UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF NEW VILLAGE:

KAMPUNG TAWAS 斗华

PERAK

Project carried out by:

Student Name ID Number Course Year /Semester

1. Lim Chu Mei 11AHF04994 Foundation in Science Y1S2

2. Antermeet Kaur 11AHF04421 Foundation in Arts Y1S2

3. Ng Syet Kee 11AHF05136 Foundation in Science Y1S2

4. Ng Ken Veng 11AHF05093 Foundation in Science Y1S2

DATE OF COMPLETION:

MARCH 2012

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ABSTRACT

Kampung Tawas is a new village in Perak, located in the Kinta district which is

approximately 6 km away from Ipoh town. The growing population in Kampung

Tawas is approximately 50,000 people and the majority villagers are from Chinese

ethnic. The economic activities of Kampung Tawas villagers are concentrated in

business and agriculture. The crops are produced for business purposes from their

own farms. In order to accommodate the rapid growth in education, there are pre-

schools; primary school and special school for learning disable students. From the

aspect of tourism value, Perak Cave Temple or also known as Perak Tong is one of

the most visited tourist spots in Kampung Tawas. However, Kampung Tawas is an

under develop new village with some problems such as pollution, sewage problems

and vandalism.

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INTRODUCTION

Kampung Tawas, long regarded as Ipoh’s backwater with its own peculiarities

is one of the new villages in Malaysia. The main aim of the setting up of the village

was to defeat the communists, who were operating out of rural areas as a guerrilla

army, by obstructing their support amongst the population.

The village comprises three main ethnic groups, namely the Chinese, Malays and

the Indians. The largest ethnic group of the village is the Chinese, who take up more

than half the population. Statistics show that there were 79.9% Chinese, 8.1%

Malays, 11.1% Indians and the remaining 0.9% of other groups in 2000. To be exact,

the population was estimated to be 2,992 people in 2000.

The main economic activity in Kampung Tawas is commercial farming and

maize is the most common farm produce. The economic sectors of the village

include manufacturing, wholesale, retail, agriculture, construction, hotels and

restaurants, animal and poultry farming and services.

There are only two primary schools within the village and two secondary

schools outside the village. As for the health facilities, there are only a few private

clinics in the village. A police station guards the peace of the village where crime

rate is considerably low. There are three “surau”s, six Chinese temples and one

church. Buddhism is the main religion.

Perak Tong, a limestone cave temple, located at Jalan Kuala Kangsar, 6km to

the north of Ipoh, is one of the places of interest in Kampung Tawas. The cave has a

steep, tall staircase in the interior rising up to the top of its hill where one is greeted

by a panoramic view of Ipoh and its surroundings.

All in all, Kampung Tawas is a village still under development. It is a small

village where the villagers lead a simple lifestyle. Ways to improve the village to

become a well-known one will be discussed in the entrepreneurship opportunities

section of this report.

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Dewan Tawas

The group picture of UTAR students with Kampung Tawas police officers

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BACKGROUND

Kampung Tawas, a new village in Perak, was founded by Tony Towers. The

village was established in 1949 with a total area of 33.697 hectares. Kampung Tawas

is located in the Kinta district and is approximately 6km away from the nearest town,

Ipoh, and 16km away from the next nearest town, Chemor. The Majlis Bandaraya

Ipoh serves as the local authority of the village. The current headman is Chan Ban

Bee.

Location of Kampung Tawas in Google Maps

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POPULATION AND HOUSING

Kampung Tawas has a growing population of around 50,000 people, the

majority of whom are Chinese. The estimated number of houses in Kampung Tawas

is about 12,000. The majority of working adults are engaged in business and farming.

There are many factories in Kampung Tawas offering a large number of job

opportunities. Besides that, there are several housing projects coming up. The

nearest city is Ipoh which is about 6km away from Kampung Tawas.

New shop lots in Kampung Tawas

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

The main economic activity in Kampung Tawas is commercial farming and

maize is the most common crop. Besides that, banana orchards and rubber

plantations are also found in the village. Villagers also plant vegetables and fruit

trees in their gardens.

A market is situated in the town area. It is one of the places where villagers

buy vegetables, fish and meat. Some of the villagers are involved in shoe-

manufacture and steel-work. A small number of villagers work in the agricultural and

construction sectors. Some are wholesalers, retailers whereas the others work in

hotels and restaurants or other services. There are also housewives, retirees and

unemployed residents in this village. The age of the working population in this

village is from 15 years to 64 years old.

Market located in Kampung Tawas

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SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICE

One of the most visited tourist spots in Ipoh is the Perak Cave Temple, known

locally as the Perak Tong, which is located at JalanTunku Abdul Rahman (Jalan

Kuala Kangsar) near the Sg Siput exit from the North South Highway. This temple in

the cave was built in 1926 by a Buddhist priest from China and it houses over 40

Buddha statues. Beyond the main altar, a passage leads into the cave's interior. After

a steep climb of 385 steps, the cave opens again to reveal a wonderful view of the

surrounding countryside. There are drawings and writings at the wall inside the cave.

These drawings are about the stories of Buddha.

The outside view of Perak Cave Temple

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The inside view of Perak Cave Temple

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TOURISM VALUE

The Perak Tong is a major tourist attraction located close to Kampung Tawas.

Inside the cave, a visitor will find himself or herself fascinated by mystical mural

paintings on the wall. As mentioned earlier, this cave temple has an internal staircase

which leads to the top of a hill and a fascinating view of the surrounding countryside.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

The tourism board of Malaysia could promote Kampung Tawas more

aggressively, e.g. advertising places of interest of the village in newspapers or more

effectively, the television. Besides, campaigns like Cuti-Cuti Malaysia and Zoom

Malaysia could help with more frequent coverage. Places of interest in the village

should be introduced to people in the campaign itself.

Perhaps a tourist agency should be set up in Kampung Tawas to improve the

village's entrepreneurship opportunities. The agency may offer tours around places of

interest in the village. Other than that, Kampung Tawas residents should come out

with more homestay programs so that tourists are more eager to spend a night or two

in the village.

One of the places of interest in Kampung Tawas

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EDUCATION

Education plays an important role in educating children to become competent

and knowledgeable people in the future with the right values, attitudes and behaviour.

There is a primary school in Kampung Tawas named SJK(C) Kampung Tawas with

an enrolment of 140 students and 14 teachers. There is also a special school for

children with learning disabilities Sekolah Semangat Maju with an enrolment of 330

students and 26 teachers. There are also several government pre-schools and private

pre-schools in Kampung Tawas.

SJK (C) Kampung Tawas primary school

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Sekolah Semangat Maju, special school for students with learning disabilitie

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One of the pre-school located in Kampung Tawas

Playground located in one of the pre-school

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PROBLEMS

The main problem in Kampung Tawas is pollution. For example, garbage is

left at the side of the road attracting many flies. Unfortunately, this situation is

caused by the habits of Kampung Tawas residents.

Other than garbage pollution, there is also sewage pollution. Untreated

sewage carries a dangerous cargo of infectious bacteria, viruses, parasites and toxic

chemicals. When it ends up in our recreational and drinking water, in groundwater

and in the basements of our homes, it takes a severe toll on human health and the

environment.

Besides, vandalism has also become a common problem in Kampung Tawas.

Most of the public facilities are vandalized, especially public phones. This brings

considerable inconvenience to the residents at the Kampung Tawas. It is also an eye

sore for visitors.

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)