UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: SEROM 实廊 JOHOR

Transcription

1 UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: SEROM 实廊 JOHOR Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year / Semester 1. Tay Yong Shen 11AHF02157 Foundation in Arts Y1S4 DATE OF COMPLETION: JUNE 2012

2 ABSTRACT Serom is an old village which existed before the World War 2. Serom is named after a plant that growsin the neighbouring town, Muar. Nowadays, Serom has a population of 10 thousand and the fruits producedhere are exported to Singapore and China. The nearby towns around Serom include Bukit Gambir, Sungai Mati, Muar, Tangkak, and Malacca. Gunung Ledang is a popular tourist attraction which is only 30 minutes away from Serom. Serom is inhabited by people of various races who live in peace and harmony. 1

3 INTRODUCTION Serom is a place which has over 100 years of history. It is located south of Ledang. The name Serom is derived from a type of plant that grows along the Muar River. The flower of this plant produces a characteristic odour, called Seom (Malay).The natives name the village as Seom which subsequently became Serom as time went by. This is how this lovely village got its name from. The village s population stands at 10 thousand consisting of Chinese, Malays and Indians, the majority of whom are Chinese. There are 10 main rivers running through Serom dividing it into ten different areas e.g.: Serom1, Serom 2, Serom 3, Serom 4, Serom 5, Serom 6, Serom 7, Serom 8, Serom 9 and Serom10 (Parit Zing). In the early days, the villagers stayed along the banks of this river which were vital to their lives not only as a route of transportation but also a source of water and fish. Places around Serom include Bukit Gambir, Tangkak, Mount Ophir (Gunung Ledang), Muar as well as Malacca. Bukit Gambir is the nearest small town. It lies about 10km away from Serom,a mere 8-minute drive away. Tangkak is also nearby, a 15-min drive through a shortcut at Serom 8. Driving to Muar ormalacca would take at least 40 min.a toll plaza is currently under construction at Parit Zing which will provide access to the North-South Expresswaybringing convenience to the native villagers. 2

4 The entrance togunungledang Rest place (Left side) and the path to the waterfall (right side) 3

5 The shops in Bukit Gambir Tangkak Toll Plaza along North-South Expressway 4

6 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Serom is abuzz with economic activities such as plantation agriculture, commerce and small industries. One of the main sources of income for this new village is the plantations. Majority of the villagers are smallholdersof oil palm fields and fruit orchard. The majority of villagershave 3-5 hectares of land growing oilpalm, fruits and rubber. Otherwise, Serom is also well-known forthe export of tropical fruits such as Durian, Duku and Rambutan to Singapore. To ensure only the freshest fruits are exported, the fruits are harvested, collected and exported immediately during the harvest season. The export of fruits as well as oil palm contributes greatly to the income of the villagers. RambutanDurian 5

7 Duku Currently, Malaysia is the 2 nd largest producer and exporter of palm oil in the world. The price of palm oil has been increasing over the past few years due to the high demand of palm oil in China and other developed countries. The latest price of palm oil is about RM per tonwhich is much more valuable than local fruits. Palm oil is harvested 3-4 times per month.due to this reason, the majority of the native villagers havechosen to plant oil palmsinstead of fruit tree. The palm oil industry hasprovided job opportunities for foreign labourers, most ofthem from Indonesia. The foreign labourers contribute to the productivity of the palm oil industry. 6

8 The palm oil field This is the mature palm oil Seromis considered a developing area with almost 100 shops and thousands of houses within its vicinity. The villagers have also established a small commercial area within Serom with shops selling motorbikes, mobile phones, car maintenance services, and so on. 7

9 Other industries in Serom include factories which manufacture umbrellasand garments, as well aspalm oil processing plants. The newly established shop-lots for commercial use 8

10 SOCIAL,CULTURAL& REGIONAL PRACTICES Serom has a population of 10 thousand: 50% are Malays, and 40% arechinese.the rest are made up of Indians and foreigners. All the villagers live in harmony because they are tolerantand understanding of each other. Sometimes, we can see the Malays using Hokkian to communicate with Chinese villagers. Even though they can t speak fluent Hokkian, they nevertheless get the message across. Similarly, the Chinese will use Malay to chat with other Chinese and Malays. Since Serom is populated with Chinese and Malays, there are temples and mosques in the village. Serom has about 5 mosques and 8 Chinese temples. The Buddhist temple in Serom 9 9

11 The mosque in Serom 10 (Parit Zing) 10

12 EDUCATION The government has built 5 primary schools and one secondary school in Serom. One of the primary school is named SJK(C)KhayHian. This primary school was established in It was renovatedaround 2010 to deal with termite infestation.it has 35 students and 11 teachers. Mr Eng Pier Seng was elected asthe 19th headmaster. According to him, the number of students has been on a steady decline. This is due not only to the declining population in Serom 8 and 9 but also due to the presence of another primary school just 3 to 4 km away. Although the number of students is small, the school has been able to provide a conducive and stimulating environment for learning. This is the result of collaboration between the residents and the government in providing facilities such as a desktop computer for each class room as well as anair conditioned library. The primary school in Parit Zing- SJKC KhayHian 11

13 The School Compound Students enjoying their breakfast in the canteen 12

14 SMK Tengku Mahmud Iskandar is the only secondary school in Serom. It was established in 1965.There are 1551 students and 111 teachers including the principal. Majority of students in this school are Malayswith only 20 Chinese students in the school. Most of the Chinese students choose to study at the private school located in Sungai Mati,5 km or 5 minute s drive from SMK Tengku Mahmud Iskandar. There are about 200 households around SMK Tengku Mahmud Iskandar. The number of students in this school has been increasing over the years. All its facilities are provided by the government. The entrance of SMK Tengku Mahmud Iskandar 13

15 The Teacher is briefing regarding the peer mentoring program to the lower six students The classroom for the form 1and form 2 students 14

16 INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITY Although there are no hospitals in Serom, there are quite a number of government clinicsproviding healthcare to the villagers. In case of emergency, patients will be rushed to the nearest hospital located in Tangkak or Muar. There is also a police station in Serom. The police officers are dedicated to fight crime and protect the property of the villagers. They have the welfare of the villagers in mind when performing their duties. Post boxes are scattered around Serom. The post office in Bukit Gambir provides courier services and other services to the people of Serom and Bukit Gambir. Lastly, the district council have also built a community hall and a MCA forum in Serom. Inside themca forum, there is a library that opensevery weekday. Sometimes, teachers will rent the MCA forum for tuition classes. The Police Station located in Serom 3 15

17 MCA forum located in Serom 3 Clinic located in Parit Zing 16

18 PROBLEMS Serom lacks the following facilities: a fire station, a post office, a recreation park and more police presence. This is an area which the authorities should look into. Many villagers have converted their fruit orchards into oil palm plantations. This has led to a decline in the production of tropical fruit for export. 17

19 RECOMMENDATIONS The head of village should consider submitting formal requests to the Tangkak district council department for the following facilities in Serom: fire station, post office and police station. To halt the decline in production of tropical fruit, the authorities may want to consider providing incentives and benefitsto villagers who plant fruit trees. This will boost our country s tropical fruit export indirectly. Besides that our government could send professionals to help fruit orchard owners increase their productivity by providing training. 18

20 ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES The main source of income in Serom is fruit and the palm oil export. A food processing factory could be established tocreate jobsfor the localsand boost development in the area. An entrepreneurcould also set up a palm oil processingplant. Thiscould increase the value of palm oil products. 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: ext8274, 8656, 8269 (Klang Valley Campus) ext 2297/2299/2300 (Perak Campus) 19