Jenjarom has a significant Chinese (Hokkien) population, and the village is the site of the Dong Zen Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple and Institute in Sungai Jarom.[1] Though this is predominantly for the Chinese Buddhist population, the non-Chinese community benefits from the tourism it attracts: there were about a quarter of a million visitors in 2004.
Jenjarom was one of the so-called New Villages, set up in the 1950s during the Malayan Emergency to segregate the rural Chinese villagers from the Communist insurgents within Malaysia under the Briggs Plan. This aimed to cut off supplies to the insurgents. Like other typical new villages, most of the residents are warm and friendly.
Some of these villages have since deteriorated, and Jenjarom has gained a reputation[2] for various social ills, including gangsterism, gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking. Unemployment is high among young people, and with limited opportunities for education many youth have turned to crime as a means of survival.
The emphasis on the importance of education is seen as the key to improving the village, and local schools are contributing to this.
