Bagan Parit Baru is a small fishing village with only 60 households, with a population of around 300 people. The fishing village is located at the northmost point of Selangor at the northwest border, separated by Sungai Bernam from Hutan Melintang fishing village in Perak. The majority of villagers make a living by fishing, therefore the houses are mostly built along the seashore. Most of the village inhabitants originated from TeoChew, 90% of them having the surname Kee, hence also known as the Kee village.
According to dictation from elders, if calculating since the establishment of SJK (C) Poay Chneh, the opening of Bagan Parit Baru port has been almost 90 years. At the beginning there was only one house in the village, gradually the numbers increased. Therefore the villagers used to refer to the village as “single cottages” (in TeoChew dialect), instead of “Parit Baru”. There is not much infrastructure and facilities in the fishing village, only two temples and one grocery store, nevertheless the authentic seafood restaurant attracts a multitude of tourists who come all the way just for the food.
At times when the tidal waves are especially strong, the front of the houses will be flooded, thus being the best entertainment for kids, jumping fearlessly into the water to play. The simple and quiet fishing village offers a comfortable lifestyle, however it faces the same problem of population outflow as other rural villages. The booming scene of about a hundred households in the olden days were no longer, now that people left and their houses dismantled, leaving behind wooden stakes, as the ocean breeze swept over the remains of the boom.
Text: Daniel Lim & Pua Hui Wen
有你 UNI Production
Producer : Mok Yii Chek
Coordinator : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang
Drone : Daniel Lim
Video Editor : Amelia Lim
Production Assistant : Michael Lerk
Music : Out My Window 120 from Elias Music
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