UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT

NAME OF NEW VILLAGE:

KAMPUNG PERHENTIAN,

SLIM RIVER

Project carried out by:

Student Name ID Number Course Year/ Semes ter

1. LIM BOON HUA 12AAB05125 ADVERTISING Y4S1

2.KRISTIMAY HANA 15ABB07803 BUSNIESS ADMIN Y3S3 SIRITA

DATE OF COMPLETION

NOVEMBER 2018 ABSTRACT

Kampung Perhentian was established in the 1960s. It has more than 50 years of history. It is located in the district of in the state of . The town that is close to this new village is Slim River.Main attractions in Kampung Perhentian are the Sikh Temple and Indian Temple. Its main economic activities are in plantation.

INTRODUCTION

This village was founded in the 1960s, after the end of World War II. When the village was first founded, the population was mainly Chinese. It was named Kampung Babi, as the village was famous for pig farming at that time. In the 1980s, the name was changed to Kampung Perhentian when Malays and Indians migrated to the village from a nearby village called Kampung Kuala Slim. The pig farming activities also stopped after the new village was re-named Kampung Perhentian. The name Perhentian was given due to its proximity to a bus main station. During World War II, Kampung Perhentian was the spot where the Sikh army and British army directly battled against the Japanese army. Approximately 500 soldiers in the Sikh army lost their lives in the war, thus a Sikh temple was built as a memorial for them. There is also a train station near the village, which was a British camp during World War II. This shows that the village is a historical spot, as many important events took place here.

Kampung Perhentian is located in Bidor, Perak. There is a river called Slim River located behind the new village. This river is a historical spot, as many British soldiers lost their lives here during World War II. Nowadays, the river is causing floods in the village. However, the situation has improved with the help of the government. The village is surrounded by bushland. Houses are scattered throughout the land with much vacant space in between the houses. There are approximately 100 houses that are inhabited and empty land sufficient for about 200 houses in the village. Its current population in 2018 is approximately 500 including the oldest villager who is 90 years old. The average age is from 30 to 50 with mostly old folks. The village is already having the 3rd generation of 40 to 50 years old. Most of the young generation have moved out from the village causing the village to be left with the elderly and teenagers. The village now has 60% Chinese, 30% Indian and 10% Malay. The village is calm and peaceful. All the villagers celebrate together despite being of different race and culture.

ECONOMICS ACTIVITIES

The village has land suitable as plantation. Economic activities in Kampung Perhentian are mostly in plantation. Some of the villagers are orchard owners and they mostly plant rubber trees, palm oil and a variety of vegetables. Crops from the harvest are usually for local use rather than export. Thus, the potential for export is wasted, as the land is not being utilised to plant more palm oil and rubber for export. Rubber tree sap can also be used for many purposes and with the current high value, it can bring more fortune to the village.

Ten percent of households here rear chickens in order to sell the eggs for more income. But unfortunately, according to the villager, most of the households now only rear chickens for own consumption. This is because the villagers are getting older and it is not suitable to farm the chicken eggs for commercial purpose anymore. If the youths can help with egg farming, there might be a good chance to turn it into a main economic activity for Kampung Perhentian.

EDUCATION

This is Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Slim that is near to Kampung Perhentian. There are 605 students which comprises Malays, Chinese, Indians and Orang Asli. There are 375 Malay students, 30 Chinese, 70 Indians and 130 Orang Asli. There are female and male hostels and a total of 25 classes, which include five OKU classes for 30 OKU students.

Next is the Kolej Vokasional Slim River which is also near Kampung Perhentian.

Parents from Kampung Perhentian usually send their children to SJK (C) Chin Hua Slim River for primary school. This because there are no primary schools near their village. There 130 students comprising Chinese, Malays, Indians and Orang Asli. Most of the students are Chinese while there are only 3 Orang Asli students. There are 20 teachers in this school. This primary school is already 92 years old and includes kindergartens and multipurpose hall. The hall is also used for wedding ceremonies. This picture shows preparations for the next day’s wedding ceremony for an Indian couple.

SOCIETY, CULTURE AND RELIGION

In Kampung Perhentian, people have a simple and traditional lifestyle, as most of them still live in houses with 60 to 70 years of history, which have been left by their ancestors. There is not much in the form of entertainment facilities like exercise parks, cinemas, karaoke and others. Senior citizens often spend their time watching television at home and chit chat with friends at the traditional coffee shop. It is noted that most of the youths have left the village to work in KL and Singapore due to the lack of work opportunities in Kampung Perhentian. The population here is around 500 with majority being the elderly and children.

In Kampung Perhentian, most of the villagers are Chinese and the Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka dialects is are widely spoken. The population is made up of 60% Chinese, 30% Indians and 10% Malays. Most of the villagers are Buddhists. In 2015, a Buddhist temple was built and important Chinese festivals, such as the Hungry Ghost Festival are celebrated here.

There is also another Chinese temple in the town of Slim River. It is much bigger in scale compared to the one in Kampung Perhentian where most of the nearby villagers visit. In this Chinese temple, there is a place provided for the members to have events and play sports. Furthermore, there is also an Indian temple and a Sikh temple in Kampung Perhentian.

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Chinese temple built in 2015

Chinese temple

Indian temple

Sikh temple

PROBLEMS AND THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE

Kampung Perhentian is a small village that has around 100 houses with a population of 500. One of the problems they face is many young adults have left the village for the cities and the majority of those who stay behind are the elderly and children. This is because the a lack of job opportunities in the village make the young adults leave. The elderly worry about who will take care of them when they are sick and also about their properties.

Next problem concerns rubbish not being collected regularly. The rubbish trucks usually come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But now they only come once a week or not at all. As a result, village streets are smelly and dirty and attract flies and dogs.

Lastly, the Majlis Daerah Tanjong Malim cleans the drains in areas which have many people, but ignores places with fewer people. Thus, villagers who are neglected feel it is unfair. Dirty drains attract flies and mosquitos. The possibility of contracting dengue is high.

RECOMMENDATION

We suggest better infrastructure and social amenities in Kampung Perhentian to promote healthier lifestyle for the villagers’ benefit, as majority of them are the elderly. Facilities needed would include more clinics, stationery shop, supermarket and entertainment hubs. Besides that, regular collection of rubbish by the rubbish trucks in order not to cause inconvenience to the villagers.

In addition, the respective departments of Majlis Daerah should pay more attention and make sure all drains are cleaned, as everyone pays fees for the services and a clean environment in order to avoid dengue. Lastly, increase job opportunities in Kampung Perhentian by building tourism sites and places of entertainment so that youths from this village do not have to leave for or Singapore for work. They will also be able to stay with their parents.

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