Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Group to trace history of Cheras 11th Mile

I have a few school friends from this area and we used to go there when we were in school. Imagine cycling from Kajang there. No one in their right frame of mind would do that now (with the traffic). It was a bustling new village but it's so developed now but still having it's new village charm. Why not visit there if you can. They have a pasar malam every friday night and the morning market is also interesting.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Wednesday September 14, 2011

Group to trace history of Cheras 11th Mile

Feeling the need to educate the younger generation about this important part of history spurred Tadika Harmoni headmaster Yong Yoon Yen to organise a Chinese Art and Cultural exhibition featuring the early history of Cheras 11th Mile.

“Why 11th Mile? There are many things about this township that people do not know and should know,” said Yong.

“The exhibition to be held on Oct 2 will feature a collection of art and old photographs depicting life here during the early 40s and if we are lucky, probably even earlier,” Yong said.

Yong said a team of 15 people have already started researching on the township and have started visiting families who have lived here for decades in order to collect and compile photos and information on the early history.

“We have been talking to temples, churches, Chinese associations and cultural groups to find out all we can about Cheras 11th Mile,” Yong said, adding that plans are also in the pipeline to compile the information in a book.

Apart from going to the old shops and houses, Yoong said they would also be visiting Wong Village which has its own history.

Members of her team have also been knocking randomly on people’s doors asking them if they had any records or old photographs dating over 50 years.

“Every day is a learning process, we keep finding out new things and making new discoveries, it is all very exciting,” said Yong.

The exhibition jointly organised by the Tadika Harmoni and the Lutheran Church 11th Mile congregation will be held at the Hoh Kee Tun Coffee Shop in Pekan Cheras.

An entire wall of the coffee shop will be used to display the old photos which will be displayed according to the time line it was taken.

The project was also being held to raise funds for a children’s library and a centre for children with learning disability.

“Currently the kindergarten doubles up as a place for pre-schoolers and for the special children to pick up skills, but we need a more conducive environment for the special children too,” she said.

Those interested in helping or seeking more details can call 03-9075 4228 and ask for Yong or Lai.

One big happy family (Wong Village at 11th Mile Cheras)

This article is very interesting and it tells us how communities were built and how we lived in the not too distant past.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Wednesday September 14, 2011

One big happy family

NOT much has changed since I last visited the rustic village in 11th mile Jalan Cheras over a decade ago. Wong Ka Chun (Wong Village), popularly known as Kampung Keluarga Wong still looks the same though some of its elder members of of the families and several wooden homes are missing.

Lalang bushes form the vegetation here and wild chickens are seen roaming freely; but the children no longer play outside like they used to do decades ago.

With a population of less than 100, the majority of the villagers, who are Cantonese, carry the surname Wong, hence the name Wong Village.

Clinging to the past: The Wong village still looks rustic and untouched by development.
 
It’s no coincidence how this came about. Everyone here is related to one another, there is an army load of cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunties, and grandchildren who have blood ties with one another.

The simple village spanning some two acres was created in the early 1900’s when the late Wong Lim bought the land for his seven sons from China who were popularly known as the Seven Wong brothers.

The brothers chose their brides and brought them here to live as one big family. They built small makeshift huts in the beginning. They then started clearing the land and planted vegetables.

Their wives sold the produce in the market, while their husbands worked at different mining areas.

When I visited the village in 1999, I spoke to Chong Yin who was married to one of the Wong brothers known as Wong Kiew. Wong Kiew had died in 1986.

No function : Hoh (left) with Wong Lee Heng (centre) and Serdang MCA Public and Services Complaints Bureau chairman Allan Liew Sin Kim outside Wong Lee Heng’s house looking at an old well that has been closed up for years.
 
I remember Chong Yin telling me how she came here many years ago — a young girl barely in her teens with great hope for the future. She was 87 years old when I last spoke to her.

When I visited the village recently I was saddened to hear that Chong Yin passed away in 2006.

Interestingly, there was an unwritten rule that the surname Wong be retained within the family and the village.

As the years rolled by, the brothers got married and had children. The children also grew up and got married too but the “Wong-hood” is still strong among the families in the village.

Sadly, if one of the Wong daughters were to marry a man without a Wong surname, she would not be allowed to stay in the village.

Only daughters who marry men with the Wong surname are allowed to stay on after getting married.
While there are some Chinese who consider marrying someone with the same surname taboo, it has been a custom which the Wong family has been preserving for decades.

Some of the Chinese characters spelt in Wong are different but it did not matter as long as it is pronounced Wong. When I visited the village 13 years ago, I spoke to several members of the family including Chong Yin’s nephew Wong Lap Ming who was then 62 years old.

I remember Lap Ming as a strong believer in the old way of life and a person who respected tradition a lot.

Lap Ming has since passed away but I met his son Wong Lee Heng, 50, whose wife’s surname is also Wong.

“Things have not changed much here,” Lee Heng said. “This is still a peaceful village. During Chinese New Year or other festivals, all the families get together under a tree to celebrate on a moderate scale,” Lee Heng added.

When I asked about the “surname rule”, Lee Heng admitted that the rule has been broken a few times especially after many of the elder folks have passed on. “No one cares about that (rule) anymore,” he added.

Chong Yin’s nephew, Wong Sung Loong, 64, is a changed man today compared with the time when I first met him 13 years ago.

Back then, I remember Sung Loong being adamant about preserving the Wong surname within the village, but today watching him babysit his three-year-old grandaughter, Lee Hui Mei, it is easy to understand why some traditions are meant to be broken.

While this little aspect (name rule) of the village is not preserved, Wong Ka Chun is still pretty much a traditional Chinese village with its inhabitants still practising some of the old ways of life.

The land has multiple owners, hence it is difficult to develop the area. This probably explains why the Wong Village still looks very much the same as it was, since the Wong brothers moved here over 80 years ago. Currently, there are about 13 houses with about 100 people living there.

There was a time when the village contained over 20 houses with some 1,000 family members residing there. Many have moved out of the village and not returned.

The few remaining houses are still very utilitarian in design with zinc roof.

Most of the houses have a plot of vegetable farm in front. Some houses still have wells but these are no longer their main souce of water.

While the inhabitants there still leave their homes, cars and motorcycles unlocked; the camaraderie that was seen during Chong Yin’s time was clearly missing.

I was accompanied by Serdang MCA deputy chairman Datuk Hoh Hee Lee. Hoh was the Balakong State Assemblyman when he first brought me to the village in 1999.

It was only after a little persuasion from Hoh that the villagers allowed us to take pictures of the place and spoke to us.

The families are now more careful and cautious with strangers today as opposed to the olden days. They only spoke to me after Hoh showed them a 13-year-old clipping of the The Star showing them the story that I had written about their great grandmother when I first visited the village.

I noticed that the children whom I remembered seeing 13 years ago were no longer living there while the one staying there now refused to be interviewed.

As I left the village I wondered how long will it take before development takes over the Wong Village and whether the younger Wongs will continue living in the village in future. Only time will tell.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Firm hired to remove illegal posters (At last!!)

Well, at least, they are doing something about this. Hope we can many more areas cleaned up as well. Also, it is left to be proven how effective this product and system. if it does, then this company will be doing very well in the near future.

Kudos to The Star for following up on this issue. Let us also monitor this together.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Monday September 5, 2011

Firm hired to remove illegal posters

THE Kajang Municipal Council has hired a company to remove illegal posters and coat the surface of public property with anti-stick paint.
The issue of rampant illegal advertisements in Kajang have been frequently raised at the council full board meetings and public complaint monitoring meetings.

At last month’s public complaint monitoring meeting, councillor S. T. Chandra Mohan highlighted a complaint made by Taman Asa Jaya residents through the council’s complaint portal E-aduan on the illegal advertisements in the area.

First step: The bio-solve MP is used to remove the stickers before the antistick paint is sprayed on the sign boards. 
 
Council corporate communications head Shariman Mohd Nor said the council would be spending about RM20,000 for its pilot project in Kajang and Bandar Baru Bangi.

“The company picked for the job is providing the chemicals and manpower to remove the illegal stickers,” he said.

He said the illegal stickers advertising the services of “Ah Long (money lenders) were a major threat.

“The chemicals used will be active for 12 to 18 months, preventing posters from sticking onto the surface of public property,” he said.

Bandar Mahkota Cheras Residents’ Association treasurer Pang Nam Onn said such chemicals were being used in Singapore and wanted to see the results in Kajang.

“The residents have tried peeling off the stickers but there are still remnants on the signboards as the adhesive is quite strong.

“Moreover, once removed, the culprits put up new ones,” he said.

According to Adam Daniel Yusof of Envirocatalyst Sdn Bhd, the company chosen to undertake the pilot project, there are three to four steps involved.

Covered up: A signboard plastered with illegal stickers is an eyesore in Kajang.
 
“Firstly, they have to remove the stickers with a product called Bio-Solve MP.
“Then we apply the pre-coating and covering chemical. After this is done, we apply the anti-stick chemical.

“For fibre glass and plastic surfaces, we have to use a base coat before applying the pre-coating chemical,” he said, adding that they can work on a minimum of 10 signboards a day.

He added that different chemicals were used depending on the surface and the type of paper for the posters.

“We have to be careful when removing the stickers on signboards so as not to affect its luminousity,” he said.

While there are other companies offering such products, he believes that they are the first to offer locally-produced products.

“Others may have imported the products from other countries like South Korea,” he said.

“The workers need not wear protective gear because the bio-chemicals are not hazardous to health,” Adam said.

His company has submitted proposals to other councils such as the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, Subang Jaya Municipal Council, Selayang Municipal Council, and Klang Municipal Council for the treatment.

Four pull off two-minute heist at Jalan Besar!!!

This was from today's The Star. I wonder whose goldsmith shop was hit? When we were young, I think nobody could even think that this would happen. This is really the signs of the times we are facing nowadays. I suppose we must face the current realities. What say you?

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Tuesday September 6, 2011


Four pull off two-minute heist


Three of them, wearing full-face helmets, barged into the shop at 2.45pm yesterday while the other, also wearing a full-face helmet, stood watch outside.

There were eight people in the shop at the time of the robbery, including six employees, an unarmed guard and a customer. None were hurt.

Kajang deputy OCPD Supt Azman Ayob said the three men worked quickly by emptying five trays of jewellery into bags before taking off on two motorcycles.

“They were in and out of the place in two minutes,” he told a press conference at the scene yesterday.
He said police were studying CCTV footage, adding that the robbers were in their 20s and 30s.

Supt Azman said they were tracking the robbers who were last spotted heading towards Sungai Chua.

Dijaya in RM228mil land deal for Kajang Hill Golf Club land

I am was a member of the Kajang Hill Golf Club and I received notice to terminate the membership from November 2011. However, they are paying back the monies that we paid to join. So, I was expecting some news on this. This was confirmed in today's papers. The owner, a Japanese Datuk is going to make a lot of money in this deal.

However, if you go to the vicinity of the area, the whole place is going to be developed very soon. The size of the whole area is huge with the other areas combined.

The prices of the properties here is also very high (by Kajang standards), mind you. So it's left to be seen how the place will eventually turn out.

Until the next time, cheers.  

The Star, Tuesday September 6, 2011

Dijaya in RM228mil land deal

Purchase of freehold land from Taiyo to cater for increasing demand for property in Kajang
 
PETALING JAYA: Dijaya Corp Bhd has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd to acquire five parcels of freehold land in Mukim Semenyih, Ulu Langat, Selangor, measuring approximately 80.33ha for RM228mil cash.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Dijaya said the agreement with Taiyo Resort was entered by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tropicana City Service Suites Sdn Bhd (TCSS).

The parcels of land are currently held under the operations of Kajang Hill Golf Club, it added.

Dijaya said the land would be transformed into a mixed development consisting of landed houses, condominiums, apartments and shop offices with an expected gross development value of about RM2bil.

“The development, known as Tropicana Kajang, will be another future revenue generator for the group and shall contribute positively to its financial performance,” it said in a separate statement.

Dijaya said the freehold land had an upside potential in terms of capital appreciation because of the increasing demand for residential and commercial properties in Kajang, as seen in other developments such as Nadayu 92, Tiara Residence, Ramal Villa, Twin Palm and Jade Hills, just to name a few.

“With increasing population and expanding residential properties in and around Kajang, the proposed development of commercial properties will cater to the rising demand for office and retail spaces.

“Furthermore, the proposed Kajang-Sungai Buloh MY Rapid Transit project will enhance the investment potential of Kajang, presenting a greater opportunity to property investors,” it said.

Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Danny Tan Chee Sing said the group was continuously acquiring sizeable land-banks with good development potential in strategic locations.

“The land deal provides an opportunity for the group to introduce more development in Kajang with quality and prestige synonymous with our Tropicana brand,” he said.

Dijaya said the purchase price was arrived at on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis after several considerations including the reasonably low land cost of RM26.36 per sq ft which will enable TCSS to price its proposed development competitively and with reasonable margins.

On the financing for the purchase, Dijaya said it would be funded through internally funds and/or bank borrowings.

“The exact mix of internally generated funds and bank borrowings will be determined by the management of the company at a later stage, after taking into consideration Dijaya Corp and its subsidiaries' gearing level, interest costs and internal cash requirements for its business operations,” it said.

The group's net gearing is expected to rise to 0.22 times post-land acquisition assuming about RM114mil, representing approximately 50% of the purchase price, is financed via borrowings. As at Dec 31, 2010, Dijaya was in a net cash position.