UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: YONG PENG 永平 JOHOR Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year/Semester 1. Chan Yin Yee 0902845 Business Administration Year 3 Sem 2 DATE OF COMPLETION: JANUARY 2013
ABSTRACT Yong Peng was established in 1950. It is located in the district of Batu Pahat in the state of Johor. Towns that are close to this new village are Batu Pahat and Kluang which are 33 km away and 39 km away respectively. The main attractions in Yong Peng are the food especially the fish ball and Fu Zhou biscuits. Its main economic activity is agriculture including farming and fishing. 1
INTRODUCTION Yong Peng is located in Batu Pahat, Johor. There are two nearby towns which include: Batu Pahat which is 33 km away from Yong Peng. Kluang which is 39 km away from Yong Peng. Yong Peng has a few tourist attractions, e.g. the popular bird watching area. Dataran Jalur Gemilang and Fu Zhou. Associations are the landmarks of Yong Peng. Dataran Jalur Gemilang According to Yong Peng Village Development Officer (VDO), a population of new village in Yong Peng in 2012 is approximately 47,000. When the village was founded in 1950, it had a population of 200,000. Over years, the population is declining. The decline in population is because many of the younger generation have moved to cities like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in search of better employment opportunities. 2
Yong Peng was founded in 1950 and considered a black area or high security alert area during the period of Malayan Emergency. According to the villagers, outsiders felt scared and dared not even pass by Yong Peng during this period of Emergency. The first generation of villagers went through tough fines. According to one of the villagers, he could hardly get a bowl of rice as his meal and often ate sweet potatoes when he was a child. During the Emergency, the British authorities allowed villagers to leave the village only at specified time each day. The village was fenced up and each day the villagers would wait at the village entrance/gate at the appointed time to leave the village for work. 3
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES The main economic activity in Yong Peng is agriculture. People in Yong Peng are mostly farmers. They plant jackfruits, durian, watermelon, oil palm and rubber trees. There are about 30 middlemen who will purchase watermelons from the farmers. Some watermelons are sold in Malaysia and others are exported to Singapore. Plantation area Yong Peng is known for its Fu Zhou food. Traditional Fu Zhou food such as Fu Zhou biscuits and noodles are sold here. In fact, Yong Peng s food is so well known that tourists drop by to purchase its local biscuits or to eat Fu Zhou Mee. A popular restaurant in Yong Peng is named Yuan Yean. This shop serves traditional noodles and handmade fish balls, Fu Zhou food is rare in other parts of Malaysia because the Chinese population in other villages and towns are normally from other dialect groups. Residents of Yong Peng feel proud when their children continue the family business of selling Fu Zhou food and some have even set up Fu Zhou restaurants in other parts of Malaysia. 4
Fu Zhou noodles Restaurant Yuan Yean. This restaurant serves Fu Zhou noodles and fish ball 5
The value of land in Yong Peng has escalated in recent years. 1 hectare of land costs RM1 to 2 billions. There are about 1,000 to 2,000 houses to be built in new housing estates around Yong Peng in the near future. Government infrastructure project Businesses in Yong Peng include mini-markets, sundry shops, pet shops, small restaurants and hawker stalls. 6
Hawker stalls Sundry shop 7
SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES According to 2000 census, the Chinese population accounts for 85% of villagers, followed by Malays (10%), Indians (2.5%) and other ethnic groups (2.5%). Because of the composition of its population, the main languages spoken are Mandarin and Fu Zhou. The most commonly spoken language is Mandarin. There are Buddhist, Christians, Buddhist and Hindus in Yong Peng. Places of worship include 12 Chinese temples, 6 churches, 11 mosques and 1 Hindu kuil. As Yong Peng has many Fu Zhou, Residents, there are a few Fu Zhou Associations which are ready to help the villagers on their business ventures. Chinese temple Chi San Tang 8
Chinese temple Tian Ling Gong Chinese Association 9
Yong Peng Farmers Cooperative Church 10
Chinese New Year is a major festival in the village. Local associations often organize major events in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations. There are also several competitions and events held in the village each year. Competitions include singing and drawing competitions. In September 2012, a health campaign was organized by local Chinese associations. The villagers are very cooperative in organizing and participating in local celebrations and events. Chinese temple- banner announces an upcoming religious festival 11
EDUCATION Yong Peng has the following education institutions: Kindergarten There are a few kindergartens in this village. Some are private kindergartens while others are run by local government schools. Many parents from Yong Peng send their children to kindergartens because there is no nursery in the village. Pre-school Titipan Kasih SK Seri Bertam 12
St. Stephen kindergarten Primary School There are six primary schools in Yong Peng- a dramatic increase from only 3 schools in 2000. The most famous primary school in Yong Peng is SJK(C) Yong Peng 1 and SJK(C) Yong Peng 2. These two campuses have different number of students. Yong Peng 1 has approximately 200 300 students while Yong Peng 2 has a total number of approximately 600 700 students. These two campuses have adequate educational facilities. The school halls are sometimes rented out for local events. 13
SJK(C) Yong Peng 1 Secondary School There are three secondary schools which are SK Seri Bertam, Sekolah Menengah Cina Yong Peng and Yong Peng High School (private secondary school). All of these three schools have sufficient facilities and teachers. Students from these schools often organize events or activities for other youths and villagers to participate in. With the help of local associations and school teachers, youths are able to learn how to organize small events, how to get sponsorship from different associations in order to make the events successful. 14
SK Seri Bertam Sekolah Menengah Cina Yong Peng 15
Yong Peng High School (Private secondary school) Unfortunately, Yong Peng does not have any colleges or universities for students to further their studies. Villagers who wish to pursue tertiary education have to leave the village for their studies in other parts of the state or country. 16
INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES There are medical facilities available in the village. This village has both private clinics and a government clinic. However, Yong Peng does not have any hospital. In case of medical emergencies, villagers have to travel to nearby towns such as Batu Pahat and Kluang. Other basic facilities available in Yong Peng include a post office, a fire station, fire hydrants, a community hall, basketball courts and a recreation park. All the facilities mentioned above are in a good condition and the public have easy access to these facilities. Post office 17
Fire station Badminton court 18
The community hall is open for events or activities such as badminton matches and drawing competitions. In the evenings, this hall is used for aerobics exercise. However, this hall is a bit small for big events. Some organizers choose to hold events at the school hall. As Yong Peng does not have a supermarket, villagers purchase fresh fruit and vegetables at the local wet market. The wet market is privately owned. All the stalls operators need to pay rental to the owner of the wet market. Yong Peng has several financial institutions such as Maybank, Bank Rakyat, Agro Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, RHB Bank and AmBank. Mr Lee mentioned that the savings level of villagers is increasing. Security in the village is satisfactory even though Yong Peng does not have a police station. Villagers cooperate with each other and they have a voluntary group which patrols the village in the evenings. The road system at Yong Peng needs improvement. The main road in this village is too narrow, considering the current volume of the traffic. Perhaps a motorcyclist lane could be built to improve road safety. Generally, roads in the housing estates need better maintenance. In addition, the bridge leading to SJK(C) Yong Peng 1 needs to be widened. 19
Narrow roads in the Residential areas The drainage system is satisfactory. Some of the drains need to be widened to prevent floods such as the one which occurred in 2006. Garbage collection in this village is organized by the local authorities. Overall, the garbage collection service is adequate. 20
PROBLEMS The main problems faced by Yong Peng are as follows: a) Lack of police station Although there are villagers who volunteer to join Rela and they patrol the village in the evenings, this voluntary group is not able to deal with all aspects of the village s security. b) Roads are too narrow Roads in Yong Peng are very narrow. Most roads only allow one car to go through at any one time. Pedestrians and motorcyclists are left with very little room to more along the roads. c) Lack of employment opportunities Yong Peng has only light industries. This could be one of the reasons youths from Yong Peng tend to leave their hometown and migrate to urban areas to look for better employment opportunities. The authorities need to consider ways of encouraging businesses to invest in new or existing industries in Yong Peng. 21
RECOMMENDATIONS In relation to the opportunities at Yong Peng as well as its challenges, the following recommendations are made. a) Attract more investors Organizations or local business associations can propose potential investment opportunities at Yong Peng. These proposals could be submitted to the authorities for approval and/or assistance. b) Widen the road Generally, roads in this village need to be widened. This is especially important for Yong Peng s main road and the bridge leading to SJK(C) Yong Peng. c) A bigger community hall Yong Peng s community hall is too small for many big events, villagers sometimes use the school hall but this is not always available as the school hall is for school activities. 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) 22