Kampung Dusun Tua: Chapter 1: The Kampung Life

The first visit to Kampung Dusun Tua, Hulu Langat was on 27th of July 2013. The journey of 45 minutes from UCSI North Wing campus kicked off at 8.45am.

Upon arrival, we was being welcomed by the 'Penghulu", a local chief. He explained to us about everything you might want to know about the village. As you read through our page, you will be exposed to our findings through this site visit.

LAYOUT OF THE WHOLE KAMPUNG

The overall map of Hulu Langat, Selangor

The focused area, Dusun Tua.

The following is the illustration of the Kampung Batu 16 that we had visited.

Kampung Batu 16 is surrounded by flourish vegetation that makes the whole environment close to the nature. Most of the land is being used for various plantations to increase the income for the villagers. Therefore we can notice an obvious green landscape around this village.

THE ORIGINS & HISTORY

Hulu Langat is a district and also a parliamentary constituency located between Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. Being located in the southeast corridor of the Klang Valley, it is quietly booming. The constituency encompasses the Kajang, Semenyih and Dusun Tua state seats.

Hulu Langat is the fifth largest district in Selangor State with an area of 840 square kilometres and a population of 1,141,880 at the 2010. It has a mix of urban and rural settlements with a majority of the population settling in towns near Kuala Lumpur.

It is an old village which is known for more than a centauries ago. This is a Malay village, previously were mostly Malay traditional house. But due to the maintenance problems most of the traditional house has been renovated to partially concrete house structure.

During the olden age main occupation or the villagers were farmers. Their main income was mostly came from the vegetation that they owned.

The main source of income were fairly based on paddy. Many were getting good profit and owners of the paddy fields were getting rich. This is due to the strategic location of this village which solely based on the large river which brings in fresh water for the rice fields all year long. But due to the development of the village, the improper design on the irrigation system in the village.

The Penghulu

The Penghulu is the local chief of the village and the governor in some Malaysia states. In this Kampung Batu 16, the penghulu(head of the village) is Mr. Mohd Ghazali bin Mohd Sair.

Penghulu is the key person in the kampung. He needs to communicate with all the villagers from all walks of life. Therefore, a penghulu should have the knowledge of reading the Al-Quran & mastering the Jawi writings. The chosen chief has to be originated from the village itself and have the sense of responsibility towards his job scopes. The jobscope of a penghulu including :

Flood problem
Buidling of bridge
The problems faced by the villagers
The administrations of the mosque & Batu 16.

Therefore the house location of Mr. Ghazali shold be strategic and easily accessible to everyone in the village.

Infographic of the Penghulu's role

DAILY RITUAL of the Kampung

Most people who lives in Kampong Hulu Langat are Malay Muslim. They perform their prayers regularly every day, for 5 times daily as what we known as Solat Fardu. The five stages of prayers are Solat Subuh, Solat Zohor, Solat Asar, Solat Maghrib and Solat Isyak.

The children in the family will greet their parents in the morning before heading to school. Students staying in this village usually walk or cycle to school.

The 'ayam kampung' that is raised by the villagers for living.

Each family will grow chicken, geese and duck for food. They get egg supplement laid from the chicken. The father will work in the farm or field and growth their crops. They normally plant banana, durian and jackfruit (cempedak).

Housewife will make some edible food like cakes and biscuits to help increase the household’s income. Sometimes, housewives of an area meet each other in a house doing leisure activity together.

In the evening when the children are back from school, they will go around with their friends for some hobby and games. Their activities include flying kite, fishing near the riverside, playing congkak and so-on. In the meantime, the ladies in the family will prepare dinner for everyone. After dinner, whole family will seat together and have conversation with each other. This clearly shows a strong bond exist among the family members.