BAGAN DATUK: COCONUT trees line the main road from Hutan Melintang to the Teluk Intan junction, providing a scenic view when travelling towards Bagan Datuk, located 40km from Teluk Intan.
Shoplots, restaurants, mosques and houses dot the way to the small town near the jetty.
For Che Rose Osman, 77, of Kampung Sungai Nipah Darat, Rungkup, 7.4km from Bagan Datuk, the abundance of coconut trees gave him the idea to come up with a virgin coconut oil product.
His visit to the Integrated Coconut Processing Centre in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, in 2005, inspired him to produce virgin coconut oil (VCO).
“I hope with the announcement of Bagan Datuk as a new district, it will highlight VCO. It would be good if more local entrepreneurs venture into the business as I am the only producer here.”
Operating his business at a small workshop in front of his house, he produces two litres of VCO daily.
Rose has promoted and marketed his products via the Bagan Datuk Farmer’s Organisation Authority, and his products have reached Kuala Lumpur and Malacca.
“Customers are amazed when I tell them the VCO is from Bagan Datuk as many are unaware that the district has such a good product,” he said.
Another villager, Darojah Sarinun, 58, said she hoped the declaration of Bagan Datuk as a new district would boost the local economy.
“I wish to see more jobs for locals, especially youth, so they do not have to leave for better career prospects.
“With more plans to boost tourism, we can accept more tourists as we have plenty of homestays here,” said the housewife, who grew up in Kampung Parit 20 here.
She said she noticed tourists opted for homestays as it offered a platform for them to mingle with residents.
In terms of development, the announcement of projects by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on July 24 last year, including the Bagan Datuk-Pasir Salak bridge, Mara Junior Science College, Hutan Melintang-Bagan Datuk double-lane road and Bagan Datuk Polytechnic, are seen as boosts to the economy.
Darojah said improvements, in terms of road infrastructure, would provide better access for tourists and visitors to the district.
“The opening of the Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) and Bagan Datuk Polytechnic will see families sending their children to study here.”
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently said that the West Coast Highway, connecting Taiping in Perak to Banting in Selangor, would be completed in three years and would provide faster access from Seri Perkasa in Teluk Intan to Bagan Datuk.
Bagan Datuk will also be under the jurisdiction of a new municipal council and no longer under Teluk Intan Municipal Council.
Bagan Datuk district officer Datuk Hamzah Hussein said the federal and state governments had approved a RM1 billion allocation to carry out 21 development projects.
Hamzah said among the projects were district and federal administration complexes, district police headquarters, Fire and Rescue De-
partment, MRSM, jetty terminal, landscape development and waterfront project.
“All projects are expected to be completed in five years and will benefit 70,300 residents,” he said.
The state government had, in November last year, agreed that the spelling for Bagan Datoh be changed to Bagan Datuk, and was officially used beginning Jan 9 following a proclamation ceremony graced by Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
Bagan Datoh was named after a warrior, Tok Kelah, the earliest man to explore and build the settlement, and the structures in the area. According to history, the Malay houses built along Sungai Perak were referred to as “bagan” by local communities.
The area was opened in 1880s and the word Datoh emerged as the British pronounced “Datok” as “Datoh”.