BEING a Johorean who was raised in a small Javanese community has made me realise that I am not a pure Johorean.
This thought only crossed my mind when I went to Kampung Parit Tengah, Sri Merlong recently.
I went there with my friend, Baizura Basri, and we were greeted with big smiles.
The welcoming party was truly warm.
Even the family in the biggest house was pleasant. Not one had an arrogant bone in their body.
I have been told that 98 per cent of the villagers are Javanese.
The way they talked and the language they used reminded me of my Javanese grandparents who lived in Air Hitam, Muar.
Although my grandparents are Javanese, I don’t understand the language they use.
I can barely understand or communicate with them in Javanese and this makes me ashamed.
The community in Kampung Parit Tengah may consist of 1,638 villagers but they do everything together as one big family.
Kampung Parit Tengah village head Husaimi Hashim said they always had good camaraderie and this binds them together as a community.
The villagers have also come up with the tagline “Golongan Umah Yang Utamakan Perpaduan” or Guyup, which refers to togetherness.
I also saw a structure assembled with broomsticks at the entrance of the village to show their unity.
With Merdeka Day approaching, Kampung Parit Tengah is in their element.
There will be a few competitions and the winner will get a cash voucher and a trophy.
The competition will have villagers competing to decorate their houses, cars and motorcycles.
There is also a celebration on Merdeka eve where the villagers will gather at the mosque for tahlil prayer and a fireworks display at midnight.
This is the first time I am hearing of neighbours celebrating Merdeka on this scale, and I hope the others would follow in their footsteps.
I have also been told that the cost for the flags, decorations and banners used for their vehicles, houses and the 15km road stretch in Kampung Parit Tengah were borne by the villagers.
They do not wait for handouts from sponsors.
It is up to the villagers to fork out whatever sum they want to contribute to the celebration.
And it has always been this way.
Many will say that villagers barely know about technology and hardly use social media.
To my surprise, the villagers here are quite tech-savvy.
Since 2008, they have set up their own Parit Tengah Facebook page.
The page is a platform for villagers to share goings-on in the village.
The postings also let their Facebook friends know about the activities in the village.
This is another achievement that awed me as I first got to know about the village through Facebook.
I found that the site was always active and constantly updated.
The journey from Johor Baru to the village took one hour and 35 minutes.
It was a fruitful visit as the hospitality and spirit of the villagers was inspiring. It feels like home. I can assure you that.
The village also offers homestay programmes to those who want to have a taste of kampung life.
I really enjoyed my trip and am grateful to the locals.
No amount of words can describe their kindness towards my friend and myself.
Happy Merdeka.