, and went to check it out.

"By then, the fire was raging," she said, adding that they managed to inform neighbours to escape .

Villagers have tried to douse the flames while waiting for the fire engine to arrive.

The firemen managed to control the fire despite losing its way and not being able to find a hydrant at the scene.

As one villager said: "Thank God it was not windy last night."

If there is any consolation after two shocking news in a row in the village — the impending eviction and fire — it is the neighbourliness in the village.

The fire had brought to my mind one Chinese saying " the real character of people emerges in times of difficulties"

I was told that a neighbour had rushed into the burning house to rescue Choy.

Due to being hard of hearing, Choy was not responding to the neighbours' calls.

The old man was also seen trying to drag his safe, a small metal cupboard, without realising the danger, recalled a villager who was at the scene.

The Chinese newspapers had played up the story on the fire and pictures of the burning houses, and the raging flames were indeed scary for the villagers.

According to an elderly villager, there were three fires in the village that had existed since the Second World War, and the latest one was the most serious.

It seems the last one was in 2007 which razed down two vacant houses near the entrance to the village.

As for the latest incident, it will continue to be the talk of the villagers for some time.

For some of the 47 affected houseowners, their worry is to look for alternative housing as property prices and rental are soaring.

Financial constraints aside, elderly villagers also found the living environment in a village offered them emotional support that is difficult to be found in modern housing estates.

In fact, some villagers who had moved in with their children elsewhere, had returned to the village every other day to meet their former neighbours over breakfast at the tea stall located at the entrance to the village.

Well, it looks like the village, which survived almost seven decades, would see a drastic change once the 47 houses make way for new development.

And the villagers will have to adapt to changes which is something inevitable in this age of rapid development.

-The Star-

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