UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: KAMPUNG TERATAI 莲花村 JOHOR Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year/Semester 1. Cheong Yee Mun 13ABB03151 Banking and Finance Y1S3 2. Rick Lim Li Hsien 13ABB05488 Banking and Finance Y1S3 3. Wong Sze Leng 13ABB03150 Banking and Finance Y1S3 DATE OF COMPLETION: JANUARY 2015 1
ABSTRACT Lotus Village (Kampung Teratai) is located in Jementah, Johor. The population of this village is around 800. The main economic activity in the village is farming and plantation agriculture. While there is a kindergarten and a primary school in Lotus Village, village children have to take a 30-minute drive to the nearest secondary school which is located in a neighboring town. Lotus Village is known for its durians and many tourists are attracted to this village because they look forward to tasting its special durians. 2
HISTORY Kg Teratai is the Malay name for Lotus Village. Not surprisingly, this village had a big swamp which was full of white lotus. When it was first established in 1955, the village land was basically primeval forest and swamps. Over time, rubber estates cropped up. Currently, this area has many oil palm estates and banana, cocoa and durian orchards. During peak duration season, the village welcomes many tourists, especially those from Johore, who come here to savour the local durians. 3
INTRODUCTION Lotus Village is situated in the south of Peninsular Malaysia. It was established 56 years ago. The 2 towns which are closest to the village are Kamit and Bukit Gambir, which are 15 minutes and 45 minutes away (by car) respectively. While it is named after the many white lotus ponds/ swamps in this area, the number of such ponds is slowly declining. In the past, most houses in Lotus Village were made of wood. Over the years, these wooden houses are replaced by brick structures. Most village households own motor cars and/or motorcycle as they do not have access to any public transport. Mr Au Xiang Heng, the headman of Lotus Village, has been holding this post for over 7 years. He informed us of the stress from dealing with many complaints from villagers. The headman holds the post until such time he decides to step down. Besides acting as the village headman, Mr Au also owns a motorcycle repair shop. Figure 1: Signboard leading us to Lotus Village 4
Figure 2: Residential Area in Lotus Village Figure 3: Residential Area in Lotus Village 5
THE POPULATION During our visit to Kg Teratai, we interviewed the former village head, Mr Liang Xian Weng. He lives next door to Mr Au, the current village head, who was busy at work when we were there. Mr Liang informed us of the declining population in the village from over 1,000 villagers in the early years to approximately 200 villagers currently. The majority of young adults have out migrated to urban areas to seek better employment opportunities. As a result, the village s population is declining and aging. 98% of the populations are ethnic Chinese, 1% are Malays and the remaining 1% are Indonesians who work in local factories and farms. Figure 4: Mr. Au s house and motor vehicle repair shop 6
Figure 5: Mr. Liang s house Figure 6: Mr. Liang Xian Weng, former headman of the village 7
Figure 7: Mr. Liang and his wife Project team with Mr & Mrs Liang 8
VILLAGE INFRASTRCUTURE There are several voluntary groups in Lotus Village such as the Rukun Tetangga and RELA. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) has an office in this village. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) used to have an office here but this is now closed. There is a post office in the village. Fixed line and mobile phone services are available, although the Digi and U mobile networks are stronger than Maxis in this area. Unfortunately, there is only one government clinic in this village. This clinic has only one nurse who deals with minor ailments and provides basic maternity care. For more serious illnesses, villagers have to travel to the nearest hospital in Uji Kamit which is a 15- minute drive away. Villagers have to rely on their own transport for the journey to other towns as there is no public transport in Kg Teratai. The only exception is a school bus which transports local children to the secondary school located about 30 minutes away. There are very few shops in the village. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, a trader drives his van or mobile grocery store to the village. He sells vegetables, fruit and other food stuff. Villagers often take a 15-minute drive to a nearby town to buy their daily necessities. There is a multipurpose hall in Lotus Village which is used for recreation activities, especially by village children. Years ago, the MCA organized a basketball competition here. Villagers feel safe in a relatively crime-free environment. We observed that many families do not lock their doors. After our interview with Mr Liang, we were given a tour of his house. An interesting feature in his house is a well which served as an important source of water supply in the past. However, when piped water supply was available, Mr Liang sealed the well for the safety of his grandchildren. 9
Figure 9: MCA office in Lotus Village Figure 10: Local government clinic 10
Figure 11: The local government clinic Figure 12: Multipurpose Hall beside the clinic 11
Figure 13: Interior of the multi-purpose hall Figure 14: Interior of the multi-purpose hall 12
Figure 15: Interior of Mr. Liang s house Figure 16: A well inside Mr Liang s house- a reminder of the past when there was no piped water supply in the village. 13
Figure 17: Liang family photos 14
ECONOMICS ACTIVITIES The main sources of income are from fruit farming (especially bananas and durian), rearing of pigs and poultry, and oil palm and rubber plantations/small holdings. Mr Liang informed us that an average household owns about 5 acres of land. Some villagers also operate small businesses in the front portion of their houses. The village headman, Mr Au uses a small part of his house as his own motorcycle repair shop. Another example is a small stall selling meehoon, coffee, bread and other food. This stall, located opposite Mr Au s house, has recently closed down because of its dwindling business in this small village. Figure 18: Oil palms in Lotus Village 15
EDUCATION In Lotus Village, there is only one primary school which is named SJK(C) Lian Hua, located just opposite Mr. Au s shop. The name Lian Hua means lotus in Chinese. This school was established 40 years ago and the headman was one of the pupils from this primary school. Unfortunately, over the years the number of pupils has declined dramatically as many young people have moved to urban areas. Nowadays, the number of pupils in this school is approximately 70 only. A few years ago, the MCA established a kindergarten in Lotus Village right next to the primary school. There are only 7 children enrolled in this kindergarten currently. Since there is no secondary school in the village, students have to ride the school bus to the secondary school in a nearby town. This bus ride takes about 30 minutes each way. Figure 19: Kindergarten 16
Figure 20: SJK (c) Lian Hua Figure 21: SJK (c) Lian Hua 17
Figure 22: The only school bus in Lotus Village 18
SOCIETY, CULTURE, RELIGION AND TOURISM There are two temples in the village which are Mok Lim Keng Temple ( 木林宫 ) and Hong Hoon See Temple ( 風雲廟 ). Mok Lim Keng Temple is the temple where villagers hold celebrations during the Ghost Month (7 th lunar month) Festival. Inside the temple, there is a stage which is used for Chinese Opera. Next to the temple, there is a big hall which is used to hold big events such as wedding dinners and other celebrations. Years ago, during the Mooncake festival, Tanglung celebrations were hold here. Furthermore, during Chinese New Year, villagers used to gather in the big hall to enjoy their reunion dinner together while watching performances on the stage. Unfortunately, these events are no longer held because of lack of funds from local MCA. As the vast majority of villagers are Buddhists, there aren t any churches or mosques in Kg Teratai. Mandarin, Hokkien dialect and Cantonese dialect are widely spoken in the village. Mr Au treated us to lunch at a small food stall opposite his shop. Although there aren t any restaurants in the village, many local and foreign tourists (especially Singaporeans) visit this village to savour a local specialty its durians. We were informed that many busloads of tourists will visit Lotus Village during the peak of durian season. 19
Figure 23: Mok Lim Keng Temple Figure 24: Interior of Mok Lim Keng Temple 20
Figure 25: side view of Mok Lim Keng Temple Figure 26: Mok Lim Keng Temple s Hall 21
Figure 27: Notice board with list of donors to the temple Figure 28: Mok Lim Keng Temple Stage for Chinese Opera 22
Figure 29: Photo with headman, Mr. Au in Mok Lim Keng Temple 23
Figure 30: The place for burning incense paper 24
Figure 31: 風雲廟 or Hong Hoon See Temple Figure 32: The entrance to Hong Hoon See temple (As this temple is privately owned, the gate was locked and we could not enter the temple compound). 25
Figure 33: Front view of Hong Hoon See Temple ( 風雲廟 ) Figure 34: Lian Hwa Amitabha Buddhist Society 26
Figure 35: Fried rice - Our lunch at a small stall in the village. 27
Figure 36: Menu at a local food stall Figure 37: Ordering food at a local food stall 28
Figure 22: 29 December 2014 - news about Lotus Village Figure 38: Newspaper articles on durian season at Lotus Village 29
PROBLEMS 1. This village has a declining and aging population. As a result of the outmigration of youths, there is a disproportionate number of senior citizens. Unless new investments and employment opportunities are injected into Kg Teratai, its future is bleak. 2. There is no place for recreation activities. Its old playground has not been maintained for years and now serves as a garbage dump. 3. With the exception of the school bus, there is no public transport in the village. In case of medical emergencies, villagers have to rely on their own transport to travel to the nearest hospital which is 15 minutes away. 4. The absence of the fire station poses a threat to villagers safety in case of fire and other emergencies. Figure 39: Playground in the village 30
Figure 40: Playground used as garbage dump before the cleanup Figure 41: The playground after cleanup by villagers. 31
RECOMMENDATIONS Mr Liang, the former headman of Kg Teratai, expressed the need for government assistance on the following: 1. Local clinic which is more well staffed and equipped 2. Fire station 3. Small area for outdoor recreational activities which is clean and with exercise equipment There is an urgent need to bring new investments and businesses to the village. Perhaps more durian orchards and homestay programs could bring more tourist money to Kg Teratai. Given the current situation in its local economy, even small retailers have problems surviving because they have a limited consumer base. If new businesses are not injected, youth from Kg Teratai will continue to migrate to the cities. 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: 03-78582628 ext 8274, 8656, 8269 (Klang Valley Campus) 05-4688888 ext 2297/2299/2300 (Perak Campus) 32