Translated by WINNIE CHOOI
Sin Chew Daily

KUALA SELANGOR -- Bagan Sungai Kajang and the adjacent Bagan Pasir are the most prolific belachan fishing villages in Kuala Selangor.

Belachan is made of tiny shrimps called udang geragau, one of the seven breeds found in the Straits of Melaka.

Sin Chew Daily managed to witness the real belachan shrimps during a field day at Bagan Sungai Kajang recently.

The most exciting scene was when the loaded fishing boat slowly docks to the pier, and the translucent reddish white belachan shrimps could be clearly seen as if it's shining under the sun.

Bigger boats for shrimp harvesting

Local fishermen said type B fishing boats, which are bigger in size, had to be used to catch belachan shrimps. The bigger the boat, the bigger the load capacity, up to 10 tonnes of harvest. However, the harvest would very much be affected by the weather.

Demand of belachan shrimps in Thailand is high and therefore the catch can be sold at rather good prices. Because of this, fishermen could sustain their livelihood when the fish harvests are poor.

In view of the better amenities at Bagan Pasir, most of the fishing harvest would be sent directly to the private pier at Kampung Bagan Pasir.

Fisherman said the belachan shrimps were mainly sold here or in Thailand for food seasoning or belachan manufacturing.

Thanks to the arrangements made by Bagan Sungai Kajang village chief Lim Fook Zhang, Sin Chew Daily had the opportunity to visit a beach near his house to catch an unobstructed view of the village.

The lost of Datuk Kong

Ling Xuan Gong and Wei Fook Gong are two Chinese temples at Bagan Sungai Kajang.

"The Wei Fook Gong used to be a Datuk Kong temple for more than thirty years about 1km from the village entrance. The devotees later built a bigger temple for Datuk Kong," said Lim.

According to Lim, many people went to the temple seeking for lottery-winning numbers until the disappearance of the golden body of Datuk Kong. There are two versions of the story to this incident: The golden body of the deity was stolen because of its efficaciousness in predicting winning numbers, and in the second version. someone who failed to strike the lottery came back in revenge to remove the deity's golden body.

Wei Fook Gong celebrates the deity's birthday on the tenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar every year. Sacrifice of roasted pigs is prohibited. Meanwhile, Ling Xuan Gong celebrates the deity's birthday on the ninth day of the ninth month the lunar calendar.