UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF NEW VILLAGE:

CHANGKAT KERUING 莫珍歪

PERAK

Project carried out by:

Student Name

ID Number

Course

Year/Trimester

1. Tan Ken Long 1005901 Bachelor of Finance

(Hons) Y2/T2

2. Beh Pith Chuan 1005997 Bachelor of Finance

(Hons) Y2/T2

3. Kuah Ing Xui 1004464

Bachelor of

Economics (Hons)

Financial

Economics

Y3/T2

DATE OF COMPLETION

OCTOBER 2012

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ABSTRACT

Changkat Keruing is a small town with a very small population

in Manjung district, Perak, Malaysia. The majority residents in this village are

Chinese from the FuZhou dialect group. In the early days, most residents in this

village were rubber tappers, but nowadays many rubber estates and smallholdings

have been replanted with oil palms. Other economic activities in this village

include fish and prawn farming as well as Bird's Nest farming.

The only school in this village is a Chinese primary school, SJK

KhuenHean. When the village children complete their primary school education,

they are sent either to Ayer Tawar or Pantai Remis to proceed with their

secondary school.

This is a scenic village, especially where the Dinding River passes through.

Its scenic beauty is even mentioned in some websites. Mangrove swamps are

found on both sides of the Dinding River and this is home to many species of

wildlife. Another attraction to the village is its food. Changkat Keruing’s chinese

(FuZhou0 residents are known for cooking their FuZhou specialities such as Dan

Yan (蛋燕 ), Go Ru, Fuzhou meatballs (福州肉丸 ), and Red wine chicken

vermicelli (红酒鸡面线).

Every year around April or March, the Fuk Sheng Temple will celebrate

the birthday of the temple deity, Dua Pek Kong (大伯公福德正神千秋寶誕).

The village’s slow pace of life in a scenic environment sounds ideal but it

nevertheless faces a few problems: sound pollution caused by the swiflet/birds’

nest farms and road safety issues.

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Roundabout in Changkat Keruing

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INTRODUCTION

Signage of Changkat Keruing

Changkat Keruing is a small town in Manjung district, Perak, Malaysia. It

is a small village with a very small population. It is 111 miles (178km) North

West of Kuala Lumpur and 305 miles (492km) North West of Singapore.This

small village is located between Ayer Tawar (20 km away) and Pantai Remis (14

km away). It is also close to Pulau Pangkor which is an island off the coast

of Perak. The small towns and villages near Kampong Changkat Keruing

include Kampong Beting Luas, Kampong Bagan Serai and Serai. The closest

major towns and cities include Ipoh, Taiping, Bukit Mertajam and Sungai Petani.

Although Kampung Changkat Keruing is a small town, there are airpots located

not far from the village, e.g. Sitiawan Airport and Pangkor Airport.

The scenic beauty of this village is recognized by the fact that it was

awarded “The Most Beautiful Village” in a nationwide contest in the 1990’s. The

Dinding Rriver which passes through this village contributes to its scenic beauty..

The majority of villagers are Chinese from the FuZhou dialect group.

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ECONOMY

The main sources of income for Changkat Keruing villagers are as follows:

a. Rubber

Most of the residents were rubber tappers before the 1990s. However,

many rubber estates and smallholdings have been replanted with oil palms to cash

in on its better income yield. Therefore, many villagers now work in oil palm

estates and smallholdings.

A rubber tree is tapped for its latex

b. Oil palm

In recent years, oil plantations are more prevalent. The locals hire foreign

workers to harvest the crops instead of doing it themselves as they used to decades

ago. Many locals accumulated great wealth from harvesting and selling palm oil.

The price of land around Changkat Keruing has increased more than ten-fold since

2000.

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Sime Darby plantations in Changkat Keruing

c. Fish and prawn farming

Dinding River is an ideal location for villagers to build fish and prawn

farms. Villagers have cashed in on this and one can see many fish and prawn

farms along the river.

Prawn farms in the village

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d. Bird's Nest

Besides, the residents also invest in the Bird's Nest market. They do it by

constructing three storey high buildings or building structures which resemble the

birds’ natural nesting caves on top of existing buildings. Swiftlets are attracted to

these buildings through piped in sounds of other birds in these buildings. The

owners then collect the half digested food/mucus which the birds throw up as this

is considered a delicacy with health benefits.

Bird’s nest building

Besides the main sources of income, villagers are also employed in the

local bank (Agro Bank), petrol station, a few sundry shops and restaurants. Some

villagers grow mangoes, papayas and coconuts to supplement their income. There

is a traditional morning market which sells daily necessities.

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A wet market in the village

A small petrol kiosk in the village

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RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Every year around April or March, the Fuk Sheng Temple will celebrate

the birthday of its deity, Dua Pek Kong (大伯公福德正神千秋寶誕). During the

celebration, shamans from different temples will pierce their faces with iron

skewers as they join a procession through the streets. According to the Chairman

of the temple committee, this event was started many years ago. Although it was

not organized for several years, this festival was started again 4 years ago.

This event is to pray for the safety of the villagers, good weather and a

successful career for residents. At the same time, villagers and visitors are

reminded of its cultural heritage.

Shamans pierce their faces with iron skewers

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Residents join the procession

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EDUCATION

There is a Chinese primary school in the village, SJK Khuen Hean. When

this school was established in 1932, it had only 17 students. The mission of SJK

Khuen Hean is “Developing individual potential through high quality education”.

As Changkat Keruing does not have a secondary school, village children have to

travel to Ayer Tawar or Pantai Remis for their secondary school education.

The primary school in the village

A Methodist kindergarten in the village

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TOURISM VALUE

Changkat Keruing has many selling points as a tourist destination. First, its

beautiful scenery is well recognized. Besides contributing to the village’s serene

beauty, Dinding River provides many ideal spots for fishing enthusiasts who can

bring along their fishing tackle for a day of relaxation and fishing. Furthermore,

Changkat Keruing provides a natural backdrop which avid photographers would

appreciate.

A mermaid statue at the village river

Dinding River is the major river in Majung district in Perak. There are

mangrove swamps on both sides of the river. If you were lucky enough, you can

spot some wild animals among the mangrove trees. There is a variety of birds,

snakes, crabs, etc. in this area.

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River flowing through the village

.

A small hut “醉梦亭”at the river

Changkat Keruing is certainly a place for stressed city folks to unwind and

relax.

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River in Changkat keruing

Bench along the riverbank

A temple (福聖宮) in the village

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Traditional wooden houses

An archway leading to Dinding River

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LOCAL CUISINE

Villagers of Changkat Keruing normally eat noodle dishes for their

breakfast. For example, noodles in braised soup (卤面) ，squid noodles (鱿鱼面),

Curry noodles and shrimp noodles.

Squid noodles (鱿鱼面)

Noodles in braised soup (卤面)

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Curry noodles

Shrimp Noodles

There a few unique dishers served here. This includes the “danyan” (蛋燕),

“Go Ru”, and Fuzhou meatballs. As the majority of the population is from the

Fuzhou dialect group (福州 ), the delicacies found in this town are heavily

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influenced by Fuzhou culture. For example, red wine chicken vermicelli (红酒鸡

面线), a dish unique to Fuzhou, is often prepared by the locals, especially during

special occasions like birthdays.

A type of noodle “Dan Yan” (蛋燕)

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A type of FuZhos Delicacy (Go Ru)

Fuzhou meatballs dish (福州肉丸)

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Red wine chicken vermicelli (红酒鸡面线)

Villagers also prepare other popular Malaysian dishes such as

Assam Laksa,and Nasi Lemak. The spicy local dishes are often complemented

with cold desserts such as Ais Kacang, sweetened ice balls and fruit juices.

Asam laksa dish

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Nasi Lemak

Ais Kacang

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ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES

There are many opportunities for investment in prawn and fish farming

along Dinding River.

Dinding River

The flocks of swiflets in this area, makes further investments in birds’ nest

farming a profitable venture. .

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A building for birds’ nest farming

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PROBLEMS

The main problems faced by villagers are listed below

1. Road Safety

Motorcyclists often do not wear helmets

It is common to see motorcyclists who do not wear helmets. This is a

danger to them and yet there is no effort to enforce traffic regulations.

2. Sound pollution

The swiftlet/birds’ nest farms need to be regulated. Currently, they attract

swiftlets into the buildings by playing recordings of other birds in the building.

Unfortunately, these bird calls are broadcast at high volume and this causes noise

pollution in an otherwise peaceful village.

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Bird’s nest building

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RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that campaigns are held by the authorities to educate

motorcyclists on the importance of wearing helmets. There is also a need for the

authorities to regulate the volume at which birds’ nest farms can broadcast bird

calls.

Changkat Keruing’s natural beauty, local cuisine, religious festivals and

other attractions should be publicized to attract tourists and visitors. Perhaps there

is opportunity to develop home stay programs if the village’s tourism value is

recognized.

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, 8656, 8269 (Klang Valley Campus)

05- 4688888 ext 2295/2297/2299/2300 (Perak Campus)