UTAR launches New Village projects

From left: Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Chor, Chee, Dato’ Lee, Datuk Hong, Datuk Seri Wee and Prof Chuah at the launching ceremony

UTAR launched the UTAR New Village E-Commerce Project and the UTAR New Village Community Project “We Care, We Act”, named Reconnecting Nature: Introducing Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut on 23 November 2017 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus.

Launching the new village projects was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and UTAR Council Member Datuk Seri Ir Dr Wee Ka Siong. Also present were UTAR Council Members Ir Academician Datuk Hong Lee Pee, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Chor Chee Heung, Governing Council, International Science Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation under the auspices of UNESCO (ISTIC) Malaysian Honorary Chairman Academician Dato' Ir Dr Lee Yee Cheong, Silverlake Symmetry and Technology Research Sdn Bhd Managing Director Chee Hin Kooi, UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, sponsors, invited guests, new village heads, and representatives from small and medium-sized enterprises.

The UTAR New Village E-commerce Project links the new villages to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the adoption of digital marketing and e-commerce with training and guidance from the UTAR students and staff. Opportunities for learning and economic improvements are provided for the villagers with the hope that it will improve the commercial value of their products and expand their product market beyond the villages. 

Datuk Seri Wee taking a tour at the ‘Kopisan Project’ booth

The Science, Technology and Innovations committee of The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) worked with the Silverlake System Sdn Bhd to design the website www.newvillage.com.my to promote the uniqueness of the nation’s Chinese New Villages.

UTAR is also involved in the Global E-commerce Talents (GET) programme which is powered by Alibaba.com. It aims at helping students, small and medium-sized business professionals and entrepreneurs to learn the required competitive skills and to make available the essential resources required to build their mettle in the global e-commerce industry. GET programme managed to bridge the gap of productivity by providing a new platform for traditional products in the New Villages to be promoted on the e-commerce platforms.

On the other hand, the UTAR New Village Community Project “We Care, We Act” – a special village project named ‘Reconnecting Nature: Introducing Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut’ involved UTAR staff and students from the Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI). They are currently studying the challenges faced by the community and helping to transform the fishing village to a tourism village that will provide potential economic value to the community. The students are also helping Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut to go through five stages of transformation process including recycle awareness, beautifying activities, create tourism activities, promotional activities and launching event.

Photography session at the Kampung Sungai Janggut exhibition booth 

The launch also saw booths from the New Villages and other new village projects at its exhibition such as Coffee Tree Project at Kopisan New Village and Gift of Eyesight. Besides, there was a New Village Product Fair which saw the demonstration of e-purchase on platforms such as Lazada, 11street and Panpages.

During the welcome remarks, Prof Chuah thanked Datuk Seri Wee for attending the launch and said, “These projects are more than just an act of contributing to the society. It is the efforts of all the staff and students involved and the community to help preserve the heritage of these New Villages. With this launch, opportunities for learning and economic improvements are provided for the villagers with the hope that this will enhance the commercial value of their products and expand their product market beyond the villages.”

Datuk Seri Wee congratulated the organising committee for their successes and hard works in the New Village projects, and said, “With the great impact of digitalisation in our economy and the opportunities that are abundant, we should provide the education, training and assistance required for the SMEs in New Villages to progress into the mainstream digital media through technology. Therefore this UTAR e-commerce project is truly commendable and timely as the nation prepares for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Digital Revolution. I hope the e-commerce platform will create a conducive environment for growth that supports the enterprises in the village to upgrade their capacities and capabilities and to seize growth opportunities, which is vital for the nation to achieve the high-income economy status by 2020.”

Datuk Seri Wee at the exhibition booth 

The UTAR New Village Community Project “We Care, We Act”, named Reconnecting Nature: Introducing Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut, aims to introduce, create awareness, and promote Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut as a tourist attraction to the community. It also aims to raise funds for the village and the project. According to the Head of Village, Tan Thiam Hock, the village was named after a senior resident who had a long beard. The village did not have a name in the early days, so the older generation villagers came up with this name to represent the village. Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut is a Chinese traditional fishing village with a Hokkien based community. The main catches are fishes, prawns, shrimps, and jellyfishes. The village also exports jellyfishes to foreign countries including China and Japan. UTAR had sent staff and students to assist the village to achieve their goal as a tourist destination. The accomplishments so far are map boards installed in Kampung Sungai Janggut, mascot to brand Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut, five mural arts, and designed two photo booths to be installed. They also targeted to help Kampung Bagan Sungai Janggut to achieve more than 1280 likes on Facebook by the end of November.

A tour at the Bentong Ginger booth

The UTAR New Village Projects were initiated in 2009 and has been implemented by the UTAR Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC) with the aim for the project to serve as a civic engagement programme involving various soft skills, life skills and academic learning activities for students to learn and be nurtured to be socially responsible citizens. 

Local products from the new village

Participating booths at the event