T
Toshiie Maeda
Guest
Monday January 10, 2011
Villagers living in fear of erosion
By MARTIN CARVALHO
[email protected]
MALACCA: A village famed for its Hainanese customs and traditions here is in danger of being washed away by erosion due to rough seas and strong winds.
Rapid beach erosion along the shores of the 100-year-old Kampung Hailam has already washed away part of its tai chi juan court and several large trees. There are fears that the village road will be next to go.
Retired cook Koo Tia Let, 55, said the beach erosion began about two months ago.
Encroaching sea: Koo examining the damage to the court along Tanjung Kling on Friday as a result of recent rapid beach erosion.
“We did not think much of it at first. But we grew worried on seeing more and more of the beach gradually being washed away by waves during high tide.
“We are worried that the situation will become worse, unless something is done to stop the erosion,” he said here yesterday.
Koo, who runs a restaurant in the village, said residents of Kampung Hailam, along the coast of Tanjung Kling, all speak the Hainanese dialect and practise its customs and traditions.
Village Security and Development Committee chairman Peter Ong, 52, said an appeal for urgent help has been made to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
“We have requested the authorities to carry out remedial works to prevent further erosion and restore the village’s shoreline,” he said.
Ong said the chief minister had asked the Malacca Historic City Council to determine the cost of rehabilitating the beach.
Kampung Hailam, gazetted as a Chinese new village in 2009, is home to 54 families who are the fourth generation of those who came from Hainan, China.
