ABSTRACT The Juru Village is situated at Seberang Prai Tengah, located not far from the Juru highway interchange. Juru village started around 1945. The main schools in the village are S.R.J.K. (C) True Light, Sekolah Menengah Teknik, Sekolah Menengah Permai Indah. The main religions are Christianity and Taoism, and the main dialect spoken here is Hokkien. The village has many recreation parks that provide good resting spots as well as havens for nature photographers. There are many opportunities to help the village grow and develop. Google maps on the locating of Juru village The village entrance sign 1
HISTORY During the 1952 British occupation, in its efforts to cut off Indian and Chinese support to the communist insurgents, the British gathered villagers from the surrounding area including Bukit Minyak to a confined settlement. Although forced to move away from their homes, the villagers were provided with a small amount of allowance as well as land per family. However facilities were barely adequate and villagers movements were monitored by the British government. The village houses were built mainly with wood and coconut leaves as the rooftop - even zinc rooftops were considered a luxury. The new village was surrounded by a village wall. Villagers were restricted in movement even inside the village. There was a daily curfew after 7.00pm and there were strict orders to shoot anyone who did not follow the curfew. As time passed, conditions of the village became better and facilities were enhanced. Currently, Juru village has a population of 3,500-4,000 villagers. There are approximately 400 families in the area with 450 plus buildings including houses, schools, and other facilities. The majority of villagers are Chinese who make up 85% of the population, Indians take up 5% and the Malays take up 4% of the population and the rest are from other ethnic groups. The village of Juru is now developing itself quite well and embracing future developments. \ The front page of their 50 th anniversary collection 2
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES During the early years of Juru Village, the village was known for rearing of live stock. Pigs, cows, chickens and ducks were reared. This was followed by the setting up of vegetable farms and fruit plantations, especially dragon fruit orchards. The farms provided an important source of livelihood for the villagers. As the village developed, local retail businesses such as sundry shops and mini markets emerged. This led to an increase in demand for shop lots and developers started to invest into the area. Businesses such as coffee shops, clinics and mini markets were relocated into these shop lots. This then gave many opportunities for businessmen to open factories within the village. Many villagers took up jobs as factory workers and were soon able to afford better transportation such as motorbikes and cars. However many people have left the village in search of better jobs and business opportunities elsewhere. With recent developments, many villagers switched from work in the farms to work in the factories. The village of Juru has changed from a small time farming village to a more industrialized area. Today, a few villagers continue as farmers and many small farms produce enough for the family only. 3
A local Chinese Medicine shop Coffee shop for the villagers The Chef cum owner of a hawker stall A self grown plantation for vegetables 4
EDUCATION The village of Juru has a primary and kindergarten school, the primary school s name is SJK(C) True Light. It was established in August 1954 and it started off with 205 students. At the end of 2009 the school had almost 900 students with 40 over teachers. The school is currently plans to raise funds to build additional facilities such as computer labs and a bigger school canteen.. The True Light kindergarten is located right next to the True Light primary school. It is one of the most popular kindergartens around the Juru area, accommodating up to 300 children. The True Light kindergarten is also currently undergoing many changes to provide a better learning environment for the young. 5
The True Light Kindergarten SRJK( C ) True Light As seen here in these two pictures, the SRJK( C ) True Lights Sports day 6
SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES The main religion of the village is Taoism followed by Christianity and Buddhism. Most Taoist villagers celebrate religions festivals at the Fu De Gong temple. a) Fu De Gong temple Prosperity and virtue are reflected in the name of the temple. Villagers seek the temple deity s blessing to give good harvests and steady improvement in the quality of life. The temple was built around the 1960 s and it is a branch of a famous temple in China. Around the end of the 1960 s the temple was rebuilt to accommodate the growing number of worshippers. During the Hungry ghost festival, many events and dramas would be held over 3 day period. Another unique celebration is the prayer session for the Tian Gong, or sky father if translated directly, which is held once every 12 years. Front view of Fu De Gong Temple 7
b) Chapel of St. Joseph Besides Taoism, there are also a number of catholic Christians who congregate at the chapel of ST. Joseph. Established in 1975 and officiated on the 1 st of May 1975, the chapel serves as a place for gathering and worship. On Sundays devotees would gather for a session of prayers and sermons. The church s Christmas celebrations are not to be missed as it includes the singing of hymns that could be heard from far away and also the presence of Santa Clause who gives out presents to children. The Chapel of Saint Joseph c) Buddhist Association The Buddhist association was founded 16 years ago. It started of as a group of devotees gathering together to learn Buddhist scriptures, to sing hymns, and to learn the ways of Buddha. At first the house was rented to accommodate its activities, and later on the Buddhist association was approved with the license as a legitimate religions association in 1996. The association organizes various events such as blood donation campaigns and giving out of free medicine from time to time. 8
The Buddhist Association The village has many community-based organizations such as the Tong Soon See Kar organization which serves a gathering point for villagers to meet, relax, and promote integrity. The village also has a farming and business organization which helps farmers and businesses with business problems, and advice on business opportunities. MCA and the Parti Gerakan Malaysia also have branches in the village and they assist the villagers in dealing with many problems. The village youth organization is also available and helps out by organizing many events that promote development and teamwork among villagers and outsiders, as well as marathons and karaoke sessions. The Juru village currently has many plans for development to improve the conditions of the village. The reconstruction of the age old Fu De Gong temple is one of the priorities of the village as it is used all year round as a place of worship and festive celebrations. By improving and expanding the temple, it could accommodate more people. 9
TOURISM VALUES The Little Penglai is located about 7 KM from the village. It is both rich in historical value and serves as a great resting spot for many travelers. Little Penglai is located near Bukit Tambun river, surrounded by trees and wild flowers. The Chinese characters of Little Penglai are carved in the stones of the entrance. The form of these engraved characters is strong and hard, reflecting much seriousness in its writing. Along with the stones, there is a seven-sentence poem, which was written by a few scholars describing the beauty of its surroundings at the time. The stone chairs and cave has long endured the harshness of Mother Nature and many of them have shown signs of cracking and collapsing. As the trees grow, roots of the trees break out of its stone walls. Though still a potential tourist destination, its condition might prove to be a bit bad for many interested tourist to visit. Aside from Little Penglai, the village of Juru also offers various gardens and landscapes which serve as recreation sites for villagers to relax. There are about 4 gardens around the village, each filled with interesting sculptures which are adapted from Chinese architectural style. These places are conducive for walks, exercise, and friendly gatherings among friends. 10
Deities at the altar The staircase leading to the entrance Sculptures of flamingoes and small animals are located near the entrance to Little Penglai 11
Stone carvings, engraved by scholars, can be found describing the once beautiful scenery of Little Penglai The garden around the village A dried up fountain dysfunctional due to the weather Picture of the landscape garden around the village although damaged over the years the atmosphere of a peaceful park is still there 12
ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES As far as entrepreneurship goes, the village of Juru has much to offer such as poultry farming. Many farms are short of workers as many locals have left the village for better opportunities. Nevertheless, these farms are actually equipped with the basics and operations can be restarted or expanded quite easily. By bringing in investments, many villagers would be able to run their own businesses and even export goods to neighboring areas such as Bukit Mertajam or Bukit Minyak. Other business opportunities would include setting up a better environment for people to travel to Little Penglai by improving the roads heading to Little Penglai and organizing more publicity about the area. This will help gain more tourism value for Little Penglai as well as the surrounding villages. There is also local demand for cyber cafés and mobile phone shops. 13
CHALLENGES There are several issues that might prove to be a problem for the development of the village. For example, the village has only one primary school and no secondary school. The nearest secondary school is approximately 12 km away and dangerous to reach if travelling by bicycle. As a result, many villagers do not attain secondary school education. The need for a hospital is very high as the only available sources of medical care are a privately owned clinic and a government clinic. The government clinic is short of staff. It was set up as a maternity clinic which later expanded to take in patients with minor ailments. Patients with more serious illnesses are transferred to a hospital Bukit Mertajam for further treatment. The private clinic charges a higher fee and some villagers might not be able to afford this. The government clinic is very low on manpower with only three certified nurses and no doctors available. As the numbers of car owners increase the village, the roads get increasingly congested and the tarred surfaces are damaged. As the schools are located at the inner areas of the village it is often jammed up with cars causing massive congestion and disturbs the flow of traffic in that area. The roads are also full of pot holes that prove to be hazardous especially at night to motorists and cyclists. Many village motorcyclists do not wear helmets. This shows that road safety awareness in the village is lacking. Although the garbage truck comes once every two days, many villagers produce more waste then the garbage truck could collect. Some villagers carry out open burning as they claim that this will ward off mosquitoes. When asked about recycling, the villagers only expressed their opinions as the effort needed for recycling is too much work for some whereas a few are quite adept in the practice of recycling. 14
The crime rate in the area is relatively high, especially snatch thefts. Car theft is also a problem. The drainage system within the village is not effective. As the rainy season approaches, the drainage systems can barely handle the excessive amounts of water. This then, clogs up at certain areas that would eventually become breeding ground of insects, and disease carrying mosquitoes. One of the most concerning issue is the location of the detention centre for illegal immigrants. Villagers feel that the presence of this building affects their safety. From time to time the detainees would escape from the centre and threaten the safety of the villagers nearby causing a ruckus and sometimes hurting villagers. There are also related health issues. Recently, one of the foreigners was tested positive for the rat disease hypo spyrosis, the villagers then protested to relocate the detention centre. 15
Facilities in the clinic. An interview with Ms Rosmawati, the head of the nurses at the government clinic. The detention centre for illegal immigrants near the village Some of the villagers use this land as an open burning area or as a dumpster The gardens are a bit run down and lack of maintenance. The gardens are a bit run down and lack of maintenance 16
RECOMMENDATION In our opinion, there should be at least a small town hospital located near to the village and if not, the clinic in the area should have at least a doctor or an increase of staff as the number of patients are growing steadily and many would have to wait several hours to be attended to. The villagers would need to be more aware of the need for cleanliness in the village. Campaigns or awareness talks should be held and the problem of rubbish disposal should be taken care of. Recycling should also be introduced to the village. The roads and drainage system should be one of the top priorities of the village s development program as it concerns the safety of the village. The narrow roads and pot holes are another major problem. As for the crime rate in the area, the villagers have already started to band together in attempts to lower its crime rate, I would suggest a more centralized station where the news of any crime would be able to reach the eyes and ears of the villagers at all times. As the villagers are already communication with walkie-talkies to track down criminals, a station that sends out the message would help to display and transmit information on the criminal s whereabouts. Patrolling at night would also be a good idea to keep houses and roads safe from thieves and robbers. The immigration detention centre is best to be relocated to a more secluded area so that it would not bring trouble to the villagers nearby. The villagers feel threatened by the presence of the illegal immigrant. Setting up an IT centre that enables e-learning would help improve the skills of the villagers so that they could catch up with technological developments. 17
Fruit are a common dessert and can be found in various corners of the streets. The fried noodles of the village is delicious not oily and with gourmet ingredients. 18
The village clinic and the voluntary fire department are facilities that are essential to the village. For recreation, villagers seek participate in activities such as football, snooker and ping pong. 19
The head of the village (striped polo), the chief of the fire brigade (white shirt) and an active member (blue shirt) of the voluntary fire brigade explaining the history and lifestyles of the village. Authors with the head of Juru village 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: 03-79551511 ext 157 (Klang Valley Campus) 05-4662323 ext 2297/2299 (Perak Campus) 20