UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF VILLAGE:

KEBUN BAHRU 居本峇鲁

JOHOR

Project carried out by:

Student Name ID Number Course Year /

Trimester

1. Leong Zee Lui 11UKB06952 Bachelor of

Accounting (Hons) Y3/T3

2. Chuay Jia Wen 11UKB06869 Bachelor of

Accounting (Hons) Y3/T3

3. Low Sok Zin 11UKB06420 Bachelor of

Accounting (Hons) Y3/T3

DATE OF COMPLETION:

OCTOBER 2013

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ABSTRACT

Kebun Bahru was established in the 1940’s. It is located in the district of Ledang,

state of Johor. The nearest town is Muar which is 173km (1 hour and 57 minutes

drive) away. The main attractions in Kebun Bahru are Mount Ophir (Gunung

Ledang) Recreational Forest and Taman Negara. Its main economic activity is

agriculture.

Interviewee

Our interviewee is Mr. Lee, the headman of Kebun Bahru. He was born in Kebun

Bahru. He completed his primary education in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina)

Jementah and then studied in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jementah till form

3. After that, he continued his secondary school education in Chung Hua High

School, Seremban. He went abroad to Canada to continue his tertiary education in

business and economics. He is also knowledgable in the areas of Psychology and

Sociology.

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INTRODUCTION

Kebun Bharu is situated in the northern Johor, between Sagil, Tangkak and

Jementah, Segamat District. It is located at the Gunung Ledang foothills. Kebun

Bahru covers an area of 50 hectares. Police Station Kebun Baru is the landmark of

the village. The nearest village from Kebun Bahru is Jementah which is almost

4km away or 15 minutes by car. The nearest town is Muar Town which is 173km

away or 1 hour and 57 minutes by car. The nearest attractions are the Mount Ophir

(Gunung Ledang) Recreational Forest and Taman Negara. Nirvana Memorial is

situated 4 to 5km from Kebun Bahru. There are tarred roads leading to this

village. Along the way go to Kebun Bahru, there are many oil palm and rubber

estates/smallholdings. This indicates that agriculture is the main source of income

for residents.

In 2013, Kebun Bharu had a population of approximately 100. This small number

is the result of declining population numbers over recent decades. However, this

village is crowded with many more people during Chinese New Year and other

festivals. Almost all residents are Chinese from the Hokkiend dialiect group. It is

therefore not surprising that Hokkien is widely spoken in this village. The

majority of villagers are Buddhists. There is a Village Committee which

comprises leaders of this community. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)

has set up an office in the village.

This village was founded in the 1940’s. During the period of Emergency in

Malaya, villagers were only allowed to leave the village at 6 in the morning and

they had to return by 6 in the evening. This was a security measure taken by the

authorities to prevent rural folks from providing supplies to the communist

insurgents.

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Village – Kebun Bharu

View of Mount Ophir from Kebun Baru

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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Kebun Bahru is surrounded by oil palm and rubber smallholdings and

estates which provide the main source of income for residents of Kebun Bahru. In

the village, most of the land is used for residential purposes and a small part is

occupied by a row of shops which include a motorcycle repair shop, a barber

shop, a rubber collection station, two groceries shops and warong-warong (small

stalls) which are operated by Malay residents. Most villagers own rubber or oil

palm smallholdings which have been passed down over generations in their

families.

Besides rubber trees and oil palms, other crops grown in this village

include cocoa, coffee, pineapples, papayas, bananas, mangoes, peanuts, pumpkins,

mint leaves, rambutans, lemon grass, areca nut palm and durian. Oil palms, rubber

trees, cocoa and coffee are cultivated for sale whereas the other crops are grown

for the villagers’ own consumption. The interviewees informed us that the

growing and processing of cocoa and coffee are rather alike. Both types of fruit

have to be wrapped to prevent infestation. After harvesting, the seeds have to be

dried. The farmers then sell the cocoa and coffee beans to Pasir Gudang, Johor

and Shah Alam, Selangor. Not many villagers plant cocoa or coffee because the

process involved is complicated and this affects profitability.

In the village, there is a bakery which was established in the year 1978.

This bakery is well known and articles on it have been published in food

magazines. Unfortunately, the aging owner has been slowly winding down his

business over the past 10 years. The bread from this bakery are sold to coffee

shops and grocery shops in nearby towns. There are multiple flavors of bread such

as red bean and coconut.

Swallow nest farming and rearing chicken provide another source of

income for the residents.

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Oil palm estate

Swallow nest farming- these buildings attract swallows which produce

“birds’ nest” (dried partly digested food from the birds), a delicacy

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Chicken coop

Bakery

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Baking equipment

Peanut farming

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Coffee Tree

Cocoa tree

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Serai (lemon grass)

Pineapple

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Papaya

Pumpkin

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Mint

Rambutan

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Mongoes

Areca nut palm

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Sugar Cane

Drying cacao seeds

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Dred cacao seeds

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SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Kebun Bahru has a population of approximately 100 of whom 99.9% are

Chinese from the Hokkien dialect group. The main language spoken is Hokkien.

Buddhism is widely practised in this village. The "Jin Ling Gong" temple,

established in 1984, is the only temple in Kebun Baru. On the 23rd

day of the 7th

moon (Chinese lunar calendar) each year, villagers celebrate the birthday of the

deity of this temple. For this celebration, the village Headman will invite

entertainers to perform in the village square. Other celebrations and events in the

village are also held at the village square.

“Jin Ling Gong Temple”

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“Jin Ling Gong Temple”

“Jin Ling Gong Temple”

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EDUCATION

Kebun Bahru has a kindergarten and a primary school. The nearest

secondary school is located at Jementah and there is no college or university

located in the village.

The primary school, SJK(C) Kebun Bahru Ledang has approximately 40

students and 12 teachers. This school has a hall, class rooms, a canteen, a

computer lab, a counseling room, office, a library, a co-curriculum room, etc.

Security personnel in the school ensure the safety of students and teachers. There

is a janitor who is responsible for cleanliness in the school At the time of our visit,

the indoor basketball court in the school was under construction. Although the

structure of the school is not huge, it has the basic facilities for teaching and

learning, including Campus Astro teaching program for students. The school is

proud that the UPSR reuslts of its students is good and the passing rate has been

increasing over the past 5 years.

Financial assistance provided by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia have

been given to Skim Pinjaman Buku Teks (SPBT), Rancangan Makanan Tambahan

(RMT), and the Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pelajar Miskin (KWAPM).

SJK(C) Kebun Bahru Ledang

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School Canteen

School Hall

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Campus Astro teaching program

Kindergarten

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Co-curriculum room

The school’s indoor basketball court is under construction.

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Security hut

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INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES

The only clinic in this village is Klinik Desa Kebun Bahru Tangkak Johor.

The operating hours are from 9am to 5pm. There are 2 nurses in this clinic but

there is no doctor. The police station of Kebun Bahru maintains the safety and

security of villagers. There is no fire station in the village and the nearest fire

station is located in Tangkak.

Other facilities available are a community hall, a “dataran” with a stage

(square/field), a playground, a Futsal court, indoor basketball court and a bus stop.

The community hall was established i.n 1965. While access to most facilities is

free of charge, users of the Futsal court have to pay RM14/hour. The development

cost of both the Futsal and indoor basketball courts is sponsored by the

government.

The row of shops in Kebun Bunga include a motorcycle repair shop, a

barber shop, a rubber collector station, two grocery shop and a branch of Bank

Simpanan Nasional (BSN). The BSN does not provide deposit services but acts as

agent for residents in Kebun Bahru to pay electricity and water bills. There are

also small stalls called warong-warong which are operated by Malay villagers.

There is no wet market in the village amd locals have to travel to the nearest wet

market in Jementah which is a 5-minute to 10-minute drive away.

The road system in this village is in good condition. There are tarred roads

with smooth surfaces. Most villagers use their own cars but there are those who

travel by bus.

In the past, villagers obtained water from the river. Nowadays, piped water

supply is available to all households although some residents continue to use well

water also. Power supply is provided by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB). Garbage

collection occurs twice a week and this is carried out by SWM Environment

Sendirian Berhad. Telekom Malaysia provides telecommunication servoces to the

residents of Kebun Bahru. The residents also use mobile phones to communicate.

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A group photo in front of the multipurpose hall

Dewan Serbaguna (multipurpose hall) JKKK Kebun Bahru

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Branch office of MCA, Pemuda MCA dan Wanita MCA

A row of Shops

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Warong-warong – Malay food stalls

Balai Polis Kebun Bahru

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Klinik Desa Kebun Bahru

Gelanggang Futsal (Futsal court) Kebun Bahru

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Indoor basketball court

Dataran (village square with a stage)

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Playground

Old Balai Raya (community hall) Kebun Bahru

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Bus Stop

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PROBLEMS

The main problems faced by KebunBaru are as follows:

(a) population

The population in Kebun Bahru is decreasing because most of the young

adults have left the village for better career opportunities in the urban

areas. This has led to an aging population structure in Kebun Bahru.

(b) Lack of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities

The economy of Kebun Bahru is agriculture based. Many villagers operate

their own smallholdings and do not hire workers. As a result, employment

opportunities are limited. New investments and development areas are

scarce and this situation paovides few opportunities, if any, for

entrepreneurs.

(c) Inadequate facilities and amenities

Kebun Bahru does not have enough facilities to meet the demands of

villagers.

(i) Fire Station

There is no fire station in the village. The nearest fire station is at Tangkak.

There is also a voluntary firefighting team at Jementah which is 4km far

from Kebun Bahru. If there is a fire in the village, it may take time for

fireman to reach the scene of the fire.

(ii) Market

There is no market in the village. Most of the villagers have to travel to

Jementah pasar to buy vegetables and other daily needs. This situation

causes great inconvenience to the villagers, many of whom are elderly.

(iii) Doctor

Klinik Desa Kebun Bahru Tangkak, Johor has 2 nurses but no doctor.

Nurses cannot treat patients with more serious ailments. Unfortunately, the

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aging population in this village sometimes needs medical care for

complicated health problems.

(iv) Deposit Services

The BSN does not provide deposit services but only acts as agent to collect

payment of bills. Villagers need to travel to other villages to save or

withdraw cash. This is inconvenient for the aging population and those

who do not have transport.

(v) Playground

One of the seesaws in the playgroud has been damaged. This poses a

danger to users of the playground.

Clearing of weeds

There is little attention paid to weeds and small shrubs growing in empty

land in the village. This provides an ideal breeding grown for insects and

pests.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

In relation to the opportunities and problems mentioned above, the

following recommendations are made.

(a) Tourist Attractions

Cultural heritage is one of the points to increase tourism value. The "Jin

Ling Gong" temple is part of Kebun Bahru’s cultural heritage. The head of

the village could arrange for dissemination of information on religious

festivals held at the temple via the mass media. In the meantime, the

temple needs to be well maintained. It is also recommended that the

history of the temple is written and placed in a prominent position in the

temple.

The head of the village should utilize the community hall in Kebun Bahru

to hold events not only for locals but also for tourists. For instance,

villagers could hold an exhibition at the community hall to introduce

visitors to the crops grown and to sell some local fruit.

(b) Investment Potential

Besides enhancing Kebun Bahru’s tourism value, other programs could be

implemented to attract investments and new employment opportunities to

the village.

(i) Local Business

The sale of processed agricultural products could provide new business

opportunities in Kebun Bahru. Food processing factories as well as rubber

and oil palm processing plants could be established to process the main

crops harvested in Kebun Bahru. This could further encourage the

cultivation of cocoa and coffee.

When new investments and employment opportunities are generated,

Kebun Bahru’s retail business would then grow to cater for the growing

work force. This could include more food stalls, car repair shops, clothings

retail outlets and so forth.

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(ii) Bakery

Perhaps the current owner of the bakery could be encouraged to delay his

retirement and expand his business. Alternatively, new investors could buy

over the business. There is the possibility of expanding the bakery and

producing a wider variety and quantity of bread. The bread could then be

delivered to other parts of the country. The expansion of this business

would provide many jobs for locals.

(iii) Market

If the local economy can expand with new investments, there are

opportunities to set up a market in this village. This market would in turn

give residents the opportunity to sell the fruit and vegetables they grow.

Besides, it would give villagers the convenience of shopping for their daily

needs within the village.

However, given the small population of this village, it would be premature

to develop any supermarkets and shopping malls in Kebun Bahru.

(c) Facilities

To the quality of life of the villagers, certain facilities and amenities need

to be provided or improved.

(i) Fire station

It is recommended that a voluntary group of firefighters be trained in the

village. Perhaps the head of village could also appeal to the authorities for

more firefighting equipment.

(ii) Market

As mentioned above, the establishment of a market would benefit villagers

.

(iii) Doctor

There is a need to staff the clinic with a doctor. Perhaps the doctor may be

on duty for limited hours each day if there is a shortage of medical

personnel.

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(iv) Deposit Services

The head of village should discuss with the management of BSN to

provide cash withdrawal and depoit services.

(v) Playground

The village headman should appeal for funds from the authorities to repair

damaged equipment and to carry out an overall upgrade of the playground.

(d) Environment

The head of village should hire workers at regular intervals to trim the

unsightly shrubs and weeds which grow in vacant land in the village.

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)