New village’s history dates back to 1800s

Sungai Way was a tributary of Sungai Penchala that once flowed through the area. According to the mini museum’s brochure, locals used this waterway for their daily transport.

It was the discovery of tin that contributed to the growth of the population in the area around 1870.

By 1882, the area’s development was adequate enough to prompt Sir Frank Swettenham, who was then Federated Malay States Resident-General, to include Sungai Way as a train stop on the new railway line that connected Kuala Lumpur to Port Klang.

Sungai Way is also famous for having hosted Richard Nixon and his wife Thelma in 1953 when he was US vice-president.

Photos of their visit can be found in the mini museum where Nixon can be seen talking to market vendor and farmer Foo Hong, and meeting children at the Sungai Way Estate as well as the Convent School, which is now known as SJK (C) Sungai Way.

But Sungai Way’s history has had dark periods as well.

The Japanese Occupation in 1941 affected economic activities greatly, as did the Emergency period in 1951 which saw Sungai Way designated as a “new village” under the Briggs Plan to counter insurgents.

Former Sungai Way village security and development committee chairman Lum Chan Yoon had been reported as saying that during the Emergency, most of those forced to relocate to Sungai Way were residents of Puchong, Damansara and Old Klang Road.

“Back then, the village was surrounded by rubber estates.

“Life was difficult and money was scarce as most of the villagers engaged in agriculture on a subsistence level.

“There were a few provision shops in the village but no one had much money to buy anything besides what was absolutely necessary,’’ said Lum.

But luck was on Sungai Way’s side. During the 1960s, it found itself nestled in the middle of a new satellite town called Petaling Jaya.

The surrounding rubber estates were soon cleared to make way for Kampung Tunku, University Garden (SS3) and Kelana Jaya.

Because these housing areas did not have markets then, residents would come to the Sungai Way market. That injected some money into the village economy, said Lum.

Current Sungai Way village head Ding Eow Chai, 63, came here to live with his sister in 2000.

By that time, Sungai Way had been renamed Seri Setia. The name change took place in 1992.

“When I came here, the locals had another moniker for Sungai Way. It was known as ‘Foreign Worker Village’,” said Ding.

He explained that this came about when the Sungai Way Free Trade Zone, which housed giant manufacturers such as Matsushita and Motorola, was set up in the 1970s.

“Not only did the industrial zone generate business in sectors like carpentry, ironworks, car repair and construction, it also saw villagers renting out their land to be partitioned into hostel units,” said Ding.

“The population here at present is around 6,200 with 645 houses. Up till 2018, the population was around 10,000 including foreign workers from Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh living in the new village,” he said.

A census carried out recently has revealed that there are still some 2,000 foreign workers residing in Sungai Way.