Welcome sign: A replica of a white porcelain rice bowl with rooster design at the entrance of Pandamaran New Village is a major landmark in the area. — KK SHAM/The Star
An exhibition on the new village’s history aims to be a catalyst for the area to become a tourist attraction in Port Klang
EVER wonder how the town of Pandamaran in Port Klang, Selangor, got its name?
While some local townsfolk believe it is an Indian name, others say it was from a Malay word – pendamar (boat patcher) –because the town was known for providing such a service.
Another narrative was that Pandamaran got its name based on a “Padang Amaran” sign erected by the British around the airfield in Port Klang as a warning of communist threat in the 1950s.
These were the earlier theories and stories on how the township got its name.
The exhibition detailing prominent individuals of Klang whose names were used for some roads in Pandamaran. —Photos: KK SHAM/The Star
However, it was discovered later that the name existed since 1896 when the British discovered that a Javanese agricultural site near Sungat Langat was called Pandamaran.
The etymology of the name Pandamaran is one of many interesting facts about the township being displayed at the Pandamaran New Village Exhibition.
It has interesting information and local folks’ beliefs about Pandamaran as well as factual historical findings that explain the existence of such tales.
Set up in a wooden house called Pandamaran Story House located at No.124, Jalan Kemanis, Pandamaran in Port Klang, the exhibition runs until the end of this year.
Significant figures
The exhibition is organised by tour guides Chow Hoong Fai and Tan Mee Hoon, while the content is authored by Universiti Malaya’s Institute of China Studies senior lecturer Dr Ling Tek Soon.
It focuses on stories behind the names of roads in Pandamaran that were of 10 well-known figures in Klang, iconic landmarks, trees as well as the places of origins of its residents.
Some of the streets are Jalan Chan Ah Choo, Jalan Wooten, Jalan Yeoh Koh Kiat and Jalan Letchumanan.
“When we were collecting data on Pandamaran New Village, we were surprised to find many narratives as to how Pandamaran got its name.
“The place has been known as Pandamaran since the late 19th century,” said Ling.
“In Pandamaran, many roads were named after personalities but interestingly, we found that many residents did not know who these people were when interviewed during our data collection for the exhibition,” he said, adding that some of them were renowned community leaders in Klang before World War II.
(From left) Chow, Sing Ying and Ling discussing details on an exhibit at the Pandamaran Story House’s entrance.
“Take Jalan Chan Ah Choo for example, many residents here thought Ah Choo was a woman, when in fact he was a man and one of the founders of the Klang Chinese Midwifery Home (Rumah Bersalin Cina Klang).
“Also, when I shared the findings with Klang Municipal Council, one of Ah Choo’s grandchildren knew about the story and contacted me.
“That is how we have more photos and information of Ah Choo displayed at the exhibition,” said Ling.
He added that those findings made it evident that community leaders of different races had contributed to the development of Klang.
Exhibition curator Chan Sing Ying said the exhibition took three months to put together.
“We hope that through this exhibition, we can reach out to the descendants of the 10 well-known figures and they can tell us more about the past.
“The exhibition started in June and visitors have responded positively to the exhibition,” said Sing Ying, who hoped more people would know about Pandamaran through the exhibition.
House of stories
The exhibition at Pandamaran Story House is the first event kick-started by Chow, who ultimately wants to turn it into a centre and tourist attraction that documented everything about Pandamaran.
He said the idea of setting up a “story house” was first sparked when he was a tour guide and a reporter asked him five years ago about his future goals in tourism.
“My answer was that I wanted to start a story house to tell people more about my hometown Pandamaran.
“I did not give it much thought until I joined a pitching competition last year that focused on ideas to redesign and rejuvenate abandoned spaces in new villages.
“Although the pitch on my Pandamaran story house did not win, it helped me figure out what I lacked in realising this dream,” he said.
Chow then rented a wooden kampung house and turned it into a story house documenting Pandamaran’s rich heritage.
Old photos of Port Klang overlooking the Straits of Malacca and (below) local soldiers at Port Swettenham (now Port Klang) are among those on display.
He wanted to instil a sense of belonging among Pandamaran folk, especially children, and tell the story of Pandamaran to tourists visiting the town.
“The exhibition is just the start.
“Moving forward, we are looking at different themed exhibitions.
“Some of the ideas include introducing Pandamaran ancestral businesses or a photography exhibition on ancestral names displayed on the inscription board in front of the door of traditional wooden houses.
“With this series of activities, I want to make Pandamaran a tourist spot,” he said.
He pointed out that Pandamaran lacked natural places of interest, unlike Sekinchan where its padi field attracted tourists.
“To compensate for that, we have to generate some cultural attractions and that is where this story house comes in, at the same time building a cultural appreciation among tourists.
Aside from food, Chow said he wanted Pandamaran to be known for its unique culture.
He said that as a long-term plan, he wanted the story house to become a tourism model for other new villages to follow.
“We want to inspire people to start something like this on their own and create more cultural attractions in their own villages.
“It can also be a gathering spot for people to exchange ideas, organise activities together and foster strong bonds among the people in its community,” he added.
The exhibition opens from 10am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
There are exhibition tours on weekends at 11am, 2pm and 4pm.
Promoting tourism
Tourism Selangor industrial development department manager Chua Yee Ling said a story house such as the one in Pandamaran was one of the best cultural attractions from a tourism perspective.
“It can be a destination to introduce a place and help tourists understand the origin, heritage and culture of the place better.
“Aside from Pandamaran, Selangor now has other similar museums or heritage centres like the Seri Setia New Village mini museum and the Kajang Heritage Centre that promotes the township as a place of interest to tourists,” she said.
“We play a role in helping the community set up these places to document and preserve valuable heritage and culture that each township possesses.
“We hope it can create excitement and that other communities will follow suit, doing something similar for their own town to further cement the identity of their respective locality,” she added.
Chua said Tourism Selangor had allocated RM1mil for groups or individuals who wished to promote tourism in the state through various projects.
Successful applicants, she said, could get a maximum of RM20,000 each for their tourism ideas.
She revealed that Tourism Selangor had approved 35 projects to date, including the Pandamaran Story House.
While food was a popular factor that drew tourists, she said, interesting culture and heritage could also work well in promoting tourism.
“Through an exhibition like the Pandamaran Story House, visitors can get to see what the area looked like 50 years ago, its origins and all the interesting facts about the place.
“Tourism has changed a lot over the years and aside from sightseeing, people want to experience something different,” she noted.
“For example, new villages are formed more or less the same way but once people get to know about the place’s past, each new village is exclusively different and has their own story to tell,” she highlighted.
Starting up a “story house” like this could be seen as the beginning of a trend and a bonus to domestic travels, said Chua, reiterating that such a move provided unique content for tourism to attract more local and international visitors.
“Previously, tourists would demand for cheaper trips but now, they went for vacations that have value.
“This means that tourism operators have to constantly strive for better tourism content and experiences,” she said.
She further said that in present times, story houses would also need to be Instagrammable while simultaneously create an educational opportunity for tourists to learn about the culture and history of a particular place.
“Slowly, tourism quality will have this kind of demand,” she added.
