KAMPAR, Jan 29 — A new signboard commemorating the World War Two (WWII) ‘Battle of Kampar’ has been installed in Green Ridge here after it was stolen early this month.
Malayan Historical Group (MHG) chairman Shaharom Ahmad said it spent about RM1,000 including using donation money to replace the signboard.
“It feels like something is missing when visitors come here but there is no information related to the history of this place.
“This time the signboard has the Kinta Valley Geopark logo and is planted much deeper so that it will not be easily pulled out and stolen,” he told reporters here today.
According to Shaharom, MHG also planned to build more infrastructure in the area, including repairing the trails to attract more tourists.
However, he said not many improvements can be done at Green Ridge as long as it had not been gazetted as a heritage site, adding that the site is still privately owned.
The loss of the signboard installed at Jalan Ipoh-Kampar here two years ago was realised by members of the association who passed by the area and on Jan 5, police arrested an unemployed man in his 30s who is suspected to have stolen the signboard.
Following interrogation, the suspect admitted to stealing metal scrap around Kampar a week before the incident.
At the end of December, India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, B Nagabhushana Reddy was reported to have said that the notion of gazetting this historical war site was a wish expressed by the Indian prime minister during his visit to Malaysia in 2015 to honour the sacrifice of British and Indian soldiers during World War II in Kampar.
The 6.47-hectare site is a testament to the fierce battle between 1,500 British troops including Indian, Sikh and Gurkha soldiers who fought against 4,000 Japanese troops from Dec 30, 1941 to Jan 2, 1942.
The battle saw 150 British soldiers as well as 500 Japanese soldiers killed and buried in one place in the same area known as Green Ridge. — Bernama
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