Expanding Coastal Housing
Look at the Langkawi waterfront and you cannot miss the sheer scale of it. Hundreds of bright red roofs sit packed tightly right along the coastline.
This is a massive, self-built community layout that has been quietly expanding for decades now.
The entire settlement is built right on top of a mangrove delta, sandwiched between a busy local fishery port and an old, abandoned prawn farm.
Decades of Quiet Growth
This coastal community is nothing new. In fact, it has been growing steadily since the 1970s. The spot is called Bukit Malut, located just across the bay from Kuah Town.
You can easily spot the bright red roofs all the way from Langkawi City, but actually getting inside the neighborhood is a different story.
The only way in is through hidden tracks tucked behind thick bushes off the main road.
A Self Sufficient Town
Over the decades, the settlement has managed to set up its own complete ecosystem to support everyone living there.
Walk inside and you will find local shops, small makeshift businesses, schools, and a massive mosque for daily prayers. A few families get official help from the UNHCR for basic schooling and welfare.
Still, the reality is that a massive chunk of the population living in these waterfront houses remains completely undocumented today.
Questions Over the Future
The constant growth of the population has sparked real worry among locals in Langkawi. A lot of residents feel new people are arriving all the time without a single check from law enforcement.
Right now, everyday locals are just confused. The state government and the National Security Council have discussed massive relocation plans to move families away from the sensitive mangrove lands into legal housing schemes, but nothing has changed on the ground yet.
Nobody actually knows if authorities will let the illegal settlement stay for good or if a crackdown is coming soon.
Watch the video here:
@langkawichannel “Rohingya” village in Langkawi waterfront continues growing since the 1970’s. While some are UNHCR assisted, for schooling and social services, many more remain undocumented. Locals suspect new arrivals are added to the population regularly, unchecked. Village is located in Bukit Malut, accessed from behind bushes, and lies between a shipyard and a long-abandoned prawn farm project, and comes complete with its own school and large mosque Locals remain unclear of authorities direction on addressing the village, continued illegal occupancy and status What are your thoughts?
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