Govt moves swiftly to protect Lembah Bujang

The Tourism and Culture Ministry finally approves application made by the state government to designate several areas at Bujang Valley as heritage site.

UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: The historical sites located in Bujang Valley will finally be gazetted as heritage sites, said Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir today.

Berita Harian quoted Mukhriz as saying that Tourism and Culture Ministry had approved an application made by the state government to designate several areas at Bujang Valley as heritage sites.

The confirmation, Mukhriz added, came from the Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz himself, following huge public uproar over a destruction of a candi (temple) by a private developer.

“We are saddened by the destruction of candi 11 in Sungai Batu, Lembah Bujang, although it was a structure rebuilt in 1974. The original candi was built between eight and 11 BC.

“In addition, the archeology team from Universiti Sains Malaysia will continue with its excavation and preservation work on the site, so that it can be turned into a tourist attraction,” said Mukhriz.

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

It was also revealed that several candis had been destroyed in the last few years, in the name of development.

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

The developer responsible, Bandar Saujana Sdn Bhd, had since feigned ignorance over the matter, saying they were not aware that the candi was a historical monument.

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

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.

Guan Eng: Punish the culprits
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng meanwhile said the Barisan Nasional government must have the political will to act and punish those who destroy the rich history of the country.

He also expressed disappointment that local officials had failed to monitor the development progress in the historical sites, adding that the Department of Heritage under the Tourism and Culture Ministry could have been more alert.

“We expect the Kedah state government to take proactive policies to protect and enhance monuments and historical places bequeathed to us by earlier generations.

“I urge the Tourism and Culture Minister and in particular the Department of Heritage to take immediate steps to list Bujang Valley as a Unesco Heritage,” he said today.

Lim also welcomed the move by the Kedah government in issuing a stop worker on the developer.

However he said that the stop work order alone was insufficient.

“Measures must be taken to see whether the agency officials and the developer have broken any laws and to be prosecuted,” he added.

MIC Youth submits memo
In another development, MIC Youth today submitted a memorandum to Mukhriz to urge the state government to rebuild the demolished archeological-rich candi.

MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh, accompanied by about 100 MIC Youth members, passed the memorandum at the Kedah MB’s office in Alor Setar.

Sivarraajh also hit out at the state government for giving lame excuses that it was unaware of the demolition work undertaken by the developer in Lembah Bujang.

He however added that the state government did the right thing in issuing the stop work order to the developer.  MIC Youth’s memorandum was received by a representative from the MB’s office.

MIC’s newly elected Wanita chief Mohan Muniandy meanwhile urged the federal government to acquire the Bujang Valley land under the National Land Code.

“There is a provision for government to do this. Besides the Kedah state government is under BN rule,  which should make it easier,” she told FMT.

She added that the historical site should be preserved and urged action to be taken against the developer.