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  Today Online 6 Apr 06
End of an era for boatman
32-year veteran Ah Geok reminisces as he leaves Clifford Pier for new grounds
Chen Siya

HIS father used to row a sampan ferrying goods and seamen from the large ships to Clifford Pier, back in the 1940s. Png Ah Geok himself made the historic pier his home harbour for 32 years, as did his older brother for two decades.

But this family tradition came to an end of sorts last Saturday--when Clifford Pier, built more than 70 years ago, was closed to make way for the construction of the Marina Barrage. Boatmen like Ah Geok have now been moved to the new Marina South Pier.

Today caught up with the 58-year-old on his last day at the Collyer Quay landmark.

Like most of the Clifford Pier boatmen over the decades, Ah Geok's father hailed from Jing Men province in today's Taiwan, where most Hokkiens trace their roots back to. "The youngest boatman here is at least 50 years old. No young people are willing to do this type of job. Everyone now is educated, why would they want to slog it out here?" said Ah Geok in Mandarin. "At that time, people who were not educated had no other option. I dropped out of secondary school halfway, and this was the only thing I could do."

Like his father, Ah Geok started off rowing a sampan before upgrading to a bumboat a few years later. He saved enough after seven years to buy a second-hand motor launch for $6,000--which serves him till today.

Regular clients of his water taxi service are photography or fishing enthusiasts. "Once, some Taiwanese tourists wanted to hire a boat, but when they saw my old boat, they did not even want to sit in it!"

Business used to be brisk, especially in the late 1980s and 1990s, said Ah Geok--he easily took home an income of more than $2,000 a month.

"In the 70s, I charged only fifty cents per passenger. There were so many people and at least 10 boatmen. It was like many people eating from the same bowl of rice."

Competitive as it was then, things are tougher today. He charges $40 to $50 per hour, although some customers bargain him down to $30. "When people hear my rates, they are taken aback. The truth is, oil is expensive."

His income has dropped to just over $1,000 a month and he attributes the poor business to two factors: The repercussions from the 911 terrorist attacks in the United States and the influx of Indonesian boatmen hired by consolidated tour agencies that has squeezed out the independent operators.

Said Ah Geok, one of the last two independent motor launch operators at Clifford Pier: "It is depressing when I have no customers at all on some days. "After the 911 attacks, security has been tightened tremendously here. The authorities erected a fence around the jetty area to prevent people from accessing the boats freely." Passengers had to produce their identity cards or passports before they could proceed.

Pointing to the fence, he said: "Don't you think we look like we are in a prison? This has definitely affected the crowd here."

Married to a homemaker and with two grown-up children who have "good jobs", he counts himself luckier than some of his peers at Clifford Pier, who one-by-one, gave up the trade over the years. One of them could not afford the repairs to his boat; others could not cope with the competition from the big tour agencies and foreign boatmen.

He noted ominously: "There used to be bumboats at the old World Trade Centre too. After they relocated to the West Coast Pier, they all disappeared! This trade is vanishing."

Understandably, Ah Geok was reluctant to uproot and move to the new Marina South Pier. "The location here is very convenient. I have a direct bus from home." And after a hard day's work, he would go drinking with some buddies at the Lau Pa Sat, a food court nearby, he said.

Even so, he has no intention of coming in to dock permanently anytime soon: "Everyone has troubles. I will take a day at a time. There will always be business--perhaps I will just earn less."
links
Sonnenblume blogs about a last trip out of Clifford Pier on her Colourful Clouds blog
Related articles on Singapore: general environment issues
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