UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF THE NEW VILLAGE:

DESA CHANGKAT 碲砂章吉

PERAK

Project carried out by:

Student Name ID Number Course Year/Semester

1. Chang Charng Rhui 10ABB01897

Business

Administration Y2S2

2. Choo Chang Ch‟ng 08ABB03580 Marketing Y3S2

3. Sailantheren Kurup A/L

Serideran 08ABB04964 Accounting Y3S3

DATE OF COMPLETION:

AUGUST 2011

DESA CHANGKAT

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ABSTRACT

Desa Changkat is a new village located in the district of Kinta Barat, Perak Darul

Ridzuan. The nearest towns are Batu Gajah which is 2 kilometres away and the town

of Pusing which is 6 kilometres away. Majority of the villagers are Indians and Sikhs,

followed by Chinese and Malays. There is only 1 Tamil primary school in this

village which has limited infrastructures and amenities. This project report will

explain the circumstances of the village.

DESA CHANGKAT

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HISTORY

Desa Changkat was established before Malaysia was formed. The British had

started tin mines and rubber estates in this area. Indian and Sikh workers from the

Indian sub-continent were brought in as labourers. The early Chinese settlers were

engaged in business. The Loh family (罗家村) were early settlers who managed tin

mines.

The “Loh family” housing area

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CULTURE

Chinese

The Chinese at Desa Changkat worship at two Chinese temples: “Guan Di

temple” (关帝庙) and “Jiu Wang Ye temple” (九王爷庙). Celebration of festivals at

the “Guan Di temple” includes Chinese Operas from Hong Kong. As these operas

cost RM10, 000 a day, a donation drive is carried out to finance the annual 3-day

festival. Devotees pay RM50.00 as entrance “fees”. Free vegetarian food is served.

Indian

The Indians who live in Desa Changkat celebrate 2 main festivals: Deepavali

and “Ponggal”. During Deepavali, Hindu prayers are held at the temple. Vegetarian

food is served at these Hindu temples which also distribute free rice to poor people.

In the evening, most Indian families serve food and drinks to their friends or relatives.

On the first day of Ponggal, the Indian families will cut sugar cane and place it in

front of the house. This is supposed to bring luck to the family. On the second day of

Ponggal, Indian families will give rice to the cows as a form of offering to their god.

On the third day of Ponggal, young Indian couples who are newly married will pray

at Hindu temples.

Sikh

The Sikhs in Desa Changkat celebrate 2 main festivals: Deepavali and

“Vaisakhi”. During Deepavali, the Sikhs offer prayers at their temples and eat

vegetarian food. Besides that, to celebrate “Vaisakhi”, the Sikhs will pray for 3

continuous days. During this festival, the Sikhs stay at the temple dormitory. Other

than that, vegetarian food is cooked by volunteers in the temple.

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The dining hall of the Sikh temple

The place to cook vegetarian dishes

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The stove to cook Capati

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITY

There is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to open vegetarian restaurants or

vegetarian food stalls. Currently, there are only 2 small “mamak” food stalls in the

village. Vegetarian food is popular among all races and it is preferred during many

religious festivals in Desa Changkat.

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EDUCATION

Desa Changkat has one primary school, SJK (Tamil) Changkat which has 411

Indian students and 28 teachers. This school provides free food to poor students.

The school has a science room, a music room and a store room for sports equipment.

The school and its canteen are kept very clean. Educational posters are put up on

notice boards in the school.

SJK (Tamil) Changkat Primary school

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Music room

Science room

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Sports room, to store sports equipments

Good environment within the school

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Canteen

Posters on a healthy diet and important steps to be taken before a meal.

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The clean environment within the primary school

Some useful information provided for the students

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ECONOMICS

Villagers from Desa Changkat go to the market at a nearby town, Batu Gajah.

Vegetables at the Batu Gajah market are sourced from Cameron Highlands. Most

villagers earn below RM1, 000 per month. Villagers rear cattle, ducks, chicken and

fish. The cattle are sold to a dealer whereas the ducks and chickens are mainly for

domestic consumption. Some villagers also grow their own vegetables.

In Desa Changkat there is one shop which sells Roti Canai, Tosai, Capati, and

fried noodles and two provision shops.

The Indian food stall in Desa Changkat

Two provision shops in Desa Changkat

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POPULATION AND HOUSING

The population of this new village is currently 1,708, the majority of whom

are Indians and Sikhs, followed by Chinese and then Malays. We can clearly see that

this village has remained an Indian Settlement over the past 61 years since it was

established. The population of Chinese villagers has grown over the past decade

whilst the population of Malays has decreased. From the data that we have collected

and our observation, majority of the population are children and old folks. The

younger generation has moved to the big cities to seek job opportunities. As for those

still living in the village, many travel to the nearby town of Batu Gajah daily for work.

Ethnic Group 2000 2011

No. % No. %

Chinese 204 16.4 435 25.5

Malay 224 18.1 118 6.9

Indian & Sikh 790 63.8 1155 67.6

Others 21 1.7 0 0

Total 1218 100 1708 100

Table 1: Ethnic composition of Desa Changkat. Source: Census 2000, Department of Statistics.

Age

Group

2000

Age Group

2011

No. % No. %

0 – 14 359 29.0 1 – 20 529 31.0

15 – 64 778 62.8 21 – 40 508 29.7

65 and

above

102 8.2 41 – 60 495 29.0

61 and

above 176 10.3

Total 1239 100 Total 1708 100

Table 2: Age structure of Desa Changkat population. Source: Census 2000, Department of Statistics.

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Most houses in the village of Desa Changkat are detached houses while the

rest are terrace houses. The majority of houses are made from a combination of

bricks and timber.

A detached house made of bricks and timber.

A detached house made of bricks.

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A terrace house made of bricks and timber.

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PROBLEMS AND RECOMMENDATION

Through observation and information that we gathered from our visit, there

are several problems that the villagers face. The following are the problems and

some suggestions for improvement:

Poverty

One of the problems that the villagers of Desa Changkat face is poverty.

Although most of the villagers here are poor, Desa Changkat is a peaceful and

harmonious village. When a villager is in need of financial help, the other villagers

willingly fork out some money to help them. The village also receives help from

MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association). However there is a limit as to how much a

single party can help. Therefore, it is important that the government provides

assistance which could alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life.

Infrastructures and Utilities

There are very limited infrastructure and utilities in the village. Most of the

houses are still using individual septic tanks as their means of sewerage disposal

while only a minority uses the central sewerage system. The central sewerage system

should be connected to every home in the village to improve the quality of life.

Other than that, we also noticed that the drainage system in the village needs

improvement. Only certain parts of the village have drains made of concrete while

the rest are made of the earth or worse, no drains. Locals complain that when it rains

heavily, the drains overflow and the water subsides only very slowly. The

government should take steps to help develop the sewerage and drainage system in

the village.

Health

Villagers have encountered health issues which are linked to the lack of

infrastructure and utilities. From time to time, there are outbreaks of dengue fever in

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the village. Mosquitoes breed in the clogged up drains. As there are no clinics in the

village itself, villagers who are ill have but the only option of going to the nearest

hospital outside the village. Even so, they will need to wait for long periods to get to

their turn as there are many other patients waiting in line. Specialist doctors only

come once a month to that hospital. So, whenever there are any patients who are

seriously ill, they will need to go to hospitals in the bigger towns like Ipoh. Clinics

should be set-up in the village so that villagers do not need to go a long distance to

get medical treatment. The villagers should also be educated on how to take

precautions and the steps to avoid dengue fever.

Safety

Desa Changkat is a peaceful village. However there have been reports of theft.

There is a need for more frequent police patrols. The villagers could also form a

Rukun Tetangga for the safety of the village.

Education

There is only 1 primary school in the village of Desa Changkat which is the

SJK (Tamil) Changkat. Although the majority of residents are Indians and Sikhs,

there are still other races, like Chinese and Malays who live in the village. It is

recommended that a „Kebangsaan‟ primary school be opened which can cater to all

races. A secondary school should also be opened as there are currently no secondary

schools in the village.

Transportation

Only about half the villagers have their own transport like cars and

motorcycles. Others have to turn to public transportation. Unfortunately, there are no

bus stops in the village and villagers have to walk to the nearest bus stop which is

outside the village. It may take up to 20 minutes to walk to this bus stop. In order to

make it convenient for the villagers of Desa Changkat, a bus stop could be built in the

middle of the village.

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Recreation

The village does not currently have any recreational facilities. In the past, the

village proposed to the Majlis Daerah Batu Gajah that a football field be built in the

village. However, no action has been taken so far. It is recommended that such basic

recreational facilities be provided by the authorities to improve the quality of life in

the village.

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Abandoned houses at Desa Changkat

UTAR students with SJK (T) Changkat school’s teacher

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Sikh temple at Desa Changkat

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Interviewing with head village

UTAR Students with local villagers

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UTAR students with the Desa Changkat’s shop owners (Left) and head village (right)

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 (Klang Valley Campus)

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