114 FISHING INDUSTRY OF KRIAN AND KURAU, PERAK. 

 Tanjong Piandang. 



At Tanjong Piandang there is a fishing village of about 

 twenty houses with thirty or forty fishermen. .They only 

 catch prawns. About fifteen years ago, in Datoh xALl's time, 

 there were about two hundred men there, and they used 

 nets also ; and people from Nibong Tebal used to come and 

 put up Blats there. The people, who had always had the re- 

 putation of being a lawless, turbulent lot, and from whose 

 numbers it was notorious that gang robbers, thieves and other 

 criminals were recruited, at last brought matters to a crisis 

 about four years ago by attacking the Police when they came 

 there to make an arrest. As a punishment the Government 

 sent a force of Police there to burn the village down, which 

 was accordingly done. At that time there were about one 

 hundred fishermen. The village has been partially rebuilt, 

 but now, as I have said above, there are only about thirty or 

 forty men, all (but one) Te-Chius. The exception is an 

 old Hokkien, named Ooi In, who has been living there for 

 thirty-nine years and is seventy years old — the oldest inhabi- 

 tant.' 



In Datoh Ali's time the farmer paid %\o per month and 

 was allowed to cook his own opium and spirits. The fisher- 

 men then paid no taxes at all. 



The people complain that the prawns have got very 

 short in quantity. They have got scarce before, but never to 

 such an extent as during the last four years. They say that, 

 before the last four years, each man could get §6, §7 or $8 

 profit per month, and that now often they do not get enough 

 to buy sufficient rice to eat. They cannot account in any way 

 for the prawns getting short, but do not think the big fish eat 

 them and cause the scarcity. 



There are a good many crocodiles, and perhaps they eat 

 them, they say. A man was killed by one about eight years 

 ago, but no further harm seems to have been done up to about 

 three vears aaro, since which time two men have been bitten, 

 but no one killed. 



Sometimes they get a Pawang to come and pray and charm 



