Kampung Tersusun Kampung Pulai
Kampung Tersusun Kampung Pulai is a Bumiputra neighborhood located near the town of Gopeng, Perak. It is situated along the prominent Jalan Gopeng, just opposite of Kopisan in the western side and the north of Taman Gopeng Baru and the north of Gunung Mesah.
People
This is one of dozens of villages under the Mukim Teja administration which has among the highest concentration of Rao people (Urang Rao), everybody here speaks the Rao Dialect, a dialect in relation with both Minang and Melayu Language.
There are approximately 492 permanent residents live here and the number tripled during weekends and particularly holidays such as the major Muslim celebrations, people from the cities particularly Kuala Lumpur and Penang will flocked back here to join their families celebrating the occasions.
Residents comprises from various background such as engineers, doctors, teachers, electrical technicians, factory workers, bankers and a vast majority working as government servants as well as the private sectors. Almost half of the residents are senior citizens while the rest are youngsters and their children. Many of the younger generations migrated to the larger Ipoh city, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Neighborhood layout
There are two very significant part of this village, the uphill compound [Kampung Ateh], the lowland compound [Kampung Bawah] and the new south compound [Kampung Sri Wangi, previously known as Ateh Ompang]. These terms were given by the residents themselves to ease the recognition of houses in which the whole village is geographically designed with different altitude. Therefore, it is easier for the residents to recognize the houses through the terms such as Kampung Ateh or Kampung Atas [the upper side], Kampung Bawah [the lower side] and Ateh Ompang [upper banks]. The east side of Kampung Bawah were once known as Telago Jaoh but the term usage subsided among the new generations but it is popular among the senior citizens.
The Kampung Ateh was designed with a very easy layout, two very long street on each side and several alleys to segregate the clusters, apparently, it is the grid iron layout with the first row of houses facing the large Jalan Gopeng [towards the west] while the other row is facing the east, towards the Titiwangsa mountain range and a very large old tin mine lake. Kampung Ateh was known to be the houses made of bricks instead of woods. These houses were largely designed partly bricks or a whole brick house. Most of the residents affiliate the Kampung Ateh people with "rumah batu" or houses made of bricks.
There is a large multipurpose hall located at the very center of Kampung Tersusun Kampung Pulai. A lot of activities were held there such as weddings, talks, and even served as the voting center for the previous general election. Most of the times, the hall was used for residents to play badminton in weekends and almost every nights on weekdays.
Education
Children attend schooling in various school but mostly prefer to study in the nearby primary and secondary schools. There is no bus or any means of transportation service provided for the school children because traditionally, parents or family members will send their children to the schools themselves, usually early morning [for the morning session] and the afternoon [for the evening session]. Some of the school children even prefer to walk and cycle to their schools because it is just across the street. A pedestrian bridge was built to join Kampung Kopisan Baru and Kampung Tersusun Kampung Pulai to ease the travel between these two neighborhood, therefore people don't have to risk their lives crossing the busy Jalan Gopeng.
Facilities
Kampung Pulai Multipurpose Hall or Dewan Serbaguna Kampong Pulai is located at the very centre of the village for weddings, forums, elections and even night time badminton tournaments. This was the previous location of the original Kampong Pulai Stage which was demolished due to its severe damage.
Madrasah Ihsaniah is the only religious center for the locals and everything regarding public consent mostly held here. There is a custom whenever somebody had died, the Ketok (Kowtouwk) will be sounded.