Your Guide to Malaysia and Regional HERITAGE sites.

New Address for Bukit Kepong Museum.

2009-07-07T13:11:00.007+08:00

Bukit Kepong, Johor received nationwide fame in the 80s when a Malay blockbuster with the same name was released to showcase Malay heroism against communist insurgency in Malaya.

Initially, there was a plan for Bukit Kepong to have its own museum at its doorsteps but after years of waiting the plan is now deferred again due to wrong location and global economic woes.

According to NST, the people in charge have just discovered that the original chosen site was proned to floods hence the stop order but the wherabouts of the new site is still a big question mark.

The key players should however take this time to identify the right message in the overall theme for this dedicated museum.

The museum must distance itself and not take the same myopic approach of the movie, which perpetuated Bukit Kepong as the final artrocity of local Chinese against Bumis.

For decades, the movie was the potent mouthpiece which was constantly used to drill into the minds of Malaysians that local Chinese were out to take the country by force. This notion often gained frightful momentum when chauvanist politicians needed to stir up national pride and send a message to be mindful of 'outsiders'.

Johor Assembly: Bukit Kepong Museum move pushed to 10MP - NST July 7, 2009 - by Sim Bak Heng

THE plan to relocate the Bukit Kepong Museum in the Ninth Malaysia Plan has to be pushed to the 10th Malaysia Plan period although allocation for the project has been approved.

State Rural Development, Art, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Asiah Ariff said a technical study carried out by the police at the original site showed that it was not suitable for the project as it was said to be flood-prone.

"Finding an alternative site could be time-consuming and we may not be able to complete the project by year-end."As such, we have no choice but to postpone the project to the 10th Malaysia Plan," she said when winding up the debate on the Sultan of Johor's address yesterday.

The Bukit Kepong Museum is not far from the site where a group of policemen defended their remote station in Bukit Kepong, Muar against a communist terrorist attack on Feb 23, 1950.

Fourteen policemen, four village guards, three auxiliary policemen, the wife of a policeman and three of her children were killed.

Asiah said the state government would assist the Home Ministry to identify an alternative site for the project.She said many factors had to be considered before commencing on a certain project."

It is not just the speed that counts. "If a project is deemed to be not feasible technically and anticipated to bring problems later, it is better to delay it." The decision to postpone the Bukit Kepong Museum project was made during the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

HMS Ocean archored in Penang

2009-06-29T11:11:00.010+08:00

HMS Ocean (L12) - The Royal Navy helicopter carrier made history in Penang when it anchored in the Pearl of Orient for the first time on June 18, 2009.

According to reliable sources, her majesty’s ship and crew have just returned from a war game in their favorite tropical training camp in Brunei. The Penang stopover is part of the fleet’s month long journey back to their home base in Plymouth.

Like most Penangites, I had a great view of the HMS Ocean from the ferry terminal in Butterworth. The view of warship gets more interesting if you like me have the opportunity to take the iconic ferry across the narrow Penang Strait.

One can begin to appreciate the full scale of the carrier especially if view it from the sea. The 208-meter long floating airfield dwarfs over everything nearby at the wharf.

However, all eyes are quickly drawn to the Sea Kings and Chinooks on board the Amphibious Assault Ship.

Another spectacular feature of the warship is the cutting edge military hardware packed with awesome firepower. Most noticeable is the Phalanx CIWS - the state-of-the-art anti ship missile system on the HMS Ocean’s bow and helm. I saw only these two Phalanx units although Wikipedia notes there are three on board.

The arrival of the British warship also captured the headlines in the local Chinese press Kwong Wah Yit Poh (June 18, 2009 edition; see attached photo) and featured in Starmetro (Warship docks in Butterworth, June 25, 2009)

Ousted Penang Museum Curator makes a Comeback.

2009-06-01T17:44:00.010+08:00

Ex-Penang Museum curator Khoo Boo Chia shows why he is still the authority in the field of heritage conservation in this country when his latest museum project at Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi was opened to rapturous applauses (The Starmetro, Rich history of a clan, May 27, 2009).

Khoo made the headlines in 2006 when he was 'forced' to vacate his post in Penang Museum(The Sun, March 24, 06 and also read blog entry - June 16, 2008) after he fell out of favor with the then BN councilman in charge of cultural and heritage affairs in Penang.

Although Khoo was not formally charged of any wrongdoings but it was an open secret that the vocal politician from UMNO was not pleased with Khoo and his work at the state museum.

According to reliable sources, Khoo was ‘guilty’ of failing to use his good office to project Penang’s multi cultural facets in the museum. The exhibits in the state museum was deemed too pro-Georgetown which is prominently Chinese and lacked features of Malay majority in Prai.

Hence, he was axed and replaced by his then young and inexperienced assistant curator.

Fortunately, the 2006 fallout has turned into a blessing for Khoo and he could devote himself wholeheartedly to the preservation of Georgetown historical enclave without having to make consensus or worst – being accused of cultural balkanization in the Pearl of Orient.

In just a short span of a few years and the verdict is out.

Today, Khoo’s forte in the preservation field is vindicated again.

He has left many of his personal touches in the RM400,000 project to refurbish Leong San Tong Museum and it could present itself as a worthy opponent to the Penang State Museum in a stiff competition to draw in the crowd.

The state government is also quick to proclaim the site to have good chance to be the state’s next biggest treasure chest.

Topping the icing for Khoo on that memorable evening is when he received commendation for his remarkable work from the Chief Minister of Penang himself when the latter turned up to grace the opening.

Selangor Museum of Traditional Games

2009-05-29T14:43:00.008+08:00

Visitors to Kuala Selangor's famed lighthouse-cum-hill spot can check out the newly opened Museum of Traditional Games.

Located a short walk from the lighthouse, the museum offers a rare glimpse of games village children (no pun intended) play in their leisure.

However, the museum lacks imagination how best to share these otherwise great facts about traditional games we play before Nintendo and PSP hit our shores.

There are information panels (too many of them if you ask me), on the walls and visitors may be wise to just select a few and benefit from them.

A few exhibition spots have mannequins to illustrate how the game is played but again a little care on the presentation would go a long way to make learning in the museum fun.

The museum is also guilty of focusing primarily on those in the rural village but not showcasing enough kid games other communities in Selangor play. There were few games which all communities play together but the museum chose to emphasize one.

The museum could fare better too if they set up corners to encourage visitors, kids and those who are still kids at heart, to learn more about the games themselves and at the same time put their skills to test.

Imagine what a success for the museum if visitors of all ages can have a go with a game of congkak or gasing with friends and family.

Interactivity is the key to encourage more museum visits and it would give a fresh breathe of air to the business of running museums. It is a guarantee to take the mundane out of just reading the facts and trying to make sense out of the poor sketches.

Administered by the Selangor Museum Board, the entrance to the museum is free and one should allocate not more than an hour there but it depends on your interest.

Pulau Ketam Kids Dive for Thrills.

2009-05-29T14:03:00.011+08:00

Free spirit reigns amongst the kids in Pulau Ketam, a mangrove filled island populated by largely Chinese fishing community.

While most children of their age in the city would just look forward to an evening stroll at the neighborhood park, here they have a very different concept of sweating it out.

The tide was at its highest at about six in the evening and the boys, about five of them wasted no time for some eye-opening activity from the village's main bridge.

While they seemed to throw caution out of the window, the boys certainly have a great respect for passing motorized boats, pausing until each boat has passed.

On one occasion when they saw a jelly fish under the bridge but that did not deter their enthusiasm.

For hours till dusk filled the air, they continuously engaged in daring each other to take the next plunge into the murky waters.

When they jumped, they often screamed hoarse the names of girls they fancied and it makes me wonder if their diving and shouting says something about adult relationship.

Left - girl swimming from door front. Right - High tide brings a hive of activity in Pulau Ketam

Further downstream, the younger ones also took to swimming with great ease.

A few households have kids some as young as five maybe less frolicking in the water. Most have a small floating device on their arms but that's all.

Despite the busy waterway traffic nearby, these kids seem to enjoy their play time right in front of their doors.

Sibu Honors Its Pioneers in a Memorial Museum

2009-05-29T12:57:00.007+08:00

LOU KING HOWE Memorial Museum is a tribute by Sibu residents to a philanthropist whose name is synonymous with remarkable stories of early settlers in this predominantly Foochow community in Sarawak.

Lou, a successful rubber planter of his time, had donated generously to set up of a modern medical facility and helped improve the lots of many when malaria and other deadly tropical diseases were ravaging the entire population.

For his effort, Lou now has his name forever enshrined in history.

In recent years and through the initiative by Sibu elders, the disused hospital was given a fresh coat of paint and has since embarked on a new journey as a memorial dedicated to Lou. It also serves as a museum to showcase the health services from a bygone era.

Other communities in Malaysia can learn a thing or two from Sibu about honoring pioneers and leaders but stop short of trumpeting over figureheads.

Unfortunately, many Malaysian museums are guilty of positioning themselves exactly in the opposite. Although these museums operate under the domain of the states, the curators have no qualms to use them to score political points.

Sadly, too many honorable figures because of their race have disappeared from the historical limelight because they don’t fit into somebody’s agenda.

Sibu is a hard act to follow but their approach can be the yardstick in how we promote bias free Malaysian heritage.

If the Sibu museum can succeed on the initiative of its residents and at the same time, doing a fairly impressive job of showcasing its tumultuous past, then the key players in Malaysian conservation circle should get their act together and approach heritage in a comprehensive atmosphere to augur nation-building by all sections of Malaysians.

See the enclosed write-up.

Sarawak's First And Malaysia's Biggest Medical Museum Will Be Ready In July (Bernama, March 14, 2008- Edward Subeng Stephen)

Come July, Sarawak will have the distinction of being home to its first, and the country's biggest medical museum.

Known as the Lau King Howe Memorial Museum, it is the brainchild of a group Chinese businessmen who are descendents of early settlers to the state.The museum itself, is named after one of the early Chinese settlers, Lau King Howe.

The new museum will occupy the original main building of the former Lau King Howe Hospital in Lau King Howe Road near the Sibu Town Square."It will be another attraction to the town and will probably be the biggest of its kind in the country," said Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Sri Wong Soon Koh in a recent interview with Bernama.

He said the project was a joint effort of town leaders, United Chinese Association and other non-governmental organisations, Sarawak Museum, health department, Sibu Municipal Council and public works department."

As a matter of fact, two NGOs namely, Confederation of Pan-Chen Lau Association, Sarawak and the Sibu Kwong Yuen Benevolent Association have each contributed RM300,000 towards its restoration works," he said.

According to Dr Hu Chang Hock, who is chairman of the local branch of the Malaysian Medical Association, the museum "is designed to remember, perpetuate and propogate the spirit of Lau King Howe, his sincerety, benevolence, generosity and his profound love for the sick, poor and disadvantaged."

He said the late Lau King Howe, who was a trained teacher and a pious Christian, arrived from Foochow, Fukien in China in 1916, to manage a rubber plantation here.Before returning to China in 1930, he decided to donate all his properties to the then colonial government to set up the town's first modern hospital. Completed in 1936 at a cost of RM82,000, the hospital was named after him.

On Aug 31, 1994, when the new government hospital at Oya Road was completed and began operations, Lau King Howe Hospital ceased operations.

Dr Hu said the museum, the first of its kind in the state, "will attempt to illustrate the changing pattern of infectious disease such as diptheria, malaria and tuberculosis spectrum in their prominence in the 1930s to the 1950s, to the present prevalent chronic disease such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart disease and others."

"It will also try to illustrate the progress of medicine from the exhibits of age-old reverent equipments of the former Lau King Howe Hospital to the pictorial illustration of modern equipments available at the Sibu General Hospital."

"It will highlight how far we, in Sibu, have came to acquaint and adapt to the new advances in tools of medical applications," he said, adding that the exhibits would be changed frequently to enable the museum to be lively and vibrant.

Gopeng Welcomes New Museum.

2009-05-19T17:48:00.008+08:00

(Photos courtesy of The Star)

The recently opened Muzium Gopeng ushers a fresh new air for museums in Malaysia.

The birth of the thematic museum came from a group of friends who decided to start a permanent exhibition about the former tin mining town of Gopeng.

Although it lacks in size, this privately-run museum has become a favorite for museum aficionados because of the wealth of information in its collections. Many of the artifacts housed in the former shop lot are personal collections passed down the generations.

Furthermore, Gopeng like many home grown museums are a labor of love and the bold founders who value heritage over anything else, are also the main drive of the venue. When put these factors together, the museum easily outshine many state-run muzium in the country.

While Gopeng Museum is still at its infancy, it could be a hit with visitors if it is promoted jointly with the Tin Dredge museum (T.T No. 5 - another privately run museum in Tanjung Tualang) as the country’s foremost repository of tin mining history.

Together, both museums could offer visitors and history bluffs a glimpse of the Kinta Valley’s industrious past and a startling introduction to the world’s most successful tin mining story.

Old mining town honoured (The Star, May 16, 09 - FOONG THIM LENG)

Inspired by the 2006 American animated feature film Cars, successful businessman Bernard Yaw has set up a museum in his hometown, Gopeng, in Perak.

Muzium Gopeng, opened on April 18 to coincide with World Heritage Day, is located in his ancestral home at 28, Jalan Eu Kong.

Cars, the animated film, is a story about an old sleepy town, Radiator Springs, which was once a popular stopover along the infamous US Route 66.

Successful entrepreneur Bernard Yaw who founded the Muzium Gopeng.

However, with the construction of an interstate freeway US-15, cars and trucks no longer need to patronise the small town’s businesses and services and simply bypass the town to rush to Los Angeles or Las Vegas, thus causing a major economic and financial slowdown for Radiator Springs. As the story goes, one Sally Carrera, a beautiful 2002 Porsche 911 from California, grows tired of life in the fast lane and wants a new start in the small town, so she makes Radiator Springs her home. She runs the only auto motel there and is the one most dedicated to preserving and reviving the town with the hope that one day, it will get ‘back on the map’, and it succeeds.

The story reminded Yaw, the director of Dubai Ventures Group Sdn Bhd, of the reality faced by Gopeng and other similar towns along the North-South Expressway.

Yaw recalled the time when the tin mining industry collapsed in the 1980s, residents from Gopeng and nearby towns were forced to venture elsewhere in search of greener pastures. He himself left in 1980 for tertiary education in the United States and after graduation, he used to travel to New York city as part of the demands of his job and he would visit Chinatown’s famous Canal Street.

“I could hear the Manglish and the Jen Shen Hakka spoken there,” he said. “The local Chinese residents there even regarded Canal Street as Kopisan Street. Many Gopeng folk made their living in restaurants there to send money home,” he said.

During his 20-year stay in the US, Yaw said his heart and thoughts were always with Gopeng.

The idea for the museum cropped up during a few rounds of lai fun (rice noodle) and local coffee sessions in the town by Yaw and a group of friends a few months ago. “Like many of us who were born and raised in Gopeng, we loved the former hustle and bustle of this town.

“We savoured the simplicity of life in Gopeng, without the Internet, Gameboys and iPods.

“We were all just simple, honest, frugal and conservative Gopeng folk,” he said.

He loves the simplicity of little towns where everyone is kind and generous and where the food is freshly made and the air clean.

“We decided to form Muzium Gopeng as we have a strong common desire to share the rich legacies of Gopeng and to bring about its revival,” he said.

Yaw restored the ancestral home that was built in 1882 by Eu Kong, the founder of the famous Chinese medicine company Eu Yan Sang. It was leased for 99 years to Yaw’s great-grandfather Yaw Mun Chong who came from the Hakka Dapu County in Guangdong Province in the early 1900s to set up a sundry shop in Gopeng. Yaw bought over the house in 1999. Five generations of Yaws had grown up in the house.

Muzium Gopeng is now under the care of the Gopeng Museum Management Society’s ad hoc committee headed by Yaw. The society’s secretary Phang See Kong said there were over 300 artefacts on display including clocks, radios, typewriters, tools, weighing scales, household items, kitchen utensils, decorative platters, glass jars and ceramic urns, coins and currency notes, pens, lighters, torchlights, watches, ceremonial items and silver belts.

Another interesting display is a gallery of photographs on important people and incidents in Gopeng over the years, said Phang, a retired teacher. Phang said Gopeng was a pioneer town in the Kinta Valley dating back to the early 1850s. He said the museum had attracted over 2,000 visitors from all over the country and also tourists over the past few weeks.

Perak Heritage Society president Law Siak Hong said there were opportunities in heritage waiting to be tapped. Already, eco-tourism in the jungle nearby has made Gopeng a popular destination.

“This history centre will attract more visitors to town,” he said.

New Replica for Maritime Museum in Malacca

2009-05-14T09:47:00.009+08:00

Artist impression of the royal ship - courtesy of NST

Flor de la Mar – the main draw at the popular Malacca Maritime Museum will have a new rival from a 15th century royal ship purportedly used by Malacca Sultans. (NST, Second ‘ship’ museum for Malacca, May 12, 2009)

The replica costing about RM5 million will be built a stone throw away from Flor de la Mar on the newly reclaimed square across the historical river. However, here is where the similarity ends.

The earlier Portuguese Galleon replica was built in the 1980s involved a great effort and the builders relied heavily on historical facts, but folks behind this royal sail project may face greater obstacle in their quest.

Records about Flor de la Mar (photo courtesy of baldrick2dogs) - the flagship of Albuquerque’s armada are well documented and there are plenty of research about its voyages in the archive. However on our local front, the royal ship design team may well be staring at blank walls.

Malacca was known as the formidable sea faring state but getting information on its naval fleets and types of vessels used is akin to looking for needle in the ocean.

When the city state was under siege by the Portuguese, we were told that the battles were fought by soldiers on elephants while the invader’s men-of-war had a free hand pounding our shores with no Malacca Navy in sight.

If there was a royal ship in medieval Malacca surely the sultan would have put it into good use to defend Malacca?

Hence for many historical bluffs, the venture by the maritime museum is shrouded in a worrisome trend by the state authority to legitimate history according to their narrow interpretation.

Besides the royal ship project, many are also puzzle over the giant water wheel further down the river. But if you ask the local history experts, they will insist that it was prominently used in 15th. century Malacca.

Naturally, one can’t help but wonder if there is a deliberate attempt to localize the many attractions currently being developed on the banks of the historical Sungai Melaka.

Second 'ship' museum for Malacca (NST, May 12, 2009)

MALACCA: After the 19- year-old Flor De La Mar Ship Museum, the state government will soon build another ship at Sungai Melaka.

This time, it will be a replica of a 15th century royal ship, costing an estimated RM4.9 million.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the ship, which would be developed by the Malacca Museum Corporation, would be able to accommodate up to 150 visitors at any one time.

He said the ship would take tourists back in time to the era of the Malacca sultanate during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah (1459-1477).

"Apart from depicting Malacca as a trading port then, the ship will also exhibit the maritime activity in this part of the world," Ali said.

Two historians, Tan Sri Aziz Tapa and Datuk Djohan Hanapiah, were also consulted to ensure the success of the project, expected to be completed in 18 months. Ali said the RM20 million Malacca Planetarium, the fourth in the country, will be fully operational by next month.

Trishawman Quest for Heritage

2009-05-08T13:53:00.004+08:00

Some say life begins at forty but when I hit my fortieth birthday exactly one month ago, it has all the markings of a very unsavory connotation to it.

So imagine the surprise when I turned the papers (NST, Here comes the trishaw man, May 7, 2009) and found my old friend from Malacca on the headlines for attempting a feat not for everyone much less at 40!!

Tan Ming Kiong, MK to me or Frankie - his preferred name now, has been an outstanding athlete smashing records and blazing tracks in Kubu Stadium back when George Michael was reigning at UK music chart and not something else.

Sadly, a quarter of century later today, nothing about our current physical state resembles those glory days, but not MK. He still and I stand corrected, exudes the boleh mentality that took us not once but a couple times to the top of Ledang and to Kota Tinggi on two wheels.

Well, he has made some progress and has taken to three instead.

Hence, MK has my highest respect and support with his twin heritage city quest.

If he succeeds and God willing, he will embody the free spirit that was the profound feature in all of us. Despite the glaring age factor, he and his beca shall overcome a 800-plus-kilometer journey.

Here comes the trishaw man - NST May 7, 09

MALACCA: Frankie Tan Ming Kiong is pedalling a trishaw from here to Penang for charity and to promote the two world heritage cities.

Tan, who spent 10 years in Britain as an IT consultant, said he wanted to give himself a career break and get involved in social welfare activities."I would like to make a difference and, at the same time, promote Malacca and Penang as world heritage cities." Although there were many ways to promote the cities, Tan said, trishaw riding was the best way to do it."The trishaw was the mode of transport in the old days and is still popular."

His journey began yesterday (To begin June 6, 09) at the A'Famosa Fort. His journey will take him to Pengkalan Balak, Port Dickson, Sepang, Tanjong Sepat, Banting, Morib, Teluk Panglima Garang, Klang, Jeram, Kuala Sungai Selangor, Sekinchan, Sabak Bernam, Kampung Baru, Lumut, Segari, Pantai Remis, Terong, Changkat Jering, Simpang, Parit Buntar, Nibong Tebal, Simpang Empat, Butterworth and Komtar, Penang.

"Small towns still exhibit the heritage side of Malaysia and that is precisely why I will stop at all these venues before I proceed to my final destination, Penang," Tan said. He will be taking photographs during the journey to create an album of the "united faces of Malaysia".

The charity organisations which will benefit from Tan's trishaw journey are the National Council for the Blind, Women's Aid Organisation, SPCA Malacca and Wings Malacca (centre for learning-disabled children)."I will bear my own expenses and any proceeds or donations will be given only to the charitable organisations.

"Interested individuals can get in touch with the organisations directly or email us at contact@thetrishawman.com or call me at 012-6613813."

Banda Kaba Joins Kampung Warisan

2009-04-27T18:12:00.002+08:00

PERZIM head– Khamis Abas – hails as the Malacca conservation czar promptly went about his new business when he unveiled villagers in Banda Kaba and Bukit Cina as the state’s new recipient of Heritage Village status. (The Star, April17, 2009 – Two more villages to be gazetted).

These “special status” villages or Kampung Warisan, according to the GM of the museum board, are in line with the Chief Minister’s vision to enhance the development of Malacca as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The two villages – Banda Kaba and Bukit Cina - totaling some 280 families are two of the oldest settlements in the historic city. Once they are listed under the Malacca Conservation Enactment 1993, the villages join Kampung Morten, Kampung Chetti and Portuguese Settlement and Chinatown enclaves in Heeren Street and Jonker Walk to be accorded the special status.

Khamis is adamant that by enlisting the villages, it would go a long way to preserve the quaint kampong surrounding and the century old Malay attap houses. And this being Malacca, the move he adds would be a boon to tourist arrival in the areas.

This surprising turn of event may be the lifeline the residents in the affected areas are waiting for.

Because of its proximity to the town center, the population consisting of mostly wage earners and small petty traders has for decades lived without knowing when the juggernaut of development will strike their stilted homes next.

This previously peaceful racially mix settlement lost its earlier charm when public flats and other property projects made inroads into their neighborhood. In the pipeline, a condominium is set to cast its domineering shadow over Banda Kaba .

Those who lived their life here can vouch for what they see as a threat to the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood. Residents suffer unbearable ding from traffic jams and the narrow roads are choked with outstation vehicles.

However, the affected residents could face tougher headaches if they plan to renovate their homes under the new regime. The state is also unashamedly vague on this crucial matters because many of houses are weathered and battered, and in dire needs of repair.

Already the residents have been ‘advised’ that they must seek special permission from the City Hall and PERZIM for approval if they plan to uplift their homes. Like so many urban villages all over the world, their trouble is far from over yet. Sadly, the fate and the future of the affected villagers are in a limbo too.

In the end, they maybe just mere pawn in a bureaucratic nightmare created by the authority to juggle between conservation and money making ventures disguised as tourism.

Hotel Projects a Threat to Malacca River.

2009-04-10T16:37:00.008+08:00

The Malaccan authority is creating a property boom particularly in the hotel industry by leveraging on the River Beautification Project.

The ground breaking of the RM85 million Casa del Rio Hotel in February 2009 at a former godown site near the Malacca River marks the beginning of an ambitious but a foolhardy plan by the state to build similar riverfront accommodations.

Recently, the chief minister unfurled the scale of things to come when he announced that Plaza Inn Hotel, abandoned over the last decade, will take a new shape by Sept. 09 (NST Apr 3, 2009).

The state will spend some RM18 million to buy and renovate the 4-star white elephant near the demolished Central Market. According to the CM, Plaza Inn is one of the four new hotels in the pipeline to cater to visitors in the state but at what cost to Malacca River.

The beautification project completed in 2007 seems to have an upper hand in eradicating some of the earlier concerns about river pollution but the verdict is still far from over.

In my view the federal funded project has many flaws and struck a final nail to the coffin to link the river to Malacca's hey day as a powerful maritime state.

Instead of preserving the unique river barter trade, the authority deems it fit to stop Sumateran schooners and purple colored fishing trawlers from berthing at its banks. Unfortunately, at a stroke of pen, the soul of the river is forever lost.

If the state can have its way, parts of the river inside the historical enclave would soon be home to multi-level concrete structures. Needless to say, the hotels would pose serious threat to the authenticity of the Chinatown and the reason why millions come to see Malacca.

The Rio Hotel, with its Iberian façade and other misnomer hotels are not just an eye sore but a mismatch attributes to preserve the historical enclave. The overall scheme also has a sickening similarity with the mistakes made in the colonial parts of Singapore River.

Soon, the hotels will open their doors, but their guests will see nothing of River’s vibrant past. Instead, what they will find is a mundane canal waterway with unimpressive sights of river life.

Aircraft Mishaps Not a Gamble Option in Macau.

2009-04-08T20:19:00.011+08:00

With tourism arrivals skyrocketing in Asia’s most successful Casinoland, the Macau International Airport - Aeroporte Internacional de Macau has a pivotal role to ensure foreign visitors arrive safe and sound.
All flights at this former Portuguese enclave depend on the single elevated runway above the Pearl River Delta.

To undertake this precarious task of landing in Macau, only a selected breed of pilots can maneuver the runaway, and reputedly one of the narrowest airport runways in the world.

One false move and it is recipe for catastrophe.

But aircraft mishaps are far too great a risk to gamble even in Macau – which has some of the highest casinos per capita in the world.

Not wanting to take any chance, the airport has brought in three Rosenbauer state-of-the-art rescue and fire fighting vehicle in Nov. 2007.

In Oct. 08, I saw one of the Austrian-made vehicle- Unit #11 -parked at the runway edge from inside Air Asia A320. (main picture top above)

The performance spec. for the Rosenbauer Panther 6X6 is impressive. It can reach a top speed of 120km/h and cruising at that speed the fire truck could cover the entire length of the runway under the stipulated international response time of 3 minute or less. The CAT C-18 6 cylinders engine also gives enough power to hit 0-80km/h in 29 seconds.

Unit #12 - Photos courtesy of Melinda.
One of the vehicle (not sure which?) comes with a telesquirt or a long arm gadgetry to help fight fiery clash. The new generation fire truck has water and foam tanks carrying up to 12,500 litres and 1,500 litres respectively to help it take on missions successfully and make Macau Airport one of the safest too.

Damning Report On Malacca Old Town.

2009-04-08T19:31:00.009+08:00

The popular National Geographic Traveler - NGT- magazine in its Nov/Dec 08 issue has decried at the over-development inside the Malacca’s historical enclave, and it cast a bleak future for this Malaysian historical gem.

In every corner of the historical town, tourism driven projects superseded conservation efforts and permanently marred the original cityscape. For too long now, the state exhibited a disturbing keenness to replace the town’s colorful past with artificial attractions in the forms of mechanical joy rides and flickering neon lights.

Hence, the unfavorable notion that the town has turned into a ‘Disneyland’ and commercialization has bred its ugly heads.

This alarming review by the widely circulated travel publication has inevitably thrown a spanner to the state tourism promotion plan. It is a critical wake up call for the state to revamp its approach to reap benefits from tourism and not to conjure an unsettling cocktail of happy hours with history.

The authority should also be mindful of the damages brought by these short sighted tourism projects to the historical enclave, and a theme park setting within the fragile environment is a sure way to dilute and threaten its unique features.

To rely on these man-made draw cards would only incur further wraths for damning Malacca’s historical legacy.

All stakeholders, from the Chief Minister to the lay men of the streets must acknowledge the extent of the damages caused by these overzealous attempts and take heed to arrest further the downgrading of Malacca Old Town.

A list of 109 historic places from over the world was compiled and rated in the NGT issue; Malacca was positioned at 98th. whilst Georgetown fared slightly better at 68th.

Below is the excerpt from NGT.

Malaysia: Old port of Malacca
Score: 50

"One of the most fascinating destinations in Asia. It is rich in history as a gateway into Asia for early Europeans. The old churches, China Town, and vernacular Malay houses are beautifully maintained."

"The major problem for Malacca is the incredible extent of the land reclamation that has taken place at the mouth of the historic river, now heavily developed with high-rise residential and commercial buildings. As a result, the historic connection between Malacca and the sea, which is fundamental to its significance, has been almost totally obscured."

"There is very little left in Malacca that is authentic. The city has been Disneyfied and commercialized to a degree that has to be seen to be believed."

"Landfill on the town side of the Straits has forever altered the historic connection with the Straits."

"You have to make an extra effort to find 'authentic' Malacca behind the very carefully manicured heritage facade."

Macau's Favorite Wedding Photo Site.

2009-02-14T15:36:00.001+08:00

A favorite venue for the newly weds to have their wedding photos taken in Macau is the St. Francis Xavier Church in Coloane.

Ailee and I found this out when we were visiting the century old chapel after we had the famous Lord's egg tarts a short walk away. We had decided on a full day at Coloane to get away from the crowds and casinos so common in this former Portuguese enclave but also to see for oursleves the last remains of rustic Macau before they too disappear in time.

For many locals looking for a European flavor in their wedding pictures, the location with its distinctive Iberian influenced architecture fits perfectly into the plan. The church despite its historical significance, it is also far from the main tourist hunts, and is not swarmed by maddening crowds.

I suppose if my wife and I are Macaunese and we want a wedding photo with church and all that, then the Coloane Chapel wins hands down too.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the peaceful surroundings and we stepped in to the church we felt like miles away from the loud dings of the city.

There are statues and wall murals depicting St. Francis Xavier and his endeavors in the Far East everywhere but a small gallery next to the main hall is where we found maps and more captions about the saint. It is inside this gallery that I read they kept a piece of St. Xavier bone but we missed it on our visit.

Victoria Institution Now a National Heritage.

2009-02-14T14:59:00.000+08:00

Victoria Institution or VI, one of the premier education hubs in Klang Valley and the alma mater for some of the most influential and powerful Malaysians have beat the odd again when it was reported(The Star, Feb 14,09) that the century old school has made it to the National Heritage list.

It is the first time that such honor is given to a school. The annoucement by Shafie Apdal, the minister in charge of the heritage, is bound to invite criticisms because some argue that there are other notably more established and successful schools which deserve the honor.

KEKWA, by according VI the status, have not learnt from the earlier flaks received by Pos Malaysia over its decision to include VI in a special issued stamp series of Malaysian schools. It drew strong words from alumnus over the country, particularly Penang Free School and Malacca High School, about their choice or lack of it.

Maybe, Shafie Apdal was more inclined to please fellow cabinet collegues like Zulhasnan Rafique (FT Minister) and Rafidah Aziz (UMNO Wanita Supremo) and tycoons Francis Yeoh and Ananda Krishnan than to take into considerations the historical signifance and the contributions of other equal if not better schools when enlist VI into this honorable roll.

Nevertheless, there must be some good in this move. I hope that now that VI has this special status, it can stop property magnates from eyeing the school and turn it into a prime property estate.

History has being hard for urban Malaysian schools and more will suffer the same ill fate of schools like Bukit Bintang Convent and Seremban Convent if the government takes the side of the overzealous developers. Both fell under the demolishing balls without even arousing a single word from the Heritage Minister.

Macau's Evangelical Icon.

2009-02-14T13:42:00.000+08:00

The Ruins of St. Paul's is the iconic landmark in Macau and it tops our must-see list when Ailee and I went there in Oct. 25, 08. Like most tourists we found the ruins the perfect location for plenty of photo opportunities.

What the Macau Tourism doesn't tell us much is the fact that the ruins was part of a burnout catheral centuries ago, but they sure have a way in turning the ruins around and sell it as a major tourist draw.

A major facelift was taken during 2004-05 and managed to bring back some lustre to the fading facade.

In fact, locals now proudly wear the ruins as their badge of nationhood. It is everywhere and on everything that represents this tiny former Portuguese enclave, from T-shirts, shopping bags, greeting signs to the 5 patacas coin.

What we like most about our visit there is to witness how Macau conservation experts worked successfully to preserve the rich Christian heritage of St. Paul's and their efforts to bring back some dignity to the sacred place. And personally, I find the experience most rewarding and a highlight of my visit.

The project architects have put a great deal of thought to preserve the rear side of the facade in a form of a modern square.

Here, visitors should able to get the full view of the catheral scale, and if they probe further they will find glass floorings to view the catheral foundation.

Step towards the far end and you should will find the entrance to a small but intriguing museum - The Museum of Sacred Art-located at a level below the square. The museum comes with two main galleries to exhibit Church praying paraphernalia and a crypt housing the remains of Christian martyrs. (Admission - free)

The Ruins of St. Paul's to many may be their mark that they have came to the Las Vegas of the East but personally, the place offers me rare insights and now I have a better appreciation of Macau as the powerhouse of Evangelicalism in the Far East.

Train Spotting At DMZ.

2009-02-14T09:41:00.000+08:00

There is plenty of train activity in Korean DMZ and a trip to the border is a must for die-hard train spotters. I went to Imjingak in Sept. 17, 08 to see for myself what has been described as one of the most dangerous places in the world!

There are South Korean Army everywhere and barbed wires on the banks of Imjin River to remind you just how fragile the place is. A likely flashpoint that can nuke out the entire peninsula at the whims and fancy of the dear Comrade Kim up north.

As you can imagine, Imjingak is a heavily fortified border town and visited by visitors to see the DMZ and on a clear day, Communist Korea somewhere beyond the hills.

The town was an important train stop for the Pan-Korean Railway before the outbreak of the Civil War. Back then, the train line was linked to Pyongyang and ultimately to Bejing and the Siberian Line.

However, the war put a stop to it and it was left to ruin for decades until early 2000 when it was put back in use to show how the two Koreans can be united again. The whole affair is more like a charade since their Northern cousins have last thing in mind for peace.

There is an old iron horse near the observation building and it tells you how important railway services was to the Koreans.

However for the best thrill, go to the other side of the building for the real train spotters delight.

Several trains ply on the single track across the Friendship Bridge to hear further north but stopping short of the border area around Panjummon.

The service is popular with several tourist groups. First for those who are keen to see the 3rd Tunnel and other North Korean military madness, and secondly, those who prefer to dice with their life just to see the Northern Koreans in their eyes.

Me? Well, I thought I've done rather well too to have seen a Korail diesel loco chugging back from the north.

Discover Ifugou In Bontoc Museum

2009-02-13T09:31:00.000+08:00

In Dec. 2, 08, we arrived at the town of Bontoc, in the Philippines Mountainous Territory. Despite being one of the largest settlements in the area, there is nothing for visitors except the quaint museum.

Bontoc museum is regarded by many as a must-see repository of Ifugou culture and heritage, and the place for some serious stuff about the mountain people and its history.

In my view, it is the best of its league and the only reputable establishment highlighting the communities in all of Cordilleras. (Admission – 50 pesos)

The museum is located next to the post office and it has an unique traditional roof. It was established by Belgian missionary in the early 20th. century. There are galleries to showcase intricate traditional costumes, hunting and farming tools but we had a shock of our life when we encountered very graphic black and white photos of a headless victim.

The museum’s main draw has to be the Ifugou village replicas just outside the museum. Step inside these well preserved stone structures and you find rewarding experience to see Ilis - the tribal homes up close and without the need to conquer the hills to see one.

Like many traditional communities, tribal house is more than a home. Each home has a stone pit for pigs and household animals, and storage for farm produce.

The curator has done a splendid work in this department and the replicas also come with a meeting ground - a must in many Ifugou villages.

Sadly, Ilis are rare sights now in the mountains. With modern ways making inroads into the highlands, many Ifugou villagers have replaced almost everything old with new and the traditional wooden houses now come with zinc top and modern amenities.

Bukit Malawati - The Selangor Raden's Domain

2009-02-11T14:07:00.000+08:00

Bukit Malawati, the popular Kuala Selangor outcrop with the domineering century-old lighthouse, has a chequered past that is worth telling.

Early Bugis raden or rulers were quick to see that the hill, overlooking the Selangor estuary, was strategic to their power base. By the 17th. century, Kuala Selangor was a thriving port and a powerful domain of the raden.

Not surprisingly, it invited prying eyes and sowed the seed for many invasions to come.

Soon, bloody tussles between the Bugis warlords and Dutch invaders erupted over the ownership of the hill and the lucrative tin trade. With each warring tide wavered, the hill namesake too moved back and forth, Malawati and Bukit Belanda -Dutch Hill -in Malay.

Three hundreds years later and much of the history have disappeared with time.

For years, the hill suffered one lacklustre attempt after another, like the few cannon replicas at the hilltop. They are a dismay sight and fail to provide accurate glimpse to the violence that once plagued this former military stronghold.

However, with the boom in tourist arrivals, Kuala Selangor soon found fame as the newest cash cow, and suddenly history now has an economical value.

The state museum board - Perbadanan Muzium Selangor is amongst the first to join the fray - and opted for a brilliant plan to excavate the entire hill. Few artifacts were found i.e. musket balls, broken chinaware and old coins. They were placed in a museum housed in the former home of the District Officer, next to the iconic lighthouse.

All five galleries in the Historical Museum (Muzium Sejarah) are devoted to the hill’s tumultuous history, and why Kuala Selangor is touted as the cradle of Selangor Sultanate.

However, the displays illustrating the chaotic events leading to the attacks and sieges on Bukit Malawati can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. The museum is also let down by the lack of historical artifacts, like weapons and archaeological findings, to add weight to the message about the turn of events.

Another of my bane is the dioramas inside the galleries. Two of which depict the early trading days and the battles between Dutch and the raden’s men. However, the results are amateurish, and worst, historically inaccurate.

You wonder why the curators overlooked the diorama showing European galleons berthing at Kuala Selangor when no record of such event. The other diorama depicting Dutch soldiers wearing cowboy hats and jackets and slaughtered in gruesome bloodbath by the locals, also begs for answer.

Despite these hiccups, a visit to the historical Malawati Hill and the museum offers a great weekend getaway for those looking for an adventure with Selangor history.

New Museums to Usher Year 2009

2009-02-02T17:53:00.000+08:00

Despite the gloom in Malaysia’s economical outlook, heritage aficionados and museum goers might have plenty to cheer for in 2009. Grabbing the headlines are new museum openings and they should provide some excitement and more importantly, generate impetus for a more heritage conscious society.

Based on the main dailies, there are 3 new museums in the pipeline and a further two including the national museum at its final stage of refurbishing.

According to the Museum Department Director General, Ibrahim Ismail, two museums – the Malaysian Textile Museum and the Natural History Museum will open its doors to visitors by the middle of the year.

The textile-themed museum, as I best recalled, was a brainchild of Pak Lah’s late spouse, Datin Seri Endon. She had vigorously promoted and encouraged batik –a traditional Malay textile art form- as mainstream fashion and an icon of Malaysian creativity, much to chagrin of the Indonesians.

Needless to say, with such strong backers for the project, it is no surprise to see KEKWA playing a huge role in this museum.

The museum venue will be at the Moorish designed building which formerly housed Kraftangan, next to Sultan Abdul Samad Building. My guess is that a substantial portion of the exhibition will be devoted to Batik legacy. According to the DG there will be a gallery to showcase Baba Nyonya fashion lineage but in my view, the gallery comes amidst too little and too late.

Malaysia found its tail caught between its legs in a race with our southern neighbors across the causeway to ride on the popularity of the Baba Nyonya heritage. Singapore has not only beaten us in 2008 with the establishment of a Peranakan Museum in the island republic but adding salt to injuries, a major portion of its collection were bought from Penang! (For more about this, please read “Cultural Coup by Singapore Peranakan Museum” posted on April 24, 2008)

In Putrajaya, work on the new Natural Science Museum is progressing well and is expected to receive its first visitors in the second quarter of the year. The multi-million ringgit museum will be the showpiece of Malaysia’s natural richness and lauded by its founders to rival the best in the world.

A symposium in 2008 on the museum generated a lot of excitement amongst Malaysian scientists because many shared the view that the establishment of the museum is not just timely, but perfect as a springboard for those who keen to know our rainforests.

After a two-year hiatus, Muzium Negara and its four main galleries now come with new DNA for their exhibition themes. The revamp was a question of life and death for the national museum.

It needed quick remedy to maintain its role as the nation’s leading repository and to safeguard its relevance to the Malaysian public. The RM20 million major facelift was the first for the national museum since its inception in the early 60s.

The reviews so far have remained surprisingly silent but I am fascinated with what I have discovered from my recent visits to the new Galleries D, C and A despite my concerns with some of exhibits.

Gone are the old musty feel and depressing displays common in the old gallery. The new ones reveal fascinating aspects of Malaysian history in bold and captivating display and dioramas. Each theme takes you across Malaysian subjects and issues spanning the millenniums from the cave men dwelling in Niah to colonialism and to Proton cars.

Bank Negara is also joining the fray with a new Numismatics Museum expected to open its doors in July. This central bank initiated project will have a new home within the vicinity of the former Prime Minister Office in Bukit Perdana.

It is purported to be larger than its predecessor in Bank Negara and comes equipped with interactive exhibits.

Up north, renovation work at the Taiping Museum is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year, and the new exhibitions will set to thrill visitors when they visit the oldest museum in Malaysia. (pls read article “Taiping Museum To Be Revamped - Dec 1, 08”)

Nevertheless, with all sectors of the economy coming to a gridlock, it is not surprising if heritage related development and conservation efforts for the coming months take a backseat in the government list of priority. However, these museum openings will cast a welcome rainbow for the country’s heritage scene for the meantime.

New Heritage Enclave In Klang

2009-02-02T17:49:00.000+08:00

2009 will be an awakening year for Klang for a few reasons, and if the Sultan of Selangor has his way, the royal town will have a heritage enclave to call its own in a year or two.

The successful opening of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery in 2008 (pls read my blog article posted on Apr 17, 08) in the old quarters of Klang town has propelled new interest to preserve other similar colonial buildings there.

Numerous royal dignitaries and visitors have made a beeline to view the royal gallery including Sultan of Kedah and royalties from Negeri Sembilan.

However, the best PR success of the gallery, in my view, lies with its growing popularity with locals.

Based on my earlier visit, the gallery opts for a visitor friendly policy to encourage the general public to discover the gallery for themselves. Despite some of the valuable exhibits inside, visitors can roam at their will and if there was security barrier, then they have done a splendid job of concealing them. The gallery staff are generally well trained to ensure visitors have an uninterrupted visit.

Klang is moving in this new interesting direction as a heritage center and much of the credit should go to the Selangor Royal family.

They have played a key role by spearheading buyouts (?) of buildings with significant historical value adjacent to the Royal Gallery. These buildings now used as commercial lots will be given a new lease of life by converting them into museums.

They will be the new attractions in town and the exhibits will usher new interest in royal family and its history.

Hanging Coffins of Sagada

2009-01-19T16:46:00.000+08:00

We encountered interesting local practices in our visit to Sagada in Dec 08, and after further readings, the hanging coffins have an interesting tale to tell.

Ferocious tribal wars were once a common threat in the Cordilleras in the Philippines some two centuries ago, and it was no exception in Sagada.

The entire hilly communities were caught in these routine upheavals and nothing was spared including burial sites. According to the villagers, coffins were often a favorite prey of the headhunters, mainly from Bontoc, who sought the prized skulls, living or not.

Fearful of the diving backlash from their headless ancestors, quick thinking tribal leaders in Sagada resolved to hang their coffins up on the slopes of the many karst hills found here. They also placed much hope on the physical attributes of the landscapes to deter the enthusiasm of the conquering troops.

According to ancient funeral rites, the deceased must be seated in an upright position while villagers worked frantically to erect bamboo scaffolding to the elevated burial ground.

The task to hang the coffin on the sharp slope of hills rested on the shoulders of pall bearers. Theirs is not an effortless one. Besides the risk of fatal fall and they must also deal with the rotting fluids from the leaking coffin.

Nevertheless, a pall bearer’s job was traditionally held in high esteem. Interestingly, it was considered a good omen for the pall bearers to be showered in the fluids while they carried out their task.

However, with the introduction of Christianity by American missionaries into the region compromises have been made to mix the native rituals with their new faiths.

Nevertheless it has become a novelty nowadays to have hanging burial and only villagers who have two surviving generations of descendants are allowed a burial on the hill side.

According to the villagers, the last hanging coffin burial in Sagada was held in June 2008.

Iron Dragons of Malaya - A Tribute to Sentul

2009-01-15T18:05:00.000+08:00

Train spotters in Malaysia should not miss the opportunity to experience the multimedia art exhibition titled - Iron Dragons of Malaya, and at the same time enjoy a nostalgic trip to the country’s largest railway shed – the KTMB Sentul Workshop.

A collection of photographs of the British built shed and rolling stocks or whatever left of the depleting building were taken using state-of-the-art photography technique known as High Dynamic Range.

The photographs, according to Khairul Azril Ismail, the architect of the exhibition, will reward visitors with captivating 3-D like images. Visitors will also be entertained by the multimedia presentation which took Azril and his team a year to produce and it is a befitting tribute to the train workshop.

Personally I think it is akin to an earnest obituary to the shed for a century of faithful services rendered.

Sentul first took its form in1905 but now is living its last remaining days. By the year end, the entire KTM overhaul job will be concentrated at Batu Gajah.

The Iron Dragons of Malaya – is currently run at KLPac till Jan 25, 09, and admission is free. (The enclosed photographs are reproduced from Azril's collection)

The World's Smallest Fire Station.

2009-01-14T15:32:00.001+08:00

Perch high in the mountainous regions of the Philippines Cordilleras is the Sagada Fire Station, and reputedly the World’s Smallest Fire Station.

Locals will proudly tell you that despite its unfavorable size, the cabin like station operated by the Bureau of Fire Protection is their only viable insurance to safeguard the idyllic hamlet from fire hazards.

A tall order nonetheless for a tiny fire station and the entire fire fleet of a red Honda scrambler, which has seen better days. Fire fighting paraphernalia appears almost non-existence too except a radio transmitter inside.

Hence, the questions mark if the world’s smallest fire station could live up to its roles in times of an emergency.

Sagada is remarkable as a pristine highland retreat and as we have discovered in December 2008, has great potentials for a respite holiday destination with a magnificent mix of caving adventure and picturesque rice terraces add to it.

Nevertheless, a quick check in the internet revealed a chequered past that is anything but peaceful.

The quaint town was almost consumed by a devastating fire not too long ago and telltale signs are still found at the town square opposite the Police Station cum market. Till today, the fiery episode remains a mystery and its outbreak is reminiscent of a more sinister and turbulence time.

Like many first time visitors, we were surprised to learn that curfew hours are enforced from dusk to dawn in this tranquil place. When asked the town folks the only answer we got is that the curfews are for our safety without revealing too much.

We soon learnt that the entire Cordilleras were engulfed in a violent armed struggle and it was only in the 80s that the locally supported - The New Peoples’ Army (NPA) - signed a peace accord with the Manila Government to bring peace to the area.

Perhaps for this historical reason, I assume the non-descriptive Sagada Fire Station with all its imperfections is a welcoming sight and perfect to assure the war weary people of Sagada who long for some real peace and tranquillity.

Malacca River Losing its Historical Lustre.

2009-01-02T17:57:00.001+08:00

The lavish RM190 million (app. US$65 million) Beautification Project aimed to inject a new lease of life for the Malacca River is finally at its tail-end.

The project paid in parts from the coffers of the Tourism Ministry was first embarked in 2002.

High on the project initiatives are to rehabilitate the heavily polluted waterway and to stem the deplorable local practice of turning it into a sewage dumpsite.

Much faith was placed on the project to bring about a quality change in the water and the life of the people dependable on the river. The project was even touted by the state as part of a grandeur scheme to elevate the historically-rich Sungai Melaka into the “Venice of the East”. (For additional write up on Malacca River, pls refer to article titled "Malacca River Folly Project" - Apr 20, 08)

However, the project fell disappointingly short of the promises made and worst, altered completely the characteristic and the function of the river.

The entrance to the river is now permanently blocked near the Maritime Museum and as a result, no free flow of river traffic is allowed up the river. The water level is also artificially controlled by newly built pump-house so to enable excursions by tourist boats operated by the state river board.

For over five centuries, schooners and traders plied the Malacca River in search of the valuable spices and helped turned the city state into one of the World’s greatest entrepots.

Sadly, if you choose to stand from its banks today, you would have no clue to its colorful past.

Gone are the sights of Sumatran sails unloading its charred cargoes to the nearby rustic godowns or the fishing trawlers returning with fresh loads of sea-harvest.

A quick check in Dec. 08, revealed last minute renovation work being carried out on the remaining godowns on the river’s southern banks and plans are to turn them into fusion eatery and commercial outlets you find so sickening similar to Singapore’s Clarke Quay.

Nothing is preserved there to showcase the fabulous richness of the river history.

Middleburg Bastion To Boost Tourism

2008-12-31T16:19:00.000+08:00

Malacca now boosts another attraction to cash on the tourism dollars. The replica of the Middleburg Bastion is now opened to public when I visited there on Dec 9, 08.

The project is not without controversy from the first day its foundation was unearthed by workers constructing the Taming Sari Revolving Tower.

A few parties have voiced conflicting views how best the monument should be preserved.

Ar John Koh in his Badan Warisan column- "The Old Melaka Fort"- even go so far as to accord the site as the next most important archaeological find in the Malay Peninsula after the discovery of Hindu Cendi in Bujang Valley, Kedah.

For hard core conservationists, no viable option is acceptable except to leave the bastion foundation unmolested.

On the other extreme, policy makers were more interested in turning the site into a grand tourism scheme by 'remaking' the bastion.

RM12.8 million and almost a year later and you've another tourist attraction.

Needless to say, critics of the project were aghast at the turn of event.

The entire development took place when no expert could verify the authenticity of bastion design or the height of the wall.

The bastion was part of a larger fortress the A Famosa - which was first constructed by the Portuguese and reinforced later by the Dutch before British Captain W. Farquhar almost demolished it all in the 18th century.

All working reference for the project was based on sketchy illustrations and tell-tales provided by ancient sea farers. Yet the people who mooted the rebuilding task were adamant about giving the project the go-ahead.

Now the bastion project is completed and I am for one tend to agree that maybe the replica could benefit the lay men. It works wonderfully to stir up their imagination of the ancient bastion.

The fact of the matter is that they are the bulk of the visitors to Malacca and historical sites like Middleburg appeal to folks more interested in snapping some memorable pictures but hardly excited with the historical value of this momentous archaeological find.

Fortunately in my view, a few ingenious designs have been incorporated into this RM12.8 million project and we are able to appreciate the remnants of the original bastion foundation and the laterite coral rocks hidden underneath.

Walk around the structure and you could find a few openings in the ground previously discovered by archaeologists to give visitors some insights about the original foundation.

Visitors however, will be disappointed to find information on the bastion lacking because there are no captions available but I believe this would be overcome soon.

My favorite is the glass bridge next to the main structure if one is on their way to the top of bastion.

It allows visitors take a walk over the original laterite foundation and appreciate the depth of the original foundation underground.

If you think rebuilding the bastion structure goes against the acceptable heritage norm, then the VOC cannon replicas found on top of the bastion only reinforce the miserable the state of heritage in this country.

In fact, some key conservation players involved in the project appeared confused about their respective roles and how heritage should be safeguarded for the future generations.

Needless to say, such practices are symptomatic of the ever-blurring of conservation and tourism agendas in Malaysia.

Rampant manipulative interpretation of history would irk those who want to protect heritage at its core but their voices are silenced by groups calling for better cash cows for the economy. (For more related issue, refer to the article titled - "A Famosa Rescued?" - April 24, 08)

Who would have thought that the Middleburg Bastion given up for good over two centuries ago and left to fade from history has not only risen but it is basked in all its former glory in a bizarre twist of fate?

Hopefully, the bastion would spur new interests in the early history of Malacca fort in all of us minus all the bias instilled by certain segment of the community.

Firemen Usher New Twist in Traditional Circumcision

2008-12-30T16:57:00.000+08:00

Few would argue that firemen are saviors of all emergencies, but in Malaysia, their expertise is called beyond the line of duties.

On December 10, 2008, the Army Fire Services based in Terendak Camp, Malacca were invited by the villagers of Kampung Pinang A, to Majlis Berkhatan or a religious circumcision ritual.

40 odd boys dressed in their finest Malay clothes then grouped in front of the red Mercedes Benz 911 before fire crew doused them wet.

When the shower ended about 15 minutes later, the boys proceed to a makeshift operating theatre at the back of the village’s surau for their unnerving and life-changing experience.

According to the elders, boys would traditionally take a dip at a nearby river or bathe near a well to build up courage. However, no one disputes that cold water whatever the sources are has a calming effect on the male organ before it is surgically mutilated.

Elaborate and expensive berkhatan ceremonies are now a trendy phenomenon and Malay kampung go to their wits to outdo each other with bigger sunat participants and a larger scheme of things.

Berkhatan or sunat was previously a low key and solemn religious affair, but now the event has a carnival-like atmosphere to it, and firemen and fire sprinkles are very much part of the repertoire.

Another victim of change is Tok Mudim or the village circumcision expert, and they too have fallen into redundant. In their place are medical assistants armed with sterilized tools to perform the rite of passage.

As the ceremony progressed, I saw how ZA 6326 found itself stuck in mud because of the weight the pump has to take. Fortunately, the villagers were around to save the day for the fire truck.

According to a local web source, Merc Benz 911 or otherwise known as Mercedes Munjung because of its large nose-like engine compartment was a favorite in Malaysian fire fighting scenes in the 80s until it was phased out.

True to the customary practice on school break, another grand circumcision ceremony was arranged three days later (Dec. 13, 08). The event was held at the nearby Pantai Puteri and saw an overwhelming participation from 200 kids.

Their mothers also played their parts and they each brought the beautiful bunga melur telur, a decorative bouquet made from egg shells, to accompany their boys on a loud and colorful procession down the road to a site next the beach.

Soon, they were greeted by firemen and the full water blast from Mercedes Benz Atego (No. BKA 8922) . As usual this marks the start of the bathing ritual, and the boys are in for an unforgettable event in their life journey and to usher the rich Muslim legacy.

Taiping Museum To Be Revamped

2008-12-02T14:09:00.000+08:00

The Taiping Museum built in 1883 and widely regarded as the grand dame of Malaysia’s historical repository will be given a fresh lease of life in a RM3.5 million refurbishment plan (The Star, Dec 2, 08).

High on the list of this ambitious project is the conservation of the century old façade.

However, the icing to the cake is the long overdue effort to bring change to the dusty and ill-kept galleries. Many of the galleries are reminiscent of Victorian era and often the bane of the visitors.

According to curator Norhanisah Ahmad, the main work involved the natural history, culture, Orang Asli and ceramics galleries. When completed in June 2009, the galleries are poised to position Taiping Museum amongst the country’s top with interactive features and captivating exhibits.

The rejuvenated museum will then be in a stronger position to welcome a new generation of historical buffs. Nevertheless, important question remains unanswered about the fate of the impressive ethnography and Malay-Paleo collections.

My fear is that the museum will discard the existing arrays of collection and take on a completely different theme in line with nationwide trend to alter historical development in this country according to whims and fancies of the powerful.

Other element of what is essentially a structural uplift by the museum department involves instilling the original wooden floorboards. Future museum visitors may be required to wear woolen sandals to protect the floors.

However the curator notes that fee will be imposed for the usage of the sandals and it doesn’t that a rocket scientist to fathom long how it will enrich the museum coffers.

Middlesburg's Skeleton On National Tour.

2008-11-21T17:39:00.000+08:00

Middlesburg's 600 year old skeleton is now on a nation-wide tour. The Negeri Sembilan State Museum in Seremban is the first in the list of The Archaeology Discovery Exhibition co-organized by Malacca Museum Board(PERZIM) and Jabatan Muzium. (NST November 21, 08)

There is much excitement amongst Malay historical experts about the bones found at the excavation site of the Portuguese Bastion next to the Malacca River. If the carbon test is correct, the authorities now have in their hands a first skeleton remains from an era which saw the beginning of a growing Malay Sultanate in Malacca.

Nevertheless, the remains didn't reveal much about who and what the person's role is to Malacca early history, except the fact that it belongs to a male in his late 20s or early 30s. A more detailed research is required to further substantiate the findings, and bear in mind it was found at a site which was then the rivermouth and Malacca was a burstling seaport.

It is very obvious that these historical experts were quick at clamoring over the skeleton discovery and jumping the gun with the notion that the human bones are intrinsically linked to the Malay Sultanate.

Dennis Fire Trucks Surprise At Macau.

2008-11-21T14:18:00.000+08:00

Dennis Fire truck aficionados will be pleased to know that the Macau Fire Services Museum is home to two well preserved historical vehicles from Guildford factory, marked as M-01-25 and M-01-27.

Dennis M-01-27, I believe, is a Low Load 60/70HP model which first saw service in the early 30s. Popularly known as Dennis Big 6, the vehicle specifications include White and Poppe 6 cylinder petrol engine rated at 45hp with a bore and stroke of 110 x 140mm. (Peter Williams)

Mounted at its center is a Dennis No. 3, 900gpm pump. It has a transportable aerial ladder at its rear mounting to cope with Macau rising skyline.

Next to 27, is M-01-25, a 1944 Dennis Light 4 open cab with a 4 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine with about 70 bhp (Ron Hozack).

Besides the British-made Dennis, the museum commonly known by its colonial namesake - Museu Dos Bombeiros (Address - Estrada de Celho do Amaral. Free Admission) – offers visitors the opportunity to relish at firemen paraphernalia in halls the size of two basketball courts.

The exhibits go a long way to help one appreciates the fire fighting legacy in this ex-Portuguese colony and definitely worth the 15 minutes walk from the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

From its strategic location in the heart of the Inner Harbor, the former Central Fire Station served diligently until a typical dilemma in land scarce Macau caught up with it.

Macau was in desperate need of a modern centre command facility. Fortunately, compromise was reached and this fabulous European structure was preserved as the museum. In no time, a new Fire Brigade Headquarter began to take shape right at its backyard and now is home to an impressive fleet of Scania and Mercedes.

The 350 square meter museum is not on everyone’s must-see list but my visit there in November 2008 was pleasantly rewarding.

Visitors can view rare footages of fire fighting and rescue missions. One section is devoted to how firemen rescued suicidal desperadoes from Macau’s skyscrapers.

Others may not be so lucky but my guess is gruesome photos don’t fit in a museum dedicated to Macau’s rescue elite.

The museum is manned by members of Macau Fire Services but communicating with them in English is a challenge if we need information beyond the captions.

Fire fighting enthusiasts flying in and out of the Macau International Airport should also look out for Iveco Magirus 260-32AH/DL 50 - at the main runway.

The chance to see one of the world’s most advanced Airport Fire Fighting Vehicle is perhaps the perfect eye-opener to discover the fire fighting heritage in Macau.

PERZIM Latest Gimmick - Pulau Besar Mystery Exhibition

2008-11-10T18:43:00.000+08:00

The Malacca Museum Board (PERZIM) is organizing an event titled “Pameran Menyingkap Sejarah and Misteri Pulau Besar” or Appreciating Pulau Besar History and Mystery Exhibition. It was launched by the Chief Minister of Malacca on Sunday, Nov 9, 08 (Berita Harian).

Pulau Besar, located off the coast of Malacca has for generations exude a mysterious shroud among locals and visitors that the island is the realm of an omnipotent ‘dato’.

Taboos were many if you’re holidaying in Pulau Besar. Non-Muslim visitors are well advised to abstain from their favorite ‘non-halal’ meals preferably a day earlier or else the 20 minutes boat journey from Umbai could be a catastrophic one.

A few individual cemeteries with extra large parameters dot the landscape at the southern tip of the island. They are believed to be the final resting place of renowned warriors or even royalties from the Malacca Sultanate, hence their magical prowess.

In the 80s, several large scale tourism plans were in the pipeline to transform the rustic island into a mega tourism draw. Spearheading the transformation is the State religious body with an ambitious task to clear the island from these kurafah elements. Sacred tombs and shrines (keramat) were demolished but if you ask the villagers, the taboos and superstitions remain strong.

However, modern day Pulau Besar now boasts a 18-hole golf course. Visitors armed with glossy colorful brochures have turned blind eyes to these taboos. Villagers expressed shock and disbelief about this turnabout event and puzzled how tourists have no qualms about frolicking with their loved ones in this island.

Historically, Pulau Besar, the largest of the five Malacca islets was conspicuously missing in all known annals or maps compare to nearby islands i.e Pulau Upeh and Pulau Panjang (now Pulau Melaka after being reclaimed).

Pulau Upeh was instrumental to the Portuguese in the construction of a newly fortified Malacca and together with Pulau Panjang played crucial roles in resisting naval attacks on Malacca in the subsequent centuries.

During the closing hours of World War II, Pulau Besar was the site of horrid mass executions carried out by the defeated Japanese Imperial Army. Countless bayoneted bodies of locals (mainly of Chinese descent) charged or otherwise with collaborating with the Allied Forces were believed to have being dumped inside a large well.

Unfortunately, the details on this historical well and its vicinity have being whitewashed and they too have fallen victim to the state government’s mid-80s wonton rush to turn the island into a holiday paradise. Despite its dark chapter in the state’s history, there is no mention of the tumultuous event in the island.

There is vague information on what is the focus of this PERZIM event. My best guess is that the central theme would feature the tombs, keramat and the island’s role during and the aftermath following the fall of the Malacca Sultanate Empire.

Few have doubts about PERZIM ability to organize a thorough and well researched exhibition. Numerous past PERZIM activities have critically fell short of achieving the objective of presenting events relevant and concurrent to Malacca’s development as the nation’s premier historical state and for the betterment of the local population.

“Pameran Menyingkap Sejarah and Misteri Pulau Besar” only reaffirms the cynics lack of enthusiasm with the state museum boards and its peculiarity towards mysticism and the unknown realms.

Firecracker Heritage of Macau

2008-11-07T10:40:00.000+08:00

Miniscule Macau with no natural resources to call its own has always bellied on the skills and the cheap wages of its industrious people. I attribute this as their only mean of survival.

Modern visitors to Macau like myself may have a hard time to comprehend this notion but the economic landscape of the former Portuguese enclave after the Second World War was vastly in contrast to the present day soaring casinos one find adorning Macau’s futuristic skyline.

Before the arrivals of Venetian and the likes of other casino operators, the backbone industry of the 50s and 60s in Macau was the labor intensive firecrackers making trade.

Meager wages from making firecrackers fed mouths and offered hope to the destitute, some of whom had just escaped from the brutal uncertainty of a newly installed Communist regime across its border.

The period was known as the Golden Years of traditional working industries and it ushered a rapid growth of firecrackers factories.

At its height, Macau boasted seven such factories and top in terms of local employment. ‘Fabreco en Macao’ miniature explosives soon became the must-have ingredients for all Chinese festivals world-over.

Unfortunately, not much of this proud Macau heritage remains today.

However, I've discovered the existence of a firecracker factory during my recent visit there for the benefit of historical buffs.

A visit to the grayish two-storey that once housed the Kwong Hing Tai Firecracker Manufacturer tells us vividly the scale of the industry in Macau during its hey day.

Located along the busy Rua das Lorchas next to Macau Masters Hotel, the now disused building offers a rare glimpse into a firecracker making facility and Macau’s past.

Perhaps as a safety caution, the factory stands on top of concrete stilts above the muddy waters of the Inner Harbor, in case I guess, the unforeseeable happens.

Making firecrackers began to take a backseat in the 80s. Wage earners left in droves to seek better paid jobs and the safer working environment in the textile and toy making industries. Mainland China too was emerging as the new firecracker powerhouse.

Museum of Macau (Admission – 15 Pataca/Adult) should be your next destination on the trail of Macau Firecrackers History. The 2nd level exhibit in the museum devotes an interesting corner to showcase the tools of trade and offers visitors a glimpse of the environment where firecrackers are made.

The exhibits also include colorful firecracker brands produced in Macau. Rare old photos further reveal how firecrackers are manually prepared by workers mixing the explosive cocktail and the bare essential worker must work with.

Needless to say, the curator has done a remarkable job of preserving the artifacts and presenting them for our appreciation to an important historical chapter in Macau’s history.

The icing to one’s quest for the firecracker heritage in Macau is without any doubt the opportunity to witness what has being described as some of the most awesome displays of pyrotechnic creativity in this region.

The popular Macau International Fireworks Display Contest takes place annually over the weekends in late September and early October. Tourist arrivals are often at its peak and hotels full during the events.

My visit to Macau in late October 2008 does not coincide with the event but it is understood that the areas in the waterfront near the Macau Tower are some of the perfect spots to catch the firework displays.

Fort Cornwallis Lighhouse - Penang's Hidden Historical Gem

2008-10-13T17:08:00.000+08:00

The 19th century Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse is one of the best hidden colonial gems in Penang’s UNESCO heritage enclave.

Many visitors often give it a miss although it is just a stone throw away from the iconic British fortress of the same name. Penang tourism players fare no better and they too overlook the lighthouse potential and its historical importance to Penang’s maritime role.

The British built the lighthouse in 1882 when harbour traffic began to grow for a prosperous Penang. Now in its advance age, the historic lighthouse no longer served to warn ships approaching the Penang cape.

The lighthouse is now manned by Jabatan Laut, Malaysia’s Maritime Authority, and offers fascinating opportunity to acquaint oneself with a bygone maritime era. Admission is free and it is accessible from a small northern entrance of the historical complex.

Walk inside the lighthouse, and you will learn why it is structurally one of its kinds in this country. Most lighthouses in the Malay archipelagos consist traditionally of a lone silo structure i.e. Tanjung Tuan(1880), fitted with warning beacons on the top.

Not Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse.

It has a white coated light tower which sits on a huge steel frame and next to it, a 21-meter T-shaped mast. Together, they fill the entire landscape and probe the curious about the fate of this ex-guardian of the narrow Penang Strait.

For most visitors, the slow climb, about 15 minutes, to the top of the claustrophobic watch tower and the warning beacon is undoubtedly the highlight of the visit.

Walking up on the steel staircase might prove daunting for the vertical challenged. A wrong step could spell disaster to anyone’s holiday and when the steps are particularly slippery after a drizzle. Parents with small children are best cautioned against taking the challenge.

However the panoramic view at the tower is worth the effort. Visitors will be rewarded with an all-round perspective of the city, strait and the mainland.

In the distance, the full views of multi-coloured Penang ferries come unfold. Catch also cargo laden vessels berthing to take Penang goods to the world. Stretch your viewing canvas and the iconic Penang Bridge fills the background.

On the ground level, a small chamber houses a delightful mini museum and showcases lighthouse artefacts like communication equipments and giant bulbs used before GPS and satellite controlled gadgetries made them obsolete.

Penang State should work on this oversight and promote the lighthouse as a full fledge tourist attraction but more urgently, accord and preserve it with a heritage status.

Imjingak The Fascinating Korean War Heritage Site

2008-10-13T16:27:00.000+08:00

Imjingak Tourist Resort with its 4-storey metallic pavilion and the semi arch observation platform is perfectly located to view the iconic Bridge of Freedom. About 13,000 Allied prisoners-of-war made their final desperate dash for freedom across this wooden bridge at the closing stage of the brutal Korean War in 1953.

Since the new millennium, South Korean authority keen on reunification with its communist North brethrens has embarked on making Imjingak a heritage site. The venue makes an ideal living museum to prepare the uninitiated on the issues confronting the Korean dilemma.

Imjingak is even adeptly lauded by tourist brochures as the must-see venue to witness the only divided country in the world!

Getting to Imjingak is easy and travelers have a choice of car, bus or rail, and it is merely an hour drive away from Seoul.

Tourists will be greeted by its impressive Visitor Center which overlooks the heavily fortified banks of Imjin River and beyond the reclusive North Korea.

Unfortunately, most tour guides would want you to believe that Imjingak sits on the world’s most volatile border in modern history but soldiers guarding on the banks of the Imjin River are mainly South Korean.

Nevertheless, the much feared and trigger-happy North Koreans are in fact positioned a further seven km north from Imjingak.

Needless to say, South Korean military fearing a potential large scale strike from its Red neighbors, has designated defence lines in by placing barbed wires and army lookout posts on the edges of the Civilian Passage Restricted Line (CPRL).

Thus, visitors often get the false impression that South Korea ends at Imjingak, and the Imjin River the natural border between these two hostile neighbors.

A quick check on the maps will reveal that the fences at Imjingak are actually the Southern CPRL, with a heavily guarded buffer zone lining parallel to the Northern CPRL inside North Korea territory.

There is also the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) central to the buffer zone and together they cut the Peninsula into halves.

During my visit to see first-hand the cold war frontier in late September 2008, it got off to an unexpected start when we were stopped in our car by heavily armed South Korean personnel and our guide informed us that the army is conducting a drill to detonate two nearby road tunnels leading to the north border. (Naturally no photos were taken for fear of antagonizing the M-16 guys)

The Military Demarcation Line is the de facto border agreed by these two warring factions, amid reluctantly, and explains why Korea is also home to 30,000 plus American infantrymen.

The entire stretch of land within the CPRL is a no-man territory, but is more popularly known as Demilitarized Zone or DMZ. Interestingly, only foreigners holding valid passports are allowed near the epic center of DMZ or Panmunjum.

Here, one is only a breath away from North Korean guards smacking in their customary military attire from the Soviet era.

Their Southern counterparts have their peculiarity too. Dark sunglasses and arms folded in karate pose are their choice of instilling fear and awe.

Panmunjum is however, a no-go for Korean nationals. The furthermost point Koreans are allowed to go near their Northern neighbors is the border town of Dorasan.

Today, tourists take the scheduled Korail trains on the reconstructed 4 kilometer long Gyeongui Line to Dorasan Station from Imjingak Station (Train fare - KW2,000 / US$2 return).

For many years, the railway line was the main steel artery for intra Korea travel but the war cut it short at Imjingak.

At Dorasan, one can spy with the coin operated binoculars (KW700) on the North Korean industrial city of Gaeseong. Not to be missed is the guided tour inside the 3rd Tunnel, a must for those who doubt North Korean aggressive ambition.

A rusty steam locomotive outside the Imjingak mini museum casts a vivid reminder of the once extensive railway networks connecting all corners of the Korean Peninsula prior to the devastating war.

Take a few steps towards the outdoor exhibition behind the museum, more war relics and the scales of battles fought greet you – The Sherman that pounded on the North Korean tanks or perhaps you may intrigued by the Sabres that triumphed over the MiGs in the Korean skies.

Even the most bewildered visitor is unlikely to escape the highly charged atmosphere between both sides at the border.

A sense of heightened tension prevails here although on the surface everyone goes on with his routine.

However, you can feel and understand the fragility of tranquility in these areas. You can then appreciate why no one in his right mind is willing to gamble away the peaceful existence or risk provoking enemies who have no qualms to unleash the perils of Cold War on all.

My visit to Imjingak has left me with an overwhelming realization of this long lasting border conflict and how all aspects of border life are teeming with military alertness.

While border areas may have the notion that human life is cheap, Imjingak also provides the venue for the most enduring emotional expressions.

Imjingak is where Korean families torn by the war come on an annual pilgrimage to celebrate Chuseok - Korean's Thanksgiving.

It is here they express their longing for their last remaining relatives living across the barbed wires.

Interestingly, besides the ruined railway bridge and antiqued military displays, the visit to Imjingak offers visitors an everlasting view on the terrible human cost brought by ideological conflicts.

Malacca - An Oasis of History.

2008-09-18T13:29:00.001+08:00

This article touches vividly the very essence of issue between conservation versus development that is taking place within the historic enclave of Malacca but sadly overlook by the authority too eager to seek quick tourist dollars.

Read on and you would appreciate the images conjour by writer and why it is important to safeguard the remaining treasures still found here.

Essence of a Colonial Past Infuses Neglected Malacca
By Thomas Fuller (IHT, Fri, MARCH 19, 1999)

MALACCA, Malaysia: In a country where "old" is often defined as pre-1970, this city with its hibiscus-red colonial buildings and ornately carved facades is an oasis of history.

As progress and development have marched across Malaysia, one small corner of the country seems to have been spared. Still intact are Malacca's centuries-old shop-houses, its church built in 1753 and the ruins of a fort erected by the Portuguese about 450 years ago to secure the once strategic port.

As one ambles through the streets of the city, it is difficult to fathom Malacca's crucial role in the region's — and indeed the world's — commercial history. An adage from the early years of European colonialism in Asia perhaps says it best: "He who is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice."

Malacca was the gateway to the spice islands, an entrepot for cloves, cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg. The narrow straits off the city, still some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, held the key to the lucrative spice trade for Europeans, who began their trips to the region in the early 1500s.

It was only in the last century, when the British moved their regional headquarters south to Singapore, that Malacca lost its strategic significance.

Today, the city's charm is its neglect. The local government has done little to polish the appearance of the historic district, a series of streets packed with sometimes rickety, narrow shop-houses. Local officials refuse to pay for renovations of the 18th-century church — the Dutch government paid the last time, in the 1980s — and talk of building a pedestrian promenade beside the oldest houses has remained just that.

The result: Many parts of the historic center still function independently of tourist dollars. Dilapidated buildings replete with elaborate tiles and carvings house barber shops, loan sharks, funeral parlors and furniture shops. Local patrons of tea stalls mingle and converse oblivious of the tourists who walk past the shops' marble-top tables and distinctive wooden chairs.

The hidden splendor of these buildings has not gone entirely unnoticed. Singaporeans, among others, are buying up the old houses and converting them into boutique hotels and cafés to complement the art galleries and trinket shops.

But history in Malacca resides not only in the rows of old shop-houses and nearby fort and church. There are gems throughout the city, although many are lost in Malacca's sometimes ugly and congested streets.

One is tucked away behind the fort: a small cemetery that speaks of the history of early colonists and their travails. Amid tombstones of former governors and military officers is the grave of Edward Hugh Massy, the 1-year-old son of a British lieutenant stationed in Malacca in the early 1800s. His grieving parents left a little piece of poetry on his gravestone: "This lovely bud so young and fair calld hence by early doom just came to shew how sweet a flower in paradise would bloom."

Signposts of the Past
It is through such tombstones that Malacca betrays the identities of its past and present inhabitants. Few cities in the world can claim such an eclectic heritage.

Malacca was founded by a Sumatran prince in the 14th century and saw successive waves of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonists met by traders from India, China and Java, among other places.

Some groups, like the Chittys from India and the descendants of Portuguese settlers, formed separate communities that remain today. Each race and culture has left its mark on the city — whether it is the spicy Portuguese food or the Armenian inscriptions on the floor of Christ Church. Indeed, part of the challenge for visitors to this old port is to try to disentangle the city's European and Oriental influences.

VISITORS today range from Singaporeans who drive here on weekends, to the droves of Europeans who, as their ancestors did, often come in groups.

Malacca is halfway between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore — two cities that have clearly succumbed to concrete and steel — making it an easy destination for a day trip.

Visitors who stay the night have choices among four and five-star hotels or boutique hotels in the historic part of town, a neighborhood recently made more lively with the addition of bars that stay open late.

At the heart of the historic area, next to the Dutch-built Christ Church, is the creaking State Historical Museum, housed in the former Dutch governor's house, and filled with dioramas, furniture and period costumes. Next door is the Youth Museum, a dark and puzzling series of rooms filled with sports trophies and dedicated to the not-so-youthful politicians who built it.
to be avoided is a nightly outdoor historical performance, derided by Malaccans as the sound, light and mosquito show.

But no visit to the city is complete without a journey to the top of St. Paul's hill, where the ruins of a fortress mix with the giant, 17th-century tomb markers of fallen Dutchmen.

In the distance, plying the muddy straits, are the outlines of container ships that all but ignore once-mighty Malacca.

RMAF Museum - Home of Malaysian Aviation Heritage

2008-09-18T13:29:00.000+08:00

The RMAF Museum or Muzium TUDM (3 out of 5 Stars) in the Sungai Besi Air Base (the first international airport in Malaysia, before Subang and Sepang) has a thing or two to attract the most devout lot of museum aficionados.

The main draw is the fascinating array of aircraft in display. These flying machines were once the pride of the nation and Malaysia’s primary air defense arsenal.

Visitors who want a glimpse of the air force humble past may kick off their tour with the memorabilia in the modest museum housed in an ex-officer barrack. While the exhibits lack in creativity to capture visitors’ imagination, they compensate the fact with the historical importance of a struggling nation’s flying unit.

The first gallery is adorned with many wooden plaques listing the names of previous Air Marshall and black and white photos of colonial officers in their rather awkward pose in their songkok and their official Malay military gears.

The museum has a treasure or two to boast if you look hard enough for it. Located in the corner of this same gallery is the uncelebrated ejected pilot seat of F-5E jet. Not much is told about the incident but a little notice nearby discloses the uneventful fate of the fighter jet which crashed off the coasts of Terengganu in the 80s.

However, kids and their dads will have a field day discovering more about the aircraft parked next to the derelict hangar located close to the runway. Kids would love to explore the interiors of the large wing Caribou. These hard working Canadian transporters were the backbones of air force logistic need, and when standing in the narrow cabin one can still feel the adrenalin rush of a paratrooper waiting his turn to jump off the plane.

With luck, visitors can catch the air force’s Nuri (transport helicopter) or Police's Pilatus in operation from the nearby runway. More surprises inside the hangar. There, the A-4 Skyhawk - the supersonic jet fighter that once ruled our skies in the 80s before the arrivals of the Hornets, Sukhoi and MiGs, now greets visitors amid silently.

Retired helicopters are also valuable exhibits to allow visitors hand-on experience on the working of a rotor blade aircraft. The historical biplane that served in the formation years of RMAF is another attraction not to be missed.

Nevertheless, it is heart breaking that parts of the aircraft body which is covered with flimsy cloth-like material, are tears everywhere due to lack of care and poor maintenance.That is probably the main contention of visitors to this museum.

Muzium TUDM has in their procession some of the priceless artifacts showcasing our country’s momentous start in aerial military yet all the exhibits are covered with a thick layer of dust or worst condemned under the unforgiving tropical sun. Many outdoor exhibits including Ferrer Scout Car, Grumman Seaplane and others are left to rust. Information or the lack of it on the displays is another thing that the curator should be dismayed with.

Questions should be asked now if another more committed conservation entity should assume the role as the repository of Malaysian Air Force heritage.

Merdeka Stadium Wins Unesco Award

2008-09-16T17:17:00.000+08:00

A jury of 12 conservation experts gave Merdeka Stadium the Award of Excellence and the Suffolk house in Penang the Award of Distinction in the Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture and Heritage Conservation held in Bangkok. (NST Sept 8, 08)

For those who fought hard to preserve the stadium’s historical importance, the award is a well earned recognition for a national monument that symbolizes our nationhood and its birth.

Not all share the belief unfortunately, and in the late 90s, the fate of Merdeka Stadium laid precariously in the hands of development juggernaut. A would-be victim of an outrageous trading chip by Tun Mahathir to fund his fancy Commonwealth Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil.

The more cynical ones perceived it all part of an elaborate scheme to discard the memoirs of our beloved Tunku - Malaysia’s first Prime Minister. Merdeka Stadium was to suffer the same fate as Subang Airport in a wipe out exercise of Tunku's legacy.

However, the arrival of Pak Lah at the power helm, finally offered a ray of hope to the iconic football stadium.

Award-winning architect cum conservationist Laurence Loh was put in charge to put the glory back to Stadium Merdeka. Soon, an army of jackhammers and hard hats descended on the bitumen track and concrete stands to give the stadium a new facelift.

Its seating capacity of previous high of 60,000 was scaled back to the heydays of Merdeka at under 20,000.

The reduced seating capacity is far from the days when the Stadium housed Malaysia as an Asian football power house, but the new overall look is similar to what Tunku had envisioned when he led JKR engineers to transform Kuala Lumpur in time to celebrate our independence from the British.

At the core of the conservation plan is the preservation of the main façade of the grandstand. A mini museum cum photo gallery was included to showcase the stadium and its many historical events.

KEKWA Chasing The Wrong Heritage.

2008-07-24T12:01:00.000+08:00

Half a century after the nation freed from European dominance, Malaysian heritage experts are reported to be in an overdrive mode to bring back national wealth from overseas museums and private collectors. (NST – July 3, 08) Nevertheless, the vigorous and very expensive quest to retrieve this priceless heritage falls short to elevate Malaysia to become the proud heirloom of ancient Malay artifacts. According to the paper, topping this shopping list is Malay manuscripts circa around late 19th century and early 20th century.

These manuscripts in my best comprehension would include the various royal seals and letters from the Malay sultanates used in Treaties and official or private correspondence currently kept inside the vaults of the British libraries, museums and universities, and to a lesser extend Dutch repository.

The rationale to spend the hard earned tax payers’ money in this shopping spree while we all suffer from the escalation of cost to run the country and also the unfavorable exchange rate is most baffling. Unless, of course if we can comprehend that the Museum Department and the National Archives are now an instrument to pursue Agenda Melayu.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see how such an acquisition, however costly, would be the perfect ingredients for not just heritage triumph but also a political one too.
Acquiring these long forgotten Malay treasures and finally taking these precious documents home from the foreign thieves. Follow up with the right dose from the spin doctors from the main stream media and the directors from these two institutions would be hailed as national heroes and champions of the race.

Again you don’t need college algebra to figure the difficulty or the lack of it to buy what is essentially an item listed in Museum manuals.

Taking a step further and it will be just a snap of the fingers to picture politicians especially those from the battle scarred UMNO joining the hero bandwagon.

Personally, the huge expense the Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Arts is willing to commit to this endeavor defies common sense and show what priority the Ministry is taking to safeguard Malaysian Heritage.

In my posting Conquer Culture Coup – Jul 23, 08, I urged the same Ministry to revalue its priority and focus to live up to its much acclaimed role as the repository of MALAYSIAN heritage. Valueless Peranakan heritage were permanently lost to Singapore when the owner in Penang was offered an amount, I guess just too hard to say NO to.

Why KEKWA officials are so adamant about fighting tooth and nail for treasures housed in some foreign institutions which are world class research centers but are somewhat less than enthusiastic about treasures while may not of the same category but definitely the same value slipped away right under our very nose. Why?

Jul 3,08

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Priceless relics making the way home - NST –July 3,08

KUALA LUMPUR: The country's priceless relics, which were transported abroad and kept out of the country for years, are slowly being identified and brought home. Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry deputy secretary-general (Heritage) Datuk Nor Azmal Mohd Nazir said research was ongoing to establish the authenticity of the artifacts.

"The National Heritage Department was assigned to conduct studies and research on heritage items since its formation in 2006.

"They have identified several artifacts, including relics, overseas, but formal announcements of identification are only made with clear facts and documents." He added that the Museums Department and the National Archives would also take part in the research as there were many procedures involved.

"It is not an easy task. When the artifacts are identified, they have to go through several tests and carbonisation processes. So it takes time." Azmal said, sometimes, the process of tracking down the artifacts was tough, especially when they were kept in personal collections."We can try our best to procure the artifacts, but some of the individuals ask for a very high price.

"We don't even know how the artifacts ended with them in the first place."

Last month, the New Straits Times front-paged a report on the efforts to retrieve Malay manuscripts abroad by the National Library and the National Archives.

Museum Director Victim of Political Tug-of-War.

2008-06-16T19:49:00.000+08:00

The new political landscape following the 12th. General Elections in Selangor may have a hand in the latest change in Perbadanan Muzium Selangor (PMS) - The Star Jun 15, 08. PMS is the museum authority overseeing the Shah Alam Museum and the Bukit Melawati Museum in Kuala Selangor and several Royal Burial sites in the state.

While the new Mentri Besar was quick to refute any claim of political victimization, many would view this development with trepilation. Such a move is likely to signal how the Pakatan led state government want a new approach in museum establishments under the auspice of PMS.

Political observers may interpret the removal of the state museum director is akin to the tug-of- war between UMNO and PKR, but museum afficinados in this country would regard it as another worrisome trend in this country to position public funded state museums as vehicles to propagate their myopic interpretations of history.

Public funded museums supported by our hard earned money will continue to be feted with vested interests groups who have no qualms about distorting historical events and cultural practices. Some are even guilty of 'ethnic cleansing' in their overzealous endeavors to champion the course of a particular race or a political party, and completely sideline the role other communities play in this same land we all call home.

Changing of the top guard in Malaysian State Museums according to the whims and fancies of the political masters is nothing new. Nevertheless Malaysians should view such interference with concern and urge restraint if we aim to have Malaysian museums to be the rightful institution that embodies the richness of our multi-racial and multi-religious heritage.

Malaysians museums as political fall guys are not completely a strange phenomenon. The latest development in Selangor is a political boomerang which come back to haunt the once perpetrators from UMNO. What goes around comes around.

In 2006, Penang Museum Curator and conservationist, Khoo Boo Chia - The Sun, March 24, 06 - was removed from his post prematurely by the state executive in charge of culture and arts, a rising UMNO political stalwart himself. The museum under Khoo's tenure was besieged by calls to showcase more the communities from Penang's mainland side, previously an UMNO fertile ground. There were few but loud disgrunts from the party members about the State Museum 'over-emphasizing' communities from the Penang Island.

Further south, in Barisan stronghold state of Malacca, PERZIM, the state museum authority went a step further in galvanizing this prominent political establishment when it opened a dedicated UMNO Museum in the tourist belt in Banda Hilir. Visit the Historical Museum in Stadhuys and discerning visitors will be disappointed to find to find loopsided interpretations of the main political players and their contributions, in the historic state and also the country. Prominent role played by non- Malay communities in their collective fight for Malaya's Independence were overshadowed by the 'heroic' political mastery from their UMNO brethens. Exhibitions on the state colorful and vibrant minorities are best patronizing and worst misleading in their lackadaisical attempts.

Hopefully the change we are witnessing in Selangor marks a departure from the old ways which museums are merely a propaganda tool and set our sight to elevate museums into a reputable heritage cum historical establishment that all Malaysians can proud of.

Jun 16, 08

Bukit China Now A Heritage Zone?

2008-06-09T19:03:00.000+08:00

In an unprecedented turnabout by Malacca authority, Bukit China and the 10,000 or more graves are now considered worthy of being accorded heritage site. This latest announcement must be music to the souls from the largest Chinese Cemetery outside of China and now they can rest in peace.

This latest twist of event is a remarkable departure from an earlier hostile policy to ‘redevelop’ Bukit China in the mid 80s initiated by the then rising UMNO stalwart and former CM, Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik. This controversial and elaborate scheme calls for the remains of the graves to be exhumed and the entire hill leveled to spur Malacca property markets. Centuries old cemeteries will be replaced with hotels and shop lots. A multilevel pagoda will also be built to house the urns of the deceased and served to remind Malaccans of the sanctity of this burial site.

There were huge uproars among the Chinese communities and the many living descendents who feared such a move has devastating impact on family fengshui and their future well being.
Opposition politicians from DAP won rousing support and its leader Lim Kit Siang was hailed as hero when he confronted the masterminds on this massive plan.

History would showed that locals eventually voiced their displeasure by voting out the Chinese representatives from the ruling component parties on the election day. Following this thrashing at the ballot box, wisdom won the day and the political masters were quick to heed the clear message from the Chinese community.

Owner of the Bukit China, the Chen Hoon Teng Temple and monks then spearheaded a clean up project to make the cemeteries more accessible to the Malaccans. Soon, Bukit China became the favorite jogging site for health enthusiasts. Some well concerned individuals contributed time, sweats and money to green up the entrance leading to the climb to the hill top.

Soon, Bukit China too became Malacca’s scout troopers’ favorite venue. After night fall, countless young scouts were ‘ordained’ here especially after they have successfully ’subjected’ themselves to a test of faith within a stone throw away from the cemetery.

While the latest call from current CM Ali Rustam goes a long way to safeguard Bukit China from wanton development, at least for the time being, one can’t help wondering if these are part of a shrewd political maneuver to win back the hearts of the minority in the country following the 12th General Election. Malaysians are too familiar with too many instances when promises were broken even before the inks dry.

The on-off development curse that lingers around Bukit China is an example of the complexity that brews out of political necessity but if it is allowed to go ahead will surely have far reaching consequence on the community and Malacca’s unique position as the Malaysia’s foremost cultural melting pot.

The real fear is that Bukit China may again become the pawn of flicked politicians whose agenda is not revealed till the damages have come irreversible.

June 5, 2008

Related Reading

The Star -Thursday June 5, 2008

Bukit China now in Malacca heritage zone

MALACCA: The state’s well-known historical landmark, Bukit China, has been included in Malacca and Penang’s joint bid for listing as a World Heritage Site next month.
The decision to bring the 256ha hill within the state’s conservation buffer zone comes into immediate effect following a recommendation by the United Nations International Council on Monuments and Sites to include it as part of the listing effort.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the hill was deemed to have historical value and significance dating back to the 15th century Malacca Sultanate.

“Besides being recognised as the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China, the hill is also the site of the ruins of a 16th century Portuguese monastery,” he said after chairing the state exco meeting yesterday.

With this, Mohd Ali said, the buffer zone to protect the state’s 235ha core heritage zone in the heart of the old city would be enlarged to 1,049ha from the previous 793ha.

“This will mean that the hill will now be preserved. Any proposed development must now obtain approval from the relevant conservation agencies,” he said, adding that the World Heritage Council would sit in Quebec, Canada, next month to decide on the joint bid.

“It has taken eight years for us to prepare the dossier for submission to the World Heritage Council in Paris and there’s a good chance that we can succeed,” Mohd Ali said.

He said the state would receive recognition as “Malacca and George Town Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca” if successful.

Bring Back The Trams To Penang

2008-06-05T13:17:00.001+08:00

By Diana Chin newsdesk@thesundaily.com
The Sun, June 4, 2008

GEORGE TOWN: Citizens groups in Penang have initiated a lobby to have the billion-ringgit monorail project replaced with a tram system in the state.

The movement stems from an increasingly popular notion that the monorail is far too costly and would bring about adverse effects to the heritage streets and green landscape of Penang.
'Penangites for Tram' campaign coordinator Anil Netto explained that investment required for developing a tram network would be much lower than for constructing the monorail.

"The tram is a more substantial choice as we can revive the system based on already existing old tram lines that Penang used to have, thereby eliminating excessive additional costs," he said.
Netto said trams would blend in with George Town’s heritage and greenery, while the monorail would obstruct views of buildings and mar the attractiveness of the island.

He said a good tram system would also encourage people not to drive private vehicles within the town area, allowing them to save following the increase in fuel charges.
"If we give the people a better alternative in public transport, there will be less traffic congestion and more parking spaces in town," he said.

As the roads of Penang are narrow, they suited the concept of the trams, he added. The campaign is currently being supported by 25 bloggers and websites. Heritage writer Khoo Salma Nasution noted that the Penang Island Municipal Council was the first local government to introduce electric trams in the inner city in the early part of the last century.

"People think the tram is a thing of the past, but they are wrong because it is actually the thing of the future," she said. "It is clean, energy saving and user-friendly not to mention fast, efficient and also cheap." She said the tram could provide an iconic identity for Penang and help revitalise the heritage of the inner city.

Khoo, who published a book titled ‘Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s-1963’,said trams could also help traffic calming in Penang’s roads.
Aliran and Penang Heritage Trust activist Ahmad Chik said the campaign is calling for a traffic master plan for Penang that would include feasibility studies for trams as compared to monorails and underground transit systems.

Making Museums Research Centres, too

2008-05-29T13:13:00.000+08:00

Making museums research centres, too - The Star May 25, 08

KUALA LUMPUR: The Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry will request several museums in other countries to temporarily exhibit their artefacts and treasures in Malaysian museums.

Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said these museums were in England, France, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

“This is one aspect we are looking into, to make museums not only venues for exhibitions but also research centres for youths and students.”

Mohd Shafie said this after flagging off participants at a Muziumthon held in conjunction with International Museums Day at the National Museum yesterday. – Bernama

Uproar Over Looming Demolition of Historic WWII Jail

2008-05-29T13:08:00.000+08:00

Uproar over looming demolition of historic WWII jail
47 minutes ago

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Plans to demolish Malaysia's historic Pudu jail, where allied prisoners were imprisoned and executed during the brutal Japanese occupation, have Second World War veterans up in arms. The site of prisoner-of-war tortures, interrogations and modern-day infamous hangings is set to be torn down later this year, to be replaced by a commercial centre and condominium complex on the prime downtown location.

"Pudu jail should be preserved," said Charles Edwards, 89, who was a private in the Australian 8th Division, part of Commonwealth forces that defended Malaya, as it was then known, at the outset of the 1939-1945 war. "So many Australians and allied soldiers died in places like Pudu, defending democracy and the lives of the people of Malaya," Edwards said from his home outside Melbourne. "They made the ultimate sacrifice and Pudu is a reminder of that sacrifice which led to the freedom we enjoy now," he told AFP.

Japanese forces swept down the peninsula within days of the December 8, 1941 landings on the beaches of Singora and Pattani in southern Thailand and in Kota Bharu in Malaysia's northern Kelantan state.

By January 11, they had taken Kuala Lumpur which had been abandoned by the retreating British and pushed further south, capturing Singapore on February 15, 1942 and bringing the Malayan Campaign to an end in just 70 days. With just 30,000 soldiers, the Japanese captured 150,000 British and Commonwealth troops in what wartime British prime minister Winston Churchill called "the worst disaster and greatest capitulation of British history."

"I was one of the first 30 Australians taken prisoner by the Japanese in World War II," said Edwards, who was captured in Johor state which lies next to Singapore. Along with 1,000 other men, Edwards spent nine months in Pudu, which had been built to house just 600 prisoners.
The cells were horrific, he said, each with a window the size of a shoebox. "The conditions were shocking with wounded men, the cookhouse and the hastily dug benjos (latrine pits) all within metres of each other," he said. "Men were milling around with no leadership, filthy dirty, lice-filled and surviving on a half a cup of water per day. "More men were brought in as the days went by until there were about 600 men in this small area of about 20 by 20 metres."

At great danger to himself, Edwards helped six men escape but they were caught and brought back to the jail where they were executed. Edwards was one of many POWs who were sent on to Changi jail in Singapore and then to Thailand to build the the infamous Siam-Burma death railway, from which most never returned. After the end of the war, Pudu continued to be used as a prison. In July 1986, Briton Kevin Barlow and Australian Brian Chambers were hanged there, the first Westerners to lose their lives under Malaysia's tough anti-narcotics laws.
The two were convicted of drug trafficking in an internationally publicised trial, and an appeal for clemency by the Australian prime minister was turned down.

A decade later, Pudu was closed to make way for a prison museum but poor visitor numbers spelt a quick end to the venture and since 2005 it has been used as a holding centre for prisoners undergoing trial. The Urban Development Authority is now preparing to tear down the jail. Its chairman Baharum Mohamad says the site was handed over in exchange for the construction of a new prison on the outskirts of the capital.

But the decision to demolish Pudu has upset many.

"It is a historic building and there should be some trace of it," said Ahmad Sarji, chairman of the Malaysian Heritage Board. "Even if you could keep the facade, about 20 feet (6 metres) to the left and right of the main gate which shows the date of its founding, that would be good," he said.
Historians say Pudu's fate reflects a lack of interest in heritage in Malaysia, where significant buildings continue to be torn down, including the charming century-old Bok House in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

An early example of the fusion between European and local architecture, it was nevertheless demolished in 2007 after only a brief outcry. Military historian Brian Farrell, who has written extensively on the Malayan Campaign, said the authorities should consider preserving part of the building, one of the few intact 19th century prisons in the region. "The real significance of Pudu is that it is right in the heart of the city and yet it has survived intact and undamaged," he said. "If nothing else, at least preserve some of the walls, the gate and have a small museum."

In contrast, plans to tear down the infamous Changi Prison in neighbouring Singapore were met with stiff opposition in 2001.

"When news leaked that Changi was to be demolished, there was a chorus of protests not only from locals but also from many overseas," says Jeyathurai Ayadurai, Director of the Changi Prison Museum. "Five Australian ministers wrote to the Singapore government asking for a reversion of the decision," he said. "It was partly due to this protest and outcry that a section of the Changi Prison wall and its iconic gates were preserved."
Pudu is unlikely to benefit from such a campaign as each year sees the number of veterans decline. "Unfortunately, I do not think there are enough voices left here in Australia or in the UK to launch a protest in the same way Changi supporters managed," said Australian historian Lynette Silver.

Secret Weapon to Keep Our Borders

2008-05-29T11:50:00.000+08:00

The fight for Pulau Batu Putih (PBP), or Pedra Branca as Singapore prefers it, was over even before the lawyers could face it off in The Hague. Malaysians had apparently embarked on a ‘war path’ without the one vital ammunition which could have inflicted the knockout punch on their opponents from across the causeway.

Chief negotiator and Ambassador-at-large Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad had revealed how the search for the correspondence from a British Governor in Butterworth to the Johore Temenggong seeking approval to build the Horsburgh Lighthouse was met with dead end. This futile effort was revealed in the Malaysian Parliament (The Star, May 26, 08) when lawyer cum opposition politician Karpal Singh put the government to task for the loss of PBP. He claimed it was ‘foolhardly to have the case before ICJ” without this solid piece of material.

The missing piece of the 19th. Century document proved to be the coup de grace in our argument that the rocky islet was indeed historically ours. It was the vital material to further support the claim that the British crown colony’s presence there was the outcome of Johorean courtesy.

Other parliamentarians too joined in the fray and some of their favourite punching bags were the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the National Archives (Arkib Negara). A backbencher not wanting to be outdone during the heated debate, even go so far to attribute the PBP loss to the lackadaisical attitude from the Unity, Cultural, Arts and Heritage Ministry in living up to its reputation as the guardians of Malaysia’s heritage.

The ministry’s costly oversight in securing and preserving historical documents has manifested into permanently deleting part of our southern border off from the map. While there are now frantic calls to preserve documents, maps and relics pertaining to our littoral heritage before more islands are lost, they have come too late for PBP.

At hindsight, these developments could have taught us the valuable lesson to consider another perspective on how best we can safeguard our sovereign integrity.

Policymakers no longer can justify protecting our shores by going on shopping spree and spending our hard earned ringgit on military hardware. Similarly, they must adopt fresh approach to meet our defensive needs and look at threats from a whole different angle. When we finally arrive at this juncture, the future solution to prevent encroachment to our territory lies not in the billions we spent on the Sukhoi or Scorpene, but the fight is waged closer to our hearts and minds, by protecting our heritage.

Therefore, it is not too far stretched to argue that our vibrant and rich history could well be the preferred armament to avoid more geopolitical skirmish.

Perhaps it is not too late yet for Malaysians to come with terms that our fight to settle future disputes and defend our territorial rights begins with the first step to Arkib Negara and the quality and volume of its heritage collections. In this new playing field, conservationists, museum curators and historians would join ranks with army generals and panglima in assuming the role of safeguarding our national sovereignty.

Heritage will be the weapon of choice to keep Malaysian borders intact.

May 27,08

New Look For Malaysian Heritage?

2008-05-25T01:25:00.000+08:00

New Look for Malaysian Historical and Cultural Heritage?

The purported guardians of the Malaysian heritage will soon find themselves tasked with redefining the appropriate context for a country with the new political awakening.

This scenario may be the direct result from the recent 12th General Poll which saw the country’s minorities voicing their discontent through the ballot boxes. Key amongst their woes is the feelings that the minorities are systematically sidelined from the mainstream of Malaysia’s political, economical, and educational sectors.

Nevertheless, it is perhaps timely too that calls made by those who won in the elections championing the fight for justice and equality in the political arenas should entails similar voice calling for greater but more importantly equal representation in matters constituting minority cultural heritage and their historical contribution to this nation.

Only through an earnest and strong effort brought forth by this new political reality can the fate of minorities in Malaysia see light at the end of the tunnel. This noble quest will offer deserving minorities and their forefathers whose forgotten sacrifices made through the generations be recognized and accorded the rightful place in Malaysian History.

Visit Muzium Negara and the State Museums in this country (with the exception of a handful like in Penang), and you are bound to be confronted with a dire situation where exhibit highlights on minorities’ history, culture and social economical involvement is almost non existence and if they are, the exhibits are mere patronizing and left you with a foul aftertaste. Nothing is more infuriating when you come face-to-face with minority related exhibitions that sorely lack research and depths, and insult our intelligence.

State Museum Boards in Melaka, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, are in my view the top culprits in marginalizing minority communities in their choice of exhibits. PERZIM of Melaka for example, has over the years founded and built more than ten separately themed museums. A few were runaway success with tourists flocking for ample photography opportunity yet none focus any significant feature on the state’s rich and diverse communities like the Peranakan and the Portuguese.

Recent development in Singapore is another great concern to Malaysians who love our heritage. While Malaysia profusely claims to be the cradle of Baba and Nyonya heritage, the recently launched Peranakan Museum in downtown Singapore opened its door to a few surprises. Featured prominently in its main collection and a pride of its curator is the jaw dropping ancestral Baba Nyonya wares and artefacts from Penang!

This event is tantamount to a Cultural coup and should serve as an alarm to our heritage amnesia guardians. Malaysians can ill afford to have its priceless heritage sold to the highest bidder and let it fell into foreigner’s hands. All of us bear some of the blame too and we must seek answers on why and what happened to the much hyped Jabatan Muzium dan Ankuiti initiative in the 90s to have the Malaysian version of a similar Peranakan Museum in the Malacca historical enclave.

This dreadful situation is also compounded by a band of cultural chauvinists who has for too long guilty of ignoring the historical development in this country. Instead, these self appointed cultural and heritage gatekeepers perpetrated historical interpretation that borders cleansing of the country multi ethnic composition.

Perhaps it is appropriate that we demand a different breed of dedicated historians and conservationists who value and ready to embrace the multi racial and multi religious components of our Malaysian Heritage. They will boldly tackle new role as the heritage and history vanguards to take diversity and historical accuracy in Malaysia to greater heights.

In turn, Malaysian museums will gradually showcase these revolutionized interpretations of our diversity and history. They will be the undisputable establishment and the perfect platform to unify and to usher in a new era of mutual understanding and learning from one and other for all Malaysians.

War Graves for British War Ships

2008-05-23T11:20:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian power-to-be have appeared to adopt a giant shift in recognition of World War II events in this country.

The DPM made the bold call to the ministry in concern to give our former colonial masters a place in our history and their roles to defend Malaya against Imperial Japanese Forces during World War II. (NST , May 23, 08)

Personally, I welcome the stance taken by Najib and it is a big wake-up call for historical and cultural guardians in this country from their overdue cultural amnesia.

In an Aljazeera talk show- 101 East, one of the panelist from Malaysia remarks that Malaysian government lacks the political will to 'punish' the Japanese after the war as compared to other countries like South Korea and China because we had agreed to the compensation money offered by the Japanese and the war basically affected the minority Chinese more and little on the Malays.

Hence the sufferings inflicted on the people in this country is 'proportioned' and not the entire population as we all made to believe.

However, my experience of talking to family members and Malaysians who experienced the horrors of World War II from 1941 to 1945, it is easily to conclude the adverse impact it had on us, yet the authorities especially at the federal level have shied away from this topic.

The Japanese Army cruelty and brutality during this period are all too well recorded and the mental scars affected on its victims still refuse to go away although 60 years have gone by.

Their compelling and heart touching tales of grieves and nighmares would soon die one day with them if the government continues to detach itself from the need to capture their oral history. Something must urgently be done.

Like many Malaysians I too have my share of stories we heard from our loved ones. Like how bomb from a Zero fighter almost killed my grandfather who was out looking for food to feed his young family.

How a relative in Batu Pahat survived being bayoneted but later died from infection. How mother and terrified Malaccans woke up to see human skulls paraded around the Victoria fountain at the Stadhuys to warn people to behave. How my mother-in-law and all the village's damsels took to the jungle to evade the Japanese troops hungry for what else.

Needlessly to say, the lack of action from the Heritage authority is mind bothering. No official monument to showcase what is one of the bleakest years in our nation.

No museums to tell the ferocity of General Yamashita aka The Tiger of Malaya and his bicycle brigade. No memorials to mark the thousands of war deaths and the innocent lives committed to the building of the Death Railway on the Thai-Burma Border.

Even the annual ANZAC ceremonies in Labuan and Perak to honor the soldiers sacrified in the futile battles to stop the advancing Japanese were lowkey event worthy of brief mention in local English newspaper while nothing in the mass Malay print house.

What we have on this subject in this country is pathetic.

An unworthy museum in Kota Bahru covered in non descriptive photos. In Malacca, a lone monument next to Hang Li Poh Well stands dedicated to the local population who died in the hands of occupiers.

In Kepala Batas, Penang, British built defensive fortress is the villagers favorite dumpsite. While in Kelantan. they lie in ruins and on the brink of collapse from the continuous pounding of the sea waves.

Article from NST Friday, May 23, 2008

Najib: Register WW2 warships as war graves.

The Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage should consider registering the sunken warships HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales as war graves and protected from illegal encroachment.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the ministry should include the two ships in the Malaysia Government Protected Heritage list.HMS Repulse and the Prince of Wales were sunk on Dec 10, 1941, off the coast of Kuantan during World War Two. More than 800 people died.

Najib yesterday handed over the bell from the Prince of Wales to the commanding officer of HMS Edinburgh for safe passage to the United Kingdom. It will be returned to its permanent home at the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool. The bell has been in Malaysia since October as the main showpiece of the "Relationships" project, an initiative by Malaysia to honour those who died in the sinking of HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales.

The ceremony was witnessed by British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McCleary, Royal Malaysian Navy chief Admiral Datuk Abdul Aziz Jaafar and Admiral (R) Mohd Tan Sri Anwar Mohd Nor, former RMN chief and chief of defence. McCleary said: "Malaysia has paid great tribute to the fallen heroes of both ships. " The bell has played a part in this historical project, an indication of the strength and depth of UK-Malaysia relations."

Najib said in memory of the 50 year of Malaysia-British formal relationship and in conjunction with 50 years of independence, the government appreciated the efforts of the Relationships project team (RPT) and the British High Commission." I was quite impressed when I visited the RPT booth at the maritime exhibition at the last Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace."

HMS Edinburgh is a Type 42 destroyer which is in Port Klang on a routine visit from May 21 to 26. Commanding officer Commander Gavin Young will take the bell back to Liverpool. It had conducted sea exercises with the navies of Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand as part of the annual exercise schedule under the Five-Power Defence Arrangement.

More.... Fun Museums For School Holidays.

2008-05-21T18:28:00.000+08:00

Continuing with the series on Fun and… mainly FREE Malaysian museums to bring kids to especially with the coming of new school break.

The RMAF Museum (3 out of 5 Stars) in the Sungai Besi Air Base (the first international airport in Malaysia, before Subang and definitely way before Sepang) has a thing or two to attract the most devout lot of museum aficionados. The main draw is the fascinating array of aircraft in display. These flying machines were once the pride of the nation and Malaysia’s primary air defense arsenal.

Visitors who want a glimpse of the air force humble past may kick off their tour with the memorabilia in the modest museum housed in an ex-officer barrack. While the exhibits lack in creativity to capture visitors’ imagination, they compensate the fact with the historical importance of a struggling nation’s flying unit. The first gallery is adorned with many wooden plaques listing the names of previous Air Marshall and black and white photos of colonial officers in their rather awkward pose in their songkok and their official Malay military gears.

The museum has a treasure or two to boast if you look hard enough for it. Located in the corner of this same gallery is the uncelebrated ejected pilot seat of F-5E jet. Not much is told about the incident but a little notice nearby discloses the uneventful fate of the fighter jet which crashed off the coasts of Terengganu in the 80s.

However, kids and their dads will have a field day discovering more about the aircraft parked next to the derelict hangar located close to the runway. Kids would love to explore the interiors of the large wing Caribou. These hard working Canadian transporters were the backbones of air force logistic need, and when standing in the narrow cabin one can still feel the adrenalin rush of a paratrooper waiting his turn to jump off the plane.

With luck, visitors can catch the air force’s Nuri (transport helicopter) or Police Pilatus in operation from the nearby runway.

More surprises inside the hangar. There, the A-4 Skyhawk - the supersonic jet fighter that once ruled our skies in the 80s before the arrivals of the Hornets, Sukhoi and MiGs, now greets visitors amid silently. Retired helicopters are also valuable exhibits to allow visitors hand-on experience on the working of a rotor blade aircraft.

The historical biplane that served in the formation years of RMAF is another attraction not to be missed. Nevertheless it is heart breaking that parts of the aircraft body which is covered with flimsy cloth-like material, are tears everywhere due to lack of care and poor maintenance.

That is probably the main contention of visitors to this museum.

Muzium TUDM has in their procession some of the priceless artifacts showcasing our country’s momentous start in aerial military yet all the exhibits are covered with a thick layer of dust or worst condemned under the unforgiving tropical sun. Many outdoor exhibits including Ferrer Scout Car, Grumman Seaplane and others are left to rust. Information or the lack of it on the displays is another thing that the curator should be dismayed with. Questions should be asked now if another more committed conservation entity should assume the role as the repository of Malaysian Air Force heritage.

Fun Museums for School Holidays

2008-05-14T13:35:00.000+08:00

May 26, 08 marks the beginning of the Malaysian school break and most parents with kids would crank their heads over their holiday plans. I think holidaying in Malaysia is a rewarding break for the kids if parents make a point to include visits to museums.

I believe that there is at least one museum worth visiting in each of the Malaysian states. Some states boost more but the important thing is to identify one which the kids can enjoy and for an hour or two, let their inquisitive minds probe for answers, and a warning for the parents - be prepared.

Many of the exhibits housed air-conditioned museums are a perfect substitute for the regular outings to shopping malls. It is the prefect opportunity to share with the kids a wider perspective of the people, events and places that Malaysians have all lived through.

Furthermore, for a brief moment we are training them to discard the buy and consume mentality we parents indulge them with whenever we visit shopping centers.

We are lucky alot in a sense. Malaysian museums are also affordable compared to our nearest neighbor – Singapore. Most museums except Muzium Negara operated by Jabatan Muzium have no admission charges whereas Singapore’s MICA run public museums do with charges varies from S$1 -5 pax.

For a starter, go to a favorite outing spot for many in Kuala Lumpur particularly in areas like Lake Garden (3 museums, 1 memorial and 1 planetarium). To help parents plan their museums outings I have listed the list below for reference according to the location, admission charges and exhibits. Allocate about 1 hour to 1 and half hour for each visit to the museums.

The Royal Malaysian Police Museum - 4 out of 5 Stars
Admission - Free

Why Kids Like It?

Daddies can be Boys again and together they could check out armored vehicles, aeroplane and a patrol boat.

The Gun Gallery housed in a fortified chamber has a fascinating array of submachine-guns used by the security forces and terrorists, bow pipes used by hunters not to hunt but kill and weapons of choice by feuding gangsters. Kids may love the guns but parents must warn them of the damage they may caused.

The Darurat Gallery is a decent jungle setting with a Ferret scout car and tools of trade ( including condoms) used by terrorists in the jungle warfare. Be Warned – some very graphic photos of defeated terrorists. Check out also some pornograhic material on display aka the handkerchiefs.

The First Gallery showcasing the Malacca Sultanate days is a perfect spot to let a child plays the imaginery role of traders bartering spices or a Sultan warrior guarding the seafaring port.

Just compare the low tech weapons used by the Melaka defenders against the muskets and cannons used by the Portuguese invaders and it is easy to understand why 500 plus Portuguese and their sepoy can triumphed easily over.

The Tun Razak Memorial -'Malaysia Former White House' - 2 half of 5 Stars
Admission -Free

Why Kids Like It?

Tough to expect your kids to like this place because a substantial portion of the memorial is dedicated to Tun Razak's political contributions. Never mind the kids, adults too might not take it too well here.

But give it a chance and step into the former residence of 2nd. Malaysian Prime Minister. Go to the 1st floor and you and the kids would be zapped back in time. Catch a glimpse of the Malaysian first family and what it is like to live with the technology of the 70s. Look out for the enormous black colored Jabatan Telekom telephones. Check out too the then trendy boxy television sets to gauge how far we have come from that to the flat screen LCD etc.

Muzium Negara -'The Granddaddy of Malaysian Museum' - 3 out of 5 stars
Admission - Yes (Adult – RM 2/ kids under age of 12 or wearing school uniform - free)

Why Kids Like It?

Renovation which began in 2006 is still on-going (May 2008). Gallery A and B (on ground floor) are closed. Visitors now have access only to Gallery C and D (on the first floor) and make you wonder why they still charge you for full RM2 admission.

Kids will love the new Gallery C. It now has delightful exhibitions and children can ‘board’ a Portuguese galleon attacking Melaka, pretends to be a British soldier guarding Fort Cornwallis.
There are also excellent exhibits on how rubber trees were tapped. Look out for the tapper mannequin and the container for mosquito coils at her sides.

The tin dredge model the size of Volvo is also a fun place for the kids to discover how the floating factory works.

Gallery D is rather disappointing. The vast hall is used to garnish the momentous leap this country supposedly have had made since Aug 31, 1957. But after visiting Galeri C, you are forgiven if think that the museum designer had suddenly lost its creativity in this final galeri. The displays despite the colorful variants and themes make you wonder if we were back to the Georgian style of museology.

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia - 3 out 5 of stars
Admission - Yes

Why Kids Like It?

The museum boost world class collections with fascinating exhibits but it can be daunting for kids whose grasp for details last no longer than 5 seconds. For the true afficiendos, some of the collections were purportedly on loan from Sultan of Brunei and they are worth millions!

Kids however would love IAMM for its many interactive kiosks and try-on gadgetry which are important part of the learning process.

Parents may opt for the delicious Mediterranean restaurant housed in the same museum after the hefty tour.

Planetarium - 3 out of 5 stars
Admission - Yes

Why Kids Like It?

Take your kids to space and beyond! Despite its relatively small size (about the size of one and half basketball court) and a pricier ticket, the planetarium offer enough rocket and planetary exhibits. Just don’t expect Houston Control Central and you won’t be disappointed.

There are few interactive kiosks where children will have fun time experimenting. The ‘Space Walk’ tunnel and slide is a must for the kids.

The Wickhams - Malayan Communist's Worst Nightmare

2008-05-13T13:32:00.000+08:00

Railway services in Peninsula Malaysia were the preferred mode of transportation back in the days when the country was largely covered in jungle and lacked good road networks.

Trains were the lifeline to move people and produce around the country.

When the Malayan communist insurgency peaked, railway services particularly the railroads became favorite targets of guerilla saboteurs. As the conflict escalated, the terrorists became bolder at blowing up rail tracks and inflicted heavy human cost.

The devastation soon overwhelmed the authority and a quick fix to the problem was urgently needed.

Before too long, the security forces found their answer in the British made armored Wickham Trolley – a tank look-alike except it ran on train tracks. The trolleys were originally manufactured by D Wickham & Co of Ware, Hertfordshire and to brought to Malaya by the colonial administration.

Each of the 2-ton Wickham Trolleys or AWT, was armed with search light and machine guns on the turret. They were immediately deployed in key roles as front guard and to provide cover for interstate train services.

Subsequent insurgent attempts to disrupt railway services were met fiercely by government soldiers in these self-powered Wickhams on steel wheels. AWT quickly proved itself to be a deterrent force and provided all-weather and round-the-clock protection for all trains.

However, when the Emergency ended in 1960, AWT triumphing records were cut short and many of the AWTs were left idle at KTM sheds in Klang. Their formidable fighting tales began to fade with time too.

Recently, the railway authority has embarked on giving the AWT a new lease of life as war relics in various museums and establishments.

For the best view of the Wickham and to get a glimpse of how AWT was effective in its role, then check out the Armored Trolley No. 60 at the Malaysian Army Museum in Port Dickson.

The Army’s AWT No. 60 spots a grey body and it is parked along a steam locomotive and train coach. The museum has undoubtedly the best display on Wickham and with a bit of imagination, visitors can see for themselves how the armored trolley protected trains in those turbulent times.

The Royal Police Museum in Lake Garden, KL is the next best bet to see a Wickham. AWT No. 63 is painted in police blue indicating a different ownership but the logo on its side shows KTM with its roaring tiger. No much is revealed in the Police Museum about the success made by the Malaysian Police on the Wickham but fighting Communist in those days was a concentrated effort involving different parties and strategies.

One can also head to the less conspicuous Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial in KL to see -AWT No. 56.

However, like all rest of the AWT on display, No. 56 is exhibited outdoor and left to the mercy of the weather. Furthermore, all the museums lack sufficient reading materials about the Wickhams deployment during the Malayan Emergency.

One need to go to the KTM Mini Museum at the Old KL Train Station to find Wickham related materials. In its small gallery, there is brief information on the three Wickham Trolleys and their whereabouts. There are old photographs showing men on the Wickham preparing guns and search-light, but unfortunately this railway museum does not have static display of the armored trolley.

The Freakiest Museum OUT there

2008-05-07T15:12:00.001+08:00

How unique to find that a blog that wants your vote on the freakiest Museum in the world. Go to http://museumreviews.blogspot.com/ and some of the comments are amazing. Fancy touring exhibits on condoms or visit an exhibit on the evolution of bras.

The freakiest exhibition I experienced is at the Sarawak Museum in Kuching. On the 1st level, there are real human skulls hanging on the pillars in what is a replica of Ibanese longhouse. There are few skrunk heads. You want to keep you head low as you take the tour inside the bamboo structure or else you might come in contact with the wandering spirits.

Muzium Negara too won several accolades many years ago with a Ghost exhibition. Over 1 million visitors paid to see vampires, ghouls , and what have you. The Negeri Sembilan Museum Board tried to follow suit in their museum in Seremban but backfired when the muftis feared such exhibition would make public lean more to superstition.

Check out also http://www.ratethis museum.com for more good/ bad museum reviews.

Urban Golf To Promote Heritage in Malaysia

2008-05-02T17:21:00.000+08:00

Golf Courses seldom get credit for heritage conservation but there is this golf course in Switzerland that has successfully accommodated both. The entire course was designed around the historic city of Fribourg and when you've completed the 18th hole, you basically complete a tour of the city too.

In Malaysia, golf courses are popping up everywhere swallowing precious virgin jungles and poisoning our rivers. When the Old Subang Airport was handling international flights, it was not uncommon to have pilots cursing out loud the bright lights from the golf courses adjacent to the runway. Apparently the lights made the pilots confused and fortunately there was no untoward incident.

An urban golf course makes an excellent choice to strike a balance between heritage, tourism and sports. Imagine teeing off from Merdeka Square to Bukit Nenas Reserve Forest and finally landing on the green at KLCC park.

For a game of golf, players will discover the historical square where Independence was declared, then make a nature visit at one of the two urban rainforests in the world. Finally the golfer can putt in the final hole in the manicured garden besides the world's tallest twin towers.

A win-win situation for all. Golf tourists from all over the world will pay top dollar to enjoy a game of lifetime and the tourism folks can claim that they have helped to promote Malaysian history and its many tourist attractions. It is also a great way to promote golf and make it a truly people's game.

Related Readings - The Star Friday May 2, 2008

A Swiss city gets urban golf down to a tee. By WILLIAM FRENCH

FUNICULAR railways, bridges and cobbled streets are not typical features on a golf course but they form the backdrop to a new course in a Swiss city hoping to attract fresh tourists.

“Urban golf” is the brainchild of Celine Curty, a former business studies student who hit upon the idea while working as an intern in the tourist office of Fribourg, a pretty university town that marks the frontier between French- and German-speaking Switzerland.

Each ‘hole’ consists of one small patch of astroturf from where you tee off, aiming for a separate piece of turf no more than a few metres away.

The plan formed the basis of her final year degree project, and impressed her bosses at Fribourg so much that they decided to turn it into a reality. “I’m very pleased with how it turned out,” said Curty, though she admitted she hasn’t played the whole course yet.

The 18 “holes” are dotted around the medieval Old Town, many offering fantastic views of the Gothic cathedral, the old city walls and the Sarine river.
It’s more than just a stroll. Doing the full round involves crossing the town for a good four hours, even if you do take advantage of Fribourg’s funicular railway to get down from the first hole to the riverbank.

And if there’s no clubhouse for the traditional “19th hole” relaxation over a gin and tonic, there are plenty of cafes and bars dotted around the city for thirsty players to take a break.
The hole is not marked by a traditional flag but a fixed red marker.

“It’s the perfect way to discover the town,” said Nicolas Zapf, Fribourg’s tourism director.
Urban golf exists in many forms, proving particularly popular in the late 1990s in London’s trendy Shoreditch district, where golfers tired of the sport’s conservative image literally took their clubs to the streets and set up impromptu contests, improvising the holes as they went.

The Fribourg approach is slightly different as the location of the holes is fixed, with the aim of giving players the best possible views across the town. But any budding Tiger Woods or Nick Faldo hoping to perfect their swing will be disappointed, as “urban golf” differs greatly from the traditional variant.
For a start, you have only one club for both swinging and putting – a relief no doubt to any potential caddies who would otherwise have to scale Fribourg’s cobbled, winding and hilly streets.

The ball is also much lighter and made of squeezable rubber, which is probably just as well given the number of pedestrians passing by seemingly unaware of the course in their midst. Each “hole” consists of one small patch of astroturf from where you tee off, aiming for a separate piece of turf no more than a few metres away. The hole is not marked by a traditional flag (too tempting for light-fingered passers-by) but a fixed red marker.

The aim is to sink the ball within seven shots, though of course there are no fixed rules and indeed you’re not forced to play every hole. “We’re not aiming it at golfers, just ordinary tourists,” Zapf said.
Urban golf has been up and running since April 1 and has already attracted a lot of interest in Switzerland as well as neighbouring France and Germany, but is not yet targeting golf-mad Asian tourists.
The holes are surprisingly discreet and not heavily signed – so you need to keep your map with you at all times.

Hurrying after two eager young boys with clubs in hand, one local grandmother said she was all in favour.
“I’m from Fribourg but the kids are from France – it’s a great way for them to get to know the place,” she said. – AFP

Rubber Smokehouse Museum in Lunas

2008-05-02T13:14:00.000+08:00

History of rubber industry in Malaysia now has a home to call its own or sort of. A private initiative by award winning architect Laurence Loh has given birth to a museum in Lunas, Kedah which showcases the latex industry in the country. Fortunately, Loh has pursued the museum idea by incorporating and maintaining the original allure found inside an old rubber smokehouse.

Today, the museum has the distinction of allowing visitors the opportunity to see and experience the making of smoked rubber sheets. It is the only museum of its kind in Malaysia.

More importantly the museum has allowed a glimpse to an industrious past where the rubber industry was the main livelihood for millions and responsible for the making of many rubber moguls.

But rubber industry has been sidelined in our quest to be developed.

In a short span of just two decades, many traditional economy activities in Malaysia died a slow death. Traditionally agriculturally based, Malaysia began to embrace industrialization like a testorone charged man with a new mistress in tow and government officials brandished earful 'F' words like FDI, FTZ to all and sundry.

Rubber trees were among the first to go and they were uprooted in a frenzy to feed the massive needs for industrial and residential lands. Sons and daughters of rubber tappers left their homes in droves for more 'glamorous' jobs in air-conditioned factories and supermarkets.

In its wake, small towns like Lunas in the northern state of Kedah, found itself without a reason to sustain itself and slowly disappeared from the map.

Urban migration is particularly acute in this country and a great Malaysian phenomenon which is not fully studied, or perhaps understood by the authority about its implication. The swift in the population data was overwhelming. From a 80:20 ration between rural and urban population right after Merdeka; to a reversal of 3 urbanites to every two persons in the rural area by the time we celebrated our 50th Independence. Unbalanced development priority is the other culprit.

Rubber trees even in the villages are now far and between and the sight of rubber tappers rarer.
After the first rubber seet was planted in Kuala Kangsar about 150 years ago, the once lucrative Rubber industry is now a distance memory and fast disappearing from our mindset.

In 2006, Laurence Loh took over the family owned smokehouse in Lunas and converted it into a museum. He also spearheaded a conservation campaign involving the town's children to promote heritage awareness in Lunas. Walking inside the museum allows visitors experience the authencity of a working smokehouse as Loh explained in a talk given at the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum 2007, Hong Kong:-

"In the rubber story, the actual patina and crust of history was retained. Actual rubber sheets were hung up on the original bamboo poles to simulate the environment of the internal space of a smoke house - black walls full of soot and dust, accumulated over 40 years, complete with teh rich pungent smell of raw rubber, totally unforgettable and distinct."

Smokehouses were main structure in many Malaysian towns and they served as the processing center to treat rubber sheets brought by the tappers before the treated sheets are sent to ports to be exported. Lunas Smokehouse is made of wood structure but in bigger town like Malacca, the smokehouse there (Bachang besides the Onn Yah Kong temple) was a massive building about 5 stories high and occupied an area of considerable size. Passers by often have to cover their noses because of the pungent smell from the site.

For a comprehensive insight on the rubber industry, start the journey in the revamped Gallery C of Muzium Negara. There is an interesting exhibit of the paraphernalia used by rubber tappers in the olden days. Center to the exhibit is a female tapper 'milkling' on a rubber tree. Take a closer look and you will see that there is a mosquito coil attached to the side of the mannequin to repel the insects.

In Kuala Kangsar the oldest surviving rubber tree from the original seet brought in from London's kew Garden is found near the Malay College.

Related Reading:

Lunas - by Elizabeth Cardosa January 2007

Badan Warisan Malaysia is currently involved in an exciting cultural mapping project in Lunas, Kedah.

LUNAS: The Rubber Story is one of DiGi’s Amazing Malaysians 2006 projects. Two heritage education programmes involving Laurence Loh, ‘The Heritage Architect of Kedah’, were held in Lunas, Kedah, between June and August 2006. It involved 80 students, aged between 10 and 14 years, from three local schools, SRJK (Cina) Hwa Min, SMK Kulim and SMK Jalan Paya Besar.

Laurence Loh chose Lunas as the project site because his grandfather, Loh Boon Ghee, came to Lunas from China by way of Sumatra. Starting out as a labourer, he worked hard and became the owner of several rubber plantations. In the process, with two others, he built and owned a large portion of Lunas town in its early days, a legacy which remains till today. Laurence believes that in the process of collecting the stories and photographs of Lunas, the unique character of the town, its special buildings, places and stories can be recorded and kept intact as a heritage to pass on to the next generation. This way, the effort, joys, sorrows, triumphs, disappointments and achievements of the pioneers will be embedded in the memory of every child and person who experiences Lunas. This is the story of just one of the many little towns in Malaysia, and by collecting the stories, it makes our history and communities richer.

The project also featured the restoration of an old Smokehouse in Lunas, by Laurence Loh, DiGi’s Amazing Malaysian. The documentation, images, videographic materials and data from the two education programmes are used within the main exhibition which has been installed at the Smokehouse.

DiGi's Amazing Malaysians is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme which identifies passionate individuals who, quietly but with dedication, work towards preserving Malaysia's natural, social, art, cultural or built heritage. DiGi provides resources for these ordinary people doing extraordinary things to share their knowledge and skills with groups of 50-100 children or youth. Most of the projects are centred in rural locations, and the children involved come from the surrounding areas. This way, DiGi is able both to support commendable heritage work, and to introduce children to the rich tapestry of culture and tradition that makes up Malaysia's unique heritage.

Treasures for Suffolk House

2008-04-29T15:03:00.000+08:00

Penang soon can boost another heritage project and may help in its effort to be listed under UNESCO listing.

Below is the article on The Star posted on Wednesday April 2, 2008.

Treasures for Suffolk House

By ANDREA FILMER

WITH a little luck, the Suffolk House, Penang’s sole surviving Georgian residential architecture, will be opened to the public by the end of the year.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government hoped to revive the house, which was first built in the 1780s in a pepper estate owned by Captain Francis Light, into a cultural, historical and art collection centre.

Lim was speaking to reporters on a visit to the home of antiquity collector Jasmine Tan, who had offered the majority of her collection on loan to be displayed at the Suffolk House.

“With this offer, we hope we can get things moving again at the Suffolk House that has been recently refurbished and renovated,” Lim said.

Guan Eng (third from right) taking a closer look at an antique marble table.
Taking up antique and art collection in 1982, Tan and her husband’s collection includes historic items in Malaysian history as well as European fine furniture, marble statuary and architectural items from the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Among items available for loan to the state government is a handwritten document by Captain Light dated 1794 pertaining to land on the Prince of Wales Island.

“This is the oldest item in the collection that I managed to obtain through the years,” Tan said.
Lining the walls and walkways of Tan’s house are precious artwork and several stained glass windows rumoured to be made by William Morris, a principal founder of the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain.

A pair of Baba Nyonya bridal tables (left foreground) made with mother of pearl and Venetian glass are among Jasmine's antique collection.

Also on display to reporters were a beautiful wooden table with a marble top fashioned in the shape of the Penang state made in 1874 in Calcutta, a 19th century Srard piano, marble furniture once belonging to Eu Tong Sen (one of Ma-laya’s most successful and wealthy tin miners) and a pair of Baba Nyonya bridal tables made with mother of pearl and Venetian glass.

“Penang is linked by history to other straits settlements, so a lot of items in this collection are highly prized by other countries as well. “Thankfully, these items are still in Penang thanks to Tan and her family, and I think it is important for us to retain them here and not lose these pieces of history,” Lim said.

He also urged other collectors to come forward to offer pieces to be displayed at the Suffolk House.

Tan, on the other hand, thought it would be nice to share her prized possessions with the public after enjoying them personally.

“I have been to the Suffolk House and there’s nothing much inside, so I thought that it would be a good idea to use the collection to help promote and boost tourism in the state,” Tan said.

A 19th century Srard piano made in Paris in one of Tan's most prized possessions.
Penang State Museum Board curator Haryany Mohamad, who was present at the visit to assess some of the items, said it would take at least six months to catalogue all the pieces.
“We will also have to look into the placement and security of the pieces at the Suffolk House before any movement can be made,” she said.

State Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang, state executive councillors Lydia Ong Kok Fooi and Lim Hock Seng as well as Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng were also present at the visit.

Exhibition on the role of women in the Islamic world

2008-04-28T14:34:00.000+08:00

The Star - Saturday April 26, 2008

The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) is currently holding an exhibition on the role of women in the Islamic world.

By BADRIYA YASMEEN DOWE

The image of Muslim women was, to some extent, set in the 19th century when they were depicted as less than real individuals in art and literature.

Today, the view held by many in the West is that Muslim women are second-class citizens, trapped in their homes and hidden behind the veil. While this latter view is true in certain countries, it is by no means the norm as often the oppression of women is due to cultural rather than religious traditions.
Since the beginning of Islam, women have played important roles in society. Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife, was the first convert to Islam. His third wife, Aisha, was a great contributor to the sayings of the Prophet (hadith), which went on to become a component of the shar’ia (Islamic law).

The deeds of these women secured them a place in the annals of Islam and it would be hard to find a single Muslim that did not know who they were.
Unfortunately, the same acknowledgment has not been extended to the many women who were able to attain the exalted position of sovereign. Occasionally, in Islamic history, women ruled jointly with their husbands, but they have also governed their own territories outright, having their names mentioned in the Friday khutba (sermon), and inscribed on coins.

One such woman was Yemen’s Arwa binti Ahmad al-Sulayhi. She was born in 1048 in Haraz, Yemen, a member of the Sulayhid dynasty, vassals of the Fatimid dynasty in Cairo.
Arwa was taught that in Yemen, the wife of the ruler shared power with her husband and was not meant to stagnate in the harem. At 17, Arwa was married to her cousin al-Mukarram. After considerable upheaval, al-Mukarram passed his power on to Arwa, and retreated from public life.

Queen Arwa focused her attention on the welfare of her people, building mosques, roads and fountains. She also took a deep interest in cultural and religious studies and set up several centres for education. Arwa ruled Yemen for over half a century, never losing the support of her people, who affectionately called her Balqis al-Sughra (Young Queen of Sheba).

In the Indian subcontinent, Nur Jehan may be less famous than Mumtaz Mahal, but her fame among the Mughals was far greater. Born Mihr-un-Nisa (Sun Among Women) in 1577, she was a handmaiden at the palace.

Prince Selim (Jahangir) fell in love with her when he spotted her at the palace bazaar in the spring of 1611, but his desire to marry her was thwarted by his father, Emperor Akbar.
Eventually the two were married and she was given the honorific title Nur Jehan Begum (Light of the World Queen).

Nur Jehan brought the emperor under her influence, concentrating real political power in her hands. Using the emperor as a puppet, this wily individual ruled in his name for 11 years, from 1616 till 1627. She became a legend, sitting on the throne alongside the emperor, with firman (pronouncements) and coins issued in her name.

Women have been among the most significant factors behind the success of Islamic empires since the 7th century. Their faith, intelligence, influence and beauty have been central to Islamic history. Their role in religious, military and social affairs was acknowledged as early as during the time of the Prophet.
Why then is so little known about these extraordinary women?

The reason for this is the scant attention they were given by contemporary and later historians, who either completely omitted them or downplayed their significance. Though Islam raised the status of women and ensured them certain rights, the society they lived in was still extremely patriarchal. And there were those within society who found no pride in being ruled by women.

The two above-mentioned queens are just a sampling of the plethora of Muslim women that were able to rise to prominent positions. The exhibition Faith and Power: Women in Islam at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) brings these women out of obscurity and gives them their pride of place in Islamic history. The exhibition runs until July 4, this year.

There is an accompanying catalogue available for purchase at the IAMM gift shop which provides a more comprehensive look at the lives and achievements of the women featured in the exhibition. The women highlighted come from all over the Islamic world, from Spain to South-East Asia, and span the entire Islamic period up till the present day.

A forum will be held at the IAMM auditorium to discuss issues relevant to the modern Muslim women. This is open to the public and free of charge. The tentative date is May 31.

More information can be found at www.iamm.org.my

'A Famosa' Rescued?

2008-04-25T13:07:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage has proposed a RM12.8 million plan to ‘reconstruct’ a partial fortress wall of 'A Famosa' in Malacca.

According to report -The Star, Feb 18, 07- the reconstructed wall would offer tourists a glimpse of the the original sea-front defensive wall that once guarded the Portuguese against numerous sea invasions.

It is difficult to identify where the fortress walls are today because reclamation and senseless property development have altered the sea front of the historic city and the sea is now a good distance away.

This recent development prompted vested parties to claim it as a shot in the arms for Malacca conservation but how the whole episode involving the archaeological site has been unfolding is a worthy news in itself.

The same honorable minister had on a previous occasion came to the very same spot next to Malacca River and proudly launched a grand Malacca state scheme to build a revolving viewing tower.

It will take paying tourists for a bird-eye view of the Stadhuys and the Class I historical enclave across the historical river and also remnants of 'A Famosa'.

Despite overwhelming public objections including from this writer to the proposed Viewing Tower and our valid concerns that there would be unreversable damage to the area’s historical significance, the distinguished minister vehemently defended the state authority’s decision to go ahead with the construction of revolving tower (similar to Singapore’s Carlsberg Tower in Sentosa Island).

In a bizarre twist of fate, critics of the project were vindicated when men working on the tower foundation accidentally stumbled upon structural remains of Middleburg bastion!
For the very first time, the scale of the Portuguese Fortress is emerging and this archaeological find adds weight to ancient maps depicting four other similar bastions around 'A Famosa'.

Fortunately, good sense prevailed and an announcement was made, I suspected relunctantly by the parties concerned to halt the tower project. A decision quickly followed suit and the site of the viewing tower was moved assumingly to a less controversial one.

The same personnel from Perzim (Malacca Museum Board) and the Museum Department who had given the go-ahead with the Taming Sari Viewing Tower project now ironically have a new task at hand, presiding and spearheading conservation work to bring the bastion back alive.

Subsequently, Phase II will kick in and it involves a more ambitious project to ‘reconstruct’ the missing 300 meter fortress wall from same river side extending to Santiago Gate.

Reconstruction is controversial and is by no mean conservation. The Chinese has experimented with the Great Walls with devastating consequence at popular sites like Badaling near Beijing.

Ruins of the Great Walls are rebuilt based on purely academic guesses, and compromises were made at the expense of the integrity and the historical values of the Walls.

Today millions of tourists visiting there are disassociated to this fact, but they are essentially paying 40 yuan pax to merely see mock up walls catering very much to their tourist dollars.

In conservation, original artifacts i.e. rocks, manuscripts, bricks, weapons etc are the essential tools to invoke appreciation and instill better understanding for the historical subject.

Every efforts to replicate objects or materials no matter how authentic, should be the last resort to promote historical awareness and should never replace the original artifacts.

Will 'A Famosa' suffer the same fate? The answer lies with the Minister and Jabatan Muzium.

2 centuries ago -'A Famosa' or the beautiful fort, so named by the conquerer Alfonso D' Albuquerque - almost faded into oblivion until the timingly intervention by Munshi Abdullah and Sir Stamford Raffles.

Is 'A Famosa' finally enjoying the limelight it solely deserves or perhaps it is too premature to rejoice yet?

Note:
The 'Taming Sari' Revolving Tower - a RM23 million project by Perbadanan Melaka has since operated from the old Glutton's Corner. (Apr 2008)

Malaysia Train History In A Doldrum

2008-04-24T14:49:00.000+08:00

With a puff and huff, Engine No. 6051 of the North Borneo Railway and the 5 tourist coaches begin its scenic ride from Tanjung Aru to Papar in Sabah. The Vulcan steam locomotive brought in by the British has since 2002 begun its bi-weekly run on the 40 km stretch on North Borneo westen coast.

For train bluffs, the ultimate experience from the ride is the opportunity to have their face caressed by the wood burned smoke, sitting inside the swaying coaches and finally making the stop at Papar. Here at the heartland of Sabah rice bowl, the State railway department has invested in a roundtable in 2005 and it is an opportunity to see how the steam locomotive makes a 360 degree turn for the one hour return journey to Kota Kinabalu.

However that is the closest one gets to be nostalgic about railway heritage in Malaysia, a country known for its overzealous race to modernize. Over in Peninsula, despite the ERL, LRT and what have you, train history is pathetic to say the least. Preservation and conservation of rolling stock apparently are not in the vocabulary of the KTM management.

Across the Johore causeway, the KTM legacy is somewhat appreciated more. Visit the elegant Raffles Hotel museum and you will find that the cash registers are ringing constantly with the sale of duplicate copies of Old Keretapi Tanah Melayu travel posters.

Over here in Kuala Lumpur, we are still debating if we should have a Railway museum. If there is ever a consensus, then the old Moorish designed KL Railway Station is likely to be the preferred choice. The decision should win hands down because of its sentimental value although questions remain where are you going to put the locomotives.

Even as the debate rages on, all over Malaysia, precious and valuable Railway remnants and artifacts are at perils from scrap theft and victims of harsh tropical weather.

At Gemas, next to the wooden train station built by the British is the old 'Temerloh' steam locomotive. This mammoth piece of iron workhorse is rusting away with nothing to shed its metal dignity from the elements. It stood there like an eye sore and there is no mention of the great sacrifices 'Temerloh' made during its lifetime.

To the north, the significance of Malaya's first Railway route between Port Weld-Taiping appear only in school books because the track has long disappeared and the Port Weld Station is now a kopi stand with its historical marker stone lies broken and hidden behind some bushes.

Kuala Lumpur is no exception. At the northern end of the capital city used to be KTM's biggest depots for its rolling stocks. When the redevelopment plan in the 80s called Sentul Raya took off, it gave a hint of hope that finally railway heritage has a place to call home.

Unfortunately the developer, Taiping Consolidated flopped and YTL Land took over the Sentul project, Lot 10 etc. The red colored brick train shed with its many round gates was initially marked to be the new train museum. But fate decides otherwise. With a stroke of pen and no thanks to YTL's Francis Yeoh, the venue is now Kuala Lumpur Performaning Art Center (KLPAC).

The only venue now available to see steam loco engines in the city is Muzium Negara (3 units). They are placed on both sides of the rear entrance of the Museum. One is next to the car park lot.

The Selangor Museum in Shah Alam boosts a diesel loco on permanent display. It was a present for Sultan Abdul Aziz by KTM. The late Sultan apparently was into trains too, and not just your typical Mekkel train set but real ones too. At his Royal town just outside the Klang Commuter Station, an old caboose used by KTM now housed a florist shop. It is probably the only rolling stock of this type currently in existence in this country.

One enterprising food operator decided to be creative and called his western restaurant chain Victoria Station, after the famous train stop in England. Visit the outlets in USJ Subang and Ampang and you have the options to dine and wine in a KTM diesel loco where train engineers spent countless days and nights working in the sweaty and loud chambers. I particularly like the one in USJ, and the whole restaurant has a museum feel to it. Inside the Diesel head comes with sleepers and train apparatus i.e. lamps, signals etc.

Unfortunately that is the sad state of our train heritage in this country.

Nevertheless, there are a lot of little train treasures around to discover if you try hard enough.

The popular resort town of Port Dickson has one thing two for train bluffs. At the Armed Forces Museum in Port Dickson, an armored Wickham Trolley used to fight communist terrorist who were getting better at exploding rail tracks. It looks like a tank with rail wheels. Head to Port Dickson town center and you will see a lone train crossing gate with manual signal guarding over an abandoned track. It stops at the nearby godowns where the British had hauled tin ore mined from Sungai Ujung (now Seremban) and brought it here on the trains to export.

Yet, one can still have the ultimate train spotting experience in Port Dickson. Only Goods trains ply the Seremban- Port Dickson route today and to get the best view of the working train one needs to go to the roads to the Shell and ExxonMobil refineries. The train leaves PD and head off inland. In Siliau- a small town about half hour away, you can get a good view of the Goods train passing above the bridge.

Culture Coup by Singapore Peranakan Museum

2008-04-24T13:13:00.000+08:00

The new Peranakan Museum in Singapore has opened its doors to visitors(The Star-Apr 24,08) and judging by the success they have had with the Asian Civilizations Museum, it is safe bet to say that this museum housed in an old school will generate the same excitement among history bluffs and tourists. Singaporeans can be forgiven if they show a glint in their eyes over this museum but it is no laughing matter for the Malaysian government.

The Malaysian Ministry of Unity, Cultural, Arts and Heritage and the Museum Department are now caught with their tails in between the legs. They must confront this culture coup earnestly and they must be transparent about the direction or the lack of it of where we are heading. This is important if the authority is to be taken seriously as the guardian of our museums and the repository of our national heritage and heirloom. Heritage loving Malaysians are disappointed that valueless Peranakan artifacts are now in the hands of foreigners and we should demand that the same authority in Malaysia adopt a more proactive stance to champion local heritage.

For centuries, Malaysian states like Malacca, Penang and as far as Kelantan were some of the early points of entry for chinese immigrants who came here to work. They subsequently assimilated with the locals to form this unique culture we are come to call Peranakan, or the not so politically correct term - Baba & Nyonya.

Singapore or Temasik was then just the occasional pirate hideouts. Thus it is not ridiculous to stake claim that Tanah Melayu is the rightful birthplace of the Peranakan and its heritage.

Countless thesis and articles from local and foreign universities have critiqued its unique racial composition and highlighted the role they in Malaysian society. When it fits the fancy of the same authority especially when elections or Lunar New Year are near, they are exemplified for their multi racial outlook and the multi cultural practices.

The time has come to call for greater recognition for the community besides the casual complimentary.

There is a popular Baba and Nyonya Museum operated by Chan Kim Lay and his family in Malacca. It is a favorite with tourists who are willing to pay top dollars to see first hand culture, handi works and architecture associated with the peranakan. In the late 90s there were talks about a Jabatan Museum project to build a similar Peranakan Museum along the same Heeren Street. Nothing came out of it and as we all know now -Singapore has beaten us to it.

It is not an exaggeration if we consider this seemingly "oversight" a tip of the iceberg. We have new archeological finds and reveal fascinating insights about 'A Famosa' fortress and its two unearthed Portuguese bastions in Malacca. Yet Jabatan Muzium and the state government enthusiasm is found wanting. Lembah Bujang, Kedah with its 1000 year old cendis around Gunung Jerai are left neglected although conservationists have acknowledged that Lembah Bujang is in the same league with Angkor Wat and Borobodur. However, no proper recognition or planning is forthcoming and this historical treasure is just accorded a brief mention in tour itinenaries, if at all.

Malaysians should not lament that Malaysia has not historical attractions to offer. The truth is the Ministry responsible for our heritage and culture are NOT bold enough to embrace the wealth that our multicultural and multi racial society has to offer. It continues to hide under a bigoted 'turtle shell' that brushed aside the multi-ethnicity and historical treasures laying idle across the country.

April 24, 2008

Related Reading

Singapore pays tribute to Peranakan culture with new museum.
The Star Apr. 24, 08

By DEEPIKA SHETTY
A new Peranakan museum in Singapore showcases more than 1,200 items of Straits Chinese artefacts and tells the stories behind them. MUSEUMS are much more than about items on display these days. They are about the stories behind the things as well.

Take the S$12mil (RM27.8mil) boutique Peranakan Museum, which opens this Saturday in what was once the Tao Nan School in Armenian Street. Work on it started just over two years ago.
The S$12mil (RM27.8mil) boutique Peranakan Museum, in what was once the Tao Nan School in Armenian Street, Singapore.

The world’s most comprehensive collection of Straits Chinese, or Peranakan artefacts, it contains more than 1,200 items showcasing this unique South-East Asian culture.
The Peranakan community began with early Chinese immigrants in Malacca, Penang and Java adopting local customs and marrying local Malay women.

Peranakans, famed for sarong kebaya (embroidered blouse-and-batik ensemble), kueh (cake) and feisty bibik (matriarch), began to live a blend of Malay and Chinese lifestyles peppered with British and Dutch influences. The items on show reflect these influences and range from intricately beaded shoes to a grand wedding bed. Also on display is the largest Peranakan beadwork tablecloth, created using one million beads.
The treasures are often all the more precious for their “true blue” individual histories.

That is something Dr Kenson Kwok, director of the Asian Civilisations Museum which is developing and operating the Peranakan Museum project, can attest to.
Late 19th or early 20th century Peranakan bridal garment made of silk and gold thread.

About 10 years ago when a visitor from Penang walked into his office asking for him, Dr Kwok almost turned her away.

“She said her mother had all these nyonya things which she wanted to give to the museum,” he says. He adds with a laugh that he was not convinced and did not take her seriously at first.
At that time, the Asian Civilisations Museum had only a small section devoted to the Straits Chinese past. But the woman was persistent and urged him to fly to Penang to take a look at some of the work.

“I flew to Penang and the minute I saw the kamcheng (covered container which the Peranakans used to store and serve food, water or pickles), I knew we had something special.
“It was so precious that I hand-carried it back to Singapore. It weighs more than 5kg and I had it on my lap all through,” he says.

Today, the kamcheng, which dates back to the late 19th century and is worth over S$100,000 (RM230,000), occupies pride of place in the Food and Feasting Gallery of the Peranakan Museum – one of 10 themed galleries housed in the building. These are spread over a floor area of 4,000sqm with a display space of 1,500sqm.

Also in the Food and Feasting gallery is a set of eight dining chairs with English-style carving which would have been done by Chinese craftsmen, and which Dr Kwok found in a junk shop toilet. “We managed to find a full set and they were in pretty good condition,” he says.

However, the museum is not just about viewing displays, but having hands-on involvement as well. Some exhibits include interactive components. These include touchable displays at a Peranakan kitchen, wedding and beading activities, and a multimedia activity where children can dress up in Peranakan costume electronically.

The museum’s galleries range from one devoted to weddings to others that cover the process of growing up, religious beliefs, food and feasting, conversations and public life. The Bim Poh Lenggang(ceremonial handkerchief) used during the traditional 12-day Peranakan wedding. The bride wore the handkerchief by wearing the ring around the fourth finger of her left hand.

Visitors will get an insight into a traditional Peranakan wedding – an elaborate 12-day affair filled with rituals and ceremonies – and also of the chiu thau ceremony, a rite of purification and initiation into adulthood, for example.

The museum wants to engage people of all ages. Says curator Randall Ee: “We want people to live through those times.” – The Straits Times, Singapore / Asia News Network
For more information, go to www.peranakanmuseum.sg.

Malaysian Tin Legacy Comes Alive

2008-04-23T13:33:00.000+08:00

Tin was an integrated part of Malaysian history. Millions of Malaysian Chinese today can trace their ancestry to the waves of cheap coolies brought into Malaya to labor in the God forsaken, malaria infested tin mines. Many Malays in this country too have their roots traced to groups originated from the surrounding Malay Archipelago who came to Tanah Melayu for the same economical reasons (i.e the Mandailing from Sumatera found mostly in Papan, Perak, Bugis from Sulawesi in Perak and Selangor). Unfortunately, this later form of migration are not mentioned promptly in history books or museums.

Calm was disrupted when everyone was caught in a ruthless fight for a bigger share of the tin pie. Throughout the 19th century, Civil Wars erupted in Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor and often complicated by bloody royal tussle. Rival Malay/ Bugis Warlords would be aided by equally ferocious Chinese Clans fighting territorial control over tin rich areas.

Perfect excuse for the opportunistic British to interfere. With their superior guns and arm twisting tactics, the smoke apparently cleared and the mines were a hive of activity again. The British wasted no time and made iron roads into the Malay heartland. In a short span of time, numerous British financed railway lines began to dot the landscape spanning a common East to west direction.

It is was a mayhem in the villages with supertitious folks greeted the arrival of the steam era akin to doomsday. Wild elephants too were scared out of their wits by sights and sounds of fire eating iron work horse chugging with their tin ore loads to nearby sea ports. These East - West routes i.e. Taiping-Port Weld, Kuala Lumpur - Port Klang, Sungai Ujung(Seremban) - Port Dickson - share a familiar trait - Tin

Needless to say Tin resource brought prosperity for the country. History will also show that tin from Malaya saved Great Britain from bankruptcy after World War II. Countless millionaires were made and with their nouveau riches, they showed off by acquiring lavish taste for western amenities. In Perak, car owners have the privilege of having their Morris and Renault with car plates beginning with the letter 'A' . Selangor was next with 'B' and Pahang 'C'. They were the three of the wealthier states in Malaya and their source was primarily tin. Mansions built on hard cash from Tin also mushroomed in Ipoh, Penang and Malacca.

The collapse of tin price in the 80s suddenly halted the rosy outlook and hit hard at all levels of the society. However what's most unfortunate is how quick we were to distance ourselves from the tin legacy. Suddenly the tin industry became an outclass and not worth a mention except briefly on the school textbooks. We became apparently ashamed of our centuries old ties with mother nature's black gift.

Their immediate demise were hastened by a national inertia on what properly constitute Malaysia National Heritage. As a young country, we were confronting depleting treasures from our chequered past yet they were concerns, valid or otherwise by powerful groups who viewed our Colonial eras with dismay. They held a vengeance by collectively imply any symbolic representation or gestures from the last five centuries as a threat to our national identity.

Nothing were spared. Mining equipment were sold for scrap. Miners unemployed for the first time in their life found no support whatsoever. They quickly turned to cooking and manned the many hawkers stalls. Options were few for them and they have families to feed.

In Seri Kembangan/ Balakong, Selangor, the former world's largest open cast tin mine was shut down and is now a man-made lake with The Palace of Golden Horses(5 Star Hotel) and the Mine Shopping Center at its shores.

Other ex-tin mines were condemned too. They are now either popular fishing grounds, haven for migratory birds and worst, completely reclaimed to begin a new life as Taman (residential garden) found commonly in Puchong, Subang and Sunway, notably of the Sunway Lagoon fame in Selangor, and in Perak -Kampar and Gopeng areas to name a few.

If you are keen to revisit the tin legacy in this country then you have an uphill task. There are NO historical sites, NO dedicated museum, NO conservation of the mining equipments that are important to present or showcase tin and its history in this country.

However, I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. Malaysia while it positions itself as a tourism destination has taken a renewal interest in everything old, rustic and even colonial. Colonial subjects were discarded previously because it was considered against unnationalistic interest and unpatriotic.

The authority has finally awakened to the concept that heritage is a valuable asset and can bring in the precious tourism ringgit. This arrangement is far from perfect in conservation sense but it does offer a glimpse of hope to conservation work and the need to protect heritage sites and the artifacts despite some reservation about colonialization and the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.

Below is a list of museums and visitor centers offering fascination insights on the tin legacy in Malaysia.

The newly upgraded Gallery C of the Muzium Negara has an impressive exhibition on the subject. The gallery is also a good start to get acquited with the subject of tin and the different methods used in mining for tin ore. Tin ingots and model of tin dredge are on display too. (The current upgrade work in Galleries A & B of the museum is scheduled to complete in May 2008)

Not to be missed is The Royal Selangor Visitor Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Highly recommended. A dedicated venue to highlight pewtersmithing business that has gone global. What I find most interesting is that the visitor center offers visitors stimulating and engaging exhibits not just the history of the Yong family and the trade. Visitors will leave with a profound appreciation of how tin is used and the pride involved in the making of pewterware. Look out for the giant dredge bucket replicas hanging from the ceiling. The buckets were used to dig tin ore in the ponds and there are some 50 buckets in one floating tin dredge!(model available in the Tin History section). Admission is free.

The Sungai Lembing Museum, Sungai Lembing, Pahang. Recommended. Known once as the El Dorado of Malaya because of its unsurpassed richness, now a dying town with largely an aged population with their grandchildren. One of the few perfect in-situ museums in Malaysia. The diorama of machinery and life in the tunnel can literally transport visitors back to the site itself worth the trip. The museum authority deserves a pat for Admission is free.

Visitor Information

Journey from Kuantan to Sg. lembing is approximately 45 km and takes about 1 hour by car.

The Sg. Lembing Museum is located at the far end of the quaint town. Pass the row of wooden shophouses and the handicraft center next to the main town field. Museumi s located on top of the hill. Lookout for the town's sole surviving Petrol Station and the antique looking fuel pump used for filling up the town's motorized vehicles.

The Jabatan Muzium run museum makes a welcomed weekend stop to get a sense of how tin was mined then. Besides the museum, visitors can access to the mining ground where tin ore was taken out from underground tunnels. The tunnels are located not too far from the museum.

Proceed by taking the small narrow road up the cliffs next to the museum lower entrance. DO NOt go beyond the tunnel opening because there is real risk of the tunnels collapsing. One can still walk inside the tunnels for about 10 meters and experience the claustrophobic environment.
Authorities have blocked any atempts to go beyond that and visitors will come face to face with earth rumbles and fallen wooden beams inside. Watch out too for the Bats!

Another highlight for history bluffs is the wooden ruins of the Smelting plant. A major fire destroyed a substantiate part of the plant and all is left of the structure is burned wooden poles.
Visitors will bel rewarded with sights of cement ponds at different levels supposedly used to filter tin ore (May 2005). Abandoned railway sleepers are still visible near the ruins. In the museum, maps and photos indicating a railway system with its rolling stocks and track was in place in Sg. Lembing.

For a close encounter with the huge tin dredge previously used to dig tin ore, one has to travel north(3 hours from KL) to Tanjung Taulang, Perak. T.T. No. 5, Tin Dredge is one of the two remaining floating tin dredge in Malaysia. The other one is in Dengkil, Selangor but unfortunately is left idle when the Wetland cum museum project fell through. And accessiblity there is a problem.

T.T. No. 5 should offer visitors an unforgetable learning experience and the trip should help history bluffs appreciate better the floating vessel the size of half football field. Guided tour is available and the dregde and museum complex is run by a private venture and there is an admission charge.

Darul Ridzuan Museum, Ipoh. Read that it has an exhibition on mining but no more information available.

RELATED READING

Tin dredge to open to public - The Star Jan 30, 2008

By G. MAHINDER SINGH
AFTER years of relative obscurity, the Perak tin dredge at Tanjung Tualang will open its doors to the public from Feb 1. Run by Osborne & Chappel, the attraction will have packages that include guided tours – a trip to a tin mining museum and movies on how the 4,500 tonne giant works – for both children and adults.
Steven Ng, a company director in charge of development and marketing, said the dredge, T.T. No. 5, has been given a RM100,000 facelift.
Historical: Ng showing the tin dredge that has been given a RM100,000 facelift. There are toilet facilities, a canteen, parking lots, ticket booths, an exhibition room and walkway around the dredge, he said.
“During its tin-mining heyday, there were 40 dredges operating in Chemor, Ipoh, Gopeng, Batu Gajah, Papan, Tronoh and Malim Nawar,” said Ng.
T.T. No 5, one of the last great reminders of the time when the Kinta Valley was the world’s richest tin
producing area, was built in 1938 by W.F. Payne & Sons for Pernas Chartered Management Sdn Bhd.
Once belonging to Southern Malayan Tin Dredging (M) Sdn Bhd, the dredge had scoured for tin ore in the Kinta Valley for 44 years.
Operations stopped in 1983 due to the collapse of the tin mining industry. Since then, it has lain in a man-made pond at Desa Perlombongan, about 10km from Batu Gajah, Perak.
“At one time, the dredge would run on electricity for 24 hours in two shifts with 20 workers per shift,” related Ng.
In 1997, Pernas Chartered Management Sdn Bhd donated the three-storey high dredge to the state, which had spent over half a million ringgit to develop it into an attraction.
Ng said among other things, the company was planning to showcase other methods of tin mining to visitors.
“With the help of the Chinese tin miners associations, non-governmental organisations and Matta Fair, we should be able to get 400,000 visitors by year end,” he added.
The first package (RM5 for adults and RM3 for children less than 60cm tall) will include a movie, visit to the dredge museum and a tour of the dredge from outside.
The second package (RM15 for adults, RM8 for children aged 12 years and above) features tours inside the dredge.

RELATED READING

Bright future awaits Sungai Lembing - NST 2007

That’s the nickname given to Sungai Lembing, a sleepy hollow which is a 45-minute drive from Kuantan. It earned the name due to the Westerners’ involvement in tin mining activities in the area 100 years ago. The place has a record of sorts for it is home to the largest, longest and deepest underground tin mine in the world.“Sungai Lembing will be sleepy no more,” said Department of Museums and Antiquities (East District) director Mohd Razaimi Hamat, adding that there were plans to revive the tin mine and the old British bungalows under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. He said the plan involved promoting the town’s rich historical tourism product.

The underground tunnels and mining site are currently closed to the public as they are no longer safe to visit. They have been rendered unstable through disuse and occasional floods in the town. “Efforts will be put in place to reconstruct the underground tunnels and mining areas while preserving the main structure to allow tourists a chance to revisit the historical mining site and learn how underground mining worked some 100 years ago.“The rebuilding of the tunnels, mining areas and bungalows will take a few years to complete but this will be carried out in tandem with promotion efforts to attract tourists to visit the existing Sungai Lembing Museum, which is still not widely known,” said Mohd Razaimi.The museum, which is a must-visit place in town, tells the story of how Sungai Lembing was once the richest tin mining area in Pahang around the early 20th century. Locals there prospered when they earned about RM1,000 per month. With that kind of money then, they could afford to purchase British-made home products and furnishings.

Mining activities in the town started with British colonisation when the area was first explored in 1888 under Sultan Pahang Almarhum Sultan Ahman Muazzam Shah 1, who agreed to the proposal by a London-based mining company to mine tin in Sungai Lembing. The company operated in Sungai Lembing from 1905 till 1986 under Pahang Consolidated Company Ltd (PCCL).The tin mine’s underground tunnels, known as pengkang, were dug by hand with the occasional use of explosives. The deepest tunnel at Myah Mines was 700 metres below ground.At that time, the population in Sungai Lembing was 10,000, and they enjoyed basic amenities. The British built a police station, a school, a hospital, shops and residential areas.However, the town suffered several unfortunate incidents such as a fire that ravaged shophouses in 1921, floods in 1926, the Japanese Occupation in 1941-1945 and the communist insurgency in the 1950s. A fatal blow to the prosperity of the town was when tin prices in the world market collapsed in 1985.This caused PCCL to crash, incurring huge losses. Mining activities then ceased and the economic activities in Sungai Lembing came to a halt.

Ever since the closure of the tin mine in 1986, Sungai Lembing has slowly slipped into an almost deserted place with miners moving into agricultural and logging areas elsewhere.However, visitors to Sungai Lembing today will still be able to see some of the town’s old characteristics, such as houses and shophouses still spotting a blend of the Pahang Malay traditional architecture with a Western influence. Houses occupied by tin miners in the old days are still standing, including 40 bungalows meant for British officers.Another interesting structure is the hanging bridge built for use during floods. There are now six hanging bridges in town.Most of the locals today sell coconut biscuits, fruits, wild lychee and tilapia which they fish from Sungai Lembing.According to local folklore, Sungai Lembing was named after the Malay weapon lembing (spear). It is said that a group of hunters hurled a spear at a deer. The deer jumped into a river with the spear still embedded in its body. After a long time, a group of miners arrived at the river and found the spear that killed the deer. The miners then named the place Sungai Lembing.Sungai Lembing Museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. For enquiries, call 09-5412378.

Related Reading

The Star - Saturday March 22, 2008

Dredging up the past -BY LIZ PRICE

For a trip down memory lane to Malaysia’s tin-mining past, nothing beats a visit to TT No.5, one of only three dredges left in the country. Walking onto the tin dredge was like stepping back in time. The cavernous interior was strangely silent, but I am sure that when this dredge was in full operation, the noise and vibration would have been almost unbearable. This huge metal monster is a relic of the past, a reminder of the once bustling tin mining industry that thrived in Malaysia.

Tin mining is one of Malaysia’s oldest and most successful industries. In the 1600s, this industry started to thrive in Kedah, Perak and Selangor. Over the centuries, tin was extracted in huge quantities from both open cast and deeper mines. Dredges were commonly used. Today, there are only about three old dredges left in the country, and this one at Chenderoh, near Tanjong Tualang, Perak, has been preserved. In Feb 2008, it was opened to the public for tours.

The dredge looks like a colossal metal monster sitting in a pond, maybe a relative of the dinosaur. It looks too big to possibly move, but these massive dredges once devoured swamp and jungle as they searched hungrily for tin deposits. Steven Ng, 56, the man responsible for renovating this giant, is a director of Osborne & Chappel, the company that gave the dredge, TT No. 5, a RM100,000 face lift. Osborne & Chappel was started by British engineers in Malaya in the 1890s and was at the forefront of the alluvial mining industry in Malaysia.
TT5 was built in 1938 by W.F. Payne and Sons (UK), and modified in 1960.

As we walked onto the dredge, we realised just how big it was. The pontoon is 75m long, 20m wide, and three storeys high. It is essentially a floating factory where buckets on a chain scoop earth deep from the pond. These buckets were then transported up to an area high in the body of the dredge.
Nordin our guide opened a hatch in the wall and revealed the buckets on the ladder, which once took them to the top of the dredge. It looked like something from a bizarre fairground ride.
Each bucket was huge, made of manganese steel and the edges were reinforced to endure the damage done when scooping up the earth containing tin.

There are 115 buckets on the ladder, and each one can hold more than 600 litres. The maximum digging depth of this dredge was 31m. At the front end we could see the buckets where they came out of the water before beginning the long ascent to the top of the dredge. We also clambered up to the upper levels to get an overall picture of how the dredge worked. The dredge was built using steel girders, many of which came from Britain and have the manufacturers’ names stamped on them, such as Shelton, Skinningrove, and Appleby-Frobingham.

The dredge weighs 4,500 tonnes. It was moved by means of a 1.5km long cable, worked from the control area.
If the cable was released on the right side, the dredge moved left. At the top of the dredge, we got a bird’s eye view over the surrounding ponds. I was surprised to see a few birds nesting in the dredge. There are three ponds in the vicinity, and the one TT5 sits on is surrounded by paths and embankments. Fish have been stocked in the neighbouring ponds, which hopefully will encourage more birds in the area.
From the front end of the dredge, we walked along the narrow walkway on the roof and entered the next area where we had a close up view of the buckets all the way to the very top. Further on, we got to look down on the jigs. Leaving the buckets, the excavated material was broken up by jets of high-pressure water as it fell on to the revolving or oscillating screens.

Large stones and rubble were retained by these screens, while the tin bearing material passed to the jigs. These were vibrating trays, where water was forced up from below, pulsing up in a wave, so the heavy tin sank and the lighter hematite floated off. From this primary separating plant, the tin went down to the palong below and into a big container ready for transportation. The waste went out via a disposal chute at the tail end of the dredge and was subsequently dumped on the banks. These tailings were bulky as excavating just one cubic metre of new ground produced 20 cubic metres of waste material, as the new ground was compact, but the waste was separated and full of water.

Nordin informed us that the dredge operated 24 hours a day, with three shifts of about 17 men.
An area near the jigs was designated as the eating area, where the men had their food. A selection of tools is now exhibited here. Back at deck level, we could see the many hoses above our heads, which carried the tin from the jigs to the collecting areas. We continued our tour around the back end of the dredge and had a look at the control area. On the wall here is a list of the major components of the dredge and the date they were installed and last serviced.

We could see that the bucket band was fitted in 1974. Nordin showed us how the buckets were fixed to the band, and we could see the giant hammer used for removing the pins, which held the buckets in place.
There are squat toilets on the dredge at the back end, which open directly to the pond. After our tour of the dredge, we walked around the outside and then went to the small exhibition room.
During the heyday of the tin mining industry, 40 dredges were operated in Perak, with a record of 105 working in 1929 in the whole of the peninsula. This particular dredge stopped work around 1983 after more than 40 years of service.

Ng’s goal is to preserve the dredge. More money is needed to repair the two pumps. He also wants to set up a palong and to turn the area into a living museum, with people dressed in traditional clothes, including women dressed as dualang washers. A video will also be shown on how this giant worked. A visit to this dredge is an ideal way to get some understanding of what was once one of Malaysia’s most important industries.
TT5 is open from 8:30am to 7pm daily, including weekends and public holidays.

A RM10 entrance fee is charged for a walkabout on deck level while the grand tour is priced at RM15 and includes a guided one-hour tour on the upper levels and a video presentation.

TT No. 5
5th Mile Jalan Tanjong Tualang, 31000 Batu Gajah Perak
For more information, call: 05 3702 2216 or 012 517 1260

Reclamation kills Flor De La Mar?

2008-04-21T17:13:00.000+08:00

The enclosed article below has raised important concerns about the lack of initiative on the part of the authorities to locate the great treasures supposedly on board the ill fated ship. In Malacca or Melaka, looking under the seabeds of the historic city shores is only getting tougher now that more rampant reclamation projects are in the pipeline. Think of the hugely unpopular Talam led Pulau Melaka project and the reality of the devastation unfolds before your eyes. Massive siltation of Malacca seashores i.e adjacent to Century Mahkota and Malacca Rivermouth. The entire area is slowly turning into swamps and now a favorite with migrating egrets.

A quick glance at ancient Malacca maps would reveal the shore lines were the entire stretch from present day Hotel Equatorial to Santiago Gate and right to Malacca River mouth where the Tourism Malaysia office is now situated. Therefore it would not be too hard to imagine that great sail boats and probably Flor De la Mar would have made its port calls where Hilton Hotel or Mahkota Parade stand today.

Malaysia's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had urged a thorough magnomatic survey of the various potential sites when the idea for the massive reclamation project was mooted by the state in the late 90s. Unfortunately the technology prescribed concluded nothing significant, and the Chief Minister was adamant that the project proceed. Yet for sometime, local dailies had articles highlighting fishermen and those who fish for leisure would often show up with pieces of broken china, old coins and the musket balls during their outings at the same areas.

As a teenager, I too have my share of adventures at the edge of the reclaimed land before developers changed the landscape forever with the likes of Mahkota Parade and Melaka Raya. As a matter of fact I own a few of the musket bullets and broken china wares digged out from the muddy soil myself.

Unfortunately, the state prefer to ignore the urgent need to find and identify the sunken treasures. Instead it has adopted a negligent attitude to concerned calls urging restrain in its reclamation project.

End of the story? Not yet.

The same authority however has remarkable enthusiasm to spend millions for large scale projects supposedly to draw more tourist traffic (The Eye of Malaysia in Kota Laksamana - The same Eye from KL by the way, The Taming Sari Revolving Tower and Malacca Skytrain etc) but fail to appreciate the exquisite value of heritage and conservation Malacca has to offer to its people and the world.

April 2008

RELATED READING

Fevereiro 07, 2006

Flor De La Mar : An Early Epilogue of the Lost Ship 1511 (Portuguese Documents On Malacca)
Article By: Mohd. Sherman b. Sauffi (Maritime Archaeology Museum)The legend of the lost ship on the Portuguese fleet called Flor De La Mar (Flower Of The Seas) had been an agenda of story telling, speculations and assumptions for many years since her lost in December 1511. Lots of theories and speculations about her, that make her “A billion dollar baby”, some said that she lost or vanished on the unfaithful event, some said that she have been taken over and all the treasures are stolen, some says that she had been destroyed by rivals ships and most provocative some says that the ship was not lost and know whereabouts the ship but somehow until now, well 500 years later, it can never be found elsewhere and remains a mysteries.Enjoy the silence? We are actually got away from our leagues ladies and gentlemen.

Before we jump into conclusions about anything, there’s a good start we look at the early document of “Portuguese Document On Malacca 1509 until 1511”, collected, translated and annotated by the late M.J Pintado with National Archives of Malaysia in 1993. It is a “Long Term Project” which was started the ideas since 1974. Credits goes to all the personnel who work on the project especially Dato’ Zakiah Hanum Nor, Ex-Director General National Archive Malaysia.The written historiography collections with importance which had information about Malacca, “Letters from Alfonso de Albuquerque” in 7 volumes and the six Chroniclers - Joao de Barros, Diogo do Couto, Fernao Lopes de Castanheda, Gaspar Correia, Damiao de Goes and Manuel de Faria e Sousa. The document itself had information about what really happen to the ship Flor de La Mar.On the Document 2 (1511), Portuguese Republic Ministry of Colonies Asia Joao de Barros, Chapter II, “What Alfonso went through along the route that he took fom Cochin to the island of Sumatra, where he was visited by the King of Pedir and Pasai and what else he did up to the time he arrived in Malacca”, Document no. 13 noted “ …together with other jewellery taken as spoils from Malacca and put on aboard the galleon Flor de La Mar, as we shall further on”.

The unfortunate event that bring Flor de La Mar to bottom of the sea stated on the Book Seven Of The Second Decade of Asia by Joao de Barros, “The Achievements of the Potuguese in the exploration and conquests in the lands and seas of the east, after Alfonso de Albuquerque’s departure from Malacca to his entry into the red sea” Document no. 224, “ Above all they had to brave the fury of the storms at sea and the danger of the sandbanks near the coasts….”, Document no.225, “The truth of this we are going to see in the notable example of Alfonso de Albuquerque, who left Malacca with his galleons filled with trophies. Sailed as far as the Kingdom of Aru at the end of the region called Timia Point in Sumatra. There at night his galleon was dashed against a hidden reef and broke up into two parts with the poop in one section and the prow in the other, because the ship was old and the seas heavy”.Alfonso indeed inside the ship and his men unable to get aid from other ships that sails along with them. By the following morning, Pero de Alpoem, a captain from another ship called “Trindade”, gave aid for the shipwrecked men in a ship’s boat and save them from tragic fate.

During the period of danger, Alfonso had many precious things in his ship but the only “precious things” he saved was a little girl, the daughter of one of his slaves, while standing on a raft he held the child in his arms – the only things that he saved from among the rich spoils he had obtain from Malacca which were in his galleon. The great loss of Alfonso which is refers to his honor on the ship were the two lions hollowed iron, fine piece of craftsmanship and artistry, which the emperor of China had sent as gift to the Sultan of Malacca.Another interesting note on the event was the mutiny by the Javanese workers, on a Junk in the company of Jorges Nunes de Leao, the junk did not steer along the right course and entered the port of Aru, where the Javanese and the natives robbed it. Alfonso did go the wreck site with seeking help of Captain Jorge Bothello by using a ship Carravel type and enquire the natives who dived for pearls to dive the wreck site. However, the natives near the coastal area of Pasai might have robbed most of the cargo.

There were more than 10 ships responsible on the Malacca invasion campaign by the Portuguese in 1511, to name few, Flor de La Mar, Trindade, Anunciada, Santo Antonio, Santa Cruz, Bretao, Taforeia, Enxobregas, Cambaia, Santa Caterina, Joia, Santiago and Sao Joao. The Portuguese were the first pioneering Europeans to established empire in Southeast Asia by the invasion of Malacca , August 1511 througout 130 years before the Dutch did. Alfonso de Alburquerque died in 1515, where he left behind the legacy of navigations and established Portuguese maritime control from the Persian Gulf to Malacca, to the great enrichment of the monarchy. However, some questionable speculations about The Flor de La Mar cargoes: where did it really go? Where all the treasures of Malacca Sultanate that had been robbed? If the ship were broke into two parts, why nowadays people claim that they knew and found the wreck?If we calculate for 500 years including the changing of tides, currents and based on the unstable geographical of Sumatera, does the ship still there? Just for comparison, the Fort Santiago at Malacca A’ Famosa fortress if we look at the picture closely we sees that the sea is near the fort but 500 years later then compare the picture with the new land of Malacca, it is about 5 kilometers out from the cultural sites. Now look at the Sumatera coastal area and think again.

More research need to be taken and document to be analyzed, considerations for regions political issues, economics and diplomacy. We need to take a deeper look to this point so that the cultural heritage of Malaysia, Indonesia and Portuguese will be preserved with proper research and a little bit of sincerity in doing it.Phil-Sherman William @ Mohd. Sherman bin SauffiMaritime Archaeological MuseumDepartment Of Museums and AntiquitiesJalan Damansara50566 Kuala LumpurMALAYSIATel: 603 2282 6255 ext 228Fax: 603 2284 9103H/p: 6013 895 0198

Malacca River Folly Project.

2008-04-21T12:25:00.000+08:00

Malacca River or Sungai Melaka the main waterway traversing this historic town is slowly but surely losing its lustre. Its traditional role and function permanently deleted.

After five centuries of receiving traders and sailors from all corners of the world, life around the river recently comes to a forcedly halt to accommodate a RM130 million Malacca River Beautification Project.
At its core, the project clamors after the San Antonio Riverfront and just about everything there with no qualms about the historical value of Sungai Melaka.

The project first launched in the new millennium was ambitious and its justification was music to many ears. High on the wish list is to stop the repeats of the Great Flood 1971, halt the local habit of turning the river into a favorite dumpsite, and rejuvenate river's marine life.

However as we appraoach the tail end of the redevelopment project, one will discover that in its place is a prettified riverfront, with an annoying similarity to Singapore's Clarke Quay.

Ask its advocators and they would argue that the river now is spotting a popular thoroughfare to reach different venues in the town, but this is probably more true for the tourist traffic and unfortunately little else for Malaccans.

Aestically the so-called beautification project has cast a cement veil over parts of the historical river and it is no different from the canals found along the confluence of Gombak and Klang Rivers in KL.

The rows of stilted shoplots in Kampung Ulu, Kampung Pantai and Kampung Jawa apparently were an eye sore for foreigners. At the worst, it highlighted a disappointing and a lack of genuine idea on the people involved in the project.

Monitor lizards and the occasional kingfisher once found lazily around stilts and the Sumatran schooners unloading charcoals at the river banks are all but disappeared.

Purple colored fishing trawlers once a common sight here when visiting Malacca is also history. Now the only motorized noise vibrating you get is from the state owned floating platoons cruising up and down the stream with paying human cargoes.

In the early 2005, treasure hunters can still be found on its muddy banks when tides ebb scavenging for remnants of Malacca's past. After all this water artery was the site where battles fought and history made.

Judging by the men's enthusiasm and the risk they willing to take, one reckon these must be very profitable outings. Today the men are long gone. Even the forlic mudskippers too suffered the same aweful fate.
Currently Phase II of the project is in full swing. (Apr 2008) A tidal lock opposite the Flor De La Mar's replica is up and running, and thus ensuring that the river level is always ideal for the tourist platoons to sail the entire length of the river.

Malacca would then claim the misnomer title of "Venice of Asia".

Even Parameswara and D' Albuquerque would be strangers if they set their foot again here on the sungai. The same sungai that gave birth to a proud Malay Sultanate and ushered the waves of European colonialism to this part of the world.

Guide to River walk

Here is the riverwalk guide for anyone who fancy taking the 1- 1 1/2 hour casual walk on the refurbished banks. Begin the journey from old Bailey Bridge (now a 2 way modern bridge) in Pengkalan Rama, walk further down stream and see ornamented stilt attap in Kampung Morten. Go up on the boardwalk for up close view of families living by the river and it should take you to the Old Express Bus terminal and the new Ferris Wheel.

Walk pass the Hang Tuah Bridge near the old Cathay and the boardwalk will takes you to more rear scenes of local homes in Kampung Ulu(across the river) and Kampung Jawa(closest to the boardwalk). Take a side tour at Kampung Jawa and you may be rewarded with delightful shopping experience i.e Excess military goods, coffin shops, pet shops. (In the 80s, Kg Jawa was also infamous for prostitution but unsure of the current status)

A decent square next to Kg Jawa Surau offers a break for your tiring legs. Either proceed up the pedestrian bridge to go the other side of the river to see rows of family owned shops ie jewelry and "pails and bins" shops in this narrow alley, or head straight pass the small Chinese temple besides the bridge.

After the Chan Koon Cheng Bridge you're within the sights of St. Francis Church. Make a visit there and discover the old wooden organ on the 1st floor and also the crypt. Murals around the church wall illustrate the many miracles the saint was known for. Back to the large public parking area which used to house Mara Shoplots. Continue your walk on the river front and you will exist close at the Stadhuys. Here you can see the original wall foundation made of the same coral stones used to build A Famosa. Across the river is a derelict warehouse waiting for its last few days. See also the stepped banks once used by coolies on gangplanks to load and unload goods from tongkang to the warehouse.

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From DAP's Betty Chew Chinese New Year 08 Press Release - 6 Feb. 2008

UMNO’s achievement of zero opposition equates with zero democracy and zero hopes for justice and shared prosperity. For instance, Ali had said two days ago that the RM320 million Melaka River beautification project is expected to generate RM1 billion investment in spin-off projects along the river. The question is will the people be able to benefit from the RM 1 billion in spin-off benefits when contracts are not done by open tender and in a transparent manner? Worse the Chinese community can not even bid for such government contracts.
Furthermore is the spin-off from the RM 320 million Melaka River beautification project the cause of 143 shophouses along Melaka River in Lorong Hang Jebat, Kampung Pantai and Kampung Hulu the target of being forcibly acquired by the government. MCA first claimed that the acquisition covered only dilapidated shophouses before claiming that this was a mistake.
MCA could not respond when DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng had exposed this as a lie by producing the government gazette of such acquisition dated 17.1.2008 and that the acquisition covered many shophouses that were not old and dilapidated but had only being recently renovated at high cost with approval from local authorities. If the Director of Land & Mines can make such a mistake by wrongly gazetting the acquisition of 143 shophouses along the Melaka River, then he should be immediately sacked for gross incompetence. Failure to do so only revealed that the Melaka State Land and Mines Director was only following the directive of the Melaka State EXCO(comprising of both MCA EXCO members) to forcibly acquire the shophouses.

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Ensuring Malacca River remains clean and tidy
By THOMAS TAN - The Star 2006
MALACCA: Public cooperation and support is needed to ensure the millions of ringgit spent on the beautification and cleaning of Malacca River does not go to waste. State department of environment acting director Abd Hapiz A. Samad said the throwing of garbage into the river, and restaurant operators flushing greasy stuff through their sinks would not keep the river clean. Another cause of worry is the discharge of untreated industrial waste into the river. “Many were found to have discharged waste directly into the river as they want to save the cost of building a treatment plant or grease trap,” Abd Hapiz said, adding that they were the main cause of the stench from the river. The agriculture sector contributed significantly to pollution with the use of chemical substances such as pesticides and herbicides for their economic gain, he told pressmen after presenting a paper on “The Management of Water Quality of Malacca River” at the “National Study for the Effective Implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management in Malaysia” workshop at Puteri Resort last Thursday. Abd Hapiz said, of the sources of pollution, 45% could be identified as discharge of solid waste and effluents from factories and the use of chemicals in farming and clearing land. The remaining 55% was hard to identify, he said. Phase one of the Malacca River beautification project cost RM120mil and it has since been completed. The second phase, which cost RM90mil, is near completion and the third phase has started with an allocation of RM40mil. The total cost for third phase is RM100mil.

Stop Wanton Development around St.Paul's Hill

2008-04-18T12:36:00.000+08:00

The historical significance of the area around the St Paul’s Hill should not be further diluted by inconsiderate attempts to bring wanton development to the already fragile surroundings. Despite boosting a unique heritage site rich in colonial history, on-goings structure projects i.e. the Taming Sari Revolving Tower in the area would only doom genuine efforts to promote the area’s essence and value.

One can easily observe all around the foothill - from the lonely existence of Santiago Gate to the adjacent colonial buildings and the Stadhuys complex; have all suffered terrible fate brought by myopia and ill-advised planners in the name of boosting tourism.

Perzim operated Museums (Umno Museum, Islamic Museum, Philatelic Museum etc) are erected along this corridor but none exhibits artifacts and information related to the past communities living around this Malacca landmark or its historical significance.

Ill-conceived shopping center projects i.e the Pahlawan Mall (Banda Hilir Field) with similarity to KL’s Merdeka Square opened only inches away from an excavation site housing the only physical remnant of a bastion (The Bastion of Santiago). The bastion, if preserved and proper viewing infrastructure is built, the potential of Malacca enhancing its historical attractions can further be strengthened, attracting both historical enthusiasts and leisure visitors alike and showcasing what a grandeur fortress the “A Fomosa” was then.

Sadly no known attempts were made to halt the intrusion. Needless to say, there are no written signs or plans to indicate, promote and preserve this truly important find.

Hence it comes as no surprise to me that the viewing tower now located in the former Glutton Corner area has opened to public (ironically on Apr 15, 08 - the Declaration of Malacca As Historic City Day). Heritage preservation of the Malacca’s historical richness must be given the highest priority and not make to accommodate the need for more leisure attractions to cater for the endless troops of camera happy tourists.

The colonial legacy of St. Paul needs like-minded Malaysians to voice their concerns and to help it preserved and protected against compromises made to turn Malacca’s most visited site into a theme park with sky high rides or amusement facilities that facilitate no whatsoever role to heighten the heritage value.

Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery

2008-04-18T12:15:00.000+08:00

The Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery in Klang, Selangor has recently opened its doors for public viewing. Visitors to the gallery will find it a treasure trove of unsurpassed historical values and rightful deserves its unique position as the latest repository of Selangor’s proud Sultanate legacy.
The elegant gallery is housed in a refurbished colonial white façade building located a stone throw away from the Klang Railway station. Once a dilapidated building on the verge of collapse, it began a new lease of life when the current reign of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin spearheaded a dedicated effort to turn it into a public domain showcasing the legacy of his beloved father - the late Salahuddin Abdul Aziz. The building is now meticulously preserved and for the magnificent efforts, the Royal Gallery has recently won the coveted FIABCI award for specialized category.

Historical aficionados will be spellbound by the excellent arrays of exhibits featuring the royal regalia and the historical milestones of the Selangor Sultanate. Every corner also opens up to more impressive personal collections and artifacts of the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz and provides impressive insight of a man who reigned as the 8th. Ruler of Selangor.

The exhibits in the gallery are evenly paced and more importantly, they are attractively positioned to allow visitors enough room to contemplate and digest the available information and exhibits. It may well deserve the accolades of being the best in its league and has definitely set new benchmark for must-see museums in Malaysia.

Although the royal heritage center was initially conceptualized as an act of filial piety, it now has a pivotal role to enhance rakyat appreciation for the immense public role that the royalty played in the state. Furthermore, the architectural landmark has become a bonus of sort and it is a welcome addition to uplift the status of Klang as the royal town.

Kudos to Sultan Sharafuddin for his foresightedness and salute the management and the architects of the gallery for a job well done. The only fault it may have are the lack of proper road signage to help visitors locate the gallery and the rather dismay public awareness of this impressive public domain.

Visitor Info:

Admission: Free (April 2008), Advised to allocate 1- 2 hours to visit the gallery.
The Royal Gallery is closed on Mondays. Opening hours are Tue-Sun- 10am -5pm.
The royal town Klang is located approximately 1hour from Kuala Lumpur.
Located nearby is Klang's famous Little India with its fabulous arrays of Indian foods and shops specialized in Indian sweet candies.
A Florist show now operates from what is probably the only surviving KTM caboose on display. (painted in silver on the side entrance of KTM Klang Station)

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A royal life remembered - Article from NST

ZANNA ES

SELANGOR has a new museum and gallery which provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of the Selangor sultanate and the life and times of the eighth Sultan, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.The Royal Gallery Sultan Abdul Aziz in Klang, opened in November, houses magnificent artifacts, gifts and personal collection of the late Sultan.A brainchild of the late Sultan, and originally funded by him, it was set up in 1988 as the Memorial Museum, in one of the late Sultan’s private palaces in Jalan Kota Raja (Kampung Jawa).
The palace was renovated, with the support of the State Government, and opened to the public in the year 2000, renamed the Royal Gallery Sultan Abdul Aziz, in honour of his birthname. However, a year later, the Sultan passed away and the gallery was temporarily closed.His eldest son, who succeeded him as the ninth sultan, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, took up his father’s wishes to safeguard traditional values and nurture heritage consciousness.

As the museum stood on the sultan’s private land, the Sultan Suleiman building, built in 1909 and named after Raja Suleiman who became Sultan Alaeddin Suleiman Shah was chosen for its historical significance and accessiblity to the public.Conservation and renovation works on the building adjacent to the Klang Post Office, began in 2005 and were completed late last year. “The Sultan took a personal interest in the museum and would often spend about three hours going through the artifacts, ensuring that they were correctly documented,” said Munasor Aliyasak, the museum manager.Exhibits on the ground floor provide background on the sultanate, the royal lineage, and brief histories of Selangor’s nine sultans.The late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj was born on March 8, 1926, at Istana Bandar in Kuala Langat.The late Sultan’s ancestry can be traced back to the Bugis Sulawesi family of Opu Tanreburung Daeng Relaka which featured in the history of the Malay Archipelago.

The eighth Sultan also served as Yang di-Pertuan Agong XI, first Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Chancellor of the Universiti Teknoloji Mara.Among the historical items of interest at the gallery is a silver cigar case, a gift from Sir Frank Swettenham, the third Resident in Selangor, to the fourth sultan, Sultan Sir Abdul Samad, royal seals used during the reign of Sultan Sir Abdul Samad, and the royal canes of arecanut (pinang) with the royal seal as the hilt.

There is also the Queen Victoria Sword, a gift to Sultan Sir Abdul Samad from the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Frederick Weld, with an inscription that reads “...as a token of friendship of Her Brittanic Majesty’s Government and in recognition of His Highness’s enlightened policy on the question of debt slavery”.As visitors move up to the first floor, they will get an insight into the late Sultan’s early years, with one photograph showing him at the age of four.Visitors will also discover that Sultan Alaeddin Suleiman Shah agreed to the construction of the Mahkota Puri Palace in Klang, completed in 1903, and used as the sultan’s official palace before it was converted as a hostel for school children, and later demolished to make way for a new palace.

A large Hargine music box is an interesting feature: the box was bought at auction in 1928 (for the price of one Straits dollar) by Sultan Sir Hisamuddin Alam Shah at Port Swettenham (now Port Klang).“The late sultan used to tell stories about how he would usually take a nap in front of the music box apparently exhausted after dancing to the rhythm of the melodious music,” said Munasor.Also displayed are some of the late Sultan’s personal belongings including his favourite gold watch bearing the Selangor state crest, and a boxed watch bearing the picture of the late Sultan and the late Tengku Ampuan Rahimah.

Visitors will be dazzled by the beauty of hand-embroidered shoes as well as the several pieces of gold thread embroidered kain sampin and a gold-buckled belt with the alphabet ‘S’ embellished in the centre.The late Sultan also kept a pistol cane which was used for shooting practices while the German-made pistol was often carried for his personal protection. An American-made shotgun acquired in 1970 was used to drive away animals from the palace grounds.

The late Sultan enjoyed taking pictures and it is not unusual to find that he owned a few cameras, which are also displayed here.He often cycled to the rural areas to visit the people, especially to Lumut Island (now known as Pulau Indah) and Pulau Ketam and the bicycles he used are on display, such as the Raleigh New Yorker, an Underwood with leather seat and pouches as well as the La Giunchina.The late Sultan was also a coin collector and his collections include commemorative gold coins, dinars in conjunction with Kuwait’s 25th national day and Russian coins.Of particular significance were food containers in Selangor’s red and yellow with the State crest embossed on the cover. The containers were used for nasi beriani. Another is a colourful flat metal box which could easily be converted into a pencil case for children. “Although they were simple gifts it meant a lot to both the late and the present Sultan as they were donated by the rakyat,” said Munasor.

On display are also gifts from companies which include a set of golf balls (individually signed by the late Sultan) presented by Sime Darby, the classic F & N soft-drink bottle in gold presented during the late Sultan’s visit to the factory, as well as a copy of the paper currency that was used in the Sungei Buloh leprosy centre in 1936, which was presented to the late Sultan during his visit to the centre.A centrepiece of the display is royal regalia such as the Sultan’s crown which superseded the pure gold Mahkota Leleng crown used in the 19th century.

During the reign of Sultan Muhammad (1826-1857), a Muslim theologian, Sheikh Abdul Ghani, counselled the royal court to obtain a substitute for Mahkota Leleng. Diamonds and gem stones from Pontianak, Indonesia, and genuine rubies, set in pure gold from Pahang, adorn the present crown which is worn on royal occasions.Also on display is a replica of the diamond tiara worn by the Tengku Ampuan during functions such as royal banquets and investitures.The Sultan’s keris, Keris Tetali Emas or Keris Emas Pendek, has a blade forged from Lela Pestaka iron, deemed to have exceptional qualities.

The sheath is made of cork and it has a gilded rope that adorns the length of the sheath, which encases the seven-grooved blade. The tip of this sheath is axe-shaped, and the hilt is adorned with gemstones.One of the gifts that the Sultan received while serving as Yang di-Pertuan Agong was a model of the Dome of the Rock, presented by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.A jade cannon with a dragon carved on the top of the barrel was a gift from Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei.Among souvenirs collected by the late Sultan during his travels abroad were silver spoons, samurai head gear as well as beautiful clocks which include the crystal ball clock, mantel clock, swinging clock with brass sculpture as well as the marble clocks.

There is a section of commemorative official plates and plates used at Mahkota Puri Palace as well as a gold-plated tea set.Visitors would certainly be interested in the 6.7-metre-long crocodile captured in the Klang River in 1961 by Mohd Salleh bin Abdul Karim and Ibrahim bin Abdul Karim, three months after Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj ascended the throne.It is said that the crocodile “surrendered” itself to the two mediums as an attestation to the sovereignty of the new Sultan. The crocodile’s skull was presented to the Sultan by V M Hutson, first curator of the National Zoo. Other items of interest are a cathedral-shaped bird cage, a Javanese tiger, as well as gold-plated flamingo, gold- plated deer and a porcelain horse.

The final section houses personal paintings and decorative chairs as well as greeting cards with Chinese characters embossed in solid gold, as well as the lela cannon.The gallery is open from 10am to 5pm daily except Mondays and on public holidays. Call 03-3373-6500 or fax 03-3373-6510.

The Remaining Legacy of A Famosa

2008-04-18T12:03:00.000+08:00

The Gateway of Santiago is high on the list of must-see landmarks in the historically-rich state of Malacca (or Melaka). It is featured extensively in “Visit Malaysia” promotions to highlight diversity and conjure the strong historical presence in this rather young country.

Built in mid 15th century, this single structure made of coral stones was part of a larger impregnable fortress that stood against countless invasions from European rivals and local warlords, all spoilt for a violent quest for Malacca’s strategic importance.

Despite its historical significance the site has evolved somewhat less graciously into a convenient photography opportunity for the busloads of tourists. Many, unfortunately, are too caught up in frenzy photo snap shots and history is the farthest from their minds.

The Gateway or Porto De Santiago as it was coined originally is often mistaken for the grandeur A Famosa by tourism booklets and even history bluffs. Santiago and the ruins of St. Paul’s Chapel are the only remnants of a Portuguese fortress that once surrounded the hilly stronghold that loomed over Malacca river mouth.

Fate has never been kind to A Famosa and it suffered one cruel twist after another. The fortress served magnificently over a span of three centuries and endured large scale attacks from the Johorean, Bugis and Achenese armies before it fell into the hands of the Dutch in 1641.

The Strait of Malacca was constantly in turmoil with several masters clamoring for its reign but only for periodically. New ports and trade centers took shape elsewhere and soon contributed to the end of Malacca as a seafaring state. The rapidly silting of Malacca River the main artery where monsoon traders and sailors sought refuge also aggravated its dismissal.

By the late 18th century, Malacca and A Famosa lost most of its allure and was a distant memoir for many enthusiastic land grabbers. The cannons soon fell silent. The defensive walls crumbled due to neglect and Malacca faced real danger of having its struggling settlement forcedly evacuated.

Inquisitive visitors today are still rewarded with delightful architectural features similar to ones found in medieval Europe. Perched on the top right of the gateway is a guard post with gun holes. The zigzag cobble laid entrance reveals another deterrent gimmick to prevent would be invaders. The insignia craved above it tells the tale of Protestant Dutch proclaiming itself the new owner of what was essentially a Catholic Portuguese masterpiece.

Nearby, menacing cannons from an era long gone-by guard the gateway. A closer look reveals they are merely crafty duplicates made in time for Queen Elizabeth II formal visit to Malacca not too long ago. Visitors may have no qualms of the authenticity but with a clever imagination the cries of the fiery years where countless lives were lost defending the fortress still resonates.

Ironically the legacy of A Famosa is given a jump-start lately. Two previously buried bastions facing what was the coastal line of Malacca were uncovered when construction crew of state sponsored development projects stumbled upon the foundations. While excavation is painfully slow, the intriguing details of the magnitude of this ancient military complex have generated astonishing interest.