UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: Air Salak, Melaka. Project carried out by: Student Name Student ID Course Year / Semester 1. Karen Tan Kai Ling 08ABB06391 Business Information System Y3S3 DATE OF COMPLETION: APRIL 2011 1
ABSTRACTS Kampung Air Salak is a village located in Malacca Tengah, Malacca. It is about 16km away from Malacca Town. Many of the villagers are of Chinese and Baba Nyonya descent, followed by Malays and Indians. Kampung Air Salak is a unique village in Malacca because almost 99% of the villagers are Catholics. Consequently, there are several attractive religious tourist places here such as the Stations of the Cross, the Mountain of St.Mary, an European style old church and a St.Mary sggloriette. The village will be lively and lovely during festivities such as Christmas, Good Friday, Chinese New Year and Weekend church mass. This village has a high potential to become a famous tourist Catholic Village in Malacca. 2
HISTORY Kampung Air Salak covers about four hundred and eighty acres. This land was once covered by the surrounding swamps, mud, weeds, and lined with towering trees. In October 1858, a missionary priest named Pori led a number of the aboriginals (Mantras) to move into this land. Father Pori and the Mantras started to develop this forest and build up a simple house for praying purpose in 1859. At the same time, they named this land as Mary s Exodus. Unfortunately, some unexpected events forced Father Pori to leave this place in 1867. This land was then abandoned when all the Mantras gradually left and moved to other places. Seventeen years later, Father Ludovili Julil Galmel who was a Freach missionary arrived in this land. The purpose for him to stay at this land was to complete the ambition of Father Pori. Father Ludovili Julil Galmel led some Chinese Catholics to develop this land. A richly European-styled church was completed here. The church has on both sides a high white tower pointing straight to the sky. On 10 August 1899, Father Ludovili Julil Galmel passed away. The villagers made a carving on his tombstone in order to remember him and his good work in the village. It was also a way for the villagers to show their appreciation for his contribution to the villagers. 3
In 1926, China experienced a lot of natural disasters, in addition to experiencing an unstable political situation. Many of the Chinese Catholics fled from their country, and many of them were from the Teow Chiew Bai Ling and Hui Lai communities. They came to this place and lived together with the local Chinese Catholics, farming and tapping rubber trees. After years of living and working in this area, the village naturally grew to form a unique Teow Chiew Catholic village. 4
HOUSING AND POPULATION Nowadays, this village has around a hundred and eighty houses, and more than two thousand villagers. 30% of the village land is used for residential purposes and 70% for agriculture and oil palm. The village has also given birth to the society s elite and pillars of society for example, the throughout its history, thirty of its villagers have joined the clergy full time. Most of the infrastructures in this village are in fair condition. The houses in this village are typically squatter type, generally made from wood, bricks and concrete. There are, however, some abandoned houses as some villagers have migrated to the bigger towns in search of work. 5
Figure 1: Redstone House Figure 2: Timber house 6
Figure3: The tarred road in Kampung Air Salak. Figure 4: The brick house 7
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES There are many oil palm trees in this village, a testimony that oil palm is one of the primary economic activities in this village. Another economic activity is farming, especially chili, lime, maize, and vegetable. Some of the villagers also plant durians. Figure 5: Oil palm 8
Figure 6: Lime farm Figure 7: Farm 9
There are also sundry shops in this village which offer fair priced goods. Figure 8: Sundry shop 10
Tourism Value European style old church Kampung Air Salak has many attractive places. Firstly, there is the old style European Church which was established in the eighteenth century. The special feature of this church is that the pillars are made from red stone. The church has a stage and therefore is widely used for activities by the villagers. Figure 9: European style old church 11
Figure 10: Old church s stage Figure 11: The founder Father Ludovici Julil Galmel s tombstone. 12
Station of the Cross A second attraction in this village is that it has a two hundred meters Station of the Cross which consist of fourteen big stones with a carved image of Jesus. Each of the stone shows a scene from the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. This station of the cross was established in 2009. Figure 12: Station of the Cross 13
Mountain of St.Mary In 2008, the mountain of St. Mary was completed by the villagers. Figure 13: Mountain of St. Mary 14
St.Mary s Gloriette In 2007, St. Mary s gloriette was built on the highest land of Air Salak. This statue of St.Mary seems to give a message that reads Welcome back, my children since every villager will see this statue when they are on the way back home. In the night, the gloriette will be surrounded by the villagers who pray to her. Figure 14: St.Mary s Gloriette 15
SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES Catholic Church The population in this village kept growing until the old church was not big enough to fill in the congregants. In 1970, Father Yu led the villagers to build another church. This new church has been in used until today. Behind this church is a big cemetery, used for burying the Catholic villagers. Those who are not from the village would be cremated and the ashes kept in urns. In November every year, the villagers will go to the cemetery to clean their ancestor s grave to indicate their respect. Figure 15: Catholic Church established in 1970 16
Figure 16: Church View (inside). Figure 17: Church View (Front) 17
Figure 18: Church View (Behind), and the Catholic cemetery. Figure 19: Ashes Grid 18
Montfort Youth Centre (MYC) The Montfort Youth Centre (MYC) was established in 2000 with the aim of promoting the teachings of St.Louis Marie de Montfort. MYC provides training in the Montfortian dynamism to those who are associated with St.Montfort. They open up the facilities for retreats and other training needs. Inside the centre, lodging is provided for the Monfortian. Workshops are constructed to provide training leading to a certificate programme in Motor Mechanics and Computer maintenance. Other facilities such as basketball court, soccer field, hall for activities are provided to Mantfortian to enjoy their free time. 19
Figure 20: Montfort Youth Centre with St. Louis Marie s statue. 20
Primary School The SRJK (C) St. Mary was established and operated by Father Jules Francois in 1929. From a simple squatter house, it evolved into a brick building with 10 over classrooms. 21
Figure 21: Primary School SRJK (c) St.Mary. Figure 22: Wall of primary school with the statue of St. Mary completed at the beginning of 2009. Figure 23: Primary school (Inside view) 22
Balai Raya Air Salak The Balai Raya Air Salak is used for meetings and other small activities. The badminton court allows villagers to play badmition without any charges. There is another badminton court at this village with is a half- indoor type. There is also a stage here which allows the villagers to do some activities here. Figure 24: Balai Raya Air Salak. 23
Figure 25: Another half-indoor badminton court and stage 24
PROBLEMS AND RECOMMENDATION The village continues to experience some problems such as lack of agricultural land, industrial pollution, sewerage pollution, and air pollution. Industrial pollution happens due to the wood factories situated next to the village. The Government also needs to improve the sewerage and irrigation systems even though they have not faced any flood problems yet. Sewerage pollution will cause unhygienic conditions and this may cause the villagers to be sick. Many of the village youths work in the town, other states or countries. This causes an increase in urban migration. Consequently, some houses are left abandoned. Another problem is that many of the villagers do not seem to know the 3R concept of disposing rubbish, which results in the villagers disposing their rubbish the traditional way. The government should take action like having a campaign to educate the village on how to dispose rubbish. Air pollution will be decreased if the villagers did not burn the rubbish. The chairman of the village committee needs look at ways to take care of the abandoned houses. 25
Figure 26: An abandoned house 26
Figure 27: Using fire to dispose the rubbish. 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: 03-79582628 ext 8274 (Klang Valley Campus) 05-4688888 ext 2297/2299 (Perak Campus) 27