We have been invited by a couple from GIFT Foundation Champa community to their son’s wedding at a plantation. This is the first time we find out that some in this community live inside plantations all across Malaysia. I have never heard of anyone living in a plantation before unless they are workers living on site. We are curious to see how they live and celebrate a Champa wedding.
In Malaysia, a plantation means rubber and oil palm trees.
I don’t see any oil palm plantation anywhere in the city and suburbs so we are blindly following the crowd! We cramp into Dr. Firdaus’ truck with five children. Shane is lucky to sit in the front while I have to squeeze myself in the back with the children. They squabble non-stop and it gets really irksome. I have the window down because there is no air conditioning so my hair flies all over the place! However, it is better with my face sticking out the window than getting stifled in a 36°C (96.8°F) heat with sweaty kids!
Please don’t get me wrong. I love kids but it is stressful with five in the truck and one who is ADHD and oppositional defiant. I wish we had called a Grab car instead. Luckily the boy (who is ADHD) decides he prefers to sit on Shane’s lap for the rest of the drive. I voice my concern and Dr. Firdaus assures us it is alright because they do it all the time. This is village driving style and everyone is packed like sardines with no seat belts. I have a video showing how loud the kids talk on another post.
Dr. Firdaus follows a driver of another car that knows the direction to the wedding venue. One minute we are on the highway and the next minute we are turning into a small road.
Left and right of us are palm oil trees. We stopped on one side of the road next to a shabby wooden house. Further along on a clearing are two tents erected for the wedding. I’m glad I am wearing flat sandals because the area is paved with construction debris.
The wedding at a plantation is in full swing!
We see some familiar faces. The parents of the groom welcome our party. We find out Dr. Firdaus is the the guest of honor and they are waiting for our arrival to start the feast. The family is grateful because she has donated to the wedding preparation
It is the first ‘legal’ wedding event for the community! There is the bersanding (sitting-in-state ceremony), which is followed by a feast for family and friends.
Usually, couples only solemnized during the akad nikah (solemnization ceremony) held secretly for fear of immigration raid. However Dr. Firdaus has managed to get an approval from the authority to hold a kenduri (feast). It is simple but it also symbolizes a step towards the freedom to live in Malaysia.
I am not familiar with the Champa wedding tradition and I assume it is similar to the Malays. Here is a YouTube video from Tatler showing a traditional wedding ceremony. A wedding ceremony can be really elaborate depending on how much you want to spend for it.
The Champa group shows us around after lunch. There are two families living in the house and they pay the plantation owner a staggering MYR800 (US$198) rental a month! The minimum monthly wage for a Malaysian is now at MYR1,200 (US$283). An undocumented person earns less. They pay for electricity separately. There is only one outdoor communal toilet which is over by a stream. The landlord is able to demand for this amount because he knows they can’t go anywhere else.
Champa tell stories of families running deep into the palm oil plantation hiding from immigration officers during raids.
They hide in the dark until everything clears. Sometimes, the officers destroy their houses and sparse belongings. Other times they demand bribes. The landlord sold his plantation to a housing developer recently so they have a month to move out.
On this auspicious day, the young wedded couple and his extended families face uncertainties for the coming month. It’s likely they will move in with other Champa community until they find a different housing arrangement. This community hopes Dr. Firdaus can help expedite their applications in order to live here legally so they can earn sustainable wages and improve lives. We pray she can achieve this gargantuan effort.
Wedding at a plantation is certainly unique. This community is resilient and the camaraderie among them is strong. These people have very little but are more than happy to share the little they have with you. Below are some photos:
