UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: SIMPANG DANGI 新邦冷宜 NEGERI SEMBILAN

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1 UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: SIMPANG DANGI 新邦冷宜 NEGERI SEMBILAN Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year / Trimester 1. Kiet Lit Khim Wong Jun Kit Bachelor of Science (Hons) Quantity Surveying Bachelor of Science (Hons) Quantity Surveying Y2/T2 Y2/T2 DATE OF COMPLETION NOVEMBER 2014

2 INTRODUCTION The main entrance of Simpang Dangi new village On 18 October 2014, we conducted a new village survey at Simpang Dangi, Negeri Sembilan. Simpang Dangi is located in the eastern part of Negeri Sembilan and is surrounded by about 5 new villages. The present headman of the village is Mr. Chin Kong San and he provided this project team with most of the information for this survey. According to the information we gathered, the new village was first established in the year 1956 and officially recognized in the year There were around 300 villagers when the village was newly formed but, unfortunately, the population declined to around 100 villagers currently. According to the headman, most of the village facilities and amenities are supported by the government until today. 1

3 HISTORY in many ways. Simpang Dangi new village has a rich history which makes the village unique During the Second World War, there was a bridge connecting the Simpang Dangi village and the forest. The bridge was destroyed by the villagers to prevent the Japanese from entering the village. Only the pier of the bridge is left after the villagers bombed the bridge. The pier of the bridge left after being bomb Based on what the present and the previous headmen told us, Simpang Dangi is the place where the Japanese buried many dead bodies during the Second World War. Almost everyone in the village was killed by the Japanese. There is a tomb at the back of the new village to remember those who were killed during the Second World War. 2

4 The tomb to remember those who are being killed during the Second World War There is also a famous Chinese Temple which is Shi Datok near the village. The temple was first being managed by the Malays. Villagers believe that worshippers at this temple will be blessed with good luck. Many Chinese came to worship at this temple because of this belief and when they became successfully in their business, they donated generously to the temple. Over time, the Chinese worshippers took over the management of this temple. 3

5 The famous Shi Datok Temple The rock at the Shi Datok Temple is painted There is a river right opposite the Chinese Temple and there is a legend related to this river. One of the villagers told us that there was a white crocodile in the river and people who saw the crocodile had good luck. It seems that a few villagers saw the 4

6 white crocodile became very successful in their business and they subsequently donated to the temple. The river opposite the Shi Datok Temple which used to have a white crocodile Since the road near the temple is quite narrow, Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) tried to demolish part of the temple to widen the road. However, some weird things happened when the project was about to start. The crane did not function when they wanted to start the project and the contractor as well as workers became ill. Eventually, the project had to be cancelled. At the top of the hill at Simpang Dangi, there was a small Chinese temple. The villagers would bring food offerings which they then left at this temple. To get to the top of the hill, villagers had to cross the river by using the bridge named Qing Ren Bridge. When the Japanese found out that there was food at the Chinese temple, they mistakenly thought that the food was provided by the villagers to the Communist Party Malaya. As a result, the Qing Ren Bridge was destroyed by the Japanese. 5

7 SETTLEMENT CHARACTERISTICS Simpang Dangi new village covers an area of 10 acres and is mainly surrounded by oil palm and rubber estates. There are also vegetable farms run by the villagers. These are the main sources of income for the elderly villagers, most of whom have very little formal education. Many youths are not willing to toil in the estates and farms and they have left for better employment opportunities in the towns and cities. Rubber trees are tapped for latex. The main access road to the village is in a good condition because it connects the two main towns in this area are Tampin and Kuala Pilah. This road is busy everyday because the only way to travel between Tampin and Kuala Pilah is by passing through the road in Simpang Dangi. The distance between Simpang Dangi and Tampin is about 30km whereas the distance between Simpang Dangi and Kuala Pilah is about 16km. 6

8 SOCIETY, CULTURE AND RELIGION Currently, there are about 42 families staying in Simpang Dangi. There is only one Malay family and one Indian family living in this village and the rest are Chinese. For the Malays and the Indians, their religion is Islam and Hinduism respectively. Most of the Chinese communicate in the Hakka dialect and their religion is Buddhism. There is no mosque or church in this the new village but there is a Chinese temple nearby called the ' Shi Datok '. There is also a small Datok Gong temple in the new village where Chinese villagers worship. The small Datok Gong temple in the village Other than the villagers, there is also orang asli staying in the oil palm and rubber estates nearby. Over the past 10 years, the population of the village has declined. Currently, the population is approximately 100 only. The majority of villagers are the elderly because most of the youths have left in search of better employment opportunities in the urban area. The ratio of the male to female villagers is about 1:1. Simpang Dangi is in the constituency where the Barisan Nasional candidates have won the electronics. 7

9 VILLAGE INFRASTRUCTURE Currently, the main water source is managed by Jabatan Bekalan Air (JBA). The piped water is used by villagers for drinking, cooking and washing. Before the JBA managed the village s water supply, many villagers relied on water from the Sungai Jilai. Villagers used to bathe, swim and also wash clothes at the river. The electricity supply is under Nasional Berhad (TNB) which has handled this village since Sewage disposal is by Indah Water. There is a garbage truck which enters the village to pick up garbage twice a week. Villagers dispose of their garbage at a specific location where the trucks stop. The telecommunication service in the village has been developed and improved. Communication service providers such as Maxis, Digi and Celcom have signal coverage for this new village. The villagers also have access to internet via Telekom Malaysia (TM). The facilities and amenities in the new village are generally adequate for this small village. There is a clinic and a police station near the village. Besides, there is a private fire station in the village. The village is clean and there is no reported case of dengue fever. Occasionally, there is a police patrol round the village which is free of serious social problems and crime. There is only one Chinese temple in the village which is the famous Shi Datok. Villagers who wish to worship at a church or mosque have to go the nearest towns which are Tampin and Kuala Pilah. The local cemetery is at Air Bawang. At the main entrance of the new village, there is a community hall where villagers play badminton or organize other activities. The Rakan Muda sometimes organizes activities for the younger generation. 8

10 The multi-function community hall There is also a playground outside of the community hall which is fully equipped with and exercise sport facilities. The playground beside the community hall 9

11 Next to the community hall, there is a row of shops which sell food and groceries. There used to be a well known Yong Tau Foo outlet here but this ceased operation when its proprietor retired. There is no wet market inside the new village but there is a small lorry/ mobile outlet which sell vegetables and meat in the village every day. The most common form of transport for the villagers is motorcycles and cars. Public buses are available every 2 hours. The local roads, drainage and sewerage system are well maintained. As a result, villagers do not face problems such as floods. A villager whom we interviewed informed us that a bigger community hall was under construction but this project is currently on hold, apparently because of problems with funds. 10

12 EDUCATION There are only 3 nurseries and 2 primary schools in the village. The village does not have any secondary school or university. After the children complete their studies in primary school, they can further their studies at the secondary school and university in the towns nearby. The two primary schools in the new village are SJK (C) Pei Chun Dangi and Sekolah Kebangsaan Dangi. According to the headman of the village who is also the chairman of the primary school SJK (C) Pei Chun Dangi, this school has only 105 students and 15 teachers in the year For both primary schools, there is only one session a day which is from 7:20 in the morning until 1:05 afternoon. They is a tuition session in the school after the classes every day. There is only one class for each level, i.e. About 20 students per class. Primary school near Simpang Dangi 11

13 Primary school near the new village Group photo with the headman of Simpang Dangi at SJK (C) Pei Chun Dangi 12

14 TOURISM Currently, there is no effort to bring tourists to Simpang Dangi. However, the previous headman informed us that there is a project at a place called Miliku which is probably tourism related. It seems that this project is handled by Taiwanese owners of the place but little else is known about it. 13

15 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Local plantations and farms provide the main source of income. There are also villagers who plant vegetables for sale in the urban market. Vegetable plantation at the front of the villagers house Other than work in the plantations and farming, there is also a huge cement industry in the village. The cement industry employs 200 to 300 workers. Although the cement industry produces a lot of waste, the waste is filtered well and there is no serious pollution. There are also a number of buildings which are used as birds nest farms. Some villagers rear prawns for a living. 14

16 PROBLEMS The main problem in this village is the out-migration of its youths. The younger generation often leaves Simpang Dangi to look for better employment opportunities in the tons and they return to the village to visit family about once or twice a year. To compound this problem, many parents prefer to send their children to primary schools in urban areas because they believe that such schools provide higher quality education. This has led to decline in enrolment in Simpang Dangi is primary school. To make matters worse, not many teachers are willing to work in this small village and this leads to as shortage of teachers in the village schools. Another problem is the lack of funds from the authorities to maintain and/ or improve local amenities and facilities. Besides, some of the elderly may need welfare assistance. 15

17 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE There is a need to educate the locals on the rich history of Simpang Dangi so that there is a sense of provide in the village. While this may encourage some youths to stay back, more effort is needed to develop the local economy which could then provide more and better employment opportunities for youths. The village headman could appeal to the authorities for more government funding and assistance. This is especially important for the maintenance of local facilities and amenities as well as for the welfare of the elderly. 16

18 ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES There is a cement industry which provides job opportunities for the villagers. Some of the villagers and orang asli earn living by processing and selling rattan vine. The present headman owns his own factory to process these vines and then export it to other countries like Singapore. The vine is spread out to dry under the hot sun as part of the processing. 17

19 The processed vine which is ready to be exported to other countries The finished product that can be made from vine 18

20 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: ext 8274, 8656, 8269 (Klang Valley Campus) ext 2295/2297/2299/2300 (Perak Campus) 19