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People & Nature– a fishing village in Malaysia
P E T E R B E J D E R & K I M B O Y E H O L T
People & Nature– a fishing village in Malaysia
P E T E R B E J D E R & K I M B O Y E H O L T
People & Nature
People & Nature – a fishing village in Malaysia
By Peter Bejder & Kim Boye Holt
Copyright © Wetlands International, Malaysia
From the series: People & Nature
Translation: Henrik Enemark Sørensen & Susan Spann
Graphic production and cover: Søren Kirkemann
Print: Johnsen Offset
Distribution: NBC
ISBN: 87-90483-79-0
Photos: Peter Bejder & Kim Boye Holt, except pages 8, 10 r, 15,
19, 24 r, 27, 29 l: Wetlands International, 9 top: Lim Kim Chye
Copying from this book is not permitted.
Look for more titles in this series.
Forlaget Mañana
Grenåvej 658B
8541 Skødstrup
Denmark
Phone: (+45) 86 99 36 65
www.manana.dk
CONTENTSWelcome to the village of Kuala Gula . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Two families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Lizards on the menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Crabs in the trap and shrimp in the net . . . . . . . . . . .10
The money tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Take care of nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Mr. Tan gives a tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Tourism - not at any price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
With Key Kang at school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
A day trip with friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Homework and laughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
With Haleeda at school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
A cleaner village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Sam at work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Party time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Malaysia – a country with two faces . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
They help Kuala Gula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
In Malaysia there are several big cities but
also lots of villages. This book takes you on
a trip to the village of Kuala Gula, where
you’ll meet the Chinese boy Key Kang and
the Malay girl Haleeda. They don’t know
each other, although they live in the same
village – a village with less than 3,000
inhabitants.
Living in Kuala Gula are:· 2,000 Chinese· 500 Malays· 300 Indians
Most of the inhabitants of the village are
fishermen, but also farmers, merchants and
4
people who own factories live in the village.
In the village, the people of Chinese and
Malay descent stick to themselves. There
are Malay and Chinese schools, there are
Malay and Chinese restaurants, and the
Malay and the Chinese inhabitants each
live in their own end of the village. And
each group speaks its own language.
But they have one thing in common:
A beautiful and rich landscape with rivers,
mangrove forests and oil palms. And the
wildlife in the area is in a class of its own.
Here you’ll find storks, herons and animals
that are unique to Kuala Gula Wetlands.
Did you know that …Kuala means the mouth of a river and Gula means sugar? In other words
Kuala Gula means “Sugar Mouth”. The village got its name because at one
time a lot of sugar was grown in the area.
Welcome to the village of Kuala Gula
Haleeda
Key Kang
5
The village of Kuala Gula lies about 3-4 hours north
of the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia consists of a Western part and an
Eastern part. Kuala Gula lies in West Malaysia on
the peninsula of Malaya. East Malaysia is a part of
Borneo, the third largest island in the world.
Did you know that …a mangrove is a forest? The trees have special
roots making it possible for them to grow in
salt water and mud.
�
�
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Denmark
Kuala Gula
Key Kang has two sisters. An older sister,
Cheen Miao, and a younger sister, Ji Anne.
His mother’s name is Lim Siew Boey. His
grandparents, Tan Ah Piow and Goh Ah
Kooi, also live in the house.
The Chinese familyKey Kang is 12 years old. He lives with his
family in a house by the river. It is very
practical for the family to live there becau-
se Key Kang’s father, Tan Eng Chong, is a
fisherman. He catches fish, crabs and mus-
sels – but especially shrimp. Mr. Tan,
which is how he’s known in the village,
also owns a plantation of oil palms. Read
more about this on pages 12 and 13.
6
P O P U L AT I O N
Two families
Full nameJust like his father
Key Kang’s last
name is Tan. Chinese
people write their
last name first, so
when Key Kang
wants to write his
full name, he writes
Tan Key Kang.
Tan Eng ChongLim Siew Boey
7
The Malay familyHaleeda is 13 years old and lives with her
big family in the Malay village of Kuala
Gula. Her father’s name is Sam, and her
mother’s name is Jamnah, and they have a
total of 11 children. But the family keeps growing, and now they also
have 15 grandchildren. Says Sam with a wry smile:
“It’s nice to have a lot of children and grandchildren,
but they are hard to keep track of. And it’s awfully
expensive.”
Sam is a fisherman. Read more about him on page 32.
On the following pages you will read about the
two families and their everyday lives. At the same time
you’ll learn something about life in Kuala Gula. In
other words you’ll get to hear more about wildlife, fis-
hing, tourism, school, leisure activities and a lot more.
Jamnah Sam
Haleeda with her friend
Key Kang loves the days when there’s no school
because then he can work with his father. He
helps him fish – or brings his binoculars and
looks for birds. Key Kang’s favourite bird is the
White-bellied Sea Eagle. But he also likes the little
kingfisher because of its beautiful blue colour.
“I never grow tired of walking in the mang-
rove forest. Something exciting always happens.
And if you listen carefully, you can hear the ani-
mals rustle about. But best of all, I think, is wal-
king around in the forest at night. The forest
and the river are even more exciting when it is
dark. I like being in nature a whole lot more
than being in Kuala Gula, where the scooters
and cars make so much noise,” says Key Kang.
His family lives on the nature that surro-
unds them. They eat lots of fish and shrimp,
for instance. One of Key Kang’s favourite dis-
hes is made from the big lizards living in the
area. They can be up to six feet long.
“Lizard tastes a bit like chicken. The meat
is light and delicious. But the bigger lizards
don’t taste very good. The best lizards are the
ones that measure about three feet. My father
catches them by sneaking up on them from
behind. I’m trying to learn how to do it, so
that one day I can catch my own lizard,” Key
Kang says with a smile.
8
C LO S E TO N AT U R E
Lizards on the menu
9
Naughty monkeysA lot of monkeys live in and around Kuala Gula.
Key Kang thinks that they are a lot of fun, but
most of the inhabitants in the village are annoy-
ed by them because the monkeys enter the
houses and steal food – especially eggs.
Migratory birdsEvery year about 200,000 migratory birds come to Kuala Gula in
order to find food in the rivers and mangrove forests. When the
weather gets too cold, the birds leave Siberia, China, Japan, and
Mongolia and head south for Kuala Gula. The inhabitants of the vil-
lage have realized that they must protect the mangrove forest, so
the birds will continue to come.
Key Kang’s mornings always start in the same
way. Before he goes to school he goes out to
check his fish trap to see if there are any fish,
crabs or other goodies in it.
Key Kang mostly has the trap for fun, but
every now and then he succeeds in catching a
big fish. And if the fish is big enough, his
mother prepares it for dinner.
“Well, did you catch anything today?” his
mother shouts from the kitchen.
Key Kang shakes his head. “Only a few
small fish and two crabs,” he shouts back. He
carefully lifts the crabs out of the trap to pre-
vent them from biting his fingers. And then he
throws this morning’s catch back into the
river.
As often as possible Key Kang goes out on
the sea with his father. He’s learning how to
catch shrimp. It’s actually not that simple. You
have to wait for the tide to come in.
When the tide is low, Key Kang and his
father sail out to put the nets in place. And
when the tide is turning again after a few
hours, the water comes rushing in from the sea
carrying lots of shrimp with it. The shrimp are
caught in the nets, and when the nets are full,
10
T H E T U R N O F T H E T I D E
Crabs in the trap and shrimp in the net
The shrimp nets are attached to poles in the river
Key Kang helps his father take them in.
When the shrimp have been brought to
shore, they either have to be sold right away or
taken to a factory. Some of the shrimp are
dyed orange and left to dry on the warm
asphalt roads in Kuala Gula, while others are
taken to one of the many small shrimp facto-
ries. Here they are turned into shrimp paste,
which is used in almost all Chinese and Malay
dishes. A lot of the shrimp paste from Kuala
Gula also ends up in other countries – mainly
Thailand.
11
Wetlands – an explanation“Wetlands” can be a lake, a water pond, a
stream, a marsh or a shallow area along a
coastline. But wetlands can also be a low-
lying area close to the sea.
Key Kang’s father doesn’t just sit and wait for
the tide to turn so he can go out and catch
shrimp. On many days Mr. Tan starts his
moped and goes to the family’s plantation,
where they own about 12 hectares of land
planted with oil palms. Often he brings his
wife and Key Kang along.
Assisted by four or five workers Mr. Tan
cuts down the big clusters of fruits from the
oil palm trees. Sometimes the fruit grows so
high up on the trees that they have to use long
sticks with sharp knives attached to the ends
to cut down the clusters.
The workers and Mr. Tan leave the heavy
clusters on the outskirts of the plantation. Key
Kang and his mother help the men by picking
up the fruit that has fallen off the clusters. A
cluster of fruit can weigh up to 50 pounds.
Finally the clusters are loaded onto a truck
that takes them to a factory in Kuala Gula.
Here the oil fruit is turned into oil.
“In the factory they boil the fruit in order
to extract the oil. Actually it is quite simple.
When I deliver a ton of fruit to the factory,
they pay me 260 ringgit. That’s probably why
we call it a money tree. And I do hope, that
one day Key Kang will take over the planta-
tion,” Mr. Tan says with a smile.
The production of palm oil has become
an important industry in Malaysia. People
have learned that they can make good money
from these palms, and that’s why more and
more people change their land over from
rubber to oil palm plantations.
12
T H E P L A N TAT I O N
The money tree
Did youknow that … The oil from oilpalms can be usedfor a lot of differentthings. For instance,it is used for makingmargarine. And nowresearchers areworking on finding away to use this oil asfuel for cars.
Almost half ofMalaysia’s farmlandis covered with oilpalms. An oil palmhas to be three yearsold before you canbegin to reap thefruits from it.
The work in the plantationsWhen Mr. Tan needs people to help him harvest the fruitfrom the oil palms, he hires them for a short time only.They are called day labourers. They make about 30 ringgitfor a day’s work. A day’s work is normally around 5 hours.
By far the majority of the workers on the plantationsare Indians.
Oil fruits
13
A long time ago Key Kang’s father realized
that nature is not just a buffet table. This
means that you cannot just take and take as
you wish. Mr. Tan and some others in the vil-
lage are trying to make the other inhabitants
realize how important it is to take care of the
mangrove forest, the sea and the river.
“We need nature. But we have to be careful
not to destroy it. We can still fish, but we have
to be careful not to be too greedy. Because
otherwise there won’t be enough food left for
our children and grandchildren. We have to
remember that the river and the sea are our
breadbasket. If we empty it, we won’t have any
future in Kuala Gula,” says Mr. Tan.
He says that there are already problems in
the area.
“For instance a lot of other fishermen and
I have noticed that there aren’t as many crabs
in the water any more. It’s hard to say why.
But maybe we have been overfishing – catch-
ing too many fish. Or maybe we have polluted
the water too much. I don’t know. But it’s an
indication that we have to think more about
these things in the future,” says Mr. Tan.
In his opinion too many fish are caught in
Kuala Gula.
“Within these last years we have been able
to afford bigger and better nets. This means
that we can catch more fish. Some fishermen
think this is great. They make more money
and can buy bigger houses. But I don’t think
it’s good in the long run,” states Mr. Tan.
14
E N V I R O N M E N T
Take care of nature
Don’t destroy the environment!All around the world people use nature. We cultivate the soil,cut down trees and dig oil up from the underground. There’snothing wrong with that. But biologists and other expertswarn us and say that we must be careful not to squeeze toomuch from the land. They say there must be a balance. Theyrefer to this as sustainability or a sustainable development.This means that we have to be careful not to destroy theenvironment – because our children and grandchildren alsohave to be able to enjoy it and live from it.
15
Key Kang’s father, Mr. Tan, is a busy man –
because he also works as a nature guide in
Kuala Gula. He takes visitors on tours of the
rivers and the sea and far into the mangrove
forest. He tells them about the wildlife in
the forest and the river and explains what
the inhabitants of the village do in order to
take care of nature.
Mr. Tan also brings tourists out to see
the floating fish farms in the river. A fish
farm has many big cages in the water where
fish are bred. This is how it works: Small
fish are placed in the cages and then they are
fed and caught again when they have grown
big enough.
Mr. Tan arranges for the fish farmer to
show the tourists some of the fish he has in
the cages. He is especially proud of some of
the fish. They have been in the cage for
about one year. So now it’s nearly time to
sell them.
The fish-farmer jokes with the tourists.
“What will you pay?” he asks and holds a
big fish in front of one of the visitors. “Isn’t
it big and delicious?” he laughs.
Pirates and killersWhen Mr. Tan works as a guide he cannot keep himselffrom telling the tourists stories from the old days whenpirates controlled things in Kuala Gula and the surround-ing area. Here is his true story:
A hundred years ago only Chinese people lived onthe Kalumpang Island near Kuala Gula. All the Chinesefamilies were named Tan, and they would not allow peo-ple with different names to settle in the area around themangrove forest. A total of 300 families lived there, andsome of them earned a living from piracy.
The pirates robbed all the ships that passed by. Butthen one day in 1910 things went wrong. In those daysMalaysia was a British colony, and an English couple wentto Kuala Gula on their honeymoon. The pirates caughtthem, robbed them and beheaded them. But they shouldn’thave done this. Because the British decided to takerevenge by killing all the pirate families and burning downtheir houses.
16
G U I D E
Mr. Tan gives a tour
Guide-schoolIn Kuala Gula it is
possible to study to
become a nature
guide. A nature
guide learns how to
educate the tourists
more about nature.
17
The rich bird life around Kuala Gula is a special
attraction, drawing many tourists to the village
every year. Most of the tourists that come to
Kuala Gula are Malays or Chinese from the big
cities of Malaysia. They come to experience the
life in the mangrove forests and enjoy the
peaceful atmosphere in Kuala Gula.
So far only a few foreign tourists visit the
village. And this Mr. Tan doesn’t complain
about. For even though Key Kang’s father likes
his job as a nature guide, he doesn’t want too
many tourists to come to the village.
“Already quite a number of visitors come
here. If more tourists come, there’s a risk of
spoiling our rich nature. Therefore I don’t want
big hotels to be built in the village. I know that
some people in Kuala Gula want more tourists
to come here. But some people think that it’s
more important to make money than it is to
make sure that nature can survive,” says Mr. Tan.
Considerate touristsIn Kuala Gula some people are making an effort to makesure that the growing number of tourists won’t have a nega-tive effect on the wildlife and plant life in the area. Somepeople refer to this as “ecotourism.” With ecotourism, greatcare is taken to protect nature. This means that, for instance,if you want to visit a certain place you have to make surethat:� significant portion of the price of the trip goes to the
local residents� part of the money is designated for preserving nature� you only travel in small groups� you buy local goods� you don’t buy products made from wild animals� you don’t pick the flowers or dig up plants� you clean up and take your trash with you
The struggle for natureIn Kuala Gula a lot of people are intent on having the areaincluded on the so-called Ramsar List. This is a list of a num-ber of wetlands in the world that are worth preserving. Anda lot of people are struggling to protect these areas so theydon’t get ruined – so native plants, animals and birds willnot become extinct.
So far they have not succeeded in having Kuala Gulaincluded on this list.
You can read more about Ramsar at www.ramsar.org
18
TO U R I S M
Tourism - not at any price
19
When the math teacher, Ms. Tan Gaik See,
enters the classroom, the pupils rise and say in
a chorus: “Good morning, teacher. Thank you,
teacher!” in Chinese as well as in English. Then
the lesson begins.
“Today we are to learn about ‘time’,” the
teacher says and starts writing a number of
figures on the blackboard.
“Time,” wonders Key Kang and looks out
the window. “If only there was more free time.”
Key Kang thinks it is okay to go to school. For
instance he likes math. But every now and then
he thinks it’s boring. Especially when the school
holidays is waiting just around the corner.
Key Kang knows that his mother and father
would like him to be more conscientious about
his homework. But he doesn’t understand why
you cannot learn something in a more amus-
ing way. “Why do you have to sit for such a
long time on a chair in a classroom?” he asks
his mother. “If only we could move the class-
room into the forest, we would learn so much
more,” he says.
When sometimes his father is just about to
agree with him, his mother hastens to say: “It’s
hard to learn English while you’re fishing or run-
ning around with a pair of binoculars in front of
your eyes. And it’s important to learn English! If
one day tourists from other countries visit us
here, you can tell them about our nature.”
20
S C H O O L I N G
With Key Kang at school
The paintingAt Key Kang’s school a big mural has been painted on the
end wall by Key Kang’s father.
“I painted it to remind children how important it is
that we take good care of nature. In my opinion learning
about the environment is one of the most important things
to teach the pupils in the school. Children have to learn
that we have to treat nature in a decent way. And as grown
ups we have to lead the way for them,” he points out.
Chinese schoolThe name of Key Kang’s school is Sekolah Rendah Jenis
Kebangsan, and the school has 190 pupils. In Key Kang’s
class there are 24 pupils total. Only Chinese children
attend the school. The Malay children in the village have
their own school.
A new word every dayThe Malaysian government has decided that children in
Malaysia must learn one new English word every day.
The word is written on the blackboard. This day the word
is: hibernate. It means to pass the winter in a dormant
or torpid state.
Now and then Key Kang’s family goes on a
little day trip so the children can fish and
swim. Key Kang almost always invites some of
his friends to come along. They drink soft
drinks, talk and fish with a hook and line
from the family’s boat.
A couple of hundred metres out in the bay
there’s a place where normally there is a lot of
fish. Sometimes Key Kang is allowed to steer
the boat, but today his father is at the helm.
The children use shrimp as bait. They
place the shrimp on the hook and throw out
the line. And while they wait for the fish to
take the bait they talk. “Sometimes we catch
something, and other times we don’t. It doesn’t
really matter,” Key Kang says. “First and foremost
we go out to have a good time.”
But today they are lucky. They catch several
small fish and throw them into a little bucket full
of water. Key Kang’s little sister laughs when the
small fish whip their tails and splash around.
Suddenly one of Key Kang’s cousins shouts.
She’s caught a big one on the hook. The fish has
poisonous spikes on each side and on the back.
So Key Kang hurries up to his cousin and helps
her pull the fish into the boat. And then he cuts off
22
T I M E O F F
A day trip with friends
the poisonous spikes with a pair of pliers.
Just before the sun sets they return home.
Key Kang’s father speeds up the boat, so the
water splashes up around their ears.
When they enter the river, the children are
allowed to jump into the water. Even though
both Key Kang and his friends can swim, they
are not allowed to jump in before they have
put on their life vests – just to be on the safe
side. The current in the river can be pretty
treacherous.
They have swimming competitions and
fool around in the water. And finally they let
the current carry them the rest of the way to
Key Kang’s house.
23
A home templeIn Key Kang’s house they have a little temple in theirliving room. Here they light candles and pray to theirancestors. Most Chinese people have a little hometemple like this. In the village there are also two bigtemples used by the Chinese inhabitants when theyhave something special to celebrate.
At the other end of Kuala Gula Haleeda lives
with her family. They live in a pretty little
house with lots of flowers in the garden.
Today Haleeda sits outside the house with
two of her sisters doing their homework.
They help one another.
Haleeda has to write an essay about the
mangrove forest. In English. But there’s time
to talk as well.
“What is your paper about?” one of the
sisters asks.
“I‘m writing about mangrove trees, roots
and salt water,” Haleeda rattles off. “And
about the time when I got stuck in the mud
in the forest.”
“Oh, that time,” the sisters say in a chorus.
And once again Haleeda has to tell the story
about when she and her classmates went on
an excursion to the mangrove forest with
their environment teacher.
“As a matter of fact it was not funny at
all,” she smiles. “I was just completely stuck
and thought I would drown. Even my teacher
got stuck when she wanted to help me. We
just got all covered in mud.”
Haleeda’s sisters crack up laughing. They
make faces at her, as if they were stuck in the
mud in the forest. And they don’t stop until
Haleeda’s mother comes out.
“Now you two leave Haleeda alone,” she
says with a smile. Haleeda has to write her
paper before the school bus arrives.
24
M A N G R O V E
Homework and laughter
Use nature – but take care of it!The mangrove forest near Kuala Gula covers anarea of 400 sq km. Although the forest is protected,the people in the area also use it. But it takes 30years for a mangrove tree to reach its full size.Therefore it is prohibited to cut down more than2% of the trees. The mangrove tree is used forproducing charcoal. Charcoal is made by burningthe mangrove trees in some big ovens. Out of40,000 kilos of mangrove wood you get 10,000kilos of charcoal.
The charcoal is of a very good quality. Somost of the charcoal from Kuala Gula is sent toJapan, as they are willing to pay a high price for it.
The mangrove forestThe trees in a mangrove forest growbetween land and the sea. A mangrove treeis able to tolerate the salt in the sea water.
In the outer rim of the mangrove forestyou can find fish and crustaceans, whilecrabs, oysters and snails live around theroots of the trees. And these species are onthe top of the menu for the birds living inthe mangrove forests. In the forests a veryspecial fish called the mud skipper lives inthe water, and it’s able to move around inthe mud even at low tide. It crawls along byusing its strong breast fins.
The mangrove forests are threatened inmany places. Often the reason is that thetrees are cut down in order to build hotelsand factories, but also because the wood isused for timber and fuel. About half of theworld’s mangrove forests have now been cutdown.
25
Every day Haleeda and her good friend Razlin
accompany one another on their way to
school. After a short walk they’ll catch the
school bus to SMK. Mudzaffar Shah, which is
the name of the school. This week they go to
school in the afternoon. There are so many
pupils at the school that there’s not enough
room for all of them at the same time. Today
the girls will go to school from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.
“Have you done your paper?” asks Razlin.
“Yes, but I’m not all that proud of it,” Haleeda
says and wrinkles her nose. “English is not my
best subject.”
At school they are working on a project on
N AT U R A L D I S A S T E R S
With Haleeda at schoolnatural disasters. They read and write about vol-
canoes, earthquakes and the recent tsunami.
The teacher tells them that the damages after
the tsunami were most severe in the places
where the mangrove forests have been cut
down.
Haleeda thinks back to the time when the
tsunami raged. “We were not really scared when
the tsunami hit, because it was so far away from
us. But I get scared when I think about the risk
of a new tsunami. When there was a recent
earthquake in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, I was a
bit worried, because we could feel the ground
vibrate.”
27
Tsunami In December 2004 a lot of people learned a new word:
tsunami. The word is Japanese and means a seismic sea
wave.
The whole thing started with a big earthquake
somewhere under the Indian Ocean floor. The earth-
quake set the ocean in motion and a few hours later
gigantic waves hit the coasts in Southeastern Asia. From
the epicentre of the earthquake the waves spread to all
sides with a speed of up to 700 km/h. When the waves
reached the shoreline, they rose and measured up to 30
metres in some places.
Almost 250,000 people died, and about 5 million
people needed help getting food and water, building
houses etc. Indonesia was struck especially hard, but also
in Thailand and Sri Lanka the wave caused major damage.
Kuala Gula in Malaysia escaped unhurt. Almost, at
least. One of the cockle houses on the sea was hit by a
little wave (see illustration) and was ruined. But that was
all.
Helping the teacherAt Haleeda’s school the children wear uniforms. Today
Haleeda’s uniform is a little different from the other
pupils’. Her uniform is a different colour and she wears
black shoes instead of white. That’s because Haleeda is
some sort of assistant teacher – the pupils take turns
and become assistant teachers for a month at a time.
The assistant teacher has to help the other pupils do
their homework and make sure that the class is quiet.
Did you know that …A mangrove forest helps prevent shorelines from
being destroyed? The forest protects against erosion.
This means that the fields and villages behind the
mangrove forest won’t get swept away if a big wave
hits the shore.
Haleeda’s family is one of the families that
have taken the lead in the struggle for making
Kuala Gula a cleaner village. Haleeda’s older
sister works especially hard for the environment.
“As more and more tourists visit the village
it has become necessary to do something about
all the garbage lying around in the streets. We
don’t want the tourists to see that. We live in a
beautiful natural environment, and it’s no
good if Kuala Gula looks like a dump. That
scares the visitors away. Therefore we have
done a lot to secure a cleaner environment in
the Malay village,” Haliza explains.
Although a lot of people in Kuala Gula
were tired of seeing garbage lying all over the
village, nothing really happened. But Halisa
and several others decided to take a leading role
in the struggle for a cleaner village.
“We helped each other pick up the garbage.
And we told people that it’s possible to recycle
some of the garbage. So now we have a recy-
cling centre,” Haliza smiles.
But it was no easy task convincing the
inhabitants to pay 6 ringgit a month to have
their garbage taken away.
“In the beginning a lot of people were
sullen. They thought it was much too expen-
sive. But now they have realized that it’s a good
idea. They’ve begun to appreciate that the vil-
lage has become cleaner and nicer. And now all
the Malay inhabitants are supporting the effort.
And the Chinese have also started collecting
their garbage,” Haliza tells.
G A R B A G E A N D R E C YC L I N G
A cleaner village
29
Learning about the environment“In the schools the children learn about protecting the
environment, just as they learn about the mangrove forest,
recycling and garbage. That’s the right way to do it. When
they grow up they can teach their own children the same
thing.”
Haliza, Haleeda’s older sister
In Haleeda’s opinion“Of course we have to take care of nature,
because it puts food on our table. But I also
think that we should get as many tourists as
possible to come to Kuala Gula. We need the
income from the tourists, and I would like it if
people all over the world knew Kuala Gula.”
It’s Saturday night. Darkness has set in and
Haleeda is at silat. Silat is a martial art, in
some ways similar to karate. The practice
takes place in the open air. A group of boys
and girls have gathered on the bare earth in
front of the school.
Haleeda sits and looks dreamily at two
young men fighting against one another.
”How good they are,” she thinks. ”They are
so supple, and their movements are so smooth.
How I wish I were as good as they are.”
Suddenly her thoughts are interrupted by
her instructor, who calls her name. Haleeda
steps forward, and in a moment she’s stand-
ing in front of an opponent.
Later the same night Haleeda meets with
Mimi and Razlin. The three of them always have
a lot to talk about when they are together. They
are best friends and love to dream about the
future together.
“I want to become rich and famous like Siti
Nurhaliza, the best Malaysian singer in the
world,” Mimi laughs. When she’s serious her real
dream is to become a doctor. That’s what Razlin
is dreaming about too. But Haleeda has other
plans.
“I want to become a teacher. It would be nice
to move to Kuala Lumpur and live in a big city,
but before that I want to travel to other countries
and see how other people live,” she explains.
30
T H E F U T U R E
Dreams
Did youknow that …Badminton is the
most popular sport
in Malaysia?
Haleeda, Razlinand Mimi
31
In the world of sportsA big part of Haleeda’s life is sport. As soon as she
gets a chance she’s off to silat, badminton or basket-
ball.
Every day late in the afternoon 10-12 girls meet
outside the school and play basketball. The only thing
that stops them is rain.
Haleeda and the future“I don’t have a boyfriend, and I don’t want to have one
before I’m about 20 years old. My husband doesn’t
necessarily have to be handsome. But he must be a good
person. What’s inside counts more than what’s outside.
I only want a couple of children – and I definitely don’t
want as many as my parents have.”
Haleeda’s father, Sam, is a fisherman. All the
men in the family have always been fishermen.
Therefore Sam knows exactly where to go to
get a good catch.
Today he has decided to set out early. He’s
accompanied by his good friend. They find a
place where there’s normally a lot of fish at this
time of the day. When they get there Sam’s
friend jumps into the water, fully dressed.
Although they are several hundred metres
away from the shore, the water only comes up
to around his chest when he’s standing on the
sea floor. In no time the two men set out the
200 metre long net in a big circle.
And then they sail quickly around the inside
of the enclosure. In this way they scare the fish
and make them swim out towards the net.
A short while after this when Sam and his
friend are sitting in the boat and are busy pul-
ling in the net, they see that a lot of fish have
been caught in it. Mostly they have caught a
large number of a fish called ikan belanak. After
a little while the boat is full of wriggling fish.
Sam smiles. He had hoped for a good catch.
And he got it.
“Tonight we’re having ikan belanak,” he says
happily. “And the rest of the catch we’ll save for
the party tomorrow.”
32
F I S H I N G
Sam at work
33
They grow cocklesAlong the shallow coastline close to Kuala Gula mus-
sels are bred. The fishermen do it by putting out
small cockles only a few millimetres long on the bot-
tom of the sea. And when the cockles have grown
big, they “reap” them. In order to prevent people
from stealing the cockles, the fishermen pay a guard
to keep an eye on the “cockle-field”. The guard
spends his nights in a cockle house at sea.
Haleeda opens cocklesIn Kuala Gula only the men are fishermen. But it’s
the women, who take care of the catch when the
men bring it home. For instance when cockles have
to be opened. This mostly takes place early in the
morning. Often Haleeda helps her mother with the
work.
Haleeda’s family are Muslims. This means
that they live according to the rules of Islam.
For instance they have just celebrated The
Feast of Ramadan. This means that they are
not allowed to eat or drink anything from
the time the sun rises till it sets.
The Ramadan lasts for a month, and
when it ends, the Muslim families in Kuala
Gula celebrate it with a party on the Hari
Raya Aidil Fitri day. Today the men have
visited the mosque, while the women have
been preparing the food for the party.
Now all of Haleeda’s family is assembled,
and the party begins. First all the children,
sons and daughters-in-law and grandchil-
dren take turn greeting Sam and Jamnah
because they are the heads of the family.
One by one they thank them and receive a
kind of blessing from them.
Afterwards everybody eats a large meal,
which takes place on the floor. Among other
things, they eat ketupat – rice with a taste of
coconut wrapped in banana leaves – and
rendang, a dish with chicken. And of course
they eat a lot of fish. Finally Haleeda’s
mother serves cakes and tea.
34
R E L I G I O N
Party time
Did you knowthat …Muslims in Malaysia
don’t use a knife and
a fork when they eat?
They use their right
hand.
35
Islam in shortThere are certain things all Muslims ought to do. These
things are called the five pillars of Islam.
� You must believe in Allah as the only God, and that
Muhammad is his prophet
� You must pray five times a day – with your head
turned towards Mecca
� You must fast for one month once a year (Ramadan)
� At least once in your life you ought to visit Islam’s
holy city, Mecca
� You must give presents and money to poor people
About wearing a scarf“I know that there are people who think that it’s
silly that Muslim girls and women wear a scarf.
But for me it’s no problem. I’m used to it. I want
to wear a scarf till the day I die.”
Haleeda – she doesn’t wear a scarf when
she’s at home, but as soon as she leaves the
house or is with other people she wears one.
Malaysia has two faces. On one hand it’s a rich
country while on the other hand it’s also a
country in need of help.
When a plane lands in the airport close to
the capital, Kuala Lumpur, the passengers step
into one of the most modern airports in the
world. On the way from the airport to Kuala
Lumpur they drive on broad and good motor-
ways, and there’s a lot of industry securing a
steady income for the country. Tourism is
another important source of income.
In many ways this means that Malaysia is a
rich country. The country has been called The
Pearl of the East because it’s richer than most of
the other countries in Southeast Asia.
But Malaysia has its problems too. The many
industries cause pollution, and this is hard on
the country’s environment. Malaysia has a rich
wildlife and an abundant plant life, and many
tourists come here from far away to experience
it. But nature is threatened by industry, the
building of new houses and pollution. And
therefore a number of countries help Malaysia
protect the beautiful natural resources.
36
N AT U R E A N D C U LT U R E
Malaysia – the country with two faces
Did you knowthat …Malaysia is ranked
number 59 on a
United Nations list
measuring factors like
education and life
expectancy. 177 nati-
ons are included on
this yearly list from
the UN.
37
Malaysia Can Do It!“Malaysia Boleh!” people say with pride in Malaysia.
“Malaysia Can Do It!”
It’s an expression people use, when they have accom-
plished something good. They said it when they had com-
pleted the construction of the 452 meter high building The
Petronas Twin Towers. For a number of years the building
was the highest in the world, but now it’s been surpassed
by an even taller building in Taiwan. The building in
Taiwan measures 508 metres.
MALAYSIA IN BRIEF
Inhabitants: 24 million (2005). 65% are Malaysian, 26% are Chinese,
8% are Indians while the rest belong to various tribes
Area: 329,750 sq km
Capital: Kuala Lumpur (1,700,000 inhabitants)
Language: Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian) is the official language, but a
number of other languages are spoken
Religion: Islam is the official state religion, but every citizen is allowed
to practise his or her own religion. More than half the popu-
lation is Muslim, while others are Hindu, Buddhists, Christian
or Taoists. Some believe in animism
Money: Malaysian ringgit
They help Kuala Gula
Since 2001 the Danish Hunters Association
has been collaborating with Wetlands
International in Malaysia in order to help
Kuala Gula. They have set up a project with
the dual aim of preserving the nature in the
area and helping the inhabitants find other
ways to secure an income apart from fish-
ing. You can learn more about this by read-
ing about the families in Kuala Gula in this
book.
The project is financed by Danida, the
Danish organization for development assis-
tance, which helps developing countries or
poor inhabitants of developing countries
build a better life. Danida also helps coun-
tries - like Malaysia - improve and
protect the environment.
You can read more about these
associations here:
· The Danish Hunters Association:www.jaegerforbundet.dk
· Wetlands International:www.wetlands.org
· Danida: www.um.dk/da/menu/udviklingspolitik/
38
Glossary
animismThe belief that all natural things, such asplants, animals, rocks, thunder and earth-quakes, have spirits
colonyA country or an area that has been conqueredand is being run by a different country
day labourerA worker who is hired from day to day
erosionA word used to describe what happenswhen the ocean loosens soil, sand andstones from the surface of the earth and inthis way eats away at the shoreline
headA person, who is over others
mangrove Forests that grow on tropical shores. Thetrees have special roots making it possiblefor them to grow in salt water and mud
migratory birdsBirds, which every year at the same time flyfrom one place to another, in order to findplaces to breed or find food
overfishCatching too many fish in a certain area willcause the fish population to drop. Thismeans that certain species of fish in an areacould disappear
plantationA planted forest, grown with the intentionof using the wood
recyclingA word used to describe that something isbeing used again
tideThe rise and fall of the sea that happenstwice every day at certain times. When thewater is rising, it is said that the tide is com-ing in; when the water pulls out again, theterm is “ebb tide,” which means that thewater is going out. The rise and fall of thetide is controlled by the sun and the moon’smovements in relation to the earth
39
Index
birdlife 9, 18
Chinese people 6, 8-23
cockle houses 27, 33
cockles 6, 33
earthquake 27
ecotourism 18
environment 14, 16, 18, 21, 25,
27, 28-29
erosion 27
facts about Malaysia 36-37
fish farms 16
fishing 6, 14, 16, 22, 32, 33
food 8, 10, 34-35
garbage 18, 28, 29
guide 16, 18
Haleeda 7, 24-35
Key Kang 6, 8-23
Kuala Lumpur 5, 26, 30, 36, 37
lizards 8
mangrove 4, 6, 14, 6, 18, 24-25,
27, 29
migratory birds 9
Malay people 7, 24-35
monkeys 9
oil palms 12-13
pirates 16
plant oil 12-13
pollution 14, 28, 29, 36
Ramadan 34, 35
Ramsar List 18
recycling 28-29
religion 22, 34-35
schools 20-21, 24, 26-27, 29
shrimp 6, 8, 10, 11, 22
sport 30-31
sustainability 14
tide 10.12
tourism 16, 18, 20, 28, 29, 36
tsunami 27
wetlands 11
work 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
32, 33
40
People & NaturePeople & Nature is a series of books about children indifferent countries. The books are about childrenliving in close contact with nature – children wholearn to use nature and at the same time take care of it.
Each book focuses on children of about 12-13years. In this book you can read about a boy namedKey Kang, who’s 12 years old, and a girl namedHaleeda who’s 13 years old. Key Kang is Chinese, whileHaleeda is Malaysian. They live in a little village calledKuala Gula in Malaysia. In the book you can readmore about:
◆ the struggle to preserve nature◆ their everyday lives◆ fishing◆ schools◆ tourism◆ tsunamis◆ birds and other animals
The book is aimed at children fromapproximately 11 and up.
Peter Bejder & Kim Boye Holt have written a largenumber of books about children in different countries.
People & Nature
