Any change in name of St Paul’s Hill will distort Melaka history

The preoccupation with changing names from our colonial past is approaching the periphery of mass hysteria.

The colonial past is still a part of our history and deserves a place in the legacy and heritage of our beloved country.

The attempt to change the name of St Paul’s Hill to Bukit Melaka is an annoying move.

The rationale given by the museum authorities is that the hill was known as Bukit Melaka before the Portuguese occupation of Melaka.

The hill had no real significance at that time except for being a place suitable to be an orchard, or conducive for recreation and small game hunting.

The Portuguese (and later the Dutch) gave it religious significance. They named the hill as “Hill of the Lady”, with attribution to the “Church of Our Lady of Annunciation”, built in thanksgiving to Mary, mother of Jesus, for the safe return to Melaka of a major Portuguese navy expedition.

They also utilised the hill as an important watchtower and strategic location for the enhancement and management of the city’s security against enemies, invaders and pirates.

It was also on the grounds of this church that the revered Portuguese religious figure St Francis Xavier, the Roman Catholic patron saint of the East, was initially buried before his body was exhumed years later to be reburied in Goa.

A miracle was revealed when the body, after exhumation, was found to be uncorrupted and intact. It remains so to this day in its resting place in a church in Goa.

After the Dutch took control of Melaka from the Portuguese, they turned part of the church into an armoury depot. The portion that once held the body of the saint was left untouched as a mark of reverence.

The security facilities at the hill were further strengthened, improved and fortified when the Dutch administrative headquarters, the Stadthuys, was built at the base of the hill.

The hill was also dotted with other offices and quarters for Dutch ranking officers and their families.

At the higher plateaus of the hill, the official residences of the top officers were built. At the foot of the eastern side, there was a Dutch Protestant cemetery for officers.

On a higher level, a special space was reserved as a final resting place for higher-ranking officers.

The graves and cemetery are still being maintained by the Dutch government. The present-day descendants among the Portuguese-Eurasian community have maintained ancestral ties and are fully aware of their ancestral connections.

At the foot of the hill, near to Stadthuys, the Dutch built their church and called it St Paul’s Church in 1521. The church is believed to be the oldest Catholic structure, not only in Malaysia but also Southeast Asia.

From then on, the hill has been known as St Paul’s Hill for more than 350 years till this day.

All these significant moments and incidents in history are embedded and revered in the legacy and historical heritage of the Malaysian Portuguese-Eurasian community.

It is a legacy that pulsates in the sanctuary of our greater Malaysian heritage together with the other legacies of our multiracial society.

The greater Malaysian legacy is without doubt led by the major Malay-Bumiputra heritage, while still nurturing and protecting all the other minor legacies. This includes the smallest minority of all and the scions of our colonial past — the Portuguese-Eurasian legacy.

The hill may be small, but it remains significant in contributing towards Unesco’s acceptance of Melaka into the list of “World Heritage Sites”.

That Unesco placement was much awaited and highly appreciated. It has brought great economic benefits to Melaka and Malaysia as a whole.

The degree of civilisation in any country is reflected in the acceptance of all the lingering vestiges of its legacies, tangible and intangible, including even those that were brought by the colonialists.

Heritage must be considered before the itch of changing long-established names takes the better of us.

Malaysia for all Malaysians.

Michael Singho is the president of the Malacca Portuguese-Eurasian Association. - FMT