The original text in Mandarin can be accessed HERE, and the English translation is provided by Allan Pang
Doing fieldwork in a New Village wooden house with artist in residency, NOvia Shin (left).
Ruang Komuniti P320 is a community space in Kampung Baru Kelapa Sawit, Johor, Malaysia. Managed by Chin Siew Chien and Lee Chen Kang, it is a multifunctional space that promotes activities featuring the community’s culture and history. Since its establishment in 2019, P320 has continuously collected and written about local history, documented oral histories from residents, and organised various arts and cultural activities within the community.
In Malaysia, New Villages (Kampung Baru) did not form organically. They were established after the Second World War. To cut off support for the Malayan Communist Party, returning British colonisers forcibly relocated Chinese residents from scattered rural areas into New Villages. At the time, these New Villages were essentially concentration camps. They were surrounded by fences, with restricted food supplies and limited freedom of movement. Life was extremely harsh for the residents.
Register of occupants at Kelapa Sawit New Village during the British colonial period in Malaya.
Through guided community tours, writing, and publications, we aim to help the younger generation revisit this significant yet gradually forgotten history from multiple perspectives. Our goal is to enable more people to understand what New Villages are and what historical experiences its residents have lived through, in response to the often fragmented and one-sided narratives found in national education.
In its early days, the population of Kampung Baru Kelapa Sawit largely consisted of Hakka people engaged in plantation. They grew crops such as pineapples, pepper, cocoa, coffee, rubber, oil palm, and various vegetables. The labour memories of these farmers and the dialect traditions of the Hakka community are important cultural assets of this New Village. Our work also includes interviewing elderly residents. We document their life stories in writing to preserve the cultural heritage of this place.
A Mid-Autumn Festival gathering with foreign spouses and migrant workers in the community.
Over the past 30 years, the urban-rural divide in Malaysia has grown significantly. Many young people from rural areas have moved to cities in search of better livelihoods, resulting in a sharp population decline in many New Villages. To cope with falling birth rates and a shrinking population, these villages have turned to transnational marriages and foreign labour. Kampung Baru Kelapa Sawit is no exception.
Today, this New Village is home to many foreign spouses from countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and China, as well as migrant workers from Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. These individuals are all stakeholders in the community. Their labour experiences, migration journeys, and everyday challenges are among the concerns of Ruang Komuniti P320. We aim to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for both foreign spouses and migrant workers. This is a place where people can freely exchange ideas and share experiences.
In recent years, we have organised language classes for foreign spouses and migrant workers to help them learn basic Malay and Mandarin. We also support them in facing life challenges. When holding community events, we do our best to include and provide resources for these marginalised groups.
Collecting women’s life stories in New Village.
The internal makeup of the community is diverse, with residents holding different ideologies and political standpoints. Even though many come from grassroots backgrounds, that doesn’t necessarily mean they coexist harmoniously or are united. There are various kinds of conflicts, biases, and even exploitation of the more vulnerable by the less vulnerable. We try not to romanticise the current state of the community or exaggerate grassroots progress. Instead, we document reality honestly in the hope of laying a foundation for discussions, and eventually, solutions.
Community history guide for high school students.
The above is an outline of Ruang Komuniti P320’s work since its founding. We have published a collection of oral histories and a photo-essay book featuring women residents. Other activities include regularly contributing articles to various media platforms, collaborating with educational institutions to bring students into New Villages, hosting artist-in-residence programmes to foster interaction between artists and residents, and so on. Through a range of activities, we help broadcast messages of the community while also bringing in outside resources.
We also welcome international visitors, giving them a chance to see different facets of Malaysia.