Section 36: Sungai Lui New Village

Small Towns, Cross-State Shopping in Sungai Lui New Village

When it comes to Sungai Lui New Village, located near the border of Negeri Sembilan and Pahang in the north-eastern part of the state, many people may not have a deep impression of this village. Every day, numerous vehicles pass through this village along Federal Highway 10, heading straight to Kemayan and Triang in Pahang.

However, this small village has its own unique characteristics. While Sungai Lui falls within the parliamentary constituency of Jelebu, in terms of rural development and administrative management, it is under the responsibility of the Jempol District Land Office.

Due to the fact that the residents and students of this village have to cross the border to Kemayan in Pahang for various matters, the first-grade students of the local primary school, on their first day of class, not only learn to sing the national anthem but also the state anthem of Pahang instead of the anthem of Negeri Sembilan. This cross-state living situation has been ongoing for decades.

Sungai Lui New Village is approximately 40 kilometers away from the main city of Bahau in the district of Jempol, Negeri Sembilan. It is only 5 kilometers away from the state border and merely 6 kilometers away from Kemayan in Pahang. In such a unique geographical environment, a bond of attachment has formed between the residents and Kemayan. Every morning, some residents ride motorcycles before dawn and cross the border to tap rubber in Pahang. Students also have to go to Chinese primary or secondary schools in Kemayan, Pahang, for their education. And when it comes to handling banking matters or buying groceries, Kemayan remains their preferred destination.

Despite being in Negeri Sembilan, the residents have been watching news from the East Coast region for many years, and the sources of information are not restricted by state boundaries.

The residents have become accustomed to this cross-state lifestyle and no longer find it peculiar.

On a hot afternoon, a reporter from the Flower City Community Newspaper visited this small new village and gained a deeper understanding of the village from the former village head, Zhang Ruihua (张瑞华), who grew up there.

Zhang Ruihua said that currently, Sungai Lui New Village has a total of 106 households, with the majority being of Chinese descent, only 4 households of Malay descent, and 7 households of Indian descent. Like other new villages across Malaysia, this small new village also faces the same predicament of becoming an "aging village." Once the local young people complete their secondary education, whether continuing their studies or seeking employment, they eagerly leave this place.

Usually, unless it's a major festival, the new village can be described as sparsely populated, with often only elderly couples staying in their old homes. They gaze at the calendar on the wall every day, anticipating the arrival of major festivals, hoping to celebrate the holidays with their children and family members. Only then does the new village come alive with some vitality. However, after the festivals, the village returns to its quiet state, awaiting the next wave of homecoming to bring back the liveliness.

Zhang Ruihua also mentioned that many young people leave their hometowns to work elsewhere and rarely return to their old homes for development. Some who have achieved success in other places settle there, send their children to study elsewhere, and bring their parents to live with them.

Therefore, the number of primary and secondary school students in Sungai Lui New Village has decreased from nearly a hundred people in the 1980s to less than 30 people. Once these students complete their education, they will follow others' footsteps and spread their wings to seek a living elsewhere.

With the changing times, the lifestyle of Sungai Lui New Village residents has not undergone significant changes. Every morning, they return home from the rubber plantation, and many residents go to Kemayan to enjoy a pot of tea or a cup of coffee in the coffee shops, spending the hot afternoons.

According to Zhang Ruihua, it is believed that at least 30% of the villagers have purchased houses in Kemayan, considering those old houses in the new village as their own old homes. In the future, it is expected that many people will move from Sungai Lui New Village to Kemayan and formally become residents of Pahang, not just residents of Negeri Sembilan.

Is there really a gold mine in Sungai Lui? The real Chinese name of Kemayan

Former village chief Zhang Rui Hua pointed out that there were indeed gold mines in Sungai Lui. The mining ponds left behind by those who extracted gold in previous years can still be seen in various locations, providing evidence of the existence of a gold mine in that area.

There are legends that once, someone excavated a large amount of gold, melted it and made a golden horse and a golden sheep. Hence, the town adjacent to Sungei Lui, was named “Jin Ma Yang”, meaning "Golden Horse and Goat". Later, the 羊（goat）was replaced by杨as it was more like a place name.

Upon observations, there are many deep pits and large mining ponds found in the rubber plantations around the Sungai Lui. These pits were left by the gold diggers at that time. These deep pits are about 4 feet in diameter. The pits are vertically aligned, pitch-black and bottomless.

Most of the vertical pits were excavated by individuals, while the large mining ponds were left after large-scale mining. In the past, there were many Chinese came over to excavate the gold in this area. Nowadays, these sparkling lakes provide and pleasant and scenic views, attracting photographers as a popular shooting location.

According to Lin Jin Fa, former village chief of Sungai Lui, the majority of residents in the village were Chinese. The Chinese flocked to Sungai Lui in search of livelihoods, partly to escape the turbulent situation and partly due to the discovery of gold mines in the area.

At that time, transportation from Bahau to Sungai Lui relied entirely on trains. The train station was located near an iron bridge. There were two or three trains arriving at the station every day. The station was bustling with passengers and also porters who were busy carrying goods back and forth There was a row of simple food stalls, where the stall owners loudly promoted their goods. The scene was very lively, indeed.

It was about a 200-meter walk from the train station to reach the village. During the harvest season, the villagers transported their agricultural produce to the train station and then shipped it to Bahau or other urban areas for selling.

Although some historical relics are still preserved at the original site of the train station, the nearby former living quarters of the Malaya Railway workers lie in ruins as crumbling walls and wells. Most of the remnants have been engulfed by the jungle.

In the initial stage, the primary economic activity of Seri Air Hitam New Village was rubber tree cultivation, as the rubber industry was the pillar of the economy at that time.

IAccording to a local Malay resident, he was told by his relatives that during Japanese occupation, the Japanese soldiers came on bicycles along the path beside the train road. In response, the villagers promptly hid themselves to avoid any potential trouble.

The current Sungai Lui is completely different from what it used to be, but the local customs remain simple and pure. The houses in the new village are scattered everywhere, and the majority of residents are small-scale farmers who own rubber and oil palm plantations. There are approximately 100 households, with the majority being Chinese.

Not far from the village, there is a signpost erected to indicate the location of the memorial tombstone for the victims during the Japanese occupation. However, we discovered a notice board inside the memorial cemetery with different versions of the narrative. The notice board is written in Chinese, Malay, and English, but the English and Malay versions present conflicting information.