‘Kedah failed to respond to candi gazette attempt’

The National Heritage Department has been unsuccessful in getting the state government's approval to gazette the ancient tomb temples in Lembah Bujang.

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Heritage Department (NHD) has been seeking the Kedah government’s consent to gazette the many ancient tomb temples in Lembah Bujang as national heritage since 2006 but without any success, the Parliament was told today.

“Given the fact a gazetting requires the permission of the state government, the department has sought for the Kedah government consent in 2006 but till date there has been no response.

“Following the demolition, the department is now trying to contact the local authorities so that it can be gazetted under National Heritage Act 2005,” said Deputy Environment and Natural Resource Minister James Dawas Mamit this evening.

James’s statement follows a developer’s demolition of a number of candi, including the 8th century heritage site candi 11, which sparked a public outrage.

Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir said yesterday that the state government did not know about the developer’s act, adding that the state has been doing preservation works at the site.

James, who was fielding questions on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, said “the site” at Lembah Bujang has been sold to a private developer in 1993 before the National Heritage Act was conceived.

To nullify the land deal, he said the government needs to gazette the site as national heritage, following which archeologists could be deployed to conduct research at the site and to apply for it to be enlisted as world heritage.

“Should it be enlisted, the site would be protected under Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and enforcement could be carried out,” he said.

Lembah Bujang is a sprawling historical complex that consists of many ruins that may date more than 2000 years old.

Yesterday Mukhriz also said that the Tourism and Culture Ministry has agreed to gazette certain sites in Lembah Bujang.