距离巴生火车站几步之遥的彭亨井（Jalan Raya Timur）战前双层店屋，是巴生河南岸曾经风光一时的商业区。数十年过去，大半数业者搬迁或关停，只剩稀稀落落几户依然留驻于此，其中一间就是销售麻袋的杨合记（Yeo Hup Kee）。每当路过店铺前，一阵阵属于麻类植物的天然气味扑鼻而来。
杨合记开业于彭亨井最繁荣时的四五十年代，当时整排店屋楼上住户爆满，楼下各行各业门庭若市，而今这一盛况不复存在。斑驳的木制招牌满载风霜，敞开的铁闸将泛白的外墙袒露无遗，挑高的屋梁使内部空间显得宽阔，铁花气窗既引入自然光线又能保持空气流通。从杨合记的开放式门面望进去，一摞摞麻袋、麻绳及麻布占据了约半间店面的位置。
麻袋是采用植物纤维织成的天然材质包装袋，表面上经纬纹理清晰可见，散发着柔和的金黄光泽，有着粗糙的触感。它可重复使用，可回收，甚至可生物降解，对环境友好并有助于环境保护。麻袋既具有吸湿性，又能通风，同时非常耐脏耐重，因此被广泛应用于农业以及建筑工业。用麻袋储存米粮、豆类等能延长保质期；移植树木时用麻袋包裹其根部可防止水份流失，麻袋在土里生物降解后化为肥料；浇筑混凝土前在钢筋表面包覆麻布能防止埋在地底的部分腐烂。
杨合记的业务性质为批量向工厂收购二手麻袋，清理、分类后再外销。目前主要货源来自本地的可可加工厂。回收的麻袋需先经历用力抖动，以清除残留其中的内容物及附在麻袋上的粉尘。若发现破洞，就得用麻线缝补。接着便依不同的厚度、密度和大小分门别类，然后按需求捆绑成一扎，井然有序地存放。
当年创办人杨清水下南洋后白手起家，骑着脚车收购可循环旧物转卖给有需求的买家，兢兢业业做生意。后来他注册了“杨合记”商号，置购了位于彭亨井的店屋，并于此将十名子女拉拔长大。其中唯独杨金章叔叔一人子承父业，1971年正式接手以来已有半世纪，他见证了麻袋行业的兴衰。
昔日杂货店、米粮行、米绞商和国家稻米局都对麻袋需求量甚大，杨叔叔因此练就轻易分辨出手中麻袋品质的功夫。80年代起，化学合成纤维和塑料袋普及，成本高昂且笨重的麻袋逐渐淡出大众视野，国内尚存的同行屈指可数。他顺应时代和顾客需求引进化纤编织袋还有吨袋，另辟蹊径在市场中生存。
杨叔叔靠灵活变通的脑筋把家业往国际化发展，将麻袋出口至印尼、印度、泰国等地。二女儿及儿子见他忙得席不暇暖，于数年前相继辞去原本的工作，协助杨叔叔齐心经营家族生意。在二女儿杨逸心的协助下，杨合记进驻网络平台，开发了本地的新市场。曾经装咖啡豆的空麻袋被用作咖啡店内的装饰；花店使用麻布包装花束，增添了一丝纯朴风情；手作人巧妙地将麻绳编织成篮子、椅子、地毯等等。
由于店屋空间有限，不足以囤积大量麻袋，杨叔叔在附近的工业用地增设了仓库。即便如此，他不愿放弃在老旧的店屋里经营门市。兼顾两边固然会感到有些疲累，但毕竟是父亲留下的资产，也充满了他孩提时代嬉戏成长的回忆。更重要的是，能让老顾客知晓，无论何时，这家店都会一直待在同一个地方。
麻包袋堆叠了一袋又一袋，杨合记传承了一代又一代，坚守在繁华落尽的彭亨井一隅，静待故旧登门。
The pre-war shophouses along Jalan Raya Timur, a stone’s throw from Klang KTM Komuter Station, used to be a glorious business district on the south bank of Klang River. Several decades later, most businesses either moved out or closed down, among the few surviving is gunny sack dealer Yeo Hup Kee. The natural scent of jute permeates the immediate vicinity of the shop.
Yeo Hup Kee was founded during the golden era of Jalan Raya Timur in the 1940-50’s, during which the shophouses were fully occupied and businesses were flourishing, in stark contrast to recent years. Cracks and splinters are visible on the wooden plaque, the faded walls are laid bare by the wide-open collapsible gates, the high ceiling makes the interior appear spacious, the iron ventilation grille allows light and air to flow through. Glancing in through the unobstructed facade, orderly stacks of gunny sacks, jute rope, and jute cloth take up almost half the shop.
Gunny sacks are made from natural plant fibres, the intertwined strands give out a warm golden glow, and has a slightly coarse texture. They are reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable, which renders them eco-friendly. Gunny sacks absorb moisture, have good ventilation, and are durable, therefore widely used in agriculture and construction industries. Crops stored in gunny sacks stay fresh longer; wrapping plant roots in gunny sacks during transplanting helps conserve soil moisture, and the sacks will decompose into fertilizer; in construction, the base of column are wrapped with gunny sacks in the process of concrete curing.
Yeo Hup Kee deals with bulk purchase of used gunny sacks, which they clean, sort, and then export. The gunny sacks are mostly sourced from local cocoa processing facilities. The acquired sacks are shaken upside down to remove dust and debris. Holes need to be sewn up with jute rope. Sorting is carried out according to thickness, density, and size. The sacks are then tied up into bundles and stored away neatly.
The company’s late founder, Mr Yeo Cheng Swee, started from scratch upon emigrating to Malaya. At the beginning of his career as a second-hand goods dealer, he always travelled around on a bicycle. As the business grows, he acquired a shophouse on Jalan Raya Timur and registered a company named “Yeo Hup Kee”. Out of the 10 children brought up in the shophouse, Mr Yeo Kim Chong is the only one who succeeded his father in the business. Five decades have since passed, and with it he witnessed the ups and downs of gunny sack trading.
In the past, gunny sacks were highly sought after by grocery stores, rice wholesalers, rice millers, and the National Rice Corporation (BERNAS). Through experience, Mr Yeo Kim Chong could easily ascertain a gunny sack’s quality with just a touch. Since the 80’s, polypropylene (PP) woven bags and plastic bags gradually replaced the costlier and heftier gunny sacks as common packaging materials, currently only a handful of merchants remain in the trade. Due to the change in demands, Mr Yeo brought in PP woven bags and ton bags, adopting new strategies to build resilience.
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文 Text/ 潘慧雯 Pua Hui Wen
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