Socio economic

茨廠街 Socio economic

of

Petaling Street

Art Director: Sia Hong Jie Project Manager: Neoh Jia Wen Editor: Nurina Aida, Shery Edrina Graphic Designer: Nurin Abdullah. Alan Koo Ka Lok Photographer: Lim Si Chu Copyright (c) 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher Printed in Malaysia.

socio economic / so.ci.o.ec.o.nom.ic / relating to or concerned with the interaction of social and economic factors

目 錄

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

The usual The unusual Socioeconomic of Petaling Street The people in Petaling Street Cultural Appreciation Index Literacy Mechanism Living Condition Conclusion

content

Introduction

PETALING STREET 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

前 言

P

etaling Street is known as a tourist magnetization in Kuala Lumpur where many tourists and locals alike flock here for the excitement, delicious food and market bargains on offer. Abaft this happening street market, underlying more stories and secrets that have not been discovered. For a street that buzzes with lively banter and trade as people crowd along the streets in search for good bargains or even food, the drastic rise of density of people have tremendously causing a change in poverty level in Petaling Street. To various identity from where they came from, to education background, to wealth and stability, here goes the stories of socioeconomics of the people in Petaling Street.

街廠茨

2

ABSTRACT 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

前 言 OBJECTIVES To identify the definition of the essential characteristics of the socio economy of Petaling Street

ISSUES Concerns regarding the social integration of the sellers with the community in Petaling Street

OBJECTIVES To identify the economic activities which effect and shaped by social processes.

OBJECTIVES To study self-development

ISSUES Impacts of socio economy on the degradation of cultural and heritage values of Petaling Street

POTENTIALS Exposure of social and economic circumstances of people in Petaling Street

ISSUES Reduction in visual amenity associated with the socio economy

POTENTIALS

ISSUES Proportionate poverty levels

An increase in population of housing market, existing community services and social infrastructure.

9

THE USUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

常 景

/ u.su.al / habitually or typically occuring or done; customary The usual seen of China Town explains about the common perceptions of the people from different backgrounds and personality that goes in and out of the China Town at the Petaling Street. They consist of both positive and negative impressions that had crossed their minds based on their own senses - see, hear, taste and touch. It is how the condition and people in China Town are regarded, understood and interpreted by their own intuition.

“Food

”

“Bus

“Fak

”

“ ”

6

THE USUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

常 景

the USUAL OF 茨厂街 “A very chaotic & crazy local market but jovial and enjoyable too!”

“Bargain paradise” ise”

“Bargain, bargain, bargain”

“ b

“There wasn’t much of a Chinese feel to it, more Indian or Bangladeshi”

“Food heaven” “Food “Food

””

“Busy,busy people everywhere” “Bus “Bus

“Fake Chinatown”

“Fak “Fak

””

“Longan “ “ drink! Soya drink! Chestnuts!” ””

8

THE USUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

常 景

“Hmm, the LV and Burberry bags are so cheap!”

10

THE USUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

常 景

12

THE UnuSUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

奇 景

/ un.u.su.al / not habitually or commonly occuring or done In contrary with the usual, the unusual seen of China Town describes on the abnormal perceptions of the people there and that has a different kind of mindset in which, it could be either positive or negative as well but in a very odd way. These perceptions and assumptions were based on their own observations without having any validity and truths behind them. As people would say, there is actually more to it than meets the eye. It is true that there is always a story behind every different individuals that needs to be unfold in order to acknowledge and appreciate the differences that existed among each other

14

THE UnuSUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

奇 景

A

s I was walking along Chinatown, I came across this aunty pushing a trolley full with cans of drinks and was selling them around. Strangely, I noticed that most of the time, when she walks along that busy street selling drinks, she would mumble to herself. It made the people around her thinking that she was crazy. I could sense that everyone was making a distance from her and trying to avoid her, but little did they know, the words that she ‘mumbles’ were actually her act of praising to the God for the things that she has now” -SE

“Is she crazy?

Why is she talking to herself?”

“Are the stuff she’s selling is clean?”

“Is it even legal to sell stuff around like this?”

16

THE UnuSUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

奇 景 “Don’t be surprised! Yes, I know I am a Caucasian.”

“Mari mari beli magnet dan keychain. Murah! Murah!”

“The sales in Malaysia nowadays is bad compared to 18-20 years ago”

“But mix marriage is a wonderful thing, you get to learn about other culture and I get to celebrate Chinese New Year!”

“Hello!

Bonjour!

Guten Morgen!”

“Please, do not publish this in the newspaper ya”

18

THE UnuSUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

奇 景

20

THE UnuSUAL SCENE 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

奇 市 景 场

22

社 会 经 济

THE socioeconomic 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

CULTURAL APPRECIATION INDEX By identifying whether they are mixedblood, willingness or thoughts on marrying someone with different race, in parallel with the traditions and religious aspects of life

/so.ci.o.ec.o.nom.ic/ a study of economic activity that affects and is shaped by social processes which has lead a better understanding of how the combination of both influences the community in petaling street in general the upbringing culture, beliefs and education of one’s personal background unveils the effect of individual’s economic status and life condition.

LITERACY MECHANISM Discover individual’s educational assessment which may reflects an obvious indication of the standard literacy levels of people in Petaling Street for achieving the best quality of life

LIVING CONDITION Insight research on the economical factors of an individual through cost of living and its stability, state of health, choice of occupation and ways of living life

24

THE socioeconomic of 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

社 会 经 济

Humans are like coins, hard- like their mindset, small- like their heart, shaped- like their upbringings, but most of all, different, but still worth a certain. coins, coins, coins, easily forgotten and abandoned, as if bills are much more important, did they realize, coins, coins, coins, are different, many, one, but still has its price.

- NA

Kota Raya

26

Car park

Wisma Fui Chiu

茨廠街

地 图

Jala

German guy

Dragon Premium

Beverage seller

Luen Heng Building

Lantern Hotel

Jalan Tun Hs Lee

Jalan Hang Lekir Malaya Hotel Food seller

Shopping Complex

an

k c o L g n e h Tun Tan C

Inn mHotel

Fruit seller

China Town Inn Hotel

Jalan Sultan

Trolley aunty

Swiss Inn Hotel

28

THE people in 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

社 会 经 济

“I’m 29 years old and I’m selling beverages. The stall rental here is cheaper so that’s why I decided to open my stall here. I think education is not necessary because some people with high education still can’t find jobs.”

-Beverage seller

“I’m 68 years old and i’ve retired because I’ve passed down my food business to my son. I only studied until standard 3 due to poor economy and financial status.

Education is important because the society is improving day by day so high education would provide better future” - Food seller

“I’m 52 years old and i sell souvenirs. I was born in Germany and I’m married to a Malaysian Chinese.

I’ve been in Malaysia for 25 years. I speak 4 languages which are German, French, English and a bit of Malay.”

- German guy

“I’m 35 years old and I sell snacks. My sales income is not consistent since most of our customers are foreigners but sales would increase the most during festival seasons.”

“I’m 46 years old and I open a fruit stall. I do celebrate other religion’s celebrations because i have friends with different races but I wouldn’t marry someone with different race because of communication problem.”

- Fruit seller

- Trolley aunty

30

the way to capture 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

社 会 经 济

METHODOLOGY

19/10/2016,

WEDNESDAY , 1000 – Few steps was taken before proceeding with our in depth research.

Those are: - Questionnaires prepared relevant to parameter survey - Cultural Appreciation Index - Literacy Mechanism - Living Condition - Choose site that is most relevant to parameter survey -Targets: - Locals - Different age of group - Different races - Inside store sellers or hawker sellers - Interview session (45-50 people) -Data is recorded and analysed

-Infographic data will be produce

Usually known as a busy street throughout the day , Petaling Street in the morning hour was quite pleasant and quiet .

Hawker stalls are really active during this hour as owners tries to attract people for breakfast where as other stalls was only starting to operate. It was quite hard to find people to be interviewed early in the morning as most of them are still grumpy, reluctant and only wanted to sell off their item where as the foreign workers could not understand most of the questions ask. As the day goes by, more and more people are crowding Petaling Street. We were still looking for people to be interviewed. Under the hot and humid afternoon weather and noisy Petaling Street we were able to find more people to participate in our survey and give their feedbacks.

32

Cultural appreciation index 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

文 化 欣 賞

A particular group of people can be defined through their culture. Culture is a characteristics and knowledge of a group of people that could be define from their language, religion,social habits and cuisine. Cultural appreciation index focuses on the research on the background of the community of Petaling Street. With variety of races and nationalities around Petaling Street, variation of culture practices can be seen.

Majority of the married couple in Petaling Street are married with spouse from the same race and most of them do not agree in mix marrieage. However,in their opinion mix marriage does have its benefits to society. Through mix marriage, two cultures could be mix together and form a new culture. It is also a healthy form of way of introducing different culture to different races.

By doing so the people will always respect each other’s culture.

The data shows that majority of the people around Petaling Street is in between the age of 15-30 years old.

This could be due to the younger generation are taking over the olders generation’s businesses. Businessman is also known as the main occupation in Petaling Street as most of the businesses there is own by the seller themselves. The majority race of people in Petaling Street is Chinese,this could be because it was the first place where the Chinese starts to develope in Kuala Lumpur, thus it is known as Chinatown Nowadays, foreign workers are taking over the Chinatown,which somehow feels like the place has lose its essence.

During the interview, we came across a 52 years old Caucasian man from Germany. It was an unsual experience to be witnessing a Caucasian man selling keychains and magnets in Petaling Street as we would commonly see them as the one who are buying instead of selling. This rare occasion happens due to the mix marriage between him and his Malaysian Chinese wife. The Caucasian man said he was blessed to be able to experience different culture and celebrate different festivals. He also mentioned that the children will be able to experince a mix culture from their mother’s side, Malaysia and from their father’s side, Germany.

2

>6

20%

30

1546

-62

31-

47

20% d % 0 rrie 2 Ma

Age

60% e nes

Marital Status

Race

%

40

lay Ma

Chi

10% mic

Isla

Religion

5 st dhi d u B % 40 man s nes usi

20% B % ers 50 Oth et Occupation tre S . % -P 10 Non 80%

Living Area

%

ian

s her

Acceptance of Mix marriage

Ot

20%

Ind

No 40%

le

g Sin

40

0%

Same race with Spouse

20% an isti Chr % 40 ker Haw 0%

4

et

tre

P.S

20%

Mix marriage benefits Society

Ye

s

Ye

s

40%

No

40 Ve % r Visit Temple/ y of te

Mosque/ Church

60%

No

60%

Ye

s

n

20%

Se

60%

ldo

m

Visit Temple/ Ofte 80% n S Mosque/ Church eld om 20 %

Visit Temple/ Mosque/ Church

Ye

s

40%

Bar

40%

ely

40%

No 60%

34

lITERACY MECHANISM 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

文 學 機 制

The research on literacy mechanism focuses on the educational level of people in Petaling Street. The research was trying to unfold the educational background of the people which shape the economic state in Petaling Street.

Some people can be analyse through their educational background. It may show from the way they behave with the society. Petaling Street may offer variety of people with different educational background level.

The data highlighted that most of the people working inside the buildings mostly had finish their SPM and some are post graduates. The shop owner inside the buildings may require workers with higher educational qualification as they are more formal and have proper work ethics thus, the worker have to be professional in handling the job. However, most of them agrees that they do not need higher educational qualification to succeed in life.

Based on the data, the majority of people in Petaling Street received below SPM as their educational qualification. Most of the interviewee had to quit school due to not having enough money to pay for fee thus they have to help the parents at the shop.The interviwee also mentioned due to the hardship as he grow older he learned to appreciate life more and he also realized that having better education is not the only main way to succeed in life. Due to the interviewee working with his dad, the legacy of the best ‘air mata kucing’ in Petaling Street still continues until this day.

Majority of people in Petaling Street are bilingual as they can speak two languages or more. Most of them are able to converse in their native language and simple English. Based from one of interview with the worker situated inside the building shop, she was greatful that she was able to learn basic English during her study days as most of the customers at the shop are foreigners and their main sales income comes from the foreigner and during festivals. This shows that most of the workers in Petaling Street able to converse in basic English as most of them have to serve to English speakers.

M

w

lo Be st Po duate ra M G SP 20% Education % 0 2

Qualification

ese

n

Chi lay

Types of Languages Used

Ma

SP

60% ers

Oth

20% % 40 <2

%

40

%

40 >2

60%

Number of Language Speak

Types of Priva te Primary School Gov ern 40% me nt P

60

Pri

90%

% Types of rivate G ove Secondary School 10 rnm %

v

ent

ate Types of Gov University 20% ern me nt 80%

No %

40 s

Ye

Learning other language outside school

60%

36

living condition 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

生 活 環 境

The research focuses on the living condition of the people in Petaling Street. The living condition somehow relates closely to the their living income.

The used to be shophouses which function as a house and a shop is longer being use by the people around Petaling Street. The shophouses on the second floor are now occupied by foreign workers or leave as abandon.

Even so, the second floor of the shophouses are not in good condition as some windows are left broken and can be seen some of foreign workers hang their clothes outside the window which creates bad visual to the customers.

Based on the data, the people in Petaling Street are mostly healthy as most of them are youngers taking care of the stalls. As for the elderly, they might have some sickness or pain such as back pain and knee pain. Thus, its harder for them to attract people to come to the shop. It shows that the elderly, maybe in pain but she is stronger on that insisde. The living condition of the people in Petaling Street are mostly low class people as some of them have to survive harder and work harder. At some stalls can be seen,children helping their parents instead of going to school.

Majority of the people working in Petaling Street live in an apartment located not far from Petaling Street and most of them are renting the place as the selling price is quite high. It shows that the people are able to support themselves . Most of them also owns at least a car to travel back and forth from home to work and vice versa. Some are taking public transportation such as LRT, Bus and even grabcar and uber.

Through the observation, it shows that base on their living condition the people tendto work harder to the support the family and themselves.

The living condition of a person relates closley to their living income and education. Family with low income will usually tend to get sick easily due to not having enough money to buy medicine or go to the hospital and get a treatement.

Sho -ho p use

No 80% s

Medical problems

Ye

20%

10%

nt me

90%

Taking medicines

No

20% s

Ye s

80%

Ye

s

Renting house

20%

40%

No 40%

ern

Gov

Smokers

e

vat

Pri

Types of Ap art me house 20% nt O 40% the r

Satisfaction of Yes current living condition 20%

Ye

s

60%

No 80%

No

Exercise

80%

38

THE EPILOGUE of 茨廠街 CHINA TOWN

結 論

With variaton of races and nationalities forming the communities in Petaling Street, it can be concluded that the socioeconomic status falls under the middle class status. This is due to the fact that the educational background and living condition of the communities are average. Differential in terms of background and culture of the communities also affect the status. Culture consists of values and beliefs that help to shape an individual and greatly influences how an individual approaches education, which also reflects their condition of life.

Based on the feedback , the level of educational qualification achieved by the communities might not be able to prepare them to pursue for higher levels.

The conditions of life of the communities are mostly stable as most of the people own at least a vehicle which is used everyday to commute from home to work. In terms of medical condition, most of the communities are healthy as they are able to support their basic medical needs. Through their culture and beliefs, the communities mostly receive informal education from their family, in terms of ‘skills’ which they implemented in their businesses. Some of the businesses are pass down from generation to generation thus it holds a strong value.

40