The 'sebarau' is a medium size freshwater fish much sought after by net casting (menjala).
Orang asli much depend on freshwater fishes but the catch now is low due to polluted waters.
This river (below), a small tributary of Muar River dissecting my kampong used to be (say 40 years ago) deep and wide where ikan kaloi abundant and crocodiles marauding. We use the river for bathing, swimming, and rafting.
It is now narrow and knee-deep due to siltation. The water is always murky. Only small fishes are found. What a pity state how we keep our rivers and ecology! Because we receive so much rain, we take water for granted.
In the late 60's the DID built a dam upriver in order to irrigate the padi fields. But after some years the water level in the irrigation canals became low and did not supply enough water into the padi fields. Farmers had to abandon rice growing. What went wrong technically, and ecologically?
During post-colonial times, a crew of 4 or so of the DID (Dept of Irrigation and Drainage) regularly maintain along the river banks (removing obstructions, cut overhanging tree branches) from a boat.
And many years before that, Chinese shopkeepers along the riverbanks transported and received goods via boats. This shows how deep and wide the river then.
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