At 6A.M. before dawn, Aunty Liew Chiew Moy is well prepared, carefully riding her motorcycle from her house towards the pineapple plantation in Simpang Renggam. Rows of pineapple trees forming a vast, boundless sea of pineapples welcome her. Aunty Liew proceeded slowly but steadily on the yellow mud road until the center of the plantation, gathering with her colleagues. Before starting the day’s work, they prepare their tools and protective equipment, for instance sharpening knives, wearing gloves and sunhat, get ready before starting to harvest pineapples. Not only is Aunty Liew the most senior worker in the plantation, she is also the only remaining Chinese lady worker.
Simpang Renggam is located in the mid section of Johor, close to the North-South Expressway, where the largest pineapple plantation in Malaysia is. The soil in the region is peat, formed from decomposed organic mass, having the advantages of being loose and good air circulation. Moreover, plentiful rainfall makes it an ideal place for planting pineapples. Pineapple plantation industry in Simpang Renggam started from the 50’s, achieving its peak in the 60’s to 70’s, becoming the main economic activity of the local population. Among them, Peninsula Plantation Sdn Bhd where Aunty Liew is attached, is the largest plantation in the vicinity, its surface area over 6,000 acres, with up to 400,000 pineapple trees.
Since a teenager, Aunty Liew has been working with pineapples for over half a century. Under the influence of her parents, she started working at 15 years old, having experience in grass-cutting, sowing pineapple seedlings, until focusing on harvesting pineapples as of now. At the age of 68 years old, she is still as fit as a fiddle, carrying a 50 kilograms basket on her back without any problem. Aunty Liew gets along well with her colleagues, always greeting each other warmly and showing concern for each other’s well being. They work diligently together as a team for three to four hours a day. Back then during peak seasons, they sometimes work for 8 to 9 hours per day. Even though the weather is extremely hot, they could still be seen harvesting pineapples from the low pineapple trees.
Pineapples grow in different positions on the tree, therefore the job of harvesting is difficult to replace by machinery, having to rely on traditional manpower. Aunty Liew grabs hold of the golden yellow fruit, with a swing of the knife, the fruit is separated from its stem, she then throws the harvested pineapple into the rattan basket on her back, developing deft “back air shot” skills over the years. Although the job itself is not difficult, there are several risks, including stumbling upon low leaves, which may have to be pared off on the way into the plantation to ensure a smooth journey. In the earlier days the plantation is adjacent to forests, bumping into pythons and wild hogs from time to time is a scary experience. Aunty Liew still trembles when reminiscing that she once accidentally cut a beehive, luckily her colleagues alerted each other to run for their lives, no harm was done.
Aunty Liew has been through the rise and fall of the pineapple plantation industry, witnessing on her own the plantation staff changed from a majority of Chinese to now mostly Malays and foreign labourers. As her friends eventually retired, she became the last Chinese lady worker in the plantation. Defending her duty for the most of her life, yet still passionate about her job, Aunty Liew’s dedication is much admirable.
Text: Daniel Lim & Pua Hui Wen
有你 UNI Production
Producer : Mok Yii Chek
Coordinator : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang
Drone : Daniel Lim
Video Editor : Amelia Lim
Production Assistant : Michael Lerk
Music : Dancing Star
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