UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: KAMPUNG BIKAM 甘榜比甘 PERAK

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1 UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT REPORT NAME OF NEW VILLAGE: KAMPUNG BIKAM 甘榜比甘 PERAK Project carried out by: Student Name ID Number Course Year / Trimester 1. Wong Chun Hoe 13ABB Toh Shin Yee 13ABB08078 Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Accounting Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Accounting Y1/T1 Y1/T1 DATE OF COMPLETION JANUARY 2014

2 INTRODUCTION Kampung Bikam is founded by a person called Tok Bikam in the year 1951 to avoid being attacked by communists because people would think of this place as a sea. There is a river located right at the entrance of Kampung Bikam. This new village is located inside the Perak state and is between Sungkai and Bidor. Based on Google maps, Kg Bikam is 8.1km and 5.9km away from Bidor and Sungkai respectively. Sungai Bikam The Head of village is Haji Mohd Nor bin Yin. There are an estimated 180 residents in Kg Bikam. This village used to be known for its soya sauce. Unfortunately, the soya sauce factory went out of business. Currently, most villagers earn a meagre income from work in the local oil palm smallholdings or estates. Villagers say that there are only about 2 families whom they consider rich in Kg Bikam. 1

3 Ketua Kampung of Kampung Bikam House of the richest family in the village 2

4 BASIC FACILITIES There is only one school in the village: Kg Bikam Primary School. This school conducts preschool and primary school classes. For recreation purposes, there is a sepak takraw field in the school compound. There is another sepak takraw field in the village. Kg Bikam s Dewan Orang Ramai(community hall) and Bilik Gerakan JKKK Kg Bikam are used for meetings and village functions. The local clinic is strategically located in the center of the village and it provides health care for minor ailments. For treatment of serious illness, villagers have to travel to nearby towns. While a few local families have their own motor vehicles, the majority of villagers rely on the public bus. There are a few on-going government projects to upgrade public facilities and amenities. The bus stop 3

5 A Government Upgrade Project Klinik Desa Kampung Bikam 4

6 Bilik Gerakan JKKK Kampong Bikam 5

7 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICE The vast majority of villagers (98.3%) are Malays. There are very few Indians in the village. Chinese families have migrated to urban areas in search of better employment opportunities. As a result, there are several abandoned houses in the village. Here at Kg. Bikam, Islam is the main religion and Muslims have to follow the five pillars of Islam: shahadah, salat, sawm, zakat, and hajj. Shahadah means to declare there is no other god than god, and Nabi Muhammad s.a.w as his only messenger, Salat means five ritual prayers each day, sawm means fasting and self control during the blessed month of Ramadan, Zakat means to give part of their savings to the poor and needy, and hajj means to visit Mecca in Saudi Arabia once in their lifetime. Muslims worship at Masjid Jamek or the local surau. Besides celebrating Independence Day on 31 August, villagers celebrate Muslim festival, such as Hari Awal Muharam, the Muslim New Year. Hari Raya Aidiladha is another important festival which is held every 10 th, 11th, 12th, and 13 th of the Zulhijjah month to remember the sacrifice of Nabi Ibrahim a.s and his son, Nabi Ismail a.s in order to obey God s command. The most well known festive season that is celebrated by all Muslims around the world is Hari Raya Aidilfitri which is also called Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Fitrah, and Hari Lebaran. It is celebrated to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month. During Hari Raya Aidilfitri, many villagers wear new clothes: Baju Melayu for men and Baju Kurung for females. There is only one grocery shop in the village. This is a small shop which does not have fixed operating hours. Villagers often travel to the wet markets in Sungkai or Bidor to purchase food or to sell the produce from their own farms such as chickens and vegetables. Many villagers operate 3 to 5 acres of rubber smallholdings. They sell the rubber latex/products to Sime Darby. 6

8 Surau at Kampung Bikam 7

9 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES There is one small stall in the village which sells local food and desserts such as nasi lemak and local kuih. Many villagers gather at this stall for their morning coffee and teh tarik. Besides work in the oil palm estates/smallholdings, some villagers work as construction workers in Sungkai and Bidor. 8

10 EDUCATION There is only one primary school in this village: Sek.Keb.Bikam. Preschool classes are also held in this school which has a total of 28 students and not more than 15 staff members. With the exception of one Indian student, the rest are Malays. The school has classrooms, a computer laboratory, a canteen and a sepak takraw field. As a government school, it is monitored and controlled by the Ministry of Education. It follows the national syllabus for primary schools called Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah (KBSR). Village children who wish to proceed to secondary school have to travel to Sungkai or Bidor for their education. Primary school in Kampung Bikam Sneak Peak of the Classroom 9

11 PROBLEM According to the villagers, there is no major problem here. However, it is to be noted that garbage disposal is poorly managed and village chickens and other animals feed on things in the garbage dumps. The outmigration of villagers to urban areas has led to several abandoned houses. These houses are often dilapidated and an eyesore. Chickens scouring for food at garbage dump. 10

12 RECOMMENDATION Perhaps some of the abandoned houses could be renovated and converted into dwellings for homestay programmes. This could attract tourists to Sg Bikam. Villagers should inform the local authorities about the problems with garbage disposal. They should seek assistance for regular garbage collection. Villagers should also be informed of the health consequences of rampant garbage disposal. 11

13 TOURISM VALUE Tourists could be attracted to homestay programmes in Sg Bikam. During our visit, we met many friendly villagers who offered to give us fruits from their small forms. The serene rural environment, delicious local fruit and hospitable villagers are basic ingredients which could draw tourists to the village. Friendly Mak Cik plucks local langsat for us A rambutan tree laden with fruit 12

14 A cempedak tree Geese taking their daily walk 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: ext 8274, 8656, 8269 (Klang Valley Campus) ext 2297/2299/2300 (Perak Campus) 13