The settlement near Chua River

The Star, Tuesday February 17, 2015

by yip yoke teng

SUNGAI CHUA NEW VILLAGE

Peaceful spot: The only remaining former tin mining pool in Sungai Chua has been transformed into a recreational area, complete with unique restaurants.

THERE is a treasure hill in Kajang but even the latest GPS may not get you there once you have punched in the coordinates. 

Named “Xi Mi Shan” in Chinese, which means the Hill of Tin Ores, it is blessed with a metal that has not only raised generations of people but also brought so much prosperity to its surrounding areas. 

Locals recall that the place boomed in the 1960s following tin-mining activities but records showed that miners, mostly from mainland China, were already there in the 1870s. 

When demand for the commodity dropped, rubber trees were grown expansively on the rich soil and the area continued to flourish.

Old and new: One can tell the growth of Sungai Chua New Village from the exterior of its houses, ranging from wooden shacks to brick structures.

Even until today when tin and rubber are no longer the main sources of income, this place is still bustling with business activities that the locals will always be proud and happy about. 

Despite its fame, you may not find it on the map because it is now called Sungai Chua New Village because of its proximity to the river.

However, the people of Kajang will always refer to it as Xi Mi Shan, like an elusive treasure hill, which can be puzzling to visitors. 

The new village remains a quaint place packed with old-world charm while keeping its pace on par with the train of development.

It is home to 700 families who were placed there by the British during the communist insurgency. Wooden huts with zinc roofing can still be seen while most houses are the brick-and-mortar kind. The more well-to-do residents have rebuilt theirs to become multi-storey structures.

The new village takes up to about half of the Sungai Chua area, with the rest occupied by new housing developments and industrial lots. 

Lee: The 77-year-old says he has tapped rubber all his life and has lived in this house since the Eemergency.

“One major characteristic of Sungai Chua New Village is that the young generation live here with their parents and grandparents. 

“Sungai Chua is strategically located so youths can find jobs and everything they need in the vicinity,” said Sungai Chua JKKK chairman Sia Wei Shien.

Sia, born and bred in the village, is happy that youths can live amid a closely-knit community in the new village and pursue career advancements at the same time. 

The basketball court is regarded as the heart of Sungai Chua New Village as the young ones play various sports while the seniors gather around the stone benches for chatter or chess. Various community activities are also held here throughout the year. 

 At the height of tin-mining, the area had about five mining pools, all but one have been reclaimed. The remaining one was recently turned into a recreational area complete with restaurants and a mini park. 

An old-timer, who wished to be called only Fong, 83, recalled that Sungai Chua was still a hill scattered with shacks and blanketed with starfruit trees during the Japanese occupation. Economic activities were concentrated at Kajang town back then. 

Meeting place: The basketball court is the centre of activities at Sungai Chua New Village.

“Little did I expect I would become so deeply rooted to this place after we were all moved into this new village,” he said. 

Lee Piang Lam, 77, said he had tapped rubber almost all his life in different parts of Sungai Chua.

This source of income helped raise his children and grandchildren, who live in the same house with an old thatched roof.

The village’s two old temples have attracted many day-trip tourists. Both temples are decades-old, but have been refurbished and expanded to cater to the ever-growing number of worshippers. 

Sungai Chua would not have been the unique place it now is without the local delicacies. 

A number of families have made use of their compounds to carry out food businesses, and developed delights that are peculiarly theirs. 

Sungai Chua Spicy Soup is the most famous dish, which wakes one’s senses instantly with the devilish dose of pepper and ginger used to cook pork and pig’s innards. 

Another much loved dish called “Pork Explosion” also brings out the best in the meat with garlic, dried chilli and dried shrimp stir-fried together. 

Many villagers also sell handmade pan mee that has become really popular, so do make it a point to taste it if you are in the village.