‘Don’t politicise candi demolition’

The civil servants and developers are to blame, not the state government, says the Kedah-born former senator.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The demolition of the pre-historic ruins in Lembah Bujang by a land developer should not be politicised as it is a travesty that arose from negligence and greed, Kedah-born prince Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim said today.

The former DAP vice-chairman absolved the Barisan Nasional-lead Kedah state government of all guilt in the matter, fingering the blame instead on the developer as well as the state’s civil service.

“If anything, the responsibility for not supervising this particular development project rests with the Kedah civil service. It is not a political issue,” Tunku Abdul Aziz said at a press conference here.

“You should not really put the blame on the Kedah government. It’s really the people down the line, they are responsible, and they should make sure that developers comply with certain requirements.”

When asked whether this meant he believed the Kedah government was powerless in the matter, Tunku Aziz conceded that this was not the case.

“The state government obviously has the power. But sometimes there is negligence on the part of those whose jobs it is to inspect and to ensure that there is compliance with the requirements of the state.

“In this case, I think a lot of people are to be blamed, but certainly not the state government of Kedah.”

He pointed out that the developers should have informed the Kedah authorities that they had come across an archaeological site of historical importance.

“But obviously that would not be convenient for our grasping developer,” he remarked.

However the developer responsible, Bandar Saujana Sdn Bhd, has pled ignorance, saying they were not aware that the candi was a historical monument.

“If we had known the structure was a historical site, we would not have cleared it,” Bandar Saujana’s project manager Saw Guan Keat was reported as saying in The Star.

Hindu civilisation is part of us

Tunku Aziz, whose royal lineage dates back to the Hindu era, slammed the demolition of the 8th century temple ruins and said he sympathised with those who had raised a firestorm over the matter.

“The [Lembah Bujang] is a site of great historical value to the country as a whole, not just to Kedah and the Kedahan people… the Hindu civilisation is part of our civilization,” he pointed out.

On Friday, an NGO dedicated on the research of the historical site told FMT that a private developer had bulldozed the candi (temple) to develop a housing project.

Several others were also revealed to have been destroyed in the last few years to pave way for development.

The desecration of the historical site caused a massive uproar among Malaysians, who urged thegovernment to issue a stop work order on the site.

In a move to stem public fury, Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir announced that the historical sites located in Lembah Bujang would be gazetted as heritage sites today.

Bujang Valley was one of the earliest entry points to the Peninsular which even predates the Malaccan empire. Sailors from India had used Gunung Jerai as a reference point to the ancient maritime city.

Excavations at the archeological site had revealed remains of a jetty, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back to 110AD, which makes it the oldest man-made structure known in South-east Asia.