Jom Tengkera!

A school-initiated walking tour movement in the Tengkera community

The title “Jom Tengkera!” is basically a Malay Phrase whereby “Tengkera” is the name of the community itself and “Jom” means “let’s go”. Tengkera community is a born-to-be community with very diverse but inclusive living cultures which shall be celebrated by all Malaccan as it shows us how we could live together harmoniously, and this is simply the Malaccans’ spirit!

Who are we? Why we initiate the project?

The project was started by a group of teachers and students under the Civic Education subject from Pay Fong Middle School. We walked along Jalan Tengkera and the nearby villages to collect oral history, then tried to compile and curate the stories into an interesting narrative before presenting it again to the public through several walking tour sessions, which will happen on August 6th and 7th in trilingual (Mandarin, Bahasa, and English).

The objectives of the project are

1. to encourage youth participation in community development;
2. to strengthen the school's relationship with the local community;
3. to initiate a sustainable community movement by integrating the idea into the school’s curriculum.

Students explore the community through the guidance of their Civic teachers and prepare their own script to narrate in the coming walking tour sessions.

Students work hard on learning folk dance and kompang from the beginning for the preparation of this festival.

Why we chose Tengkera?

Tengkera is located in the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Malacca. Likewise, most of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, especially the core zone of Malacca World Heritage Site, face a bundle of problems such as congested tourists, especially during weekends and long holidays. Though the increasing revenue helps the locals to earn a better income, it also forces most of the original residents in the old town to move out of the town, firstly because of unaffordable rental, and secondly because of the changes in the living environment. It is no more a livable town when most of its economic activities are tourism-based. The locals' needs are abandoned.

Tengkera community in google map.

Tengkera is somehow still maintaining its very original lifestyle since it is situated outside of the core zone. The name Tengkera originated from the Portuguese word "Tranquerah", meaning "gate". It was used to be an important defence rampart for the city during the Portuguese era between 1511 and 1641.

The community was first formed by fishermen from different ethnic groups such as Malays, Javanese, and Acehnese. During the Portuguese colony, they were the people fighting with the colonists for their own land.

As time passed by, other ethnic groups, such as Baba Nyonya and Kristang, also moved into the community, thus further shaping it into a multi-cultural community.

Today, residents in Tengkera community still live harmoniously despite their ethics and religion background. We learnt to appreciate diversity and to celebrate differences in each other through the stories told by the residents. It is such an important lesson, not just for us as Malaysian, but also for all of us as part of the world.

Help us preserve the INTANGIBLE LIVING HERITAGE in Tengkera, Malacca.

JOM TENGKERA!