UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF THE NEW VILLAGE:

PADANG GRUS 巴登古鲁

PERAK

Project carried out by:

Student Name ID Number Course Year/

Semester

1. Goh Eng Khee 09ABB03327 Marketing Y3S1

2. Ong Jia Pei 09ADB00048 Biochemistry Y3S2

3. Tan Chong Wei 09ABB00426 Financial Economics Y3S2

4. Chan Yi Ling 09ADB00950 Biochemistry Y3S2

5. Ong Bee Teng 09ABB00903 Marketing Y3S2

6. Goh Warren 09ABB09056 Marketing Y3S1

7. Chin Xi Cyan 09ABB08941 Financial Economics Y3S1

DATE OF COMPLETION:

AUGUST 2011

ABSTRACT

Padang Grus New Village is a small village which located in Perak. It is one of the

450 new villages remaining in Malaysia. Padang Grus New Village is a small village

with around 280 families. It has a population of approximately 800 villagers. Most

of the villagers are Buddhists while there is also a small minority of Christians. This

new village lack of a police station, post office and hospital and the villagers have to

travel quite a distance to get access to those facilities.

HISTORY

Padang Grus New Village is a small village which located in Perak. It is one

of the 450 new villages remaining in Malaysia. There are two different stories behind

the village’s name, Padang Grus. According to one story, the name “Batang Grus”

came from the Malay words “Batang Kurus”. This refers to the very narrow and

straight roads in the village. However, according to another story, the original name

of this new village was “Taping”. This name was changed to “Padang Grus” to avoid

confusion with the town named Taiping. This village was established in 1951. It was

set up by the British government to keep the Chinese people in Malaya under guard

so that they would have no contact with members of the Communist Party of Malaya

(CPM).

Currently, Mr Lee Chee Kok is the head man of the village. Together with

few village elders, he deals with the village’s problems and challenges.

Mr Lee Chee Kok (left) and a village elder, Entrance to Padang Grus Mr Leong Han Mun

POPULATION & HOUSING

Padang Grus New Village is a small village with around 280 families. It has a

population of approximately 800 villagers. There are also about 100 foreign workers

from Thailand who are employed by the villagers to work in the rubber plantations.

The population of the village is heavily skewed towards the elder generation. This is

because the younger generation prefers to work in the towns which provide better

working conditions and opportunities. The younger generation is also reluctant to

engage in agricultural activities.

The housing area of Padang Grus

ECONOMIES ACTIVITIES

Many residents of Padang Grus have their own small farms. Rubber tapping

and other work in the plantations provide many with a source of income.

Crops grown in Padang Grus: 1. Cane, 2. Peanut, 3. Guava & 4. Chili

EDUCATION

The only primary school in the new village is SRJK(C) Padang Grus. It is

built by the villagers in the year 1952. This is a small primary school which has 28

students only. There are 6 students in standard 1, 5 students in standard 2, 7 students

in standard 3, 3 students in standard 4, 4 students in standard 5 and there are 3

students in standard 6. The school staff comprises 1 headmaster, 10 teachers, 1

security guard, 2 school helpers and an office clerk. Part of the staff salary is paid by

private organizations. Students from this primary school benefit from subsidies for

text books and breakfast. Facilities in the school need to be improved. The school

needs a teachers’ hostel, computer room, music room, store room and also science

room. Although this is a small school, it organizes many activities for students

including Children’s Day, Sports Day, Reading Week and Speech competition.

Besides that, there are also teachers which teach drawing on Sundays. There is no

kindergarten, secondary school or higher education institution in the village.

SJK (C) Padang Grus

SOCIAL, CULTURAL & RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Most of the villagers are Buddhists. There is a small minority of Christians.

There is a Buddhist society in the village which lead by the head man of the village,

Mr Lee Chee Kok. In 1999, the head man and his team put a lot of effort to construct

a building for the village’s Buddhist Society. Villagers celebrate many festivals such

as the Moon Cake Festival, and the Hungry Ghost Festival. There are no churches or

mosques in the village.

Basketball is a popular recreation among the younger residents. Sometimes,

villagers play chess in the recreation area. Recently, the government allocated RM10,

000 to build an indoor basketball court which is also used as the venue for local

festivals.

The local Buddhist Association building

Padang Grus’ basketball court and public garden.

LOCAL ECONOMY

Most of the residents in Padang Grus plant fruits such as rambutan, durian and

cempedak. The famous fruit in Padang Grus is red sugar cane, which is used as an

antipyretic.

The famous food : (1) The famous local hand made fish ball, (2) Chili garlic sauce , and

(3),(4),(5),(6)pastry sold by a local restaurant.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

There are many stalls in Padang Grus New Village which reflect the villagers’

entrepreneurial skills. The majority of businesses in the village are small stalls which

sell food, beverage and daily necessities. Entrepreneurs who run these stalls work

long hours under the hot sun.

The only offee shop and retail shop in Padang Grus

TRANSPORTATION

Motorbikes are the most popular mode of transport in Padang Grus. Some of

the more well-off villagers own cars.

PROBLEM AND NEEDS OF THE VILLAGERS

There are several issues and problems which the villagers face. This includes

the lack of a police station, post office and hospital. Villagers have to travel quite a

distance to get access to such facilities. The villagers’ application for financial

support from the government had yet to be approved.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As mentioned earlier, there are many issues and problems which the villagers

face. It is recommended that the villagers form a team to improve surroundings. The

team could plant more trees, and help to keep the village clean. Second, the villagers

should be more aggressive in seeking financial support from the government, by

highlighting their problems. The lack of facilities is an area to look into.

CONCLUSION

All in all, the villagers and government could work closely together to

improve local facilities and economics opportunities.

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)