PKR veep N Surendran hits out at Kedah MB Mukhriz Mahathir and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for their indifferent attitude in preserving the historical site
PETALING JAYA: Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak were taken to task for allowing the destruction of the 8th Century Bujang Valley temple structure in Kedah
“How could the Federal government and Kedah state government allow this to happen? The Kedah government’s excuse that the land is privately owned is pathetic and unacceptable.”
“Why did the Kedah state authorities give the necessary approvals for development to proceed, knowing full well that the area is historically significant?” asked PKR vice president N Surrendran.
Surrendran, the first-term Padang Serai MP who is currently suspended from Parliament, was responding to Friday’s FMT’s report ’8th century temple site in Bujang Valley demolished’.
A NGO called Bujang Valley Study Circle revealed that a private developer demolished the most famous eighth century temple remnants in Bujang Valley’s Site 11.
Excavations at the archeological site had revealed jetty remains, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back to 110AD, making it the oldest man-made structure recorded in Southeast Asia.
‘Cultural barbarism’
The Kedah government has said that it was powerless to act since the land is owned by a private company.
Calling the destruction ‘cultural barbarism’, Surendran said the irresponsible act is equivalent to the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by Talibans in 2001.
He added that the Kedah state government and authorities were irresponsible and ignorant of ancient cultures and that they favoured developers demolishing the site in Bujang Valley.
He also vented his anger at the Najib administration.
“The federal government also has a positive duty to ensure that historically significant sites are preserved. This they have miserably failed to do in the case of Lembah Bujang.
“What is the use of having a Ministry of Culture and Tourism if the nation’s heritage can be destroyed for private profit? How do we answer for this cultural vandalism to future generations?” he asked.
PETALING JAYA: Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak were taken to task for allowing the destruction of the 8th Century Bujang Valley temple structure in Kedah“How could the Federal government and Kedah state government allow this to happen? The Kedah government’s excuse that the land is privately owned is pathetic and unacceptable.”
“Why did the Kedah state authorities give the necessary approvals for development to proceed, knowing full well that the area is historically significant?” asked PKR vice president N Surrendran.
Surrendran, the first-term Padang Serai MP who is currently suspended from Parliament, was responding to Friday’s FMT’s report ’8th century temple site in Bujang Valley demolished’.
A NGO called Bujang Valley Study Circle revealed that a private developer demolished the most famous eighth century temple remnants in Bujang Valley’s Site 11.
Excavations at the archeological site had revealed jetty remains, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back to 110AD, making it the oldest man-made structure recorded in Southeast Asia.
‘Cultural barbarism’
The Kedah government has said that it was powerless to act since the land is owned by a private company.
Calling the destruction ‘cultural barbarism’, Surendran said the irresponsible act is equivalent to the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by Talibans in 2001.
He added that the Kedah state government and authorities were irresponsible and ignorant of ancient cultures and that they favoured developers demolishing the site in Bujang Valley.
He also vented his anger at the Najib administration.
“The federal government also has a positive duty to ensure that historically significant sites are preserved. This they have miserably failed to do in the case of Lembah Bujang.
“What is the use of having a Ministry of Culture and Tourism if the nation’s heritage can be destroyed for private profit? How do we answer for this cultural vandalism to future generations?” he asked.
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