Promotional Film for Tanjong Karang Irrigation Scheme Malaysia / Malaya 17034 (1953)

Synopsis

This short 1953 government film shows the work of the Tanjong Karang Irrigation Scheme, a reclamation project in Selangor, Malaya (Malaysia), converting the sponge-like terrain of the swamps created from flooding of the Bernam River into cultivatable rice paddies. The film opens with a shot of people milling around in a square in Malay. Sacks of rice are loaded off ships at the docks in Malay (00:37), as the country imports rice. An aerial view shows the swampland area in Selangor that borders the Straits of Malacca, which is being reclaimed for rice paddies. Viewers see the swamps of the Bernam River (02:06). Workers use machetes and axes to clear the swamp. Men cut large trees down with axes. The narrator says that work began in 1933, then stopped when the Japanese occupied the country, and resumed again in 1945. Footage shows the barren area where all the trees have been cut down (03:34). Men operate a crane excavator to move mud and build a barrier against the edge of the sea. Viewers see a dam built on the river to divert water to irrigation canals. An excavator digs earth for another canal (04:36). Men attach palm leaves to a roof during the construction of a home. Men the clear land for rice paddies. A man drives a tractor, plowing a field (05:54). Men plant rice seeds and then cover them with palm leaves (06:12). A westerner gives advice to a local man. Malay settlers hold a Planters Council meeting (06:42). There is a shot of the dam that diverts water to the rice…

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Details

Running time

10 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage