UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT
NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: KAKI BUKIT 加基武吉 PERLIS
Project carried out by:
Student Name ID Number Course Year / Semester
1. NG YEE HOI YUKI 1704032 BF Y3S3 2. NG YEE WEE 1802980 BF Y3S3
DATE OF COMPLETION: APRIL 2021
KAKI BUKIT
ABSTRACT
Kaki Bukit is a new village established in 2016, and is not one of the traditional new villages created during the waning days of British rule. This new village is in Perlis, the smallest and northernmost state in Malaysia. The nearest town to this new village is Padang Besar, which is 15 km away. The main attraction in Kaki Bukit is Gua Kelam, the limestone cave that was gouged out during the tin-mining days. The main economic activities in the village are small businesses and agriculture.
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KAKI BUKIT
INTRODUCTION
Kaki Bukit is located in Perlis, and 26 kilometres north of the state capital, Kangar. Perlis is the northernmost state in Malaysia and being the smallest, it has no districts. Padang Besar is the nearest town to Kaki Bukit and around 15 kilometres away on the boundary between Malaysia and Thailand. Wang Kelian is also on the border and 8 kilometres away.
Because of the geographical factor, this new village is composed of Chinese and Thais (the latter’s population is very low). Its population in 2021 is approximately 1,700. When the village was founded in 2016, it had a population of almost 1800. Over the years, the population decreased by a small number only.
Kaki Bukit, literally “foot hill” translated from Bahasa Malaysia, is surrounded by hills. A famous attraction in the village is the Gua Kelam. It is a limestone cave gouged out in the early tin-mining days, and a river runs through the cave.
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KAKI BUKIT
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Tin mining was the main economic activity in Kaki Bukit in the old days. During the British colonial period, many Chinese miners arrived in Kaki Bukit to work in the mining industry. Tin mining was Malaysia’s main source of income until many of the tin mines ceased operations in recent decades. Today, most of the tin miners have remained in Kaki Bukit.
Time and social changes have changed the economic activities in the village. As tin mining ceased, the villagers started doing businesses, such as operating grocery stores and selling food in the village. There are around eight grocery stores in Kaki Bukit. Not only that, some of them operate hardware stores, vehicle repair shops and saloons.
Figure 1: A mini market in Kaki Bukit
The mini market not only does the local business, it is also a money changer and it attracts a lot of Thais. The Thais usually buy groceries and exchange money here.
Other villagers are doing swiftlet farming business. They own the swiftlet house and sell the bird’s nest outside the village.
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KAKI BUKIT
Figure 2: A swiftlet house (collect bird’s nest)
There is a famous kopitiam selling Big Pao, Kaya puff, Lo Mai Gai (mixture of glutinous rice, chicken meat and pork) and local food. Its good taste attracts people from other places in Perlis, and even people from other states come and enjoy the food in such a good and nostalgic environment.
The villagers are also in the agricultural business. While some plant fruits, such as watermelon, rambutan, durian, mango, and vegetables to sell at the wet market, others do it for own consumption. Some villagers are rubber estate owners. Their rubber estates are around five kilometres away. They either ride bicycles or motorcycles to work early in the morning.
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KAKI BUKIT
SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
In Kaki Bukit, most of the villagers are Chinese with a very small population of Thais. The main languages spoken are Hakka, Cantonese and Mandarin. Religions practised in this village are Buddhism and Christianity. Places of worship include three Chinese temples, one Buddhist Society and one church.
There are two Na Tok Gong temples at Kaki Bukit; one is at the mountainside and one is beside the street. The mountainside temple is near Gua Kelam. There is a bridge for people to cross to the temple. As the river underneath is swift flowing, people must be careful while crossing the bridge. The villagers celebrate the birth of Na Tok Gong every year at the temple beside the street. The temple is combined with a multipurpose hall, which is used by the villagers to organise activities on the deity’s birthday. For instance, the villagers organise singing competitions and acrobatic shows.
Figure 3: Na Tok Gong temple at the mountainside
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KAKI BUKIT
Figure 4: Another Na Tok Gong temple, which is beside the street. People watch the singing competition during the celebration of Na Tok Gong’s birthday.
Every new year, the Buddhist Society invites monks from Thailand to lead the villagers in prayer for a better year. In addition, they celebrate Wesak Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival. They also observe Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month. Sometimes, the society organises talks for interested villagers.
Figure 5: The house that used to be a church in the village
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KAKI BUKIT
EDUCATION
The educational institutions in Kaki Bukit range from kindergarten to secondary school level. There is one kindergarten, one primary school, namely SJK(C) Kong Hwa and one secondary school, namely SMK Raja Puan Muda Tengku Fauziah.
Figure 6: Kindergarten
According to the principal of SJK(C) Kong Hwa, the school was established in 1927. Starting from 1958, the school divided into two teaching sessions; morning and afternoon due to a lack of classrooms to accommodate over 500 students. In 1961, a new building with six classrooms was established. Another building with six classrooms was also constructed in 1964, with 50% public support and 50% government support. From 1965 to 2005, the multipurpose hall, toilets, canteen, field, computer lab and basketball court were one by one set up in the school. However, the buildings (12 classrooms) were damaged by terminates eventually. SJK(C) Kong Hwa was reconstructed in 2009.
In 2021, according to the school record, there are 128 students. Compared to the 1980s when student enrolment was around 600 to 700, the number of students has been
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KAKI BUKIT gradually decreasing due to many villagers moving to the city to seek better work opportunities. Thus, fewer people stay in this village now.
Figure 7: SJK(C)Kong Hwa before the reconstruction in 2009
Figure 8: SJK(C)Kong Hwa in 2021
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KAKI BUKIT
Figure 9: A little corner in the school
Figure 10: Canteen in the school (not in use due to the pandemic period in 2021)
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Figure 11: Old multipurpose hall
Figure 12: New multipurpose hall
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Figure 13: Laboratory
Figure 14: Water filter
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Figure 15: Grilles at the corridor outside the classrooms
Figure 16: Guardhouse
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Figure 17: Secondary school
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KAKI BUKIT
TOURISM
Gua Kelam is a famous tourist attraction in Perlis. This limestone cave was gouged out during the tin-mining days in the mid-20th century. A wooden bridge links Kaki Bukit to Wan Tangga Valley, which is on the opposite end of Gua Kelam, thus people enter the cave and come out at a different place. Water flows under the walkway, so caution is advised when crossing the bridge in order to avoid any untoward incidents. The river flows to the Na Tok Kong Temple, as mentioned earlier. As it has also become a favourite spot for kids to swim, the locals call it, “sungai mandi”.
Figure 18: View from Wan Tangga Valley
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Figure 19: “sungai mandi”
Figure 20: Gua Kelam bridge
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Beside the cave, a gallery building exhibits historical tin mining materials and artifact collections. To attract more tourists, an artist was invited to draw 3D murals in the buildings in 2019.
Figure 21: 3D mural
Figure 22: Guest house near Gua Kelam
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KAKI BUKIT
Tourists from other states usually enjoy the local food before or after visiting Gua Kelam. There is a famous kopitiam which has become the favourite shop for locals and outsiders because of its tasty fare. The kopitiam sells Big Pao, Kaya puff, Lo Mai Gai (mixture of glutinous rice, chicken meat and pork) and noodles.
Figure 23: Kopitiam
Figure 24: Pau
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KAKI BUKIT
INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES
The facilities in Kaki Bukit are considered convenient to the villagers. A public clinic serves medical needs. Other facilities available include a post office, fire station, police station, playground, and etcetera. The distance between the wet market, shop lot, kopitiam, police station, post office and clinic is within one kilometer. Thus, it is very suitable, especially for the seniors who walk or cycle in their daily lives. There is an old folks’ home in Kaki Bukit. For those who cannot manage to take care of the seniors in the house, they will send them here for professional care.
However, security in Kaki Bukit needs improvement as theft cases have been reported in recent years. The road and drainage system in this village is in satisfactory condition. Garbage collection is also adequate as it is conducted twice weekly, on Wednesday and Saturday.
Figure 25: Old Folks’ Home
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Figure 26: Post Office
Figure 27: Police Station
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Figure 28: Wet market
Figure 29: Fire Station
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Figure 30: Government Clinic
Figure 31: Shop lot
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Figure 32: Basketball court
Figure 33: Playground
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The “myBAS” service is available in this village. People can reach the nearest towns, such as Padang Besar and Kangar by riding the bus. Thus, it is convenient for those villagers who do not own vehicles.
Figure 34: Bus station
Figure 35: Garbage bin
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KAKI BUKIT
PROBLEMS
The problems in Kaki Bukit are as follows:
Tap water pressure is very low. The village also faces water outages quite often; (delete comma and insert semicolon) for instance, almost once a month in 2020. This has caused the residents difficulties in carrying out their daily tasks, such as laundry, bathing, and cooking.
Slow internet speed causes problems for those working and studying from home. Especially in this pandemic period, students face great inconvenience from inconsistent internet access. Fast broadband, such as Unifi is still not available in this village. Checks with Unifi show that the service may be introduced later in 2021.
As mentioned earlier, several theft cases have occurred in recent years. They happened when the family was not in, had gone out for work, or even when the owner was sleeping in the house at night. This is very dangerous, as most of the villagers in Kaki Bukit are children and senior citizens who are not able to protect themselves in this situation.
There are no pharmacies in this village. Other than the only Chinese medicine shop in Kaki Bukit, there are no other health care shops, such as Watsons and Guardian. Thus, when people need to purchase necessary items, such as masks (essential during pandemic period) and medicine, they have to get them from another town. There are also no hospitals or private clinics here. For urgent cases to see the doctor, villagers travel to Kangar, which has these facilities.
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KAKI BUKIT
RECOMMENDATIONS
Here are some recommendations to address the problems stated above (water, broadband, security/safety, lack of facilities):
Firstly, the water situation. The department concerned should look into the matter by getting feedback from the villagers, and prioritise providing them with clean and sufficient water. Likewise, to support work/study from home without constant interruptions, make available high-speed internet. To ensure the safety of villagers, organise daily night patrols to protect them.
Better infrastructure and social amenities will certainly benefit the residents of Kaki Bukit. For example, facilities needed are pharmacies, health-care shops, stationery shops, hospitals. As many of the residents in the village operate businesses, a safe and convenient way of depositing cash frequently should be available in the form of cash deposit machines and automated teller machines (ATMs) at the bank.
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: 03-90860288 ext 746, 747, 230 (Sungai Long Campus) 05- 4688888 ext 2299/2300 (Kampar Campus)
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