Serial No: 0018
Title: Rubber Trader
During the Emergency period,
the government set up a the
Machang Bubok New Village. All estate settlers were requested to move here. Everyone was given a 50ft x 80ft house.
Tang Yap Soon @ Tan Yak Soon, born 1934
Machang Bubok New Village
I was born and bred in Machang Bubuk. I am a Teochew. Machang Bubuk was full of rubber estates in the past. My father came from China and became a rubber tapper here. The early settlers were mostly rubber tappers and lived scattily inside the estates. During the Emergency period, the government set up a the Machang Bubok New Village. All estate settlers were requested to move here. Everyone was given a 50ft x 80ft house.
When we were still schooling, my brother and I were already helping father in estate work. We helped to collect latex and process into raw rubber sheet. At that time, there was no rubber trader in Machang Bubuk, we had to carry the rubber sheets on bicycles and travel to Bukit Mertajam. In 1957, I bought this shophouse and started a rubber trading business. In this way, I can serve all the small plantation owners in this area. The price of rubber was good in the 50s. I had to work long-hour every day because people were queuing up with rubber sheets on their bicycles. Over the years price has dropped and many rubber estates were turned into oil palm plantations. I adapted my business to follow the trend. While still running the rubber business in small scale, the main income is from selling fertilisers and pesticides to the oil palm plantations.
Today I am semi-retired because my son has inherited the family business. I see some development in the Machang Bubuk New Village and I’m happy with my life here.
I Am Home 