Pulau Ketam, Selangor

Pulau Ketam, Selangor
© Teoh Huooi Hong

Pulau Ketam (GPS: 3.01747, 101.25283) is an island on the Klang River delta in Selangor. Like all the outlying islands of the Klang River delta, Pulau Ketam is a mangrove island. However, Pulau Ketam stands out among the rest as being the only island supporting a thriving community. The houses of the villagers in Pulau Ketam are built on stilts over the water, and this has made them a tourist attraction.

Most of the villagers of Pulau Ketam are ethnic Chinese of Hokkien and Teochew dialect group. The Hokkien spoken in Pulau Ketam is Klang Hokkien, which is derived from the Xiamen dialect of Hokkien, different from the Zhangzhou-based Penang Hokkien. There are two villages on Pulau Ketam, namely Kampung Sungai Lima and Kampung Pulau Ketam, both on the southern part of the island.

Pulau Ketam on Google Maps Street View

Houses at Pulau Ketam
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pulau_Ketam#mediaviewer/File:View_of_Pulau_Ketam_18.JPG
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Stilt houses at Pulau Ketam
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pulau_Ketam#mediaviewer/File:View_of_Pulau_Ketam_05.JPG
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Pulau Ketam is said to have been inhabited since the late 19th century, but saw its population swell during the Second World War, when many Chinese flee Japanese Occupation on the mainland. On Pulau Ketam they built their home on stilts above the high water mark.

Life at water's edge is not without its calamities, as fire razed most of the houses in 1967 and again in 1972. But each time, the villagers held tenaciously to their unique lifestyle, and rebuilt what was lost.

Temple arch, Pulau Ketam
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pulau_Ketam#mediaviewer/File:Chinese_Temple_2_Pulau_Ketam.JPG
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Map of the Islands of the Klang Delta

Pulau Ketam is on the map.

Getting there

To visit Pulau Ketam, take a ferry from the Pulau Ketam Jetty which is located at Port Klang. The journey takes about 35 minutes.

River at Pulau Ketam
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pulau_Ketam#mediaviewer/File:View_of_Pulau_Ketam_16.JPG
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