Mengkuang Titi is a village within the city of

Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. The city spans an are ...

in the

Malaysian state Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It is located not too far from the

Mengkuang Dam Mengkuang Dam is a dam in Central Seberang Perai District, Penang, Malaysia. It is the only dam situated in Seberang Perai (Penang Mainland) and the second dam built in Penang after Ayer Itam dam. It was officially opened by the former governor, ...

. The village has a population of about 800, and still retains the rustic feel ideal for the development of agricultural and cottage industries.

Etymology

The word ' Mengkuang' comes from the vernacular name for ''

Pandanus fascicularis ''Pandanus odorifer'' is an aromatic monocot species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, native to Polynesia, Australia, South Asia (Andaman Islands), and the Philippines, and is also found wild in southern India and Burma. It is commonly known a ...

'' a kind of ''

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

'' plant that inhabit the region. The word 'Titi' means bridge. The combination of these two words give the meaning 'The Mengkuang area where a bridge was built'. It is common to find word 'Mengkuang' in surrounding region because Kampung Mengkuang actually refers the wider whole neighborhood area. Names of the some neighborhood villages are Mengkuang Kereta Api ('kereta api' means train, Mengkuang where railway was built), Mengkuang Sekolah ('sekolah' means school, Mengkuang where school was built and

(

Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

means a barrier constructed across a waterway, Mengkuang where dam was constructed).

Economy

Agriculture and cottage industries

Agriculture and cottage industries are still the main sources of income. Among the cottage industries at Mengkuang Titi includes the making of Malay delicacies such as kuih

bahulu Bahulu or baulu ( Jawi: باولو) is a traditional Malay pastry (kue/kuih). It is similar in concept to the madeleine cake, but round in shape and composed of different ingredients. There are three versions available, the most common being ''b ...

, a fluffy sponge cake, and

satay Satay ( , in the US also ), or sate in Indonesia, is a Javanese cuisine, Javanese dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay originated in Java, but has spread throughout Indonesia, into Southeast Asia, Europe, ...

, grilled skewered meat served in sweet and spicy

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

sauce. People of Mengkuang Titi used to grow

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *A nickname or slur for an Irish person Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

and

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms, called oil palms, containing two species, native to Africa and the Americas. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can gro ...

, but now most of the land was replaced by housing. The only plantation can be found now is

estate. The vegetable crops such as

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables cultivated from the species '' Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. Cauliflower usually grows with one main stem that carries a large, rou ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

etc. were introduced to the village.

Tourism

Mengkuang Titi is one of the village in Penang on the Homestay Programme. There is indeed much to see and do in the kampung. One can walk through a canopy of rubber trees, try a hand at

rubber tapping Rubber tapping is the process by which latex is collected from a rubber tree. The latex is harvested by slicing a groove into the bark of the tree at a depth of with a hooked knife and peeling back the bark. Trees must be approximately six years ...

and observe how

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

is processed into rubber sheets. Visitors can also visit the oil palm estates and stroll amidst its neat rows of palm fronds and huge bunches of flaming orange-red oil palm fruits. Visitor should also look out for the awesome mengkuang plants from which the village got its name. It is really interesting to see how these long sharp, serrated swords like leaves are harvested, and then slowly processed into fine colourful strips ready for

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

. At the cottage industry centre nearby, one can learn the art of

making.

Others

Even the agriculture and cottage industries are the main economic activities, most of the villagers are now working in the big towns such as

Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam is a suburb of Seberang Perai in the Malaysian state of Penang. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam had a population of 12,079. Whilst founded in the 19th century as an agricultural ...

, Butterworth, George Town and industrial parks such as Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Prai Industrial Estate and Bayan Baru Technology Park.

Culture

Most of the villagers are practicing the traditional Malay culture with mixture from minority of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

ns.

Traditional games

Traditional Malay games are also promoted at Mengkuang Titi. These include top spinning, or gasing, bola sepak sarung and sepak raga, played by the men and

congkak Southeast Asian mancalas are a subtype of mancala games predominantly found in Southeast Asia. They are known as congkak in Malaysia; congklak ( VOS Spelling: tjongklak), congkak, congka, and dakon in Indonesia and Brunei; and sungkâ in the Phili ...

by the women.

Foods

Mengkuang Titi is the best place to try the Malay Traditional food such as

, kuih bangkit or coconut Cookies,

and various of traditional snacks.

How to get there

From

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

and

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

(from south) or

Sungai Petani Sungai Petani ( abbr. Sg. Petani or SP) is a city in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. The population of the municipal area of Sungai Petani is larger than Kedah's state capital, Alor Setar. It is located about 55 km south of Alor Set ...

Alor Star Alor Setar (Kedah Malay: ) is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is home to the third-tallest t ...

, exit the North South Expressway at the Seberang Jaya Interchange (Exit 163). Take the Butterworth Kulim Expressway (E15) east and exit it at the Mengkuang Lake Dam Interchange (Exit 1507). At the t-junction, turn left and head east on Jalan Penanti-Kulim. At the next junction, turn right and head north along Jalan Lunas. If from Kulim and east, right turn at the junction in front and underpasses the Butterworth Kulim Expressway. Continue along this road (P129). When you reach a road fork, take the right fork down state road P119. Continue along P119 until you reach Mengkuang Titi. The only available public transports are taxi and bus. By bus, from the

bus terminal, you should take bus no. 51.

References

External links

{{Penang Villages in Penang