Rustic fishing village

 2012-06-30 10:08

  • Due to environmental degradation, the water in the harbour becomes shallow and local residents have to depend on small fishing boats or sampans for sea fishing. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Most villagers live in traditional stilt houses. Corridors and walkways of some of these houses have been reconstructed in cement to withstand tidal erosion. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Bagan Sungai Pulai is a sparsely populated fishing village. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Xie Ya Pei used to run a restaurant but is now engaged in fish ball production. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Chen Pei Lan: Fresh fish is of utmost importance in fish ball manufacturing. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Fish balls are immersed in salt water to make them more palatable. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Established more than half a century ago, Xian Fa Shi Gong was rebuilt in 1993. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • Xian Fa Shi Gong with mythological figures sculpted on the roof. Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

  • The sampan slowly making its way back to the harbour on shallow waters during low tide..Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily

Translated by WINNIE CHOOI
Sin Chew Daily

The stories of Bagan Sungai Pulai have been spread around by the villagers throughout the years. It was said that several villagers arrived at a quiet rural area and a large river blocked the access. One of them came out with the idea of cutting down a tree to bridge the river in order to cross to the opposite bank. The villagers later decided to settle down at the village after they successfully crossed the river.

It was said that the name of the tree was pulai, and the village was thus named "Sungai Pulai."

Scenic beach

Besides this story, it has also been said that there used to be a beautiful beach lined with white, fine sand in the village. Many tourists came here for surfing, kite flying, camping and picnic.

However, the beautiful beach is no longer in existence today owing to rapid degradation of the coastal environment from heavy rainfall. Tides and waves continue to erode the beach; even the stilt houses are inundated by the flood waters and residents have to move inland for safety reasons.

A council member of Xian Fa Shi Gong Temple, Chai Fook Xing told Sin Chew Daily although there are now three Chinese temples in the village, individual temple councils have decided to work together to resolve some of the common matters. As a result, Xian Fa Shi Gong is regarded by the villagers as the master temple of the village.

Exodus

Chai pointed out that the village is experiencing severe population outflow and many youngsters prefer to work in the cities than fishing in the village.

Most villagers now living in the inland areas make their living by coconut and oil palm plantation while residents living along the coastal areas are mostly engaged in fishing, restaurant business and manufacture of fish balls as primary sources of income.

Bagan Sungai Pulai can be reached via the KL-Kuala Selangor Highway (Latar) or from Klang via Jalan Kapar passing through Sungai Buloh, Kuala Selangor, Pasir Penampang, Bagan Pasir, Sungai Kajang, Bagan Tenggorak, Sekinchan and Sungai Burung.

GPS coordinates: 3.723667, 100.944389.