UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF THE NEW VILLAGE: ASTON SETTLEMENT PERAK

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1 UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF THE NEW VILLAGE: ASTON SETTLEMENT PERAK Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year / Semester 1. Liew Kong Chen Finance Y3S3 DATE OF COMPLETION: JUNE 2015

2 History of Aston New Village Aston New Village is located near Kampar old town. It takes only a few minutes to walk back and forth between these two places. Built around 1935, Aston New Village has 200 houses. The Chinese make up 90% of its population and the Malays and Indians account for the rest of the population In its early days Aston Settlement grew and developed with the tin mines in this area. People migrated to this village to work in the mines and many families made their fortune through the tin mines. However, the decline in this industry from the 1970 s led to the outmigration of many villagers. Nevertheless, there are villagers who stayed behind and some of the elderly are more than happy to share their life history during the heyday of Aston Settlement. Social, Cultural and Religious Practices Aston New Village, formerly known as Aston Settlement, has a population comprising mainly children (5 years old to < 21 years old) and people in their golden years (60+ years). Many youths have out migrated to places such as Ipoh, Penang or Kuala Lumpur in search of

3 better employment opportunities. 98% of the villagers are Chinese people. In addition, there are 2 Indian families and 1 Malay family. It is clearly seen that the main spoken languages here are Cantonese and Mandarin. Some of the villagers are English-educated and they can speak fluently English. Hokkien, Malay and Tamil are the other languages that are spoken in this the village. Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity are the main religions practiced among the villagers. 3 Chinese temples, 2 churches and 2 Hindu temples are located within walking distance of each other. The villagers celebrate several festivals every year. A recent celebration was the Festival of Hungry Ghost (7 th Moon in the Chinese calendar). Chinese villagers prepare food which they offer to their ancestors because they believe their departed ancestors have the chance to eat only once a year. Chinese New Year, Thaipusam, Deepavali, and Christmas are also celebrated in Aston Settlement. Residents area of Aston Settlement, Kampar.

4 Tourism Value 明记猪肠粉 (Meng Kee Chee Cheong Fun) is one of the food attractions in Aston Settlement. Villagers and students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College love to take a bite at this long established Chee Cheong Fun food stall. This family business has supported 2 generations and it fame and popularity continues to grow. Business starts a 7a.m each day and the food is sold out within a few hours. The Chee Cheong Fun is loved by the villagers and students who live nearby. The authorities should consider promoting it as one of the tourist attraction in Perak State. 猪肠粉 (Chee Cheong Fun) Entrepreneurship Opportunities The famous Meng Kee Chee Cheong Fun

5 Ex-village head, Mr. Wong Hin Huat told us that even though most of the villagers at Aston Settlement are in their golden years, they are still active and able to work. He suggested that fresh graduate shouldn t look for jobs in the cities only. Instead, they could look for blue oceans of opportunity in the new villages and less urbanized areas. Perhaps there is opportunity in providing healthy food for the elderly or in food delivery services. The famous Restaurant Kam Ling that serve dim sum and curry chicken bread. Education Children from Aston Settlement attend kindergartens and schools in nearby towns such as Kampar. Given its small population and easy access to nearby schools and universities, Aston Settlement does not have any education institutions.

6 One of the long known secondary school in Kampar - SMK Methodist Kampar.

7 Problems and needs of the people Aston settlement has a few dire problems. It is a dying town where most of its residents elderly. Many youths from this village have relocated to other places in order to find higher paying jobs. They only return once in a while to visit their relatives. Businesses such as local sundry shops and coffee shops are also suffering from the lack of customers, Even students from neighboring universities (UTAR and KTAR students) rarely visit this village. The only few remaining coffee shops cater to the older locals who patronize visit them as a means of passing time with their friends. Furthermore, local shops are unable to compete with the new supermarket Tesco, in Kampar, These big outlets have drawn customers away from the old sundry shops. Other than that, popular franchises such as MacDonald s and KFC are attracting the students and drawing away a lot of customers from the local coffee shops, leaving them with fewer customers each year. The village has a slight problem with its drainage system. The lack of wider and bigger drains is one of the causes of floods during the rainy season. Although the damage caused by floods may not be serious, this is nevertheless an inconvenience to the villagers. Lastly, there are no clinics or hospitals in Aston Settlement. Villagers, many of whom are elderly, have travel to clinics in neighboring towns. In cases of serious illness, they may have to travel to hospitals in the bigger town which are further away.

8 Kampar old town (1) Kampar old town (2)

9 Recommendations One way to improve Aston Settlement s local economy is to encourage young people especially university students, to stay in the area. If more youngsters were to stay in this village, this will prompt developers to invest in the town s infrastructure by building more facilities and attract new businesses. In order to attract students to stay in Aston, the old buildings and houses in the area should renovated or rebuilt into houses with suitable accommodations for students. This will attract the youngsters to stay and they will in turn provide more business for the shops and markets in the area. Better access to healthcare services is needed. If a local clinic is not viable because of Aston Settlement s small population, perhaps a mobile clinic could provide basic healthcare for villagers at regular intervals. There is certainly a need to draw new investments and businesses to this village. If village youths see better prospects for employment, they may then continue to reside in the village.