Saturday, January 17, 2009

Waste not, want not.

That is my description of unworked land in Lipat Kajang. The kampong has a vast reserve of unworked land, or shall I rephrase it as unproductive land or shall I say land with ‘absentee’ land lords.

Once upon a time, Lipat Kajang was not too heavily populated and so land was owned by a few people who originally opened and pioneered the land. In those days under the British it was quite easy to get named title of land. You clear the virgin jungle or the secondary jungle, you work the land, you plant fruit trees on the land or for that matter you make the land productive, you can claim title to the land. And therefore there were people who owned vast acres of land in the kampong. My great grandfather was one of them. It was easy for him, he had a large family, he must have got so many wives and they all work the land and he must have laid claims to all of them (I have no proof but I am just assuming). But when he passed away, the land was inherited by his children and wives and so these were divided accordingly, either by the law of the land or by mutual agreement. By the time it reaches my generation we inherited only small pieces of land here and there. Thus, much of the land are unproductive to work on. The market value of the pieces of land is minimal as the land are very much in the rural settings. Only town lands have any measure of value. As a result many have left the land they inherited to be unproductive, and have moved somewhere else.

I shall qualify the statement and the meaning of unproductive. It basically means (in my mind) that the land does not give substantial periodic returns. You pay the Government an annual rental, which is dirt cheap, and even with so cheap you cannot generate income from the land. Unless the land is full of rubber trees (and later palm oil trees). Many of these land have fruit trees, may even be called as orchards but Malaysian fruits are not very marketable because they are seasonal and all fruit trees fruit during a season thus depressing the market values of the fruit because of high supply with constant or minimal demand. And much of the fruit not marketed are left to rot because there is no systematic marketing available presently.

So unworked land are not really unworked but unproductive land.

How can we make the land productive?. I saw an instance where a Chinese guy contracted a 7 acres of land from various owners where he planted papayas, chilli and water melon, at various time on the land. He managed to market them all because the Chinese has got good marketing technique and contacts. The kampong folks have no such technique or contact, they are not brought up to technically market products. Imagine if one can get more than 7 acres of land ‘contracted’ and one can almost create a proper plantation. With good return I am in the opinion that land owners will go the way of combined effort of land development. But the method have been said (and many times mentioned) but never tried. In Lipat Kajang its too far from it being brought to reality because no one has to date really try to go along that way (except for the Chinaman I mentioned above).

The soil in Lipat Kajang is very fertile, and with a bit of fertilizing anything can be planted. Currently many of these pieces of land are either planted with coconut trees or traditional fruit trees or even unplanted at all (just wasted land). With enough persuasion from the kampong leaders there is a high probability that all these pieces of land can be combined and a big productive piece, some sort of plantation groupings can be formed.

Many pieces of land in Lipat Kajang are not really dry productive land but swampy areas which are really padi fields or “sawah” or “paya”. In the olden days these were properly irrigated and people used to plant padi. It was more or less an annual affair and they used to plant perennial padi plants. But many people in other parts of Malaysia are now planting padi every 6 months. Thus these people who plant padi every 6 month have higher productivity. I suppose if the kampong folks can organise to plant padi every 6 moths then maybe they can get a good return from their “sawah” or “paya”. But the challenge is that the kampong is now dwindling in population and the younger folks have no training in padi planting. They just do not know how to plant padi, and they do not even try. So the idea of the present kampong folks planting padi is out of the question. Howeve there are people who are willing to work the padi fields but from what I hear they are offering very cheap rental. Thus the kampong folks are not interested to respond to the idea. But of course these rental of padi fields from the outsiders will need a good irrigation scheme. Will the kampong be able to provide for that?

The vast land unworked, dry or wet have good potential for rearing animals. Duck rearing are suitable for the wet areas, and chicken for the dry areas. If combined, the dry areas can also be used as breeding grounds for buffaloes, cattle, and goats/sheep. Some people have tried that on a small scale and seems successful enough, though the return is small, which may not be really worth the effort. If these are done on a bigger scale there is a high probability that the return is adequate for a comfortable living in the kampong.

The Govt. on their part has tried to get the people to do the ‘combined’ efforts that I have mentioned. But to date the Government are just saying it with no concrete plan on how this will work in real life.

Must all these making of unworked land productive be left to the Government of the day.? Why can’t the kampong folks have a start and work out the pros and cons after weighing all the risks involved and how to overcome such risks. Its just that there is no initiative in any direction or from anyone.


Lipat Kajang people (or decendents) are encouraged to participate& contribute (Orang Lipat Kajang, atau keturunan, di jemput memberi sumbangan idea)

10 comments:

  1. The motivation to move forward is waning in Lipat Kajang, Pahang. Again the attitude, being centric, and sometime remorse to others deter the power to be to inculcate ideas and change.

    The mentality, dual, of not liking for others to prosper and cooperation with each other undermine the honest intention of the powers to be to move.

    They just do not accept change and to them it will not prosper them but a burden to them.

    Logically the sum of land available in Lipat Kajang Pahang can be made productive for paddy planting and what not.

    There are opportunity but then it is wasted by irrelevant issues plus..........what not which either existed currently or inherited.

    There is a bit of animosity in LKP
    where one cannot see eye to eye which each other.

    A decent family who work hard. toil the land he/she has is labelled as show off, mengada gada, sombong and other negative phrases there is.

    That is a big challenge to the ones that has the motivation/spirit to move forward but sadly to those who do not they are also not helping in moving things forward.

    Menang sorak tapi apa pun tak jalan and kampung boleh tergadai. They are looking for that easy break to make the big bucks and not motivated to move in concert with the others but more foe themselves or their machai/balaci.

    Thus we see some are better off while most are at the same std of living without any improvement.

    How can the government help. They are not helping themselves. There good leaders previously and now i heard one without any education is also a leader.

    How to lead when one is without education and is no different than a hooligan.

    What LKP need is a good leader who shares his view, has vision, mission and lead with example. LKP cannot have a dictator and hooligans to oppress and depress.

    Sensitive it is but this is what is happening in LKP.

    Please ask the elderly and see where are they. Then ask the question why are they left out in the administration of LKP.

    One thing is for sure we are from the same family.

    Again LKP need good people to forge ahead in the right direction taking of the interest and prosperity of LKP and its residence/populace.

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  2. yes, we have problems I agree. how do we resolve the problem? do we need outside help? we have no budget for outside help. (I have modified the blog page to include needing help statement ........ as usual just a dream .... hoping that we can get help ........InsyaAllah). Looking are what we are today, we need leadership, a leader with some exposure and with enough influence in the kampong. I believe that none of in the internet now has got the 'influence' though we may have the exposure.
    We have a long way to go, and don't give up hope.
    About that hooligan, I believe that its a political divide ..... and in our efforts we must avoid all innotation of politic.

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  3. "influence" can help to quickly establish oneself, project himself faster and places a lot at his disposal

    leadership can come from within or otherwise, as long as one is a LK-ite born and bred (my opinion) who have some sense of belonging - love the kampong and the people (all in the family)

    leadership requires a lot more apart from experience and exposure

    agents of backwardness (call them by whatever name) who places personal lust and greed above everything else must be removed and replaced at whatever cost, no either / or about it, no two way about it
    a lot of sacrifices are required, the spirit and practice of musyawarah, muzakarrah, mujahadah (melawan dan menundukkan kehendak hawa nafsu), consenses (perpaduan/sepakat) etc etc must prevail at all times

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  4. i believe that our folks in lipat kajang has been suppressed for far too long. they dare not move in case they risk the anger of someone who can give them subsidy or 'peruntukan'. they have ceased to function as individuals, a thinking person. they want to be in 'that group' or else they are left out. and they kowtow a lot, even at loosing their self dignity.
    its time lipat kajanag folks become individual who can think, and can act according to his 'right ways'. even Hj Ahmad went to Kuala Krau whenever the Sultan came to Lipat Kajang i.e he dared to move away, he did not kowtow. he was a thinking person, that is the sort of person we want in lipat kajanag if ever we want to progress.

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  5. like we have said about the other postings, leadership (with responsibility) is urgently required to be the focal point the prime mover/motivator the one the people can look up to, to desperately changed their thinkg to correct their mindset to give the inertia for a paradigm shift, viz a viz to re vitalise re energise and wake up the whole community out of a deep dreamless sleep,
    the Penghulu who is a non LK-ite does not live in the community and has no sense of belonging and responsibility whatsoever MUST be asked to resign and not to continue to receive "the Penghulu allowance" or be sacked if need be, tough issue requires tough measure/action, what does the community have got to lose by throwing him out, immediately...I appeal to all...kick the present Penghulu out and replace with of our own !!!
    And choose a local as Penghulu who can put all his heart and mind on developing our Kg Lipat Kajang

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. p/s activate a petition if you must to force the present Penghulu out of Kg Lipat Kajang !!!

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  8. I support the idea of a LK-ite Penghulu, but who?
    remember who is the brother of the present Penghulu!
    but I thought the present Penghulu's wife is from Lipat Kajang.
    if only the Penghulu gets himself more deeply involved with the social, religious and communal activities of the Lipat Kajang folks ........

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  9. To initiate the move is to gather the elderly folks in a musyawarah (time n occassion must accommodate their presence - all of them).

    Their voices must be heard and out respect must be told of what is expected i.e. for them to name/nominate candidate/s for the post.

    I think the time has come for LKP folks to brace themselves for future undertakings and developments.

    Insyaalah

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  10. sirad wrote, "Please ask the elderly and see where are they. Then ask the question why are they left out in the administration of LKP."
    >>> administration of Kg LKP, and the Penghulu issue <<<
    this issue must be raised during the June perhimpunan, and get all the elderly folks to voice out what's in their minds about the issue,
    we must not be afraid, we must not be incarcerated by hatred, animosity, jealousy, ---centrics, BODOH SOMBONG, blocked brain, negative thinking, etc, etc

    we must all open our eyes, open our ears, open our minds - these few of us here must then come forward, take the lead, never mind if those gungho "otai" in the kampong wants to say what, we have no more time to waste, no more energy to be devoted to unproductive petty issues that eventually benefits everybody but us the people of Kg LKP, little do we realize it...
    apa yang kita takutkan?
    what is a bit disheartening is the fact that after two months, the response so far can hardly be called "lukewarm"
    i am just a "contributor" here, a supporter of some sort, but i believe there is a genuine sense of purpose, a sense of commitment (here in this blog) expressed by everyone so far, that we all need to do and must do something for Kg Lipat Kajang Pahang.
    but where are all the rest of the sons and daughters of this kampong, who have been "enlightened" enough to understand what we are up to here, and they are scattered all over the place, but they choose to remain silent
    (silent is not golden, in a court of law, silent can be construed as an admission of guilt, tanya Lias Marzuki, dia lawyer)
    this is the common illness of our kind (orang melayu) - the "tidak apa" attitude, not my business, not my problem, i don't stand to gain anything out of all the hoo-haa over the internet, if i don't do it someone else will, etc, etc

    well, just look at ourselves again, we have come from a small remote kampong literally unknown, not recorded in history, nor going to be recorded in anybody's archive, because we all choose to remain as such, aren't we ashamed for not wanting to do anything about that negative perspective, an image of no hope ? don't we have any pride at all being born and bred in Kg LKP or that your ancestors (parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents) originate from Kg LKP?

    i am now calling upon all sons and daughters of Kg LKP or those related to Kg LKP in any way as to ingratiate yourself with KG LKP, to come out in support of this move and effort that has been initiated to make Kg LKP a better place of abode and a kampong whose existence is at least archived womewhere, ayoh kita semua

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