UTAR NEW VILLAGE COMMUNITY PROJECT

REPORT

NAME OF NEW VILLAGE:

AIR KUNING 亚亦君令
PERAK

Project carried out by:

Student Name ID Number Course Year / Semester

1. Michelle Choo Lee Nyuk 0906729 Journalism Y2S1

2. Lee Seh Yee 0902425 Public Relation Y2S1
3. ChueSookLeng 0908556 Marketing Y2S1

DATE OF COMPLETION:
JUNE 2012
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ABSTRACT

Air Kuning is a small town which is located in Kampar district, Perak,

Malaysia. Its geographical coordinates are 4° 11' 0" North, 101° 9' 0".The original
name of Air Kuning is Jalan Baru, but it was renamed after a river with yellow
colour water which flows through the village.

Air Kuning’s economy flourished with the growth of the rubber

plantations in the 20th century. In fact, during the Korean War when the price of
rubber reached RM220 per ton, Air Kuning was thought of as “small hill of gold.”

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HISTORY

Air Kuning was established in 1950. It was a New Village set up by the
British colonial government to prevent locals from providing supplies to the
communist insurgents. During this period of emergency in Malaya, the government
even trained villagers on security matters and provided firearms to the security team.

This signboard shows the entrance to Air Kuning

Photo session after interview with villagers(From Left to Right: ChueSookLeng, Michelle Choo,
Aunty Wong, Aunty Wong’s relative, Lee Seh Yee, Sui Teng (UTAR Student from Air Kuning )

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POPULATION AND HOUSING

Air Kuning new village covers an area of about 80 acres. There are about
five residential areas around the new village with about 200 houses. The total
population of this village is about 3000 people, of this number, 90% of Chinese,
and the remaining 10% are Indian and Malay. In addition, there are about
200foreign workers.

Public facilities in the village include a basketball court, a hall at the

Chinese temple, a clinic and a public phone’ booth. There is no banking facility in
the village.

Housing area at Air Kuning

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Modern house at Air Kuning

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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Many villagers own plantation of about for 2 to 5acres. Initially, these

were mainly rubber plantation. However, as the piece of palm oil increase, many
Rubber plantations were convertedto plant oil palm estates. There are also many
villagers who are vegetable farmers.

The piece of land and houses in Air Kuning has increased in recent
decades. Every 5 to 6 acres of land can be sold at RM50, 000 to RM60, 000. The
piece of houses is between RM35, 000 and RM40, 000.

One of the oil palm suppliers at Air Kuning

Oil palms before send to buyers

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Noodle with Wan Tan Soup from noodle stall at coffee shop beside the main road of Air Kuning

Coffee Shop beside the main road of Air Kuning

Shophouses beside the main road of Air Kuning

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EDUCATION

History of SJK (C) PhengLok (平乐国民型华小)

Air Kuning has only one Chinese primary school. This is a SJK (C)
PhengLok, which was built in 1926 by five main founders. SJK (C) PhengLok
was originally called PhengLok Public School (公立平乐学校).In those days, the
class rooms were little cabins at the side of the road. In 1935, the 5 founding
fathers at the school allocated RM870 for the purchase of land on which the
current school stands. The school was closed during World War II and resumed
operations in 1950.

The enrolment at the school has declined over the years. Currently, there
are about 110 students only. Many young children are sent to the primary school
in Kampar or at other towns.

SJK (C) PhengLok, Air Kuning

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Government run kindergarten at Air Kuning

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SOCIAL CULTURAL & RELIGIOUS PRACTICE

There are 1 mosque, 1 kuil, 1 Chinese temple and 1 church located at Air Kuning.

History of Chinese Temple in Ayer Kuning (亚亦君令观音庙)

In the year 1984, the villagers started to build a Chinese Temple named
“yayijun ling guan yin miao” ( 亚亦君令观音庙). This temple worships the
Goddess of Mercy. It was built to being peace and prosperity to the village.

Front view of the Chinese Temple

Mosque at Air Kuning

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Church at Air Kuning

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PROBLEMS

Garbage collection seems to be a problem in the village. We saw garbage

strewn all over the basketball court and public areas. There also seems to be a
little awareness of road safety. In fact, most villagers do not wear helmets when
they ride motorcycles.

Villagers do not wear helmets while riding motorcycles

Rubbish strewn around the basketball court

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Rubbish everywhere

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RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that a road safety campaign be held at Air Kuning.

Villagers must be made aware of the importance of wearing safety helmets and
following traffic regulations.

A cleanliness campaign or a campaign on how to protect their environment

is also needed. Villagers should be encouraged to clean up their neighbourhoods
and public areas. Perhaps the authorities should provide more garbage bins and
recycle truck collects rubbish more frequently.

Currently, there are no banking facilities in the village. It would be ideal if

such facilities were set up.

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TOURISM VALUE

The Chinese Temple is a must-visit destination in Air Kuning, especially

on every 19th day of sixth month, which is the birthday of Goddess of Mercy.
During such special occasions, the temple because there will be full of devotees.
Many activities such as opera performances and singing competitions would be
held at a hall opposite the temple.

Hall at Chinese temple

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Many parents in Air Kuning have limited formal education and are unable

to motivate and guide their children in their studies. There may be opportunities to

conduct (i) low cost motivation classes by school counsellors, and (ii) affordable

tuition classes conducted by the school.

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)

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