No. 17 Carpenter Street is said to have been the first location of the Kong Wai Siew Association before its relocation to the building opposite.
In the 1920s, the shophouse was purchased by Mr Mok Fook Chiong, a first-generation migrant from Gaoyao, in the district of Zhaoqing in western Guangdong, China, who had arrived in Kuching in the late 19th century. Since then, the building has been home to a further three generations of the Mok family, as well as the trading premises for the family business – Mok Siew Loong Watch Repair and Dealership – which was established in the 1920s and which continues to this day.
百年老字号莫肇隆
亚答街门牌17号的店屋，相传曾经是广惠肇公会最早的会所，到了1920年代则转售予莫福全。19世纪末，莫福全从广东肇庆的高要区出发，南下到古晋寻找商机。打拼多年，攒足积蓄，他在买下17号的店屋以后，即创办了莫肇隆钟表行，传承至今已经三代人，可以说是古晋历史最悠久的钟表行之一。
