Only memories soon for Pepper Estate pioneers

GEORGE TOWN: The narrow meandering paths that skirt around an assortment of houses in the village enclave of Pepper Estate somehow suggest a carefree time that the people residing there would have had when they grew up as children in the neighbourhood.

Despite the modern vehicles parked in the porches of the houses, it would seem that time has stood still in this village, where the corners of houses form a T with their neighbours’, some bigger and others, smaller or narrower.

The village, which has a history of more than five decades, has its roots, as its name suggests, in a pepper estate during the British colonial days.

Most of its denizens have stayed put since moving into the village which was dense jungle before the folks cleared parts of it to build their homes.

Former shroff (an Anglo-Indian word for cashier) Philip Malcolm Rozario, 88, was one of the first to arrive at the village in 1969.

“This place was a jungle when I arrived with my wife and children after I was let off by Bank Negara which took over the Board of Commissioners of Currency after it was disbanded in 1967. I received some gratuity. I was 48 at that time.

“We were renting a house in Kelawei Road then when I realised we needed a bigger place for our five schoolgoing children to grow up.

“We heard that this estate was coming up and I managed to get permission to build a house. At that time, there were only dirt roads and about 50 houses being built.

“I met the builders who were building a house next door and I asked them if they could build my house. My wife gave them a rough idea how she wanted the house to be. At first we had three rooms but later we made extensions,” he said.

Rozario, who worked as a bus driver and a housekeeper, said he spent RM3,000 to RM4,000 to build the house.

He said the quietness of the neighbourhood and the understanding among the residents captivated them over time while his children had ample room to run about and grow up healthily.

While most households are Chinese, Rozario, who is of Indian and Filipino parentage, said there were a few Indians and Eurasians who also made their home in the village.

Speaking in his spacious living room on his favourite chair where he reads his newspaper, he related that he paid RM40 per month to the landlord Lim Leaw Thoon for 40 years until the land was reportedly sold in 2010.

His daughter Ann, 52, said she remembered collecting water for daily use from a large drain that had excess water from the Guillemard Reservoir.

“We used to play in that drain because the water was clean. Our games also involved running around, cycling, and playing badminton in a clearing in the jungle.

“A badminton court was built by the villagers for us kids to have our own tournaments there. There was so much fun living here,” she said.

Ann added that people did not believe their little hamlet would be sold, and did not invest in another house outside the village.

“We thought since the village was situated in a valley and we thought there are big underground pipes, no major development could take place here.

“Some 20% of residents here are about my father’s age and have nowhere to go while 40% have lived here for some 40 years,” she said.

However, it is all coming to an end.

On June 21 last year, Singaporean company Oxley Holdings Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Oxley Star Sdn Bhd, entered into a joint venture with local company Beverly Heights Properties Sdn Bhd to develop Pepper Estate.

News reports revealed the land measuring 30 acres (12.14ha) has been sold to Beverly Heights.

The land was owned by rice mill tycoon Lim Eow Thoon, who allowed the families to set up homes there, said Rozario.

Kebun Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng said negotiations between 300-odd households and the developer began two months ago, and he believes there would be a positive outcome.

“The negotiations are going well although there are differing views and needs. The residents are engaged in a mature way and are not antagonistic. I believe there will be a positive outcome,” he said.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 1, 2014.