UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: PANCHOR 班卒 JOHOR

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1 UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: PANCHOR 班卒 JOHOR Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year/Trimester 1. Chan Hew Thong 2. Tan Yee Sheng 3. Wong Hui Ying 11UKB UKB UKB02605 Bachelor of International Business (Hons) Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) Y3/T1 Y3/T1 Y3/T1 DATE OF COMPLETION: DECEMBER 2013

2 OBJECTIVES The objective of this project is to understand the culture of the new village and study the changes and development of the new village. BACKGROUND OF SELECTED NEW VILLAGE Panchor is close to Sungai Muar and located in Johor, Malaysia. It is about 30 km from Muar town. The main attractions of Panchor are its prawns and Nasuha, its spice garden. PROJECT METHODOLOGY This project will be carried out by using various methods like interviews and secondary data collection. 1

ABSTRACT Panchor is located in Muar, Johor and close to Pagoh and Gerisek which are 8 kilometers and 14.2 kilometers away representatively. Muar river flows through Panchor.

3 ABSTRACT Panchor is located in Muar, Johor and close to Pagoh and Gerisek which are 8 kilometers and 14.2 kilometers away representatively. Muar river flows through Panchor. In the past, villagers relied on the river as an important route to neighbouring villagers and towns. However the river is now used mainly for fishing. Towns close to this new village are Kampung Jawa, Kampung Paya Redan, Kampung Gerisek and Pagoh. The location of Panchor is shown in the map below. The main attractions in Panchor are Sungai Muar and its fresh prawns. Villagers main sources of income are from the oil palm and rubber plantations/smallholdings and local orchards. Location of Panchor 2

4 Muar River 3

5 HISTORY Panchor was established in In Malay, Panchor means to bleed/spill blood in a war. In the 17 th century, the Bugis and the Minangkabau fought for control of this area and there was a bloody war near Parit Panchor. The area around Lanchor was originally under the rule of the Malacca Sultan. In the 17 th century, the Dutch took over, followed by the British. The British brought in Chinese and Indian labourers to work in the rubber plantations which mushroomed at the turn of the 20 th century. In the late 1910 s, Chan Chi Xian, a rich Chinese businessman from Malacca, owned a lot of lot of land and houses in Panchor. In the 1960 s these were sold to the villagers. 4

6 POPULATION, HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION According to a local resident, Mr Yap, Panchor s population in 2013 is approximately 300. When the village was founded in 1910, it had a population of over 1000 residents. However, the population has declined due to the outmigration of youths to the urban areas. Local residents, Mr. Yap Panchor has a population consisting mainly of residents aged 40 and above. There are around 170 houses in the new village but only around 140 are occupied. Some Malay families live in wooden houses. 5

Brick house Wooden houses In the early days of this village,

Over time, roads were built in and around Panchor and villagers

7 Brick house Wooden houses In the early days of this village, most villagers travelled by boats along the river. Over time, roads were built in and around Panchor and villagers travelled by bicycles, motorcycles, cars, lorries, buses and taxis. Travel by land became very important even though some village roads are very narrow. Nowadays, the rivers are used mainly for fishing. 6

8 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES There are many rubber and oil palm estate and smallholdings in and around Panchor. In recent decades many rubber estates are replanted with oil palm because of higher earnings from the latter former hostels used by rubber tappers (known as Road of Red Mud ) are often raged to the ground. It is to be noted that many village families own average of 10 acres of smallholding each. In addition, most families grow durians, papaya, mangoes and bananas which are mainly for their own consumption. Road of Red Mud- former hostels for rubber tappers. Panchor is well known for its freshwater prawns which are named big head prawns or beauty prawns. Outsiders sometimes travel to Panchor to enjoy prawn fishing or to eat the fresh local prawns. 7

This includes grocery stores, furniture shops, restaurants, food stalls by the roadside, fruit stalls

9 r 1. Fresh Prawn Landmark; 2. Palm Oil Estate; 3. Banana Estate; 4. Mango Trees; 5. Self-farming (Papaya Tree, Vegetables and so on.). There are small shops and businesses in Panchor. This includes grocery stores, furniture shops, restaurants, food stalls by the roadside, fruit stalls and ubber trading companies. 1. Masjuki Bin Hj. Raml Restaurant; 2. Tan Choon Grocery Store; 3. Hair Salon; 4. Mamak Store. 8

Activities could be organized around prawn fishing, e.g. competitions.

10 1. Kai Kheng Trading Co. (furniture shop); 2. Restaurant; 3. Panghor Rubber Company; 4. Banana Trading Store. Panchor offers several opportunities for investors, especially in tourism. Its freshwater prawns need to be publicized to attract more tourists. Activities could be organized around prawn fishing, e.g. competitions. Perhaps some of the abandoned hostels used by rubber tappers could be renovated and upgraded to suitable dwellings for homestay programmes. Besides many new business opportunities should arise as a result of the establishment of a new education hub located between Panchor and Pagoh. 9

SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES Although the Chinese form the vast majority of Panchor residents, there are Malay and Indians residents in this village.

11 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES Although the Chinese form the vast majority of Panchor residents, there are Malay and Indians residents in this village. The most widely practised religions are Toaism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Ling An Dian is the main Chinese temple in Panchor. The Chinese labourers, who were brought in by British at the turn of the 20 th century, continued with their traditions and religions practices. For example, villagers celebrate the birthday of the deity of Ling An Dian annually. This is a major festival in the village and is held on the 1 st day of the third moon of the Chinese lunar calendar. Besides temples, there is a mosque and a surau in Panchor. Due to the composition of its population, the main languages spoken in Panchor are Mandarin and Hokkien. Generally, Hokkien is widely used as in other new villages in Johor. 1. Ling An Dian; 2. Chinese Temple; 3. Surau; 4. Hindu Temple. There are several voluntary groups and associations in this village. These organizations include the Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Society, Pasukan Sukarelarawan Malaysia, Persatuan Nelayan Parlimen Pagoh and a branch of the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) 10

12 EDUCATION Panchor has a total of five (5) national primary schools, namely SK Semaseh, SK Panchor, SK Kota Rajal, SJK (T) Ladang Lanadron, and SJK (C) Ai Hwa. However, there is no secondary school. Local youngsters have to travel to secondary schools in nearby towns. This includes SMK Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah 1 located in Pagoh. The Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, launched an educational hub between Panchor and Pagoh in recent years. Five universities are in the pipeline, e.g. International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Southern Campus, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) Pagoh Campus, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Research Centre, Pagoh National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) and Pagoh community college. 11

13 INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES The Jabatan Kerja Raya has built a water tank for the village. This tour which cost about RM5 million draws water from Sungai Muar and supplies water to Panchor as well as its surrounding areas. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) handles the supply of electricity. The facilities and amenities in Panchor include the following: A private clinic, a 1 Malaysia clinic, a post office, a police station, a community hall, markets, grocery stores, a basketball court and a football court. As there is no fire station in this village, residents have to rely on the fire stations in nearby towns such as Tangkak or Muar. 1.Fire Hydrant; 2. Police Station; 3. TNB Power Supply; 4. Community Hall; 5. Jetty; 6. Football Court. 12

14 PROBLEMS 1. Population: Over the past 10 years, the population of the new village has been declining. Since Panchor is near to Singapore, the younger generation prefer to work in Singapore where there are better career opportunities. Besides, many from the younger generation have achieved higher education levels and they expect higher earnings which are unlikely in the village. We therefore see a declining aging population in Panchor. 2. Infrastructure and facilities: This village does not have a secondary school and students have to travel to nearby towns for their education. There is no fire station or hospital and poor public transport means that villagers face problem going to the hospital. Public transport in Panchor is very limited. The bus schedule is irregular and residents need to wait at the bus stop for a long time. There are very few taxis in Panchor and this is a serious problem, especially in cases of emergency, most of the time, villagers have to rely on each other for help during emergencies. In addition, there is lack of parking space in the new village. Most of the houses are built near to the road, thus cars could not be parked in the house. Therefore, residents as well as visitors to Panchor often face difficulties in getting a parking lot. 3. Natural disaster: For the past 10 years, flooding is the main natural disaster in Panchor. The Muar River overflowed its banks in the beginning of the year. Since there is no river embankment, water from the river flooded the village. The most recent floods occurred in 2011 when flood water was as deep as 3 feet. The floods caused a lot of damage in the village as it occurred during Chines New Year, villagers could not celebrate their biggest festival of the year. 13

15 RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Population: If new investment and job opportunities are not injected into Panchor s economy, the current population decline will occur. Perhaps Panchor could bank on its tourism potential (refer section on Tourism value ) 2. Infrastructure: The improvement of public transport service is very important as villagers have to travel to nearby towns for secondary school education, medical care in a hospital, etc. To start with, a frequent and reliable bus service would help. Perhaps taxi companies could also provide online booking. space. If Panchor plans to attract tourists, the authorities need to provide parking 3. Natural Disaster: Flooding is a serious problem and the authorities need to confirm the main causes and take the necessary action. Feedback obtained during our survey indicates that the construction of river embankments would help to alleviate flooding. 14

16 TOURISM VALUE Panchor is a small village with rivers, hills and greenery surrounding it. The fresh air and tranquil environment could attract city dwellers who are looking for a weekend gateway. In addition, there are many attractive spots for visitors to Panchor. One of the most attractive spots is the river where tourists could try their hand at prawn fishing. There is a place called stone hills which has many unique shaped rocks. Depending on the imagination of the person viewing these rocks, a visitor may see sculptures of lovers, animals and so forth. DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this report was compiled by the University s students on voluntary basis. Although every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the report, the University accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any errors or omissions, if any, the University reserves the right to make changes on the information at any time without prior notice. Should there be any queries regarding contents of the report, please contact: Department of Soft Skills Competency Tel: ext 8274, 8656, 8269 (Klang Valley Campus) ext 2295/2297/2299/2300 (Perak Campus) 15

UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: BUKIT KANGKAR 武吉港脚 JOHOR

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