Bujang Valley a shame for Malaysia - Natesan Visnu

Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang is part of Malaysia's heritage. The historical complex has an area of 227 square km and is the richest archeological site in Malaysia. The site consists of ruins dated 2000 years ago. The tomb or ‘chandi’ reflects the influence of Indian culture in Kedah. The site is the oldest man-made structure in South East Asia. On 1st December 2013, Candi No.11 was demolished by an irresponsible developer. Candi No.11 is a 1,200 years temple. (Source: Wikipedia)

Many scholars and politicians have criticized Federal and State government for not taking any action on the developer. We only realize the value of the ruins when it is demolished.  Despite being a major historical site, the government has not done any major programme to promote the Bujang Valley as a key tourism location in Malaysia. We are known for KLCC, F1 Sepang, Pulau Tioman, Mount Kinabalu, etc. Is Lembah Bujang one of the major tourist attractions? Did the government promote Lembah Bujang as part of tourist attraction? The answer is NO.

Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat have failed miserably in preserving the Lembah Bujang. It’s a shame that a state that produced two prime ministers could not save a major historical site.  Government or opposition, the elected leaders have failed to save Lembah Bujang. All past and present leaders should be ashamed of themselves for not preserving a major history site of our country. We spend millions to promote tourism, but nothing much to develop Lembah Bujang. Lembah Bujang is supposed to be our very own ‘Angkor Wat’.

Our leaders have failed us again. We are a forgiving nation. After a few months, no one will talk about Lembah Bujang. Lembah Bujang will be remembered as a Wikipedia page, photos from past, and stories from people who have visited the place. The government has made History as a mandatory subject to pass, but the same government could not save a 1,200 years old historical site.

We have contributed to the demolition of the temple. How many of us have visited Lembah Bujang? If we have supported to fuel the economy of Kedah by tourism, maybe the income earned from the tourism industry would have saved the temple. For corporate companies that spends millions on branding and advertising, none of the corporate companies came forward to preserve the temple. If Air Asia or MAS would have came with some tourism campaign and promote Lembah Bujang heavily, we could have saved the temple.

Talk is cheap. I’m ashamed that I could not do anything to save the temple. I wish I had the millions to buy over the entire site and convert it to a major tourist destination. I wish I had the power to transform Merbuk into a tourist town and the income from tourism could sustain the livelihood of the Merbok folks. We could build hotels, resorts, backpackers lodge, modern museum, etc to generate revenue and jobs for local economy. How I wish I had the money or power to do so?

Temple building is a lost art. The artifacts from Lembah Bujang keep the secrets from the past for architecture and engineering. The stone carving is a challenge for modern construction. With proper research on the ruins, stone carving could be reintroduced into Malaysian modern construction industry. The architects could use the ruins as an inspiration for a new age building that combines the past and present.  Lembah Bujang would have been a catalyst for revolution in Malaysian architecture.

Whatever said and done, there is nothing much we could do about the temple. We have lost a major historical site in the name of development. We are nothing but a country that has litle respect for our own heritage. It's a dark day in our history.