TEMERLOH - Home of 'patin' and two singers
By Putri Zanina






TEMERLOH takes pride in three things – the late singer Sudirman once known as Asia's number one entertainer, current pop sensation Siti Nurhaliza and "ikan patin" or the silver catfish.
To the uninitiated, Temerloh has long been known as "Bandar Ikan Patin", a term coined by the former Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Sabaruddin Chik to promote this little town in Pahang since the early 1990s.

The patin is the town's specialty. It is said the fish found naturally upstream of Sungai Pahang and Sungai Tembeling taste better than those elsewhere.

The unpolluted and unspoilt stretches of both rivers, especially the many "lubuk" (deep parts) teem with "etak", a kind of shellfish, and aquatic plants that form the natural diet of the patin, giving it a sweet and succulent taste.

The fish in its natural habitat is now more elusive than ever as bigger parts of the rivers become polluted. But the "cultivated" variety is easily available in Temerloh as rearing patin in "cages" or "sangkar" is one of the main economic activities of the villagers, who describe their business as "ikan patin sangkar".

Locals receive help from the State Fisheries Department which first embarked on the cultivated patin project in 1992. The project also involves breeding of other nearly-extinct freshwater fish to ensure a continuous supply in future.

Fish farms thrive in villages like Kampung Bangau Parit, Kampung Lubuk Kawah, Kampung Tekal, Kampung Guai up to Lubuk Paku near Jerantut.

Patin cages are submerged to a depth of at least 3.9m in the rivers. Each cage can fit about 800 to 1,000 fish. As the fish is bred in running water, it does not have the "muddy taste" of those bred in ponds. Patin sangkar tastes almost as good as the ones found naturally in rivers.

Says patin breeder and seller Khairul Nain Abdul Razak: "It takes about six to seven months to rear the fish in cages. It can grow from 20cm to more than 100cm in length. It is sold at RM10 per kg, with price per fish ranging from RM7 to RM10.

Patin caught from its natural habitat fetches RM45 to even RM100 per kg depending on its variety. There are three variants – patin buah, patin muncung and patin juara – and all have fine texture with no scales on their body. The patin muncung is the most expensive as it is the exotic natural variety.

If you buy uncooked fish at the market or by the roadside, you can tell the different variants by looking at the colour of the fish. Abdomens with red line mean the patin is caught from the "lombong" (mines) and the fish emits a strong "muddy" flavour; this is the worse variety. Cultivated type has blackish hue on both the back and abdomen while the original variety is whitish with black patches.

Why these details about the variants? Because if you don't know them, you can easily be cheated when you go on a patin gourmet chase in Temerloh!

Stories abound about first-time customers being duped. Unscrupulous sellers put the price tag of RM80 and more for a small cooked portion of cultivated patin. So it's best to ask the price before you heap your plate with the delicacy and hence, avoid getting the shock of your life when you pay up.

Most eateries in town sell the cut and cooked patin of the cultivated variety at RM4 to RM8 per piece. For the exclusive taste of the original patin, ask the locals on which places that sell these so you'll get your RM100 a piece worth!

Try the patin cooked the traditional way – masak asam tempoyak (fermented durian) with ripe cucumber or brinjal, or masak lemak and goreng berlada (fried with chillies). Another dish is steamed patin in light soya sauce.

Liking the patin is an acquired taste and those who are hooked to it will keep coming back for more.

Now, when is the best time to visit Temerloh? Early Sunday morning when the town comes alive with locals peddling all kinds of stuff from jungle produce to remote-control toy cars.

The Sunday "Pekan Sehari" stretches for about one km along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah and Jalan Semantan in Lurah Semantan, fronting scenic Sungai Pahang, the longest river in Peninsular Malaysia. Trading starts as early as 6am and lasts till around 2pm.

"The Pekan Sehari attracts those from even as far as Kuala Lumpur, which is just two hours' drive away," says Norhayati Shafie, 40, who runs a restaurant in Lurah Semantan.

Besides buying fresh patin, shoppers look for ulam kampung (vegetables) like bamboo shoots (pucuk rebung), rare buah keranji and buah pamah, cendawan kayu (wild mushroom), paku merah (edible red fern), as well as local delicacies like grilled satar (mixture of ikan kerisi, coconut, onions, ginger, lemon grass, salt, sugar and chillies all wrapped in banana leaves), sayur pekasam (fermented vegetables), dried and fermented fish, steamed dodol and keropok jangek (crackers made from buffalo skin!).

There are lots of other unusual finds making the jaunt at the pasar invigorating.

"This pasar, according to my grandmother, is one of the oldest in Pahang. It has existed 30 years," says Norhayati, enthusing that much of the old character has been retained.

Sungai Pahang practically runs parallel with the pasar. Villagers from across the river take the wooden "bot penambang" (water taxi) which costs only 50 sen one way. There is a bridge not too far away linking Temerloh with other areas.

One relatively unknown place and worth a stop when you're in Temerloh, is the Gunung Senyum Recreational Forest, about 40km from town.

Standing at 1,594 feet above sea level, the mountain has 18 intriguing caves with limestone and mudstone structures, characterised by stalactites and stalagmites estimated to be 400 million years old.

Gunung Senyum and Gunung Jebak Puyoh, also in the 794 ha protected forest encompassing the Jengka Forest Reserve, are locations for the National Museum researching on artefacts found hidden in caves on both mountains, indicating human existence centuries ago.

Visitors can trek to the various caves – Gua Angin, Gua Terang Bulan, Gua Taman Satu dan Dua, Gua Makam Tok Long and others.

"Trekking takes between two and six hours, and the trips can be tailor-made according to guest requirements," says park guide Hamaludin Abu Bakar, 40, adding that all cave excursions must be guided.

Gua Makam Tok Long has an interesting tale, says Hamaludin. Tok Long was a holy person who once caught a burung terkukur (spotted dove) with golden feathers.

His beloved bird escaped one day when Tok Long was changing its cage. While searching for it deep into the jungle, he came across orang bunian (spirits of the forest), stayed with them and eventually married the bunian princess.

After a while, he decided to return to his kampung. The princess told him he could return to his kampung on one condition, that he must never tell anyone about her.

Upon reaching his kampung, and after much "interrogation" by his family, he revealed his secret much to his folly as when he tried later to search for his bunian wife, she was nowhere to be found.

He went up a mountain, dug a hole and meditated over a long period till his death. The spot where he died was called Makam Tok Long. The grave can now be seen at Gua Makam Tok Long.

Gunung Senyum, according to Hamaludin, was named by the first Sultan of Pahang, Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Al Muadzam Shah, installed in 1897. Even this has an interesting story.

The Sultan was travelling on a boat by the Pahang River when his eyes were drawn to a beautiful mountain. He asked two of his bentara (personal assistants) the name of the mountain.

The two men, said to be always quarrelling with one another and seldom put on happy faces, simply smiled blankly at the Sultan as they did not know the answer. Looking at them smiling, the Sultan then decided to call the mountain Gunung Senyum (smiling mountain).

The area surrounding this mountain is such a pleasant and tranquil place. A hanging bridge over a pond linked to a river is right by the base of the mountain. Well-laid tracks lead to the many caves and jungles.

Cave exploring, rock climbing, jungle trekking and camping are the main activities at the park. There are chalets as well as a show house of the traditional Rumah Pahang built in 1907 that once belonged to Datuk Setia Amar Mohamad Yassin Stan, one of Pahang's noble men.

Just about four km from the park is Sungai Pahang brimming with its own exotic rhythm. All along it you can see village houses and, sporadically, you see sangkar patin, rumah rakit (raft houses), sampans, fruit trees and even cows.

It's easy to be charmed by all the natural attractions in Temerloh. Little else needs to be done to lure those out of town. And if you were an "anak kampung", travelling this off the beaten track to and around this picturesque place can be nostalgic.

The feeling is even more upbeat when you remember Sudirman and lately Siti Nurhaliza belting, "Balik kampung, oooo, balik kampung, hati girang..."