Panoramio - Photos by msaufi

Panoramio - Photos by msaufi

Please see my photos taken around Saufiville, in the village of Janda Baik, Bentong, Pahang, Malaysia.

Matching demand and supply for land

Since the last few months I have met a number of people visiting Janda Baik to look for land to build their own retreat and also to do hobby farming. They range from corporate leaders, celebreties, retired civil servants, academecians and people from various other professions who have some cash to spare. On the other hand I have also come to know many land owners here who have decided to dispose off their holdings for various reasons; loss of interest due to age and non of their off-springs have developed interest in farming and rural living, cashing out now because their capital gain is already monumental and for others they just need the extra cash because the going rate is just too attractive but until today have not been able to find suitable buyers.



Inspite of the apparent need for the establishment of a market mechanism to match the sellers and the buyers, so far I have not seen any concrete effort to set up a small centre or office in this village to facilitate such transections. In developed countries, I noticed that even in small country townships, there are realty agents which provide this kind of services and shop windows show beautiful pictures of properties available for sale. In Malaysia this kind of services is not even available in District capitals making it very difficult for property owners to dispose or purchase properties. Would it not be possible to train sufficient number of our unemployed graduates and help them set up such businesses?



MSAbdullah.

Where are all the people who care for the environment.

I have tried every possible avenues to raise my concern with the environmental degredation that is taking place around this village of Janda Baik, which in the district of Bentong in the state of Pahang in Malaysia. So far the rampant felling of virgin forest and subsequent open burning and cultivation of crops such as ginger and other vegetables have continued unabated with impunity.

Apparently ginger is a very lucrative crop and since it prefers freshly cleared and burnt grounds, the search for fresh areas has led to higher and steeper slopes of the virgin forest being encroached. As the ginger crops also require ample supply of water, catchments are much prefered by the illegal growers. Muddy flows after heavy showers in the mountains were seldom seen here before. Now it has become a common sight and the numerous HDPE pipes used by the villagers to supply crystal clear cool mountain water to their homes and gardens are often clogged and carried away by the heavy debries that are now washed down by the flash floods.

I wonder whether Janda Baik residentds can find enough sympathisers to put an end to their plight.

MSAbdullah.

First Idilfitri in Janda Baik

After having set up my small retreat in this village some five years ago, I decided to spend our Hari Raya Idilfitri with the local community here so that we can guage whether we have been accepted as part of the kampong community. After all we have got to know quite a number of the locals. We have frequented the popular coffee shop "Pak Andak's Place", the biggest provision shop "Pasarmini Ramadan" and the only village mosque. We have even made house visits to a few of our neighbours both original villagers and recent residents who have made Janda Baik their homes.

During the two days prior to Hari Raya, whenever we met local residents that we have become aqainted with we invited them to visit us on hari raya day as is normal done in other parts of Malaysia. We were very surprised to experience no house calls at all for the whole of the two days of Hari Raya we were day. The extend and intermitten heavy rains did not help either. Except for a Canadian friend who is married to a Malaysian and his daughter who lives on their beautiful farm not very far from us and two friends and their families who have come all the way from Kuala Lumpur who turned up on the 2nd day, our food preparation for the festive season would have been totally wasted. Fortunately our farm workers were not at all bashful at helping themselves.

So by late evening on the 2nd day we decided to return home to Shah Alam.

MSAbdullah.