utar new village community project … bt 19 sengkang, johor.pdfkampung batu 19 sengkang 1 utar new...

KAMPUNG BATU 19 SENGKANG

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UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF NEW VILLLAGE:

KAMPUNG BATU 19 SENGKANG 麻北新港

JOHOR

Project carried out by:

Student Name

ID Number Course Year/Semester

1. Lee Xian Hwei 1306689 Banking and Finance Year 1/ Sem 2

2.Liew Zen Wei 1305407 Banking and Finance Year 1/ Sem 2

3.Sean Ang Xiang En 1305450 Banking and Finance Year 1/ Sem 2

DATE OF COMPLETION:

FEBRUARY 2015


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INTRODUCTION

This interview is conducted with the village headman, Wong Ling Seng and a village

committee member, Er Hong Or.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

Kampung Batu 19 Sengkang is located in the district of Muar, Johor with the postcode

84800. The village was founded in the year 1949. Kampung Batu Sengkang is divided

into five areas, which are Batu 16, Batu 17, Batu 18, Batu 19, and Batu 20. Kampung

Batu 16 is located at Jalan Sengkang, and it has several chinese temples. Kampung Batu

17 and Batu 20 are Malay „kampongs‟. Most of the residents in Kampung Batu 18 are

involved in vegetables farming. The nearest town to Kampung Batu 19 is Muar, which is

around 19km away.

Many villagers earn a livelihood in the local oil palm estates and guava orchards. The

village is located on relatively flat terrain with artificial lakes and streams connected to

Sungai Muar.

TOURISM

There is no major tourist attraction in Kg Batu 19 Sengkang. However, a nearby village,

Kg Teratai, attracts many local tourists as well as Singaporeans to its durian orchards.

During durian seasons there are special all-you-can-eat durian tours which cost only S$25.

These tourists often detour to Kg Batu 19 Sengkang when they visit Kg Teratai.


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POPULATION

Kg Batu 19 Sengkang‟s population in the year 2015 is approximately 2,000 (officially

registered). There are around 180 Chinese families and 30 Malay families in the village.

The average household size is 4 to 5 persons. However, there are households with only 2

old folks because most of the teenagers and young adults have moved to the cities to get

better jobs. During Chinese New Year, the village is crowded as many family members

from the cities return home to celebrate.

When this village was founded in 1949, it had only 15 residents. This number grew

steadily in the early decades but there has been a decline in recent years. For the younger

generation, the city often offers better employment opportunities. As a result, the

population declined so drastically until there was no kindergarten student in the year

2014. This forced the kindergarten to close. The Village Development and Security

Committee (Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung, JKKK) seems to be at

a loss on how to handle this issue.

EDUCATION

In 2014, there was no student at the only kindergarten in village. In previous years, there

were 7 to 8 students per year. The village committee hires a part-timer to teach at the

kindergarten.

SRJK (C) Kok Beng located at Batu 19, Sengkang, Bukit Gambir, 84800, Ledang, Johore

is the only primary school in the village. It has 80 students and 12 staff members. In the

year 2014, the Menteri Besar of Johore allocated RM110,000 to upgrade the school‟s

infrastructure and facilities. In addition, villagers donated RM100,000 for renovations at

the school. All in all, this school is well equipped and well maintained. Among other

things, it has a basketball court and a field for sports and recreation.


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The absence of a secondary school in Kg Batu 19 Sengkang means that village children

have to further their secondary school studies at Bukit Gambir, a small town which is 15

minutes away from the village.

Photo: SJK(C ) Kok Beng’s 3 storey building after the recent upgrade

Photo: Dato’Chai Meng Kui and LYOU Brothers Properties Sdn.Bhd officiated at the opening ceremony of

the new school building.


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Photo: These two boards show the names and the amount of money donated by villagers to upgrade the

infrastructure of the school. They successfully collected RM100,000.

Photo: The school toilets.

Photo: In front of the canteen, there is a notice board showing the names of the Parents-Teachers

Association Committee and the names of previous headmasters/ headmistresses.


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Photo: The canteen of the school is clean and tidy.

Photo: There are many flowering plants along the side of the school field.

INFRASTRUCTURES

There is no municipal council for this village. Thus, villagers are not required to pay

annual assessment (cukai pintu). As a result, the village is not covered by Indah Water

and it does not have garbage collection services either. Each family will burn their own

garbage and some garbage will be used as organic fertilizers. We observe that villagers

do take care of their environment and there is no rampant dumping of garbage.


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Photo: Villagers will sort the garbage and use it as organic fertilizer.

Photo: This is how the villagers burn their rubbish.

Tenaga National Berhad, TNB supplies electricity to the village. Fixed line and mobile

phone services are available. Healthcare services are provided at the local clinic which

has 2 nurses only. The main services provided are basic pregnancy check-ups and

cleaning and bandaging of wounds. For more serious cases, villagers have to go to Bukit

Gambir as there is a bigger government clinic there.


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Photo: The village clinic

Photo: Police station

In terms of security service, there is a small police station with only two policemen. Most

of the time, when the policemen go on patrol, there will be no others on duty in the police

station. As there is no fire station in this village, villagers have to rely on the fire brigade

in Bukit Gambir.

Photo: Pau Ling Kong temple view from outside.


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Photo: This is the interior of Pau Ling Kong.

Photo: The side view of Pau Ling Kong. The Buddhist Pagoda has a small opening for devotees to place

offerings which they wish to burn.

There is a temple named Pau Leng Kong (宝灵宫). Opposite the temple, there is a hall

named Dewan Pau Ling Kong (宝灵宫综合大礼堂). Beside the temple there is a hall

used by the Persatuan Penduduk Kampung Batu 19 or Kg Batu 19 Residents‟

Association (麻北新港十九支华人公研). In this temple, the deities worshipped are

“Guan Gong” and “Tu Di Gong” (or The God of the Earth).

The Dewan Pau Ling Kong is an air-conditioned hall. This is where villagers hold

wedding dinners and other events. It is located near to the villagers‟ houses.


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Photo: This is the front view of Dewan Pau Ling Kong.

In addition, Persatuan Penduduk Kampung Batu 19 has an open hall (not air-conditioned)

located beside the temple. It is the place where villagers gather during festivals to offer

incense and worship the gods.

Photo: Hall used by Persatuan Penduduk Kampung Batu 19.

Muslims in this village pray at the local surau. Christians have to travel to Bukit Gambir

if they wish to worship at a church.

In this village, there are two small restaurants serving five to six tables only. Since most

of the families here eat home cooked meals every day and the population is small, two

restaurants are more than enough for the whole community. Both of the restaurants sell

only simple meals like “Char Kuey Teow”, fried rice and noodles. If the villagers prefer

more fancy restaurants, they will have to go to Bukit Gambir.


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Photo: This is the village restaurants where we conducted our interview with the headman.

Photo: The only grocery shop in the village.

There is only one grocery shop in the village. Normally, the grocers‟ prices are slightly

higher compared to that in supermarkets. Since every family owns cars or motorcycles,

they often go to supermarkets or minimarkets at Bukit Gambir to purchase their daily

necessities. The main customers for the village‟s grocery shop are Bangladeshi and

Indonesian workers who work at local farms. Normally, these foreign workers go to the

local grocery shop to purchase their daily needs.


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Photo: Shops in the village.

Many shop lots here are made of wood but some have been upgraded and are made of

bricks. This village has only two rows of shops which are located beside the main road.

Photo: Shops that have been upgraded.

There is no wet market in the village; Villagers will have to go to Bukit Gambir for both

wet market and night market. There is a shop in this village which is well known for its

Chinese herbal tea or “Liong Shui” or “Liang Cha”. It seems that the Menteri Besar,

Johor visits this shop every time he is near by the village. Thus, this drink has a special

name- Satu Malaysia Tea. This shop is operated by an old folk couple. Besides herbal tea,

they also sell snacks and pau. Their customers are from all religions. It is reputed that the


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owners of this shop dry the herbs themselves. This is tradition that is rarely seen in the

cities nowadays.

Photo: This is the sun-dried herbs preprared by the owner himself. These herbs are called “Har Ku

Chou”(夏枯草)

Photo: The owner treated us to the herbal tea.


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ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS

There is a sports and social club in the village, named “Kelab Sukan dan Sosial Batu 19

Sengkang”. It is located on the first floor of a 2-storey shop lot.

Photo: This is the sports and social club in the village.

Photo: This is the entrance to the club’s office.

INCOME

Many village households earn a decent living. Most of the villagers are farmers and their

average income is from RM3,000 to RM10,000 per month. From the conversation with a

young man who takes care of his own guava orchard, we learn that he earns as much as

RM10,000 per week from his harvest.


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AGRICULTURE- PALM OIL LANTATION

Agriculture is the main economic activity here. In the past, most villagers planted rubber

trees as rubber had a very high price. However, in recent decades, the price of rubber has

dropped drastically. Besides, the younger generation is not keen on work in the rubber

estates. Slowly, the rubber estates have been converted to oil palm estates, currently,

most estates and small holdings are either run by the second generation in the family or

sold off to new owners.

Photo: This is an oil palm estate.

Photo: Small oil palms


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Photo: Rubber trees beside the road.

Photo: The red mud and sandy land which is most suitable for rubber trees and oil palms.

AGRICULTURE- GUAVA ORCHARDS

Beside oil palm estates, there are also many guava orchards. The guava fruit is harvested

once every week and is often sold wholesale to supermarkets, such as Tesco and Giant.

Formers normally use chicken dropping as the organic fertilizer for guava trees. For the

watering system, farmers often dig small lakes near the guava fields and use the lake

water to water the plants. Guava trees require less intensive care and can be harvested all

year round. Thus, teenagers who are still willing to stay in the village often choose to take

care of their parents‟ guava orchards.


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Photo: A guava tree.

Photo: The guava fruit from this village are normally quite big

Photo: A guava orchard.


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Photo: A guava fruit which is not ripe enough to be harvested.

Photo: Small guava trees.

Photo: The small truck used to transport guava that has been harvested.


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SOCIETY AND CULTURES

There are 3 main celebrations during Chinese New Year in this village. The first time is

Chinese Lunar Year‟s eve which is the day before Chinese New Year. The second

celebration is mankind‟s Day (“Ren Ri” in Chinese) which falls on the 7th

of the first

lunar month. According to Chinese beliefs, this is the day when human beings were

created. The third celebration is the Lantern Festival (“Yuan Xiao” in Chinese) at the 15th

day of the first lunar month. All 3 celebrations are held at the open hall beside the temple.

During these times, all villagers will be gathered together and all who have out migrated

will return home. The villagers believe that sincere prayers to the gods will give them

protection from evil, good health and bumper crops.

As there is no community hall or field for recreation, villagers often gather at the primary

school‟s basketball court. In fact, benches are provided for villagers to relax, read

newspapers and socialize. After the school session is over, villagers gather at the

basketball court from about 3pm to 9pm. Youngsters often play basketball while the old

folks practice “Tai Chi” or other low impact exercise. Previously, a new headmaster tried

to stop villagers from using the basketball court but pressure from villagers stopped him

from doing so. There is close cooperation between the school and the villagers who have

gathered funds for the school.

Photo: The place beside the school gate for villagers to gather


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Photo: The school building is locked after school hours. However, villagers have access to the school’s

outdoor area even after school is over.


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The Village Committee does an excellent job taking care of the safety and general

wellbeing of villagers. In the evenings, villagers often gather at the temple to discuss

village matters and to socialize with each other. There is a canopy beside the temple and

all villagers have free access to television installed in this area. Any crime or suspicious

outsiders are promptly reported to the Village Committee. We were informed of a theft at

a grocery shop and how villagers‟ cooperation led to the arrest of the thief. All in all,

there is hardly any crime in Kg Batu 19 Sengkang.

Photo: This is the place beside the temple where villagers often gather.


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PROBLEMS

1. The most serious problem faced by this village is its declining population

numbers. The village economy is stagnant with no new investments, businesses or

government projects. As a result, young adults have sought better opportunities in

the cities.

2. The out migration of youths has led to an aging population in Kg Teratai. Because

of that, many of the estate owners have to hire immigrant laborers such as

Bangladeshi and Indonesians. It seems that the shortage of workers has led to

many thefts of fruit from the orchards.

3. The other problem faced by this village is the lack of facilities and infrastructure.

There are no playgrounds or playing fields for the villagers. Villagers often go to

Bukit Gambir to pump petrol, consult doctors, mail letters pay utility bills, or for

banking.

4. In term of waste disposal, villagers burn their rubbish and use this as organic

fertilizer. However, this causes air pollution. Sewage which is sometimes used to

fertilize the plants attracts flies and creates an unhealthy environment.

Photo: Villagers sometimes dispose of sewage by spreading it on the ground. This attracts flies.


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Photo: This is the Police Station at Bukit Gambir. It is more well staffed and equipped than the police

station in the village.

Photo: This is the Post Office at Bukit Gambir.

RECOMMENDATION

Population decline is a common situation faced by many new villages. Villagers who

have out migrated should be encouraged to visit their families regularly, to contribute to

their families as well as village funds for improvement of facilities in Kg Batu 19

Sengkang.

Moreover, in terms of garbage disposal, the village committees should look into more

effective and hygiene methods. For example, arrange for garbage collection trucks to

collect and dispose of the garbage in designated areas. They could seek the cooperation

of villagers to share the costs involved. Health awareness campaigns are needed to inform

villagers on more appropriate and hygienic ways for sewage disposal.


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In addition, the village committee may apply for funds from the government to build

playground in the village. Some basic exercise equipment should be installed and a

jogging track would be useful.

In terms of medical services, the village committees may hire a part time doctor to

provide medical care for the villagers once a week. This is especially convenient for the

many elderly villagers who find it a problem to travel out of the village.


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REMARKS

Photo: The interviewing session conducted in a village restaurant.

Photo: Group photo after the interview session with the village headman

Photo: The village headman brought us on a tour of a guava orchard. He also gave us a packet of guava.


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Photo: During the interview session in the temple.

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 enquiries regarding contents of the report, please contact:

Department of Soft Skills Competency

Tel: 03-78582628 ext 8274,8656,8269 (Sungai Long Campus)

05-4688888 ext 2297/2299/2300 (Kampar Campus)

utar new village community project … bt 19 sengkang, johor.pdfkampung batu 19 sengkang 1 utar new...

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