This is extracted from China Press after Pengerang became a national attention due to protest over the petrochemical project. Many medias made visit to Pengerang since then, including some from Taiwan.

Pengerang, Quiet no more

A simple small town, famous with seafood, Pengerang is changing its face.

Located at the north east of Johor state, currently undergoing massive land reclamation to make place for the petrochemical project RAPID, it is losing its peace as just a tranquil fishing town.

Generations of villagers saw the sea right in front of their houses been replaced with land, many houses, schools, temples and grave yards of the ancesters are all going to be destroyed. Thousands of fishermen are affected, traditional fishing households are facing the difficulties in lives, losing their income. This so called development bring nothing to the local people but sadness and damnation.

邊佳蘭靜中帶枉

純樸的小鎮，擁有廣闊海水及豐富漁產的邊佳蘭（Pengerang），逐漸山河變色。

位于柔佛州東南部的邊佳蘭，目前大興土木進行填海工程，將發展提煉及石油化學綜合發展計劃（RAPID），但卻破壞當地的純樸漁鄉面貌。

生活好幾代的居民，看到前方海水被一堆堆泥土填塞，部分家園、學校、神廟及祖墳即將夷為平地，還有近千名捕魚人家遭受前所未有的打擊，傳統漁家面臨斷炊命運，因此對邊佳蘭的大型發展乍喜還憂……

http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/304156

Peaceful and quiet, but won't be anymore.

The traditional chinese pastry. This shop has been there since i have memory.

What else other than to mend their net if the fisherman couldn't go to the sea? Or worst more, there is no more sea with fishes.

The fisherman jetty at Sungai Rengit.

The coconut trees used to be abundance in my childhood, now we see this only at the more inner areas of the villages. But soon, wont even see this anymore.

This tailor shop is there since i have memory as well.

Part of the Sungai Rengit town from the bird view. Sungai Rengit town center will be spared from destruction, to keep it as a supply town to the petrochemical plant, around 5km from here, if no nearer.

Leisure Pengerang (4): A Zen Temple, Teluk Ramunia

The departure to go back home for this time was an unexpected and sad one. We were there to attend to the funeral of my grandma. Little did i expect that, she would be gone so fast. Eventhough her health was deterioting, but i thought she would be like my late grandfather. He hang on and was bed ladden for the later years, all together for 7 years at least. My mother said, grandma used to say, she would not want to be the burden of anyone and in fact, she did not become such. The last time i saw her, she said, i wont be able to see her for the last time, since i am so far away. i told her, then, at least i will come back to send you for your last journey. i cant control of been married far, but at least i made it to see her for the one last time, eventhough that was just her body.

Funeral is perhaps the only time that one could really see all the relatives, both close and distant one. I was happpy to see all my cousins, now all of them grown up and a man. I caught up with my family and we talked about also the future of our hometown. This piece of land where my uncles and aunties, some of my cousins and all my siblings grown up is now under the threat of been developed into a petrochemical industrial park.

One of the disappearing kampung, Langkah Baik or tou2 wan1. There is only one main street in the village and the whole village is just right beside of the shore. One oil rig is so near to the village that, you think you should be able to swim there.

The billions worth of project affected several kampung (villages) and whether like it or not, the project or land clearing are already started. I am sure this means 'development' and money to the decision makers (ordinary citizen like us won't know who are they though), who dont even know this place or come here before. Unfortunately, for those really get affected, those who are really staying here, it means the lost of HOME. Place where our ancestors came and made it into a home, place where a few generations of people tight our hearts. If you asked me, i personally would prefer my kampung to stay the way it is, many of the people think as me too. There are many groups of villagers fighting this big wave of change with their small voices, you can find them at facebook. Here are a few:

停止工程，保留我们的家园-边加兰 Selamatkan Bumi Pengerang --- http://www.facebook.com/pages/%E5%81%9C%E6%AD%A2%E5%B7%A5%E7%A8%8B%E4%BF%9D%E7%95%99%E6%88%91%E4%BB%AC%E7%9A%84%E5%AE%B6%E5%9B%AD-%E8%BE%B9%E5%8A%A0%E5%85%B0-Selamatkan-Bumi-Pengerang/348816058473855

KampungKu SuaraKu 我的甘榜 由我做主 ----- http://www.facebook.com/KampungKuSuaraKu

If you want news about Pengerang, including events going on and all kind of other information, you could look for it here: 边佳兰前线 Pengerang Frontline ---- http://www.facebook.com/groups/158422210931553/
You probably can ask the creater of the group too. He is still staying in Sungai Rengit.



Except for seafood, Pengerang produced talents too! This is proudly done by the son of my neighbour.

You can read about the trip of Mediacorp artist, Zheng Bin Hui here: http://zhengbinhui.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/边加兰之旅

Now, let`s talk about the temple. To access, you can take the massive red soil road at the left, after the `T`junction of Kota Tinggi highway, then turn into the small road at the right. It is easier to take the small one vehicle-pass-only road before the left turn to the lastest housing estate in Teluk Ramunia (i don`t remember the name of the Taman). You will be able to see the Guan Yin statues if you keep looking at the left, when you drive from Sungai Rengit. 

I do not remember when was the last time i came here. i remember washing the pool with my friends though. This pond and the statues are there since i was in primary school. But now, it is more colorful.

i heard that, the whole temple got rebuilt due to termites infestation. It looked even bigger and nicer than 20 years ago. The temple used to be surrounded by the bushes, but now a housing estate is built near by.

The Buddha statue under the bodhi tree is something new to me. i like it. Somehow, it reminded me of the one i saw at Sarna, near the Deer Park in India.

Sungai Rengit Mangrove and Festival: 7Oct07

Home sweet home! i have finally returned from my months of overseas trip. One of the good things about to travel is, i learn to appreciate what surrounding me and what i have. This is of course something that everyone said when they travel, but i can really feel this from the bottom my my heart now. If you have forgotten the last time you just look up to the sky and enjoy the sunset, then please do so. The purplish, orangish and reddish colors in the sky are just amazingly beautiful. You don't have to even go to the seaside to do so. Just look up eventhough you are in the bus or car!
Do enjoy the pictures below. These are some findings in my warmth hometown.



Near to the river mouth, this area used to be a rich mangrove. But nowadays, it left only a few mangrove trees and hardly even see the mud lobster mound.
We still got a fat monitor lizard though!



Monitor lizard eats insects, crabs, dead animals and anything it can catch. It 'smells' the air with its blue forked tongue to track down carrion and small animals.



Climber crab. It feeds on mangrove leaves and scavenge for meat.



Archerfish. It feed on insects near to the water surface. The interesting thing is, archerfishes have elongate mouths to forcefully pumped out water to knock down the insects near to the water surface. But they have to practise and learn to be accurate over time.



Needle fish. Normally found near to the water surface as it eats small surface-dwelling fishes. It has a pair o long jaws with sharp teeth.



Calyx of bakau, a kind of mangrove tree.



Monkeys are common along the river near to the mangrove. You can easily sighted one at Tanjung Pengelih Jetty.



Oysters and alive! Oysters are molluscs with two-part shell. They stick one of their shells firmly to the rock with a strong glue.



It was the 'birthday' of the guarding deity of my clan, "Sim" (沈). The Teochew chinese opera was one of the yearly events to celebrate the birthday of the deity. i was surprised to see the Chinese electronics sub-title by the stage. i almost feel like i am in Singapore Esplanade Theatre! :) Nowadays many young people are not able to speak or understand Chinese dialect, not even to mention be able to appreciate the opera. This sub-title was really useful for the young people to understand the performance.





Offerings to the deity.



Fire cracker!

Other than Shore (2): The Guan Yin Temple

You won't miss this temple between Sungai Rengit and Sungi Buntu, if you are coming or going to Tanjung Pengelih Jetty. It is right beside of the big corner of the road. It used to be a small and 'plain' temple. But as many other temples in Pengerang, it got renovated in the good will of some devotees and now it is still small but eye catching - too colourful if you ask me.

The Guan Yin temple is built facing to the sea. Like usual, the fishermen hope the protection from the Goddess and wish for a good catch. Every 3 years, there will be celebration which devotees escort Mazhu Goddess in Sungai Rengit to this temple. It is a big celebration and festival for a small town like this. The next celebration is 23th March of lunar calender in year 2007.

Dragon is an auspicious animal in Chinese belief. Although Guan Yin is a Buddhist Boddhisattva, but this temple is a typical mixtual of Buddhist belief and Taoist. In fact, the temple is very much Taoist as you actually see many other deities and a stove to burn paper money. (Buddhist temple don't burn paper money.)

The lion symbolized lion's roar, the authorative of the teaching .

Two buddhist's dhamma guardians, Skanda Bodhisattva (looks younger) and Sangharama Boddisattva (the elder one) , are found on the left and right of Guan Yin statue.

The stove to burn paper money.

Other than Shore (1): The Mazhu Temple

The temple is only a few footsteps away from my home. It used to be a more tiny and decent small temple for the Goddess Mazhu, the protector of the fishermen. When i was still in primary school, the villager renovated it. The sad things when people renovate an old building is, they standardize the design. Chinese architecture is difference in a way that, the dialect group of Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainanese... all have their unique difference architecture designs. But nowsaday due to lack of study or lack of people to know in these differences, all renovated temples are follow to the Northen China palace kind of design. Hence the origin of the temple gradually becomes hard to differentiate by the building itself...
At least the roof of the temple not really changed much than the structure i saw when i was young.

The temple is now so prosperous that the committee of the temple built its own building right behind of the tiny temple.

The 'wealth' of this temple is not surprising, consider it is famous among many Singaporean aunties. They either come from Tanjung Pengelih or a lot of time you see them come by chartered tourist buses all the way from Singapore via JB (at least 2.5 hrs).

When i went back home on 11 December 05, it was coincidentally a festive day to thank the Goddess for her protection to the fishermen in the past one year. At the night before, there was a Karaoke singing performance by fellow villagers. This kind of activity has added a little bit of spices to the peaceful and quiet life in the village. Sometimes i would say that, all these activities all more to please the mortal than the immortal.

The temple is near to the river mouth and right in front of the temple is the river.

i think a mud lobster mound managed to survive the 'massacre' of the villagers when they cleared the mangroves and reclaimed the river bank with red soil.