UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF VILLAGE: BUKIT GAMBIR 武吉甘密 JOHOR

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF VILLAGE: BUKIT GAMBIR 武吉甘密 JOHOR"

Alexander Parker
5 years ago
Views:

1 UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF VILLAGE: BUKIT GAMBIR 武吉甘密 JOHOR Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year/Trimester Cheow Chee Yong 11ABB02347 Bachelor of Economics (Hons) Financial Economics Y2/T3 DATE OF COMPLETION: NOVEMBER 2013

2 ABSTRACT Bukit Gambir which is located in Johor state was established in the early 1950 s. It is a small town. Tangkak and Muar, the towns closest to Bukit Gambir, are both 26 km away from the village. Most villagers are engaged in farming or work in the rubber plantations/smallholdings in this area. 1

country: The majority of villagers are Chinese and Hokkien dialect is widely spoken in Bukit Gambir.

3 HISTORY Bukit Gambir is located in the district of Muar and it was established approximately 63 years ago during the British colonial era and during a period when communist insurgency was a threat to the country: The majority of villagers are Chinese and Hokkien dialect is widely spoken in Bukit Gambir. Figure 1: Interview with the ex-village head Figure 2: Interview with the ex-village head s brother. 2

traditional economic activities continue to day.

4 ECONOMICS ACTIVITY In its early years of establishment, most villagers were vegetable farmers or rubber tappers. When I visited Bukit Gambir, I saw several small farms and a rubber dealers s shop-an indication that these traditional economic activities continue to day. Figure 3: Rubber dealers shop Figure 4: Small farm beside the road As the village developed, new businesses emerged. There is, for example, a big rubber processing plant located in the village. 3

One of these supermarkets is Econsave and the other two are locally owned.

5 Figure 5: Rubber processing palnt in Bukit Gambir. Besides that, I managed to locate 3 supermarkets in Bukit Gambir during my tour around the village. One of these supermarkets is Econsave and the other two are locally owned. The locally owned supermarkets are called KINI and Cheng Hai Supermarket. All three of the supermarkets are located in the heart of the village. Moreover, there is a wet market where fresh groceries and other daily needs are sold. The wet market is located in front of Econsave supermarket and it is clean and well organised. Figure 6: KINI supermarket. 4

6 Figure 7: Econsave supermarket. Figure 8: Cheng Hai supermarket. Figure 9: Wet market in Bukit Gambir. 5

SOCIETY, RELIGION AND INFASTRUCTURE According to the ex-village head, in the early years of the establishment of Bukit Gambir, there were about 300 houses in the village.

7 SOCIETY, RELIGION AND INFASTRUCTURE According to the ex-village head, in the early years of the establishment of Bukit Gambir, there were about 300 houses in the village. Unfortunately, many villagers from the younger generation have moved out of the village to cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. They are attracted by better employment prospects in the urban areas. As a result of this outmigration, there are several abandoned houses in Bukit Gambir. Figure 10: An abandoned house. There are many families who live in traditional houses handed down from their forefathers. However, modern houses are also found in the village. Figure 11: Houses in Bukit Gambir. 6

Since Bukit Gambir is populated mainly by the Chinese, it is not surprising to find Chinese temples here.

8 Figure 12: Houses in Bukit Gambir. renovated. During my visit, I saw many new houses being built and old houses being Figure 13: Houses in Bukit Gambir. Since Bukit Gambir is populated mainly by the Chinese, it is not surprising to find Chinese temples here. According to the ex-village head, Bukit Gambir has two temples and one of the temples is under renovation. There is also a mosque in Bukit Gambir and it is located just beside the main road of the village. During my visit, I did not see any Hindu temples in this village. 7

Figure 14: Chinese temple under renovation. Figure 15: Mosque beside the main road Bukit Gambir has a clinic, a police station, kindergartens and schools.

The other primary school in Bukit Gambir is called Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Gambir while the secondary school is called Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit

9 Figure 14: Chinese temple under renovation. Figure 15: Mosque beside the main road Bukit Gambir has a clinic, a police station, kindergartens and schools. The Chinese primary school is called Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Chian Kuo. The other primary school in Bukit Gambir is called Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Gambir while the secondary school is called Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Gambir. The Chinese primary school has approximately 800 students while the secondary school has approximately 1700 students. Unfortunately, there is no hospital in Bukit Gambir and the nearest Hospital is located in Muar which is 26 km away. 8

10 Figure 16: Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Chian Kuo. Figure 17: Entrance of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Gambir. Figure 18: Police Station in Bukit Gambir. 9

The playground is located in a residential area and it is well maintained.

11 Figure 19: Clinic in Bukit Gambir Figure 20: Inti Sari Kindergarten A playground and sports facilities are also found in Bukit Gambir. The playground is located in a residential area and it is well maintained. There is a football field and an outdoor basketball court for the public. Besides this, there is an indoor stadium named Stadium Foong Yoon Kong. 10

12 Figure 21: Playground in Bukit Gambir. Figure 22: Football field. 11

Malay restaurants, Chinese restaurants and cafés.

13 Figure 23: Outdoor basketball field. Figure 24: Stadium Foong Yoon Kong Moreover, Bukit Gambir has many shops and stalls such as Malay restaurants, Chinese restaurants and cafés. Not only that, franchise outlets such as Marrybrown and KFC are also located in Bukit Gambir. There is also a building that is specially for senior citizens and it is called Kelab Warga Emas Bukit Gambir. 12

14 Figure 25: Chinese restaurant in Bukit Gambir. Figure 26: Chinese restaurant in Bukit Gambir. Figure 27: Marrybrown franchise in Bukit Gambir. 13

15 Figure 28: Kelab Warga Emas Bukit Gambir. Figure 29: MyCoffee café. Figure 30: Drinks in MyCoffee café. Figure 31: Shell petrol station. 14

16 Most residents travel by cars or motorcycles. It is therefore not surprising that there are a number of petrol stations (Shell, Petronas, etc) in Bukit Gambir. 15

17 PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDATIONS Certainly, Bukit Gambir is a well-developed village which has expanded rapidly since its establishment. While the infrastructure and general facilities are generally satisfactory, there is room for improvement. An example is the sports arena for sepak takraw which needs proper maintenance. Abandoned houses are sometimes in dilapidated condition and this is an eyesore. Figure 33: Unattended sepak takraw arena. Figure 34: Abandoned house. Not only that, the absence of a hospital and bus stations in Bukit Gambir is a problem for the villagers. Villagers in Bukit Gambir need to go to Muar to reach the nearest hospital and it is 26 km away from the village. Buses do stop in Bukit Gambir and pick up passengers in the village but there is no designated bus stop 16

18 or bus station in the village. The absence of bus stations in Bukit Gambir makes it inconvenient for villagers without cars to travel to other villagers and towns. 17

19 ENTREPRENUER OPPORTUNITIES In my opinion, Bukit Gambir offers several entrepreneurial opportunities for would-be investors. Given the size of its population there are business opportunities such as restaurants and supermarkets. Not only that, I believe that building a new bus station could bring in new businesses to Bukit Gambir. 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) 18

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

UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: 武吉港脚 JOHOR Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Bachelor of Economics Wong Win Liang 11ABB05094 (Hons) Financial Economics