The fishing's no good in Kampung Panching

	By TN Alagesh It was once dubbed an angler's haven, thus the name. But now, Kg Panching, located next to the more famous Sungai Lembing in Pahang, is a pale shadow of itself, with just about 3,000 villagers, comprising mostly elderly people.
	Kampung Panching has been in existence since the British colonial era and villagers used to work at the Sungai Lembing tin mine before the Felda Panching Selatan and Panching Utara settlements were opened in the early 1980s.
	Village head Abdul Rashid Ahmad, 66, who was born and raised in the village, said it was previously known as Kampung Machang while the river flowing through the village was called Sungai Reman.
	He said in the 1930s, the river was filled with fish and anglers would spend hours there.
	"Everyone in the village, from young to old, would bring a fishing rod to the river daily.
	"Even the British who worked at the tin mine came to fish here. There used to be a carnival-like atmosphere in the evenings then.
	"Those passing by on boats said they saw lots of fish in the river and claimed they had caught fish with their hands."
	Rashid learned about the history of the village from his late uncle, a former penghulu.
	Pak Ngah Hitam was the one who renamed the village Kampung Panching and its river, Sungai Panching.
	"Kampung Machang exists today but there are only six families living there, while an oil palm plantation in the village is now known as Kuala Reman Estate.
	"The river was renamed Sungai Panching because of the huge population of fish and the locals used to refer to the river as Sungai Panching because of the many anglers along the banks."
	Rashid said the name Kampung Panching was made official in the late 1950s.
	The village consists of smaller ones, namely Kampung Atong, Sungai Batu, Kuala Reman and Kampung Machang.
	"But the village population has dwindled over the years and the only reason preventing more people from moving out is the peace and quiet, and availability of basic facilities."
	Now, it is a sleepy hollow and only vehicles travelling towards Sungai Lembing pass through.
	There are two rows of wooden shophouses in Kampung Panching, which has three coffee shops and several sundry outlets.
	These days, Sungai Panching can attract only a few anglers during public holidays and weekends.
	To make matters worse, the river sometimes dries up during the hot season.
	Nevertheless, Kampung Panching, which is 24km from Kuantan, has Tamil and Chinese vernacular schools, a national school, clinic, police station and a multipurpose hall.
	The village is surrounded by oil palm plantations and there is talk that by 2016, a 60km highway will be built connecting Kuantan to Jerantut through Sungai Lembing.
	Rashid said Sungai Panching used to be famous for ikan tapah, baung, kaloi and kelisa and anglers seldom returned home empty handed.
	"But once the Felda settlements opened, some people used tuba (poison) to gain a quick catch resulting in a steady decline of the fish population. Some of the species have disappeared."
	He said visitors travelling towards Sungai Lembing would some-times stop in the village to ask for choice fishing spots but, sadly, villagers can't recommend them anything.