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ABSTRACT

New village Kundang is located between Kuang and Rawang, after Sungai Buloh.

This village is made up mainly of Chinese people, the majority of whom are from the

Hakka clan. Kundang villagers have resided here since the Japanese occupation. This

village used to be well known for its tin mines but with the decline of this industry,

the old mining lake is now used for recreation. Kundang has one primary school, a

clinic and a police station but no fire station. Many of the younger generation have

moved to the urban areas. In order to make this village more attractive for

investment, we have proposed some ideas on its entrepreneurship and tourism values.

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HISTORY

Wooden House Old Shop Lots

SRJK (C) Kundang, Selangor Chinese Restaurant

Kundang New Village was established before Second World War. The majority of

villagers are Chinese and there is a small number of Indians, Sikhs. The Malays live

close to the village. Kundang has seven to eight thousands residents.

Kundang villagers are very concerned about education opportunities for the next

generation. The Kundang primary chinese school, SJK(C) Kundang Selangor, was

established in 1937. Currently, this school has about a thousand over of pupils and

about 60 teachers.

In the past, Kundang was known for its papaya plantations. Because of the

oversupply of papaya, many villagers switched to ciku farming as an alternative

source of in come. Today, Kundang‟s cikus are famous throughout Malaysia. The

ciku farmers sell their product through an agent who exports the fruit to other

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countries, such as Singapore. Some of the villagers also plant vegetables for their own

consumption.

At Kundang New Village, the first Chinese coffee shop is “Jun Loong Hao”.

According to the previous Village Headman, Mr. Pang, the restaurant was established

more than 50 years ago. This restaurant sells only 2 types of noodles. In spite of the

limited choice, many villagers eat at this restaurant every morning.

The first grocery shop was opened by Mr. Pang‟s father in 1937, who was a former

Village Headman.

The biggest house at Kundang is owned by a villager, Mr. Lee Meng Tat. It sits on

10,800 square feet of land. The house has 11 bedrooms, 6 toilets, 5 living rooms, and

1 mini bar. The price of land at Kundang has increased considerably. In the 1960‟s

the cost of land was RM0.50 per square foot. Today, the price has increased to

RM 1.00 per square foot of land for houses and RM 1.50 per square foot of land for

shops.

There is a government clinic in this village, although it faces problems which will be

discussed in later sections of this paper. Besides that, Kundang new village is very

fortunate to have a police station which helps to keep the villagers safe. Unfortunately

they do not have a fire station.

Front view of Kundang Police Station

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ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Newspaper cutting about Kundang’s Ciku Plantation

a) Plantation

The main economic activity at Kundang is agriculture. In the past, papaya was the

main cash crop. Subsequently, as the demand for and price of papaya declined, the

villagers switched to planting of cikus. The planters went all the way to Subang to

buy ciku seeds and tried planting them in their orchard. The fruit was a success and

ciku is now the main crop grown in orchards at Kundang.

The ciku is a very easy fruit to take care of. It takes about 10 months to bare fruits.

About 20 years ago, it was relatively easy to grow ciku trees. However, the yield has

declined because the quality of air, water, and other factors affecting the growth of

the plant has deteriorated.

There is no particular season for the ciku to be planted, meaning it can be planted at

any time of the year. This is good for villagers as they can get income all year round

and do not have to wait for a certain season to get their income. However, the growth

of the ciku is affected by the weather. The weather cannot be too wet, cannot be too

dry and the air cannot be too polluted.

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b) Food

Other than tending to their vast plantations, the villagers also sell food. This helps

keep the economy in Kundang moving. Kundang has a special food that everyone

craves to eat and this is their very own handmade “lao shu fen”, which is a type of

rice noodles. There is only one shop selling this dish and it has been run by a local

family for 3 generations.

Lou Shu Fun

Does this picture look tempting? This is the most famous food you can find in

Kundang. How is it made? They have to use old uncooked rice to make the noodles.

Owners of the noodle shop soak about 24 to 27 cups of rice for about 2 to 3 hours.

They then grind, blend and mix the rice with water until it turns into a paste. The

paste will then be put through a mincer and long, thin, round pieces of paste will

come out. This is the noodles which will be cooked with their special soup and made

into a tasty dish.

Every morning, the shop owners wake up as early as 4 am to get ready for work. This

noodle shop is frequented mainly by locals, although nearby villagers also eat there.

In order to be able to have a taste of this “lou shu fun” one has to reach the stall at

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about 6 in the morning. This is because the dish will be sold out by 8 in the morning.

The shop closes ay 10.30 am as the owners have to continue with the production of

more noodles. Half the work is done the day before and continued the next day when

they wake up at 4 am.

A long time ago, a bowl of “lou shu fun” cost only 10 cents. Now, a bowl of “lou shu

fun” costs RM 2.80.

c) Business

There are several retail outlets at Kundang which sell a wide range of products from

groceries to personal care items.

Wu Her Hao Mini Market

The first mini market started 2 generations ago, owned by the ex-village headman, Mr

Pang. The name of his shop is “Wu Her Hao”. His parents were the first in the

Kundang village to start this business and, after that, many villagers learned about the

business and started opening more Chinese mini markets in Kundang.

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The problem faced by these businesses is the difficulty to buy their stocks. Shop

owners have to travel for about 2 hours using public transport, which are very limited,

to purchase goods. After that, they have to find their own transport to carry the goods

back to Kundang. Most of them would have to rent a lorry back. This is very

inconvenient for local businessmen.

Although a retail sale is not the main economic activity at Kundang, it nevertheless

helps to provide a livelihood for villagers.

d) Fishing Centre

Fishing is another economic activity at Kundang. There are a total of 32 normal

fishing ponds and 5 Tow Foo fishing ponds. The biggest fishing pond is about 100

acres. These fish farms started about 10 years ago.

In one of the Tow Foo fishing centre lives the biggest Patin fish in the world that

weighs about 20 kilograms. This fish is protected and not for catching or eating. Fish

in the Tow Foo fishing centre are for sport fishing, e.g villagers use Tow Foo as bait

to catch the fish and then let them go.

Fishing Activity

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Fishing Centre

Some fishing centers do not accept any money while some charge by the weight of

the fish that is caught. Other charges a fixed entrance fee. Fishing is a minor

contributor to Kundang‟s economy.

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EDUCATION

In Kundang there is only one primary school, “SRJK(C) Kundang”. There is no other

school or tuition centre in Kundang.

SRJK(C) Kundang, Selangor

SRJK (C) Kundang, Selangor

SRJK(C) Kundang is a Chinese primary school. Students in this school come from

Kundang and nearby villages. It was founded in 1934 by “Kundang Mining

Company” owners, Lili Sheng and Li Jiu Ru at a different location. At that time the

total number of students were about 20 plus.

In 1942, during the Japanese southward invasion, the school was temporarily

suspended until the liberation of Malaya. After World War II, the number of students

increased to about 82. The number of students increased gradually over the years

causing the number of classrooms to be inadequate. In response to the villagers‟

request, Lili Sheng and Li Jiu Ru set up the first board of directors to take on the

school‟s mission.

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Zhang Jingwen donated his old mining land for a new school to be built. The villagers

of Kundang also helped in collecting funds to build a new school. In 1951, the new

school was built with 6 classrooms, an office, a teachers‟ dormitory and a canteen.

The numbers of students then were about a hundred.

In 1979, the classrooms were not sufficient to meet the total number of students that

had increased to more than 300, forcing the school to have morning and afternoon

classes. After a year seeking help from the government, the Ministry of Education

finally approved the funding of RM 136,000 to build a two-storey school building

which included 5 classrooms, a special room, a principal‟s room, a general office and

2 small storage rooms. In 1985, the new president, Zhou Jian, sought the assistance of

the Ministry of Education to replace the old dangerous structures of the school‟s toilet

and canteen with new ones.

SRJK (C) Kundang classroom view

In the many years that have passed since its establishment in 1934, the school has

expanded using the donations that they have received, example building of new

classrooms, corridors, toilets, basketball courts, and purchase of new musical

instruments and updating of the library. These developments have increased the

number of students in the school. Unfortunately, for a long time, the school did not

have a hall to conduct group activities.

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Finally after much effort in raising funds, a three-storey building was built. It contains

an auditorium, four more classrooms, a science room and a computer room. There

was a groundbreaking ceremony in the morning of the 13th

of February 1998 to

officiate the new building.

SRJK (C) Kundang school hall

This school has been around for 75 years. Chang Yun-Chui was the first headmaster

of the school and retired in the year 1971 and the other headmasters are listed below:

Mr. Lu Meiyuan (03/01/1972-17/04/1977)

Mr. Huang Shizhao (18/04/1977-31/12/1979)

Mr. Shen Yutang (01/01/1980-31/12/1983)

Mr. Feng Dexing (01/01/1984-30/09/1985)

Mr. Zhou Liangjian (01/10/1985-22/09/1991)

Mr. Chen Yingde (23/09/1991-15/03/1994)

Mr. Huang Jianfa (01/07/1994-31/12/1996)

Miss Yang Fengling (16/01/1997-28/02/1998)

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Miss Li Xiuzhu (01/03/1998-28/07/2007)

Mr. Zhou Furen (01/08/2007-15/08/2008)

WU Yu-ice President (01/03/2009)

This school is still seeking funds from private organizations and the Ministry of

Education to fund more enhancements of the school‟s facilities and to make sure that

students receive comparable education facilities as that in the city.

Unfortunately for Kundang, there is no secondary school. After the students graduate

from standard 6 they will have to find a secondary school to go to. The nearest

secondary school is outside of the new village which is an approximately 20 minutes

drive from Kundang.

Front view of SMK Seri Kundang, Selangor

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SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

In Kundang new village, there are about 7,000-8,000 people and they are mostly

Chinese from the Hakka clan. However, there are also Malays and Indians in the

village. People here live peacefully. Most villagers know each other and people greet

each other on the streets.

People in Kundang support „going green‟ projects. This activity is to ensure there is a

better future for the next generation. As Selangor produces two thousand and five

hundred tons of wastes, committees of Kundang village have held recycle activities in

primary school of Kundang. They encourage students to learn recycling, as it will be

easier to embed the concept from young. Committees of Kundang joined with Gao

Zhou Club, Jia Yin Neighborhood Society, Gombak village and others to organize

this meaningful event. This event is in response to the government‟s campaign - to

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Student here are taught to recycle so that they will not waste

papers and will try their best to use recycled materials.

In Kundang, there are several clubs and associations. For example, there is Kundang

Gao Zhou Society, which is meant for „Gaozhou‟ clan people whom speak a dialect

similar to Cantonese. Secondly, there is Kundang Jia Yin Neighborhood Society.

„JiaYin‟ is a division of „Hakka‟ clan. As 80 percent of the villagers here are Hakka,

people often gather in this club to hold events like Calligraphy competition, Chinese

New Year celebration and many others.

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Kundang Gao Zhou Society Kundang Jia Yin Neighborhood Society

Calligraphy competition Chinese New Year Colouring contest

Chinese New Year “Tanglung” making competition

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Chinese in Kundang new village normally are involved in agriculture. Years ago,

villagers here plant as a cash crop papaya. The fruit produced here are well-known for

its juiciness and taste. It has become the culture of Kundang villagers to be engaged

in agriculture. This may be due to the rich soil in this area.

Most Chinese villagers here are mostly Buddhist. There is a temple called “San Shan

Guo Wang Miao” (三山国王庙) which was set up before Second World War. During

Chinese Festivals, devotees will head to the temple for prayers. Besides, there are also

Christian in Kundang Village. Unfortunately, there aren‟t any churches here.

Christians will have to travel to Rawang for the nearest church as there are quite a

number of churches in Rawang. Usually there will be a van or other motor vehicles

from Rawang church to transport Kundang Villagers to Rawang. Especially on

special days for Christians, such as Christmas day, Easter day, more people will

congregate at Rawang churches to celebrate and worship. There are also Hindus in

this village. Although there is different religious practice in this village, Residents

from different ethic & religious background live together in harmony.

“San Shan Guo Wang Miao” (三山国王庙) temple)

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PROBLEMS

After interviews with the previous Village Headman, Mr. Pang, we have found out

several vital problems that the villagers are facing. First of all, there is a problem with

ownership of their land for their plantation. It was previously discussed that one of

the main economic activities at Kundang Village is agriculture. The problem is that

the villagers are planting most of their crops on illegal government land. This is

because they are facing leasing problems, and it is difficult to get the approval of the

government to allow them to grow their crops on nearby land.

Another problem faced is that there are insufficient classrooms in their school.

Previously Mr. Pang appealed to the government and the effort has paid off with

more classrooms being built. However, there is need for more computer labs,

libraries, and science laboratories. All these are essential learning facilities for

students to improve.

Another problem is the lack of medical facilities in Kundang. The only available

government clinic is located at Jalan Clinic in Kampung Kundang, and the

consultation hour is limited to one day per week, and only in the morning. Thus, the

villagers would have to visit the more expensive private clinic at Kundang and this

causes a big burden for the villagers.

Klinik Desa Kundang

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Another problem that the villagers face is the lack of street lights in the area. This is

especially dangerous because the roads in the village are very narrow and with the

absence of street lights, it is not safe to drive around the village at night. Pedestrian

could also be knocked down by cars due to the poorly lit roads.

Street Light

Speaking of narrow roads, we were told that the roads were too narrow in the

morning for morning markets, and this creates a problem where cars and motorbikes

cannot get through certain roads when the market is open. In addition, the rubbish is

all swept into the drain, thus clogging the drains.

Burglaries are an increasing concern in the village, even though there are groups

formed by the villagers to patrol the area. There have also been reports that breaking-

ins are happening even in broad daylight.

Lastly, public transport is also a problem in the village, as there is only one bus

(Selangor) ferrying villagers around, and this bus only comes once every 3-4 hours.

This creates the need for villagers to purchase their own transport. Unfortunately

there is no petrol station in the area.

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RECOMMENDATION

Agriculture being the most vital source of income in the village, there should be

formal procedures to obtain land leases. This is the issue that the village headman

should be proposing to the government. With the legal lease on their land, villagers of

Kundang could expand their orchards and plantations and generally improve the local

economy. One way to improve this situation is through formal acquisition of land

from the government.

One way to solve the issue of inadequate computer facilities in schools is to have

entrepreneurs enter the village to provide computer services to the school. Apart from

that, the school should also gain support from students‟ parents for a donation drive to

enhance the school‟s facilities such as science laboratories as well as a library.

At Kundang, Medical facilities are limited. One suggestion is to formally bring the

issue up to the government so that they could allocate more doctors to be present

most of the days in the week. Another way dealing with this problem is to highlight

this matter in newspapers. Hopefully, this would raise the awareness of doctors and

encourage them to volunteer to help out at the village.

The lack of street lamps is a problem for drivers and pedestrians at night. The

problem is that the government or private organizations may not be aware of the

problems that the villagers are currently facing. The village headman could form a

group to raise awareness of the problem.

Apart from that, the village headman should also promote Gotong Royong efforts,

especially during days after the morning markets. These efforts could focus on

cleaning the drains to prevent flash floods and mosquito breeding.

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Burglaries in the area are a cause for concern. Villagers should work together to form

anti-crime groups which could patrol the village in the daytime and at night. Villagers

of all age groups should be recruited for these activities.

The village headman should hold activities more often to attract tourist to the area.

The famous “lou she fun” noodle should be advertised in food programs such as “Ho

Chak”. Lakes in the area could also be converted into tourism spots where tourists

can have fun in the sun and engage water activities.

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TOURISM VALUES

Tasik Biru Seri Kundang

Kundang Lake (picture above) is known as Tasik Biru Seri Kundang for its

enthralling and mesmerizing natural beauty. It is name the blue lake because of its

blue colour which is caused by the depth of the lake itself. The lake has an island at

its centre. For the local folks, there is a belief that the island is floating by itself. This

lake is an ex-mining lake, and then it is transformed into a recreational playground for

water sports like water-skiing, canoeing and yachting, fishing activities and many

more. It is also a wonderful picnic spot and recreation centre which will be crowded

during weekends and festivals. It is worth a visit for nature lovers. The beautiful

scenery at the lake is an attraction for photographers. It is quite convenient to reach

Kundang Lake. One can take a regular bus or a taxi from Rawang to reach the lake.

The famous food from this village is the Soup Lao Shu Fen (清汤老鼠粉). According

to the ex-penghulu, the Lao Shu Fen is homemade by the hawkers with rice flour, it

contains no artificial ingredients. The cook started making Lao Shu Fen at 4am in the

morning. Although the ingredients used are not special, they put a lot of effort in

making the food delicious. The soup uses a lot of pork bones. This Lao Shu Fen

would be sold out by 8am each day. Usually, people have to order one day before

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when they want to eat. People 13km away from Rawang come here to eat; this can

show how worth eating the food is. As the owner is not interested in expanding his

business elsewhere, there is no other place we can find this delicious and unique Lao

Shu Fen. At night, there is another stall at Kundang which is famous for its pan mee

stall.

Above and beyond, there are a few commercial fish farms in Kundang new village.

The largest one named „He He Yu Chang‟ has 32 ponds. Most fish ponds here are ex-

mining lake. This is also one of Kundang New Village‟s attractions as it has historical

value. There is also a Tow Foo sport fishing centre which is another attraction in

Kundang. There are 5 fish ponds available for recreation and there is no entrance fee.

There is some expensive and precious fish like the Japanese carp. The largest Badin

fish in Malaysia is in one of these ponds and it is more than 20 kg. The owner here

says fishing is to enjoy the process of fishing, and it is a kind of sport. There is once

Korean people visited here and interview the owner here of how they run this kind of

business at the same time protecting the fishes here. The owner said he had done

something to the fishhook. He cut some part of the hook so that it would not hurt the

fish when it is released back to the pond. He also emphasized and encouraged people

not to eat the fish but only enjoy the process.

As Kundang New Village has more than 100 years of history, it is really a valued

place to visit and there will be a lot of pleasure having fun in this village.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

There are business opportunities in expanding the local food business: Lao Shu Fen.

As this dish is very famous, the business could be expanded to other villages or towns

or even franchised.

Other than that, the New Village is also famous for its ciku. If a warehouse were set

up in the village, local ciku could be sent to one centre and then sold to other parts of

Malaysia and other countries. With this ciku plantation development, government

should support the villagers to get more land and allows the villager to expand their

ciku orchards.

Besides that, there is a place called Tasik Biru near the Kundang New Village. It is

set to be a sport and recreation centre for local and foreign tourists. This lake

provides opportunities for small business like selling traditional foods and souvenirs

or some water other sport activities equipment.

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: 03-79551511 ext 157 (Klang Valley Campus)

05-4662323 ext 2297/2299 (Perak Campus)