Batu Sembilan Village

Batu Sembilan VillageUTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECTREPORTNAME OF NEW VILLAGE:Batu Sembilan Village (Kampung Batu Sembilan)Project carried out by:Name of Student ID Course1. LIM YONG SHENG 09UEB05337QUANTITYSURVEYINGYear/TrimesterY2S1DATE OF DATE OF COMPLETION:DECEMBER 20101

Batu Sembilan VillageABSTRACTBatu Sembilan is a new village located in Cheras. There are many stalls andshops foods and drinks in the village. Most villagers are Buddhists and Taoists. Thereare also several churches there. Two of the main concerns brought up by villagers arevandalism and narrow roads in the village. Finally, some suggestion are discussed toaddress the concerns in the the Batu Sembilan New Village.2

Batu Sembilan VillageHISTORYSince 1945 the Chinese population has reached 40,000 and the village becamecenter of attention to the government. The government had to spend about RM300million per year in order to have a good defense system and weaponry to curbcommunism.In the September 1948, Sir Henry Gurney was appointed as a British HighCommissioner in Malaya. But not long after that, he was murdered in October of1951, by a group of the communists in Bukit Fraser. On 21st March 1952, LieutenantGeneral Sir Harold Briggs was then appointed to head the emergency operation inMalaya. He also took over Sir Henry Gurney’s duties. He has in-depth experience inguerrilla warfare was an asset to fight the communists. In Malaya, a total of 572,917people have been moved to the 480 villages from June 1950 until the end of 1952.The Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) contributed a lot in establishmentof the new village. At that time, MCA President who originated from the Selangorbranch, Tun Lee Hau Shik announced that the MCA had spent RM65, 345 to buildand develop the new villages since June 1950. By November 1951, about RM55, 000was used to build a school at the Batu Sembilan New Village dan Batu Sebelas NewVillage.3

Batu Sembilan VillageEDUCATIONThe one primary school that we visited at the Batu Sembilan Village is theSRJK (C) BATU 9 , CHERAS.There are some background and history related to the school:1932 – A small Chinese community contributed money to build a first primaryChinese school at the Batu Sembilan Village. At that time, only few students enrolledin the school.1934 – Mr.Tan Shi Xian ( 陳of the school.) contribute a lot of money in the development 生1992- A four-storey building was completed. The total number of the students had先 相 石increased to 1500. The building costs RM 300,000.2002- Another new building is completed. This building is used for school activitiespurposes (first floor); staff room and general office (second floor).4

Batu Sembilan VillageHOUSING AND POPULATIONIn 1950, there were 400 villagers and 60 houses in Batu Sembilan new village.Sixty years later, its population has been increased to 25,715,819 people and now it ishaving more than 100 houses and 900 villagers. In the past year, most of their houseswere built using the traditional method and wood finished. But now, most houses aremade of concrete and have modern designs.Traditional wooden houseConcrete house with modern amenitiesDeveloping of the housingThe land area in the Batu Sembilan Village is only 329,847 km 2 .The size ofthe is quite small, but it has a lot of space for commercial housing developers andcontractors to build modern houses and buildings there.5

Batu Sembilan VillageCULTURE AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICESIn the village, the majority of the villagers are Chinese who are eitherBuddhists or Taoists. Chinese festivals such as Mooncake Festival and Chinese NewYear are celerbrated with much grandeur in the village and temples. Most temples arepublic property but there one temple which is privately owned by a villager. There isa small group people who are church-goers. Hence, there is a small church in thevillage.SAFETYThe closest police station is located near to Taman Suntex - about 0.1kilometer away from Hulu Langat. It is quite far away from the new and need totravel about 30 minute to reach the police station there. It is so inconvenient to theBatu Sembilan Villagers who want to report important cases or emergency cases tothe police.Fortunately, Batu Sembilan new village is peaceful town with a very lowcrime rate. The villagers are very cooperative, kind and helpful to each other. Theyalso look out for each other. Hence, if there are any thieves, the villagers will surelycatch them first even before the police arrive.6

Batu Sembilan VillageECONOMIC ACTIVITIESThe economic activities in the village are of a moderate level. There are a variety offood and drink stalls at the village. The village also has the bakeries, restaurants,grocery stores and others.This stall is strategically located and prices are reasonable.This is a popular green bean dessert. It is good and delicious. This bowl only costsRM1 and it is good for health.7

Batu Sembilan VillageBakeryVegetarian food stall24-hour Indian Muslim restaurantGrocery shopA car workshopA motorcycle shop8

Batu Sembilan VillageAnother popular economic activity among the villagers is to maintain a smallfarm or vegetable plot. During my visit, I realized that most of the villagers like toplant vegetables for their own consumption and whatever is in excess will be sold inthe market.Mr. Lim, a house-owner has a small farm in his garden. He plants types ofvegetables such as green peas, scallions, turnip, lettuce and others. He will harvest thevegetables for his own family and the excess will be sold in the market at reasonableprices.I also observed that most villagers there are very concerned about their health.They are aware that we need to consume high proportions of vitamins, pro-vitamins,dietary minerals, fiber and carbohydrates to stay healthy. Mr. Lim told us that if weeating sufficient amounts of vegetables; we can lower our risk of heart diseases anddiabetes. In addition, the health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables also can lowerblood pressure; stroke, and probably some cancers, besides lowering the risk of eyeand digestive problems.9

Batu Sembilan VillagePROBLEMSThe main problem for village is the vandalism. There are many vandalismcases in this village. First, the main function of the communication facilitiesespecially public telephones already seriously ruined and vandalized.This picture is taken by a place whereby near to the SJK(C) Batu SembilanCheras. Students are not able to use the public telephone during times of emergency.Road signs were also vandalized.Vandalized caution signDrains posing a danger to road users10

Batu Sembilan VillageNarrow roadStray dogBesides vandalism, the roads in the village are too narrow. Only one vehiclecan go through at any one time. Hence, it poses a great danger to other road users ifheavy vehicles such as school buses and lorries need to go through the narrow roads.Plus, it does not have any safety barricades along the both sides of the road. Childrenwho are walking or playing by the side of the road are vulnerable.Furthermore, the village also has many of stray dogs. The dogs often chasechildren, cyclists and motorcyclists who use the roads.11

Batu Sembilan VillageRecommendationHere is my suggestion and recommendation in order to improve and changesthe quality life of the villagers in new village.1. Widen the roads and install barricades on each sideA wider road would provide greater convenience to villagers and road users.Heavy vehicles can also move with greater ease.2. More frequent police patrolsIssue on-the-spot fines to people who vandalize public property.3. Villagers need to be informed of whom they can call to capture stray dogs.12

Batu Sembilan VillageConclusionFirst, one important things that I realize that the people at the new village areso much nicer compared to those living in cities. Interestingly, each villager holds awalkie-talkie and they are able to communicate with each other easily.Besides, at the new village, everyone is practically like family and they treatstrangers like close friends too. In other words, they have an enthusiastic and kindcharacteristic. For instance, I was brought around the new village to conductinterviews with the locals and they were more than willing to share their culturalstories and historical facts about the village.I hope this project could help improve the quality of life of these new villagers.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 noresponsibility whatsoever for any errors or omissions, if any, the University reserves the right to makechanges on the information at any time without prior notice. Should there be any queries regardingcontents of the report, please contact:Department of Soft Skills CompetencyTel: 03-79551511 ext 157 (Klang Valley Campus)05-4662323 ext 2297/2299 (Perak Campus)13