Malaysia: Reviving The Dying Art Of Jong Making

By Lucia Terey John JOHOR BAHRU (Malaysia), April 3 (Bernama) -- Not many Malaysians may have heard of jong or miniature sailboat racing, a traditional sport that used to be popular in Johor decades ago. The race has its origins in the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia and was introduced to Johor by migrants. Apparently, jong races were a regular feature in the coastal villages during the 1940s, '50s and '60s before its popularity waned. Recent years have seen renewed interest in the race, but only a handful of villagers are skilled in making the boats. Among them is Dolah Mohamad, 63, who dwells in Kampung Linting, Tanjung Surat, near Kota Tinggi. Known as Pak Andak among the village folk, he makes a living as a fisherman. Creating those traditional miniature sailboats is a pastime activity for him and two fellow villagers Salleh Arif, 56, and Mat Lazim Atan, 55. Not only do they make the jong, they also enjoy taking their "toys" to the open sea during their free time to indulge in a race or two. Jong is derived from the Javanese word djong, a traditional sailing vessel. LEARNING THE ART OF JONG MAKING Pak Andak said he has been making the jong and "playing" with them for some 28 years now. "Initially, I played with the jong purely for fun, but after I met a 'guru' (craftsman) who hailed from Singapore, I became interested in learning how to make the boat," he told Bernama in an interview, here recently. According to Pak Andak, due consideration has to be given on the type of wood used for the construction of the jong's main structure and the cloth for the lugsail. "We always use the lightest wood we can find to make the boat proper. Here, we use 'kayu pulai' (a local timber species) which is easily available in the swampy area here (Kampung Linting), so we don't have to go looking for it deep in the jungle," he said. Once the wood is procured, the next task for Pak Andak would be to carve out the jong's frame, a process which would take 15 days to more than a month to complete, depending on the size of the boat. Boats in the grade A category have a body length of 187.8 cm; grade B, 127 cm; grade C, 101.6 cm; and grade D, 83.8 cm. TOOLS FOR THE TRADE Pak Andak said the time taken to complete each jong was usually subject to the type of woodworking tools used. "It can be completed faster if modern gadgets are used. But, here, we always use traditional tools like the tapping knife, chisel, scraper to smoothen the wood and sandpaper to create a more polished look. "After the boat is completed, we will proceed to making the sail. We prefer to use cotton cloth for the sail because it's light and more resistant to the wind. Dolah, meanwhile, said the jongmaker's prowess could only be established when the boat is released out there in the open sea and it propels forward in the direction of the north-easterly wind. Jong races are a common feature in Kampung Linting, with each race seeing some 15 participants showing off their skills. On "race-day", the competitors would gather at the Kampung Tanjung Surat jetty to set their miniature jong to sail, after which they would jump into their own boats in pursuit of their jong. The jetty at Kampung Linting is where the finishing line is, about four kilometres from the starting point. The jong that reaches the finishing line within five or six minutes is proclaimed the winner. And, only a jong built with exact precision could possibly sail in a straight line that fast. As Dolah pointed out, "Even if a jong is moving ahead in first position (during a race) but veers off course about 200 metres from the finishing line, then it cannot be declared the winner." Dolah himself is well known among the kampung folk as a champion jongmaker and his boats have emerged first in 10 competitions so far, the latest being the one that was held during the Duta Jauhar jong carnival in Kampung Linting, recently. EXPOSING THE SPORT TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION Pak Andak is hoping that the authorities would hold more jong-related events in the near future to expose the sport to the younger generation. He is also more than ready to share his expertise and knowledge with youths who are interested in preserving the jong-making heritage. Currently about 16 youths, including his son, are learning the art of making the jong from him. Duta Jauhar Johor Skills 2017 project director Mohd Afiq Haiman said they decided to organise a jong carnival in Kampung Linting after finding out that it was a popular sport in that area. "Even I myself didn't know such a sport existed. I realised how unique it was after I heard about it and I'm hoping the carnival (in Kampung Linting) has created more awareness for jong racing and people will start treasuring it as one of our traditional games," said Mohd Afiq, 19. (The Duta Jauhar [Young Ambassador] programme is Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin’s brainchild to improve the socio-economic well-being of the people of Johor through student participation.) State Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Ismail Mohamed said jong racing has the potential to be turned into an agro-tourism product in Kota Tinggi district. He said the authorities would help to secure RM20,000 under the state's agricultural incentives and assistance scheme to purchase suitable machines to make the miniature boats. "The choice of Kampung Linting as a tourist attraction is apt because its residents are all either farmers or fishermen, and the tourist arrivals will help them to generate a side income," he said. -- BERNAMA