ISIS thugs take a hammer to civilisation: Priceless 3,000-year-old artworks smashed to pieces in minutes as militants destroy Mosul museum

• Extremists used power drills and sledgehammers to smash ancient items
• They wrecked a series of 3,000-year-old statues at museum in Mosul, Iraq
• One vandal says items being destroyed because they promoted idolatry
• Comes after thugs destroyed thousands of books at Mosul Public Library

By Julian Robinson for MailOnline

Islamic State thugs have destroyed a collection of priceless statues and sculptures in Iraq dating back thousands of years.

Extremists used sledgehammers and power drills to smash ancient artwork as they rampaged through a museum in the northern city of Mosul.

Video footage shows a group of bearded men in the Nineveh Museum using tools to wreck 3,000-year-old statues after pushing them over.

One of the items, depicting a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity, dates back to the 9th century B.C.

A man shown in the video said the items were being destroyed because they promoted idolatry.



'The Prophet ordered us to get rid of statues and relics, and his companions did the same when they conquered countries after him,' the unidentified man said.

The articles destroyed appeared to come from an antiquities museum in the northern city of Mosul, which was overrun by Islamic State last June, a former employee at the museum told Reuters.

The extremist group has destroyed a number of shrines - including Muslim holy sites - in a bid to eliminate what it views as heresy.

Militants are also believed to have sold ancient artwork on the black market in order to finance their bloody campaign across the region.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2970270/Islamic-State-fighters-destroy-antiquities-Iraq-video.html

Secret tunnel from Bukit Nanas to Klang River found!

It was never recorded on any map, strengthening evidence that it was a secret route.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Part of a secret tunnel, believed to be centuries old, stretching from Bukit Nanas to the Klang river bank has been unearthed, according to the Star Online.

The 10m tunnel was discovered six months ago by a contractor hired by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to rectify a collapsed slope. However, the authorities kept the discovery under wraps until Monday.

DBKL Civil Engineering and Drainage Department director Tan Kheng Chok said DBKL alerted the Malaysian Historical Society about the tunnel. “We believe the tunnel is part of a labyrinth of underground passageways that had been forgotten over time,” he said.

Tan said the narrow tunnel might have been used as an escape route during the Klang Civil War in 1866. “It will be turned into a tourist attraction,” he said.

Tan said the hillslope collapsed in May 2013 but rectification work did not take place until February last year.

An information board erected outside the tunnel, states that the tunnel shares similarities with tunnels found in Kota Raja Mahdi in Klang and Kota Melawati in Kuala Selangor as they are all located on a hill, near a river or under a palace.

It further noted that the digging technique was also very similar to the tunnel in Kota Raja Mahdi.

The Bukit Nanas tunnel is believed to be incomplete as heaps of soil was found.

It was never recorded on any map, strengthening evidence that it was a secret route.

It was learnt that the Mandahiling community populated the hill, originally known as Bukit Gombak, in the mid-19th century. The Godang Palace belonging to Tuanku Raja Asal, or Ja Asai, sat on the hilltop.

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor expressed his excitement over the findings when he visited the tunnel on Monday. “Bukit Nanas is a historical site as recorded by the Selangor Historical Society,´ said Tengku Adnan. “During the Klang war between Raja Mahadi and Tengku Kudin about 147 years ago, the name Bukit Gombak was changed to Bukit Nanas.”

He recounted the story of how Raja Mahadi had refused to pay taxes to Sultan Abdul Samad.

“Raja Mahadi sought the help of the rich Sutan Naposo and the Mandahiling community headed by Raja Asal. Tengku Kudin, who was Sultan Abdul Samad’s son-in-law, sought the help of Bendahara Pahang, Wan Ahmad. Raja Mahadi’s side set up base in Bukit Gombak and used pineapple plants to fortify their defence. They believed the thorns from the plants would injure the barefoot attackers and ward off charms from the enemy. In the end, Raja Mahadi, Sutan Naposo and Raja Asal lost the battle. The rows of pineapple plants on the hill gave it its identity as Bukit Nanas.”

“Today the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve still stands tall in the midst of the cosmopolitan city, surrounded by rapid developments,” said Tengku Adnan.

When dinosaurs roamed in Malaysia

The remains of the first herbivorous dinosaur in the form of a tooth fossil is found in the rural interiors of Pahang.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 100 million years ago dinosaurs roamed in Malaysia. This was confirmed with the discovery of the remains of the first herbivorous dinosaur in Malaysia, in the form of a tooth fossil found in the rural interiors of Pahang.

The tooth, from the Herbivorous Ornithischian Dinosaur that lived during the early Jurassic and Cretacious periods, is named Sampel UM10580 and measures just 13mm long and 10.5mm wide. It is believed to be between 100 million and 110 million years old.

The University Malaya paleontology research team stumbled on the tooth recently, making it the second discovery of fossil remains of a dinosaur in Malaysia. In February this year, the fossils of fish-eating dinosaurs were discovered.

The latest dinosaur remains were identified by the paleontology research team led by Associate Professor Dr Masatoshi Sone from the UM Geology Department, in collaboration with reptile paleontology specialist Professor Ren Hirayama from Tokyo’s Waseda University and Associate Professor Toshifumi Komatsu from Kumamoto University.

Dr Sone said that with the discovery of the fosslised tooth, the team had successfully confirmed the presence of dinosaur remains in Pahang.

“The discovery of raw samples pertaining to the tooth was made in December last year, following field expeditions and searches for dinosaur deposits in Malaysia since September 2012,” he told a press briefing at the UM today.

“They walked on two legs or four legs, and did not possess body armour…it spent half its life in the river or lake and the other half on land,” Dr Sone said.

He added that the sample was too small to provide other details, including the sex of the prehistoric creature, although they were generally believed to be territorial animals.

No end to history?

by Narayan Ramachandran

While liberal democracy may be the least imperfect system yet known to man, it is not very clear whether mankind will pursue this desirable destination without long and costly detours.

Twenty-two years ago, American political scientist and author, Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama wrote a treatise on western liberal democracy called The End of History and The Last Man. Fukuyama wrote with authority and confidence and argued that the dominance of western liberal democracy may well signal the arrival of a ‘final’ type of government – an end to the historical evolution of political systems.

Fukuyama claimed to have been inspired by Alexendre Kojeve, a Russian-French philosopher of Hegelian persuasion – who coined the term the “End of History”. Kojeve’s use of the phrase referred to the idea that ideological history in a limited sense had ended with the French Revolution and there was no longer a need for violence to establish liberal values. Fukuyama borrowed the phrase and expanded its use to cover both political (democratic western) and economic (market-based) systems. The original article on which Fukuyama’s book is based was written just as the Berlin wall fell in 1989. In that context it is understandable as a triumphal book that celebrates the victory of the western democracies over the communist Soviet Union. Fukuyama’s book was misunderstood to be a book that celebrates American supremacy, but he himself says, “I believe that the European Union more accurately reflects what the world will look like at the end of history than the contemporary United States. The EU’s attempt to transcend sovereignty and traditional power politics by establishing a transnational rule of law is much more in line with a “post-historical” world than the Americans’ continuing belief in God, national sovereignty, and their military.”

Fukuyama’s seminal book provoked a lot of critical analysis. Samuel Huntington’s famous 1993 article in the Foreign Affairs magazine entitled “The Clash of Civilizations” and a subsequent book of similar name were direct responses to Fukuyama’s work. Huntington argued that the temporary clash of ideologies in these last two centuries of human existence have once again been replaced by an ancient clash of civilisations. In Huntington’s view, the dominant civilisation of the time lends its form of government as a model for all. Huntington believes that while the age of ideology had ended, the world has only reverted to a normal state characterized by cultural conflict. The primary axis of conflict, he believed, would be along cultural and religious lines. Fukuyama’s book also attracted criticism from communists who believe that the role of the market had been overstated.

The events of September 11, 2001, the financial crisis of 2008 and the economic rise of the East, have all provided grist for the mill critical of Fukuyama’s original thesis. Fukuyama himself did not argue that it would be a straight line. His view simply was that Western liberal democracy had won the race. There would be tests to the system and potentially long pauses in evidence but eventually, he believed, we would return to liberal democracy as the dominant system.

It is unclear (yet) whether Fukuyama’s theory is flawed or whether we are indeed in a pause – but it appears from around the world that nationalism, authoritarianism and alternatives to western liberal democracy have been rising for some time. With hindsight, the events of 9/11 appear to have been a fundamental fork in the road. Examples of authoritarianism abound – Turkey, Russia, Egypt and China – to name just a few.

In Turkey, the Justice and Development party (AK Party) came to power in 2002 with a thumping majority. Since then, the AK party has gradually consolidated its power and its strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become an elected authoritarian, with brutal put-downs of protests, media censorship and a general disregard for the constitution. The sham of ‘elected’ but in actuality appointed officials in Russia has made its way from the Federal to State and Local Governments. Vladimir Putin’s control of not just Government but also of all large companies like Rosneft, Sberbank and Gazprom has left much of the energy and financial economy in the hands of a small group of people who run Russia today. There is a widespread belief that this group also indirectly controls the media – both traditional and new. The latest such takeover appears to be that of Facebook Russia. This small group, all loyal to Putin is the Siloviki – members of the security apparatus when Putin was in the KGB. This illiberal control of state, commerce and media combined with a few liberal measures (like a flat tax) has resulted in the coinage of the word ‘Putinism’ to characterise it. China’s new president, Xi Xingping, has consolidated power in a manner that is unprecedented in the “Central Party Committee” style of managing China that has hitherto governed the country. In China too, there are elements of liberalism that include a crackdown on corruption (remember Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang), but the primary objective is consolidation of power. This consolidation has been accompanied by a severe crackdown on the social media including arrests of famous bloggers. The democracy protests in Hong Kong, for instance, are fully blacked out in Beijing. In Egypt, the Arab spring had lead to hope that a liberal, modern democracy would replace an army-sponsored strongman. With alternating hope and despair, Egypt has returned to what it knows best – an army strongman again. Some scholars worry that in India, the world’s largest democracy, there is danger of majoritarianism if not authoritarianism.

And all this in nation-states that have constitutions and are governed by a general rule of law. Beyond, the rise of non-State actors has been equally spectacular. Political order is itself being tested by new religion based organisations such as Islamic Society of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the shadowy Khorasan Group that have a pan-Islamic agenda. Off-shoots of the al-Qaeda like the Harakat al-Shabbab that operates in eastern Africa, Ansar al-Sharia that operates in Yemen and the Asbat al-Ansar that operates in Lebanon are spreading terror and chaos in the regions that they operate in. The promise of the Arab spring has been consumed by the despair of stateless extremists acting with deadly force without regard to national boundaries.

Appropriately, Fukuyama has written the first book of a three-part series on The Origins of Political Order in 2011. The second book in the series, Political Order and Political Decay, was recently released. These books discuss with great rigour and detail how societies build strong, impersonal and accountable institutions. They describe how path dependent the history of institutions and liberal democracies have been. It may be Fukuyama’s nod to Huntington that while liberal democracy may be the least imperfect system yet known to man, it is not very clear whether mankind will pursue this desirable destination without long and costly detours. These detours may eventually get us to a point where many of the world’s nations are liberal and democratic. Then again, they may not. Time will tell. History, as they say, never really ends.

Photo: Nicholas Raymond

Narayan Ramachandran is co-Founder and Fellow of the Takshashila Institution. This is the first of a two-part series on the question of liberal democracy and whether it will become the world’s dominant political system.

Stop rewriting history to justify racist policies, Ambiga tells Putrajaya

(Malay Mail Online) – Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan accused Putrajaya last night of rewriting history purportedly to justify its race-based policies and to strengthen its hold on power by driving wedges between the country’s different racial communities.

The renowned lawyer and activist told a forum last night that to achieve this end, Putrajaya has been drilling falsehoods into the minds of school kids through history textbooks.

“They (government) are trying to discount our true cultural and historical background because by doing that, they are trying to make parts of our rewritten history relevant for their own good,” she said when met after a forum titled “Stemming The Tide of Racism in Our Nations” here yesterday.

In her speech at the forum, Ambiga accused Putrajaya of indulging in an effort to maintain power, and justifying its Malay-supremacy policies.

She described the education system as one where “the Malays are told and are made to understand that they are better and that others are ‘pendatangs’ (a derogatory Malay word for immigrant)”.

“Then we have national service thereafter. So much damage has already been done and I don’t think it can be fixed,” she added.

“They (Putrajaya) may set up the National Union of Consultative Council (NUCC) and all, but there is a concerted effort to keep the races apart and this is what we are up against — the system.”

Ambiga also urged parents to be more vigilant of what their children are learning in schools and suggested that the education system undergo a review to identify racial elements, and to study if it does lead to racism and bigotry among children.

“We should have it even if the government doesn’t want it,” she told the forum organised by Komas and pro-unity movement, Negara-Ku.

“Rewriting our history books must stop, as you are narrowing their (children) minds..they will never be able to compete abroad as they don’t have the required broad-mindedness, and you are doing them a terrible service,” she added.

Ambiga also alleged that the so-called racism in government policies has created rifts between the country’s different racial communities and an atmosphere or “first class” and “second class” citizens.

“Is that what our constitution (Federal Constitution) intended? The constitution does not have two classes of citizenship, and there is nothing there that divides us as citizens.

“And we have to bear in mind that we cannot be pushed to feel lesser than other Malaysians,” she said, urging Malaysians to speak up on the matter.

Apart from Ambiga, other panellists in the forum last night include Muslim Youths Movement of Malaysia (Abim) secretary-general, Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz, and a senior Indonesian academic, Ahmad Zainul Hamidi.

Two days ago, the patron of Negara-Ku accused the National Civics Bureau (BTN) of brainwashing children and turning them into racists and bigots.

She said there have been complaints that the government agency, which is tasked to instil patriotism in students through training courses, has been telling Malay children that non-Malays are “pendatang”.

“I really wish parents would speak up. I’d be really annoyed if people were brainwashing my child and turning him into a racist and bigot. I’d put my foot down.

“But the problem is, many parents don’t know this is happening,” the former Malaysian Bar president said

1946, when it all went wrong for us

Wong Chin Huat - The Malaysian Insider


Where Malaysia is heading, with sensational news from Muslim-only Allah, Hudud for all, body-snatching, wedding gate-crashing, police defying the Common Law Courts, to now Muslims buying only from Muslims?

The common question asked by many Malaysians is either “what have gone wrong?” or “Where have we gone wrong?” The relevant question, to my mind, is neither of these but “when have we gone wrong?”

Yes, not what and where, but when. And my answer is 1946.

The ultimate question

What happened in 1946? The British who returned to Malaya after the war started their preparation for her decolonisation.

An utmost pertinent question emerged: can multiculturalism and common citizenship co-exist?

Put it bluntly, can the minorities ask for citizenship with equal rights if they refused to be assimilated?

The expectation of assimilation had its grounds, both globally and locally.

Then, the homogenous nation-state model – one nation, one state, one language, one culture — laid down by the French since their Revolution in the 18th century was the norm. Countries with diverse populations were anomalies.

Such a view was even shared by many liberals. Liberal thinker John Stuart Mill said, “Free institutions are next to impossible in a country made up of different nationalities. Among a people without fellow-feeling, especially if they read and speak different languages, the united public opinion, necessary to the working of representative government, cannot exist.”

In other words, cultural homogeneity or homogenisation is a pre-requisite for democracy.

Locally, thanks to the spread of both the Malay language and Islam in Nusantara by 17th-18th century, and later by the British colonial policy to back and consolidate the Malay kingdoms to facilitate their indirect colonial rule, Malays became a composite ethno-religious category.

If you embraced Islam and you spoke Malay, you could be absorbed as Malays. This was not limited to Minangkabaus, Bugis, Acehnese, Mendalings, Banjarese or later Javanese, but also the Arabs and Indian Muslims.

In early 20th Century, the last two groups were once called Darah Keturuan Arab (DKA) and Darah Keturunan Keling (DKK) and greatly resented by Nusantaran Malays for taking up economic shares as Malays.

The resentment against the Arab- and Indian-Malays subsided when the non-Muslim and non-Malay-speaking Chinese and Indians were seen as the real threat to the Malays.

Hence, by 1946, Malays – not withstanding their parochial loyalty to their states and cultures – had become a culturally defined “melting pot” ethnic group, not unlike America, France or even China.

The 1946 question, reframed in this lens, would be: should the Chinese and Indians be given equal rights if they refused to be “melted”?

The Yes and No struggles

Offering a liberal naturalisation scheme to the Chinese and Indians, the Malayan Union proposed by the British was a “Yes”.

Years later, “the Malaysian Malaysia” idea espoused by People’s Action Party (PAP) and later Democratic Action Party (DAP) is a “Yes”.

The Malays in 1946 answered the question with a loud “No”, which was embodied in the formation of Umno.

And the replacement of the Malayan Union by Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (Federation of Malaya) indicated the victory of the “No” camp.

It did not only establish Umno’s hegemony, but also dictated why we have a centralised and rigid federal system when most federations elsewhere exist to accommodate and manage differences between rival groups.

If accommodation was the goal, the Malayan Union – a multi-ethnic unitary state – should have been kept as the Federation of Malaya was really a federation of Malay ethnocracies.

The 1957 compromises

The “No” victory was however soon cut short by the eruption of the Communist insurgency. Malay nationalists were forced by the British to recognise the reality of the de facto civil war at home and cold war at the global level.

This led to Umno founder-president Dato Onn’s championing of the radical idea of opening up Umno to the non-Malays and his eventual departure from the party.

The electoral challenge posed by Dato Onn’s Independence of Malaya Party (IMP) then forced Umno to cooperate with MCA at the local level for the 1952 Kuala Lumpur Municipal Election.

The success of this ad-hoc experiment sealed the rule of the game for multi-ethnic politics. By 1955, when the Alliance swept 51 out of 52 seats contested in Malaya, it was already a tripartite coalition speaking the language of moderation and accommodation.

The ethnocratic aspiration of Umno was diluted but not completely abandoned. The outcome of pragmatism of all sides was the Merdeka Compromises with three important quid-pro-quo deals.

The first was on citizenship. In exchange for the jus soli principle which would allow most non-Malays to obtain citizenship, special status was granted for the Malays.

Interestingly and perfectly consistent with the historical evolution of the Malayan Malays, Malays are defined not by biological lineage, but by religion, language, custom and the geographical origin of Malaya or Singapore. In other words, this is an open melting pot that one can opt in.

The second was on religion. Religious freedom was guaranteed on two counter-conditions: first, Islam – already the official religion for the Malay states – was made the religion of the Federation; and second, written as a proviso to the constitutional provision itself, religious conversion can only be one-way, from non-Muslims to Muslims.

The third was on language. Linguistic freedom was guaranteed with the establishment of Bahasa Melayu as the national language as the corresponding parallel. At the policy level, the Chinese- and Tamil-medium schools would stay but the ultimate goal would be unifying all schools with the Malay language.

Reading together the three exchanges of the Merdeka Compromise and the constitutional definition of the Malays, Malaya was a gentle and gradual nation-building project to eventually make everyone a Malay.

The project had two tools: first, the differential in citizenship right as an inducement; second, the protectionist environment that prevents the minority faiths and languages from flourishing fully and competing with Islam and Bahasa Melayu.

The phrasing out of Malaya by the larger federation of Malaysia did not change this project. Rather, the project of building a Malay nation-state just became the de facto Malaysia.

East Malaysian leaders who stood in the way of the Malayanisation process were either ousted (Stephen Kalong Ningkan) or ousted then tamed (Donald Stephens and Pairin Joseph Kitingan).

The de-legitimation of plural society

The ultimate goal of building a mono-ethnic nation-state is well entrenched in the officialdom and indoctrinated through historical textbook. By secondary school, Malaysians are taught that the plural society is basically a threat or challenge to national unity.

And its emergence is reduced to two simple factors, both tied to the colonial history: first, the importation of the Chinese and the Indians as mining and agricultural workers; second, the failure of the Colonial Government to have them assimilated, primary by allowing the development of separate education systems.

This anti-diversity discourse in simplified anti-colonial language – using convenient short-hands like “divide and rule” – ignores two important facts.

First and foremost, if there was any ground of such discourse for Malaya, Malaya has been replaced by the larger Malaysia and the Bornean Malaysia was never Malay countries.

Sabah and Sarawak did have plural societies and melting-pot-style amalgamation by a single dominant faith or language never happened, as it did in Malaya.

Second, even in Malaya, the story was never thorough. Chinese miners in Perak and Selangor were much brought in by rivalling Malay chieftains, with whom they later took sides in the Malay civil wars. Most tellingly, Chinese immigrants in Johor were mai
nly brought in by Temenggung Ibrahim and his son Sultan Abu Bakar, who had not a single drop of English blood.

In other words, the immigrant communities were really more the natural consequence of capitalist development, much like why we have millions of foreign workers today, rather than some colonial conspiracy.

The crime of honesty

Lacking a nuanced and honest analysis of our colonial history de-legitimises our multiethnic society, making it something needs to be tolerated and contained rather than celebrated or advanced.

It also de-legitimises secularism and democracy, which are seen as part of the post-colonial order.

The 1957 order was shifted in 1969 to be more pro-Malay in the aftermath of the May 13 riot.

The 2008 political tsunami marked the beginning of a counter-shift towards centre, against the excesses of the 1969 shift.

The controversies staged by Perkasa, Isma and Utusan are but efforts to stop or reverse this counter shift. From their standpoints, these are rational moves that should not surprise anyone really.

After all, if the 1957 model of gentle and gradual assimilation is the unquestioned premise, then really the measure of moderation would be just really about gentleness and gradualness, much like how much heat you apply to a slow cooker so that a live frog in it would believe it is having a spa treatment.

Then, Perkasa, Isma and Utusan of course are gravely guilty of honesty.

Beyond Candi 11, can we rewrite history?

K Arumugam
 
COMMENT Bujang Valley is home to Malaysia’s richest archaeological area. Our National Heritage Department considers some of these archaeological discoveries, termed as 'unexpected find', the most important in the region having an impact on our history.

The researchers have identified to date 127 sites with 90 candi in the Bujang Valley. This ancient civilisation with elements of Hinduism and Buddhism has existed since the 5th century, even before the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

The remains of one of the candi, Candi 11, were destroyed in November this year by a developer for a property project.

Parties responsible to protect the sites under the National Heritage Act 2005, i.e. the Kedah government, the local council and the Tourism Ministry, claimed innocence that none of them were aware of the demolition until highlighted by local historian Nadarajan through the media.

What happen to our National Commission for Unesco formed in 1966? Our Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is a current member of the Unesco executive board, a post previously held by former education ministers Hishammuddin Hussein and Najib Abdul Razak since 1999.

Does Malaysia still subscribe to Unesco’s ideals that peace must be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity? And to build inter-cultural understanding we need to protect heritage and support cultural diversity?

Is there anything new in this? The story could be historically old. We have read history and understood them as being barbaric when conquerors destroyed the cultural and religious monuments to obliterate the traces of the conquered.

The new invaders always imposed theirs over the earlier by such destructions.
History a threat

The reason is simple. Destroy when they are culturally and religiously connected and pose a threat to the new dominance.

Be it during the reign of Caesar, Hitler or the dynasties in Egypt and China or even the invasions in India – the human race has been doing it all the time.

The most dramatic event of the recent time is the dynamiting of a pair of titanic sized Bamiyan Buddha sculptures of the Afghan people in 2001 by the Taliban.

As we can see such conduct is not just intolerance but a subject of domination and at the expense of destroying physical structures that are of cultural and religious significance to minority groups.

Such crimes committed against culture, challenges the whole of humanity and its fabric of cultural diversity.

Malaysia, a multi ethnic with multi lingual country, boasts to protect its rich national heritage.

The National Department for Culture and Arts accepts that culture is mankind’s way of life. The rational for the National Cultural Policy of 1971 is based on Malaysia’s position as a meeting point being the centre of trade and civilisation some 2,000 years ago.

It adds that Malaysia’s role as a meeting point has resulted in interaction, introduction, assimilation and acceptance of various elements suitable to be adopted as basic culture of this region.

However, there are issues as to the cultural policy. The three principles of the policy are not inclusive in nature.

Firstly, the national culture must be based on the indigenous culture of this region and narrows its contents to Malay culture.

Secondly, suitable elements from the other cultures may be accepted as part of the national culture and lastly, Islam is an important component in the formulation of the national culture.

Destroying our history
Dr Mahathir Mohamad (left), when he became the prime minister, dismissed such a nation state concept and urged an inclusive national identity of Bangsa Malaysia - people to identify with the country, speak Bahasa Malaysia and accept the constitution.

Sadly, we are still stuck with the 1971 policy.

The policymakers politically believe that culture is a tool to inculcate the spirit of nationalism and nationhood that will guarantee the stability, harmony and unity in Malaysia.

This centres the dominant culture and religion above all and machinates discriminatory policy against other cultures and religions.

Thus all intention of harmony and unity is put at risk, propelling not inclusiveness but strategies to make cultures and religions of the non Malays less significant.

The urging for unity in diversity cannot be practically achieved with intent to homogenise Malaysians. This is not inclusive.
An inclusive model acknowledges diversity, promotes participation, creates condition for equal opportunities and equal access and creates a mutually beneficial community and becomes a system for all.

But we are stuck with a model that wants to fix this as if something is wrong, and instead calls for adaptation, seeks political consensus for accommodation and works within the system in which predator dominates for assimilation.

Can we rewrite history for such a political belief? We do, the History subject is made compulsory in schools with tailor made contents to build Malay hegemony.

All is not bad, the current calls of various parties to undo the damage and preserve the Bujang Valley archeological site as national heritage with commitment to reconstruct the Candi 11 is reassuring.

It would be timely for the policy makers to define their statement in an inclusive manner categorically stating that the destruction of Candi 11 is un-Islamic and that Islam is inclusive in building Bangsa Malaysia.

---

K ARUMUGAM is chairperson of human rights organisation Suaram.

Penang's 6,000-year-old mounds in sad state - Malaysiakini

Guar Kepah (or Shell Mounds), the first archaeological site discovered in Malaysia - in Province Wellesley 153 years ago - is in a sad state, although sitting on Penang government-owned land.

Discovered by English navigator GW Earl in 1860, the land measuring 10,698.8 sq metres (2.643 acres) is not preserved properly as a swiftlet house hasbeen built on the site and jackfruit trees are in luxurious abundance there.

Malaysiakini visited the site yesterday and was disappointed to find that the area, supposedly touted as the site of a prehistoric human settlement, dating back to 5,000 to 6,000 years, had not been fenced up, protected or identified with proper signboards informing the public of its significance.

Despite not alienating (pemberimilikan) the plot to farmer Hor Ah Kaw, who claims that his ancestors lived there for about a century, is allowed to continue farming swiftlets and jackfruits on a temporary licence (TOL).

But the TOL approved by the district office years ago only allowed  residential stay and padi farming there.

Hor, in his 70s, now resides in Kulim, Kedah, but carries on his swiftlet and jackfruit farming activities in Guar Kepar.

On June 16, 2008, he applied to have the land alienated to him, only to be rejected by the state executive council on July15, 2009.

On July 2, Hor's TOL was renewed but was terminated this year yet he continues to work on the site.

On 30 March 2010, Hor expressed his dissatisfaction over the excavation exercise carried out by USM, insisting that he gave them only temporary approval to work on the land.

Met at the site, Hor's wife Ooi Liew Eng said her father-in-law used to live on the land, where her husband and his elder siblings were born.

TOL owner's grouses against USM

"You can imagine just how long we have stayed here," she said, of the land situated along Jalan Guar Kepar also known to locals as Paya Cina.

"We first grew vegetables and then jackfruit since 10 years ago. The swiflet house was only built a few years back," she told Malaysiakini.

"They (USM) came to excavate the place two or three years ago, and I let them use our water and electricity supply," she said.

Ooi (left) said her husband was unhappy about the excavation as the water used flowed back into their home.

"Since the roof was also leaking at that time, we temporarily moved out and stayed in our son's house," she lamented.

Ooi, who claims to be in her 60s, said the family with four children decided to move out when they were no longer given TOL.

She said the excavation team came only once and informed her family of the plan to build a gallery.

Keeping up with the times

"But until now, nothing happened. I don't think the project will be a success. Who wants to visit a gallery here?" she asked.

It is learnt that in 2010, a request had been sent to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and George Town World Heritage Incorporated to seek their views on building a Heritage Gallery to be run by Pusat Penyelidikan Arkeologi Global (PPAG), USM.

A source told Malaysiakini that the PPAG wants an exhibition site in situ at the excavated plot, while USM has agreed to built a tent to protect the site (khemah pemuliharaan and pemeliharaan petak/tapak) costing RM92,000.

The source added that there were plans to build a "Recreational Garden" complete with toilets, a cafe, and a souvenir shop for history enthusiasts and tourists.

At a press conference on Wednesday Lim said the state did not allow the destruction of the site, like what happened to Candi 11 at Lembah Bujang.

Lim was responding to Kedah Menteri Besar Muhkriz Mahathir who countered Penang's criticisms of the Candi 11 wreckage by pointing out the condition of Guar Kepah in his tweet yesterday.

Lim explained that the previous BN government issued the TOL to Hor but it has not been extended but terminated this year, and the state is in the process of reclaiming the land.

"However, excavation work needs funding", said Lim, adding the state had issued a letter to the Tourism and Culture Ministry two months ago, requesting RM3.9million to preserve the site and built a gallery.

"A similar letter had been sent to former minister Rais Yatim", Lim added.

Officials told, but neglect obvious

"We are not blaming anyone for giving the TOL, since it involves a genuine farmer and has not affected the site," he stressed.

Lim said the district office has been told the monitor the site  to prevent is destruction.

However, the area cannot be said to be "not affected" when structures and trees are planted on the site itself where countless tiny shells, already cracked and broken, are visible on the mounds now covered with dead leaves, lallang and mud.

According to research, the mounds reveal a Neolithic burial ritual of using seashells by the early human settlers there, who are believed to have practised the 'Hoabinh' culture and this area should at least be fenced off.

It is learnt that the mounds are part of three hilllocks - A, B and C, which stood in the area known as Kg Guar Kepar (on Lot 2613), Mukim 2, in North Seberang Perai.

Hilllocks A and B, similarly covered with shells, had been demolished prior to 2008 to for tar roads into the village surrounded by panoramic padi fields, located about 3/4 meter sfrom the three pronged Butterworth-Alor Setar road.

In 1861, Earl published two books 'On the Shell Mounds of Province Wellesley, in the Malay Peninsula' and 'Topography and Itinerary of Province Wellesley'.

Research in the area continued until the 1940s and according to several researchers (Huxley, Evans, Callenfels and Mijsberg), early findings revealed 30 skeletons buried with stone tools  beneath the mounds.

The human remains are currently kept in Leiden, Netherlands, and USM begun its research into the area in Jan 2010 with a fund of RM75,000, after request was made by the Malay Heritage Research Committee of the university's Global Archeology Research Center.

So far, 68 plots sized one sq metre each have been excavated by USM researchers.

Other than human remnants, sharpeners, pounding tools, broken china and bone parts of animals (turtles) and pig teeth, were found buried beneath the mounds.

Archaeology expert: Still hope for razed Lembah Bujang temple

(MM) - Armed with blueprints from historical texts and research papers, an archaeological expert believes it possible to rebuild the millennia-old temple in Lembah Bujang, Kedah that was torn down by a housing developer.

According to director of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) Professor Dr Mokhtar Saidin, who leads a team that has excavated 46 sites in the area, there exists sufficient information to allow the prehistoric structure to be reconstructed, hopefully, where it once stood.

“We can reconstruct it again because I saw some of the publication before and there is a plan, so we can reconstruct again, the best is to construct on the original site,” Mokhtar said, referring to plans of the ancient temple contained in published works.

The candi in question had been restored once in 1974. The archaeology expert said the restoration commissioned by the then-Museum Department had been minor as the candi was only “naturally disturbed”, but it would require a complete reconstruction this time around.

“The developer should help because it’s just a small area and I think Jabatan Warisan should too and if they want USM to help, no problem,” he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.

Yesterday, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukhiz Mahathir also spoke of the possibility to rebuilding the demolished candi number 11.

“The ruins can be reconstructed on its original site with the agreement of the company or near the Universiti Sains Malaysia excavation site at Sungai Batu,” he was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama last night.

The recent discovery of the demolition of the 1,200-year-old candi number 11 at Sungai Batu triggered national outrage over the callous treatment of the country’s historical monuments.

A candi, short for candigarh, has been described as a place of worship with elements of either Hinduism or Buddhism; about 50 are peppered across the Kedah valley and believed to date back to between the 8th and 13th centuries.

Lembah Bujang is also thought to be the foundation for the rise of the Malay kingdom in Southeast Asia, and the region’s foremost entrepot and trading centre in ancient times.

Earlier yesterday, Mukhriz said the state government has appealed to the Tourism and Culture Ministry to gazette over 100 archaeological sites as national heritage sites.

“The state places the utmost importance in preserving all heritage sites in Kedah so we are saddened over the recent destruction of candi number 11,” he said.

However, Mokhtar said even if the historical sites are not gazetted as such, future development plans in the Merbok area should be referred to the local authorities and the National Heritage Department to prevent the destruction of other historical locations.

Recounting a previous visit in 2007 to what was then an oil palm estate, the professor said the candi had still been intact. He added that had the land status not been changed from agricultural to residential, the tragedy might not have taken place.

“Before this, as far as I know, all candis are in private land, usually in plantation area, the owners know the sites shouldn’t be disturbed, but for site 11, they want to develop housing, so they bulldoze all the trees and everything there.

“It is very sad; it serves as a lesson for us ― for all of us ― to be responsible [and] to take care of such historical sites.”

According to Mukhriz, the developer had obtained planning permission to develop the land back in 1993 but only started clearing works this August.

On Monday, the Lembah Bujang Archaeological Museum — the candi’s former caretakers — said it informed National Heritage Department of the destruction in September.

It is unclear if the department did anything to stop the developer, as its director-general, Datin Paduka Prof Siti Zuraina Abdul Majid could not be reached as she is currently abroad for the month.

Lembah Bujang is the richest archaeological site in Malaysia and the home of the oldest man-made structure recorded in Southeast Asia — a clay brick monument nearly 1,900 years old.

Excavations on the site have also uncovered jetty remains, iron smelting sites and relics with Hindu and Buddhist influences that point towards a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom there as early as 110 CE.

Bahasa Candi 11 di Sungai Batu yang dimusnahkan boleh dibina semula, kata Mukhriz

Candi 11 di Sungai Batu dalam Lembah Bujang, Merbok yang dimusnahkan adalah struktur batu yang dibina semula pada 1974 di atas tapak asal candi yang dibina antara kurun ke-8 hingga 11 Masehi.

Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir berkata kerajaan negeri kesal dengan pemusnahan itu kerana ia dianggap tapak warisan negara yang patut dipelihara.

"Tapak-tapak candi di Lembah Bujang adalah tapak warisan yang tidak digunakan sebagai tempat penyembahan sejak berkurun-kurun lamanya," katanya dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan di sini hari ini bagi mengulas protes banyak pihak terhadap pemusnahan candi 11 oleh sebuah syarikat pemaju.

Dalam kenyataannya Mukhriz memperjelaskan syarikat terbabit adalah pemilik tanah berkenaan dan mendapat kelulusan memajukannya pada 1993 tetapi pembersihan hanya dilaksana pada Ogos tahun ini apabila ia memusnahkan candi tersebut.

Katanya kerajaan negeri dan Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan telah mengarahkan syarikat berkenaan menghentikan segera pembersihan di tapak candi 11.

"Candi yang sama boleh dibina semula atas tapak asal dengan persetujuan syarikat atau di tapak lain yang berhampiran dengan tapak ekskavasi Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) di Sungai Batu. Pelan candi 11 akan dirujuk bagi memastikan reka bentuk dan bahan digunakan sama seperti di tapak asal.

"Kerajaan menitikberatkan usaha memelihara semua jenis warisan turun-temurun di negeri ini. Bagi memastikan tapak-tapak warisan di lebih 100 lokasi di Lembah Bujang tidak musnah dimamah zaman akibat pembangunan, Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan bersetuju menimbang permohonan kerajaan negeri agar tapak-tapak warisan yang dikenal pasti mempunyai nilai warisan diwartakan," kata Mukhriz.

Beliau berkata kerja-kerja ekskavasi yang dilaksanakan oleh pakar-pakar arkeologi USM akan diteruskan sehingga kawasan Lembah Bujang boleh dibangunkan sebagai tarikan pelancongan bertaraf antarabangsa.

Kajian arkeologi di kawasan Sungai Batu mendedahkan tapak tersebut digunakan sejak kurun ke-5 Masehi hingga kurun 17 Masehi. Tamadun Sungai Batu juga adalah yang tertua berasaskan industri peleburan besi. - Bernama, 3 Disember, 2013.

Lembah Bujang fiasco: ‘Sack the Heritage Commissioner

The Heritage Commissioner must be sacked and the developer charged for destroying birthplace of Malay civilisation, says Waythamoorthy.

BUJANG VALLEY: Hindraf wants Heritage Commissioner Zuraina Abdul Majid to be sacked for failing to gazette, protect, preserve and conserve an ancient Hindu temple tomb (candi) structure in the historical Bujang Valley site, demolished by a developer a month ago.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator P Waythamoorthy slammed Zuraina’s failure as “absolute negligence and collapse of statutory duties”, deserving immediate expulsion.

The Hindraf national chairman also called for developer, Saujana Sdn Bhd, to be charged for destroying a public heritage property and national treasure.

Waytharmoorthy pointed out that the demolished temple site was among some 90 temple tombs unearthed at ancient civilisation sites by archaeological research works started way back in 1930s.

He pointed out that a proposal had been submitted in 1987 under a working paper entitled: Bujang Valley and Kuala Kedah Fort – Proposals for a Master Plan, by John Sanday for Unesco’s World Heritage Listing.

The working paper was initiated under the government’s operational action for the safeguarding of immovable cultural heritage and its reintegration into modern life.

Since a proposal had been submitted to Unesco, Waythamoorthy said the Commissioner of Heritage should have exercised his or her vested power under the National Heritage Act (NHA) 2005 to inspect, survey, investigate and carry out necessary work to determine the designation of the site as a heritage site.

Submitted for heritage status 26 years ago

Waythamoorthy said the Commissioner should have made an Interim Protection Order under Section 33 of NHA 2005 to preserve and conserve the whole site.

Under Section 33, any person who contravenes an Interim Protection Order commits an offence.

Section 33 states: Upon a notice being served on the owner of a site, the Commissioner may, with the concurrence of the State Authority, make an Interim Protection Order in relation to a site if in the opinion of the Commissioner it is necessary to do so for the purpose of conservation and preservation of the site.

“The Commissioner should have designated the site which had natural heritage or cultural heritage significance to be a heritage site.

“But the Commissioner had failed to do so even though the proposal was submitted for world’s heritage listing 26 years ago.

“It is absolute negligence.

“The Commissioner’s services must be terminated.

“We cannot compromise on this,” Waythamoorthy told FMT after visiting the demolished ancient temple site in Sungai Batu Estate area here yesterday evening.

Also present were non-governmental organisation Bujang Valley Study Circle chairman V Nadarajan, Hindraf activists and local residents.

Housing developer, Saujana Sdn Bhd has reportedly demolished the historical artifacts of a 1,200-year-old Hindu temple tomb to pave the way for a new township project to be developed on the heritage site.

The developer claims they were unaware of the historical value of the demolished ancient structure that archaeologists and historians say dates back to the 8th Century.

Kedah Barisan Nasional government have issued an immediate stop-work order pending investigations into the controversial demolition which has caused an uproar among Malaysians.

Site still not gazetted

Minister of Tourism and Culture, Nazri Abdul Aziz has called on the Heritage Commissioner to gazette and protect the ancient temple tombs.

Waythamoorthy insists that the Commissioner has a public statutory duty to gazette all ancient temple tombs unearthed in the ancient civilisation site under NHA a long time ago.

“The tombs should have been gazetted by now. The Commissioner should have preserved and conserved all the tombs.

“It puzzles Malaysians on why the Commissioner failed to do so.

“Obviously the Commissioner was sleeping on her job,” rebuked Waythamoorthy.

He also called for the developer to be charged under the same law for the destruction.

Under Section 113 of the NHA, any person who destroys, damages, disfigures, disposes or alters a tangible cultural heritage, without a permit issued by the Commissioner commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or to both.

Offences committed by corporate bodies comes under Section 117 which states that, where a person charged with an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is a corporate body , every person who, at the time of the commission of such offence, as a managing director, manager or other similar officer of such corporate body, may be charged jointly in the same proceedings with the corporate body, and where the corporate body is convicted of the offence charged, every such managing director, manager or officer shall also be deemed to have committed the offence and shall be liable to the same penalty as the corporate body, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge, consent or connivance or that he took reasonable precautions to prevent its commission.

“We cannot let the developer off the hook. He destroyed a national historical and heritage structure. The developer must be made accountable and pay for negligence and ignorance.

“The government shall not compromise,” said Waythamoorthy.

Historians like Nadarajan believes that Bujang Valley formed part of an ancient Malay-Hindu kingdom civilisation called Kadaaram covering approximately 1,000 square miles stretching from Kota Sarang Semut and Jeniang in Kedah to Bukit Mertajam in mainland Penang.

Located near Merbok, Kedah, Bujang Valley covers an area of approximately 224 square kms between Gunung Jerai in the North and Muda River in the South.

Nadarajan said the Malay–Hindu kingdom, which began in the 1st Century AD, was the oldest Malay civilisation in Southeast Asia, pre-dating Malacca.

He said the civilisation was a Malay–Hindu kingdom until the 12th Century when its Hindu king converted to Islam and started a Sultanate.

“This is the birthplace of Malay civilisation in the country.

“The civilisation proves that the Kedah Sultanate is the eldest and oldest royal lineage in the country,” insisted Nadarajan.

'Wrecking of Bujang Valley candi federal gov't's fault'

PAS has blamed the BN-run federal government for approving the Bujang Valley developer, which acknowledged that the remains of an 8th century temple was demolished to make way for a housing project.

Bandar Saujana Sdn Bhd spokesman Saw Guan Keat had told The Star newspaper that its plans to develop Bujang Valley were approved by the Sungai Petani district council between 1994 and 1995.

Saw was reported as saying that the land was purchased from another developer in February this year and the work of levelling the land in the area began in September.
He also acknowledged that they had destroyed the remains of the temple.

But when contacted, PAS said its responsibility was limited to the sale of the land.

Former Kedah executive councillor, Dr Hamdan Khalid, who had been in charge of the state's arts and heritage affairs committee, said the PAS-led government had then only approved land acquisition in an area of the historical site.

"Pakatan Rakyat in Kedah under (late leader) Azizan Abdul Razak as menteri besar very much supported any project under the federal government at that time.

"We supported and approved the purchase and acquisition of the land as decided by the federal government... we could only do so much.

"Everything else was under the purview of the central government (Department of National Heritage)," Hamdan (right) said in an SMS to Malaysiakini.

The former state assemblyperson for Tanjung said PAS was in the dark about the demolition of the remains of the ancient temple at the heritage site, which was brought to public attention by NGOs over the weekend.

Hamdan reiterated that the project was under the supervision of the federal Department of National Heritage and not under the supervision of the state government.

"The state was not involved (in the monitoring of the project)," he added.

Builder unaware of 1,000-year-old candi at site

Housing developer Bandar Saujana Sdn Bhd, which demolished a more than 1,000 years old candi in Lembah Bujang, Kedah, which sparked public outrage, said it was not aware of the structure's historical value.

"We had a site visit before land clearing started in September. We saw a stone structure (candi). We did not know what it was," the company's project manager Saw Guan Keat is quoted as saying in The Star today.

Following the demolitions, Saw said, the rubble of bricks and pebbles have been disposed of.

"If we had known the structure was a historical site, we would have not have cleared it," he said.

Saw added that he only learnt the significance of the candi after reading about it in the newspapers.

According to the report, Saw said his company had purchased eight lots of land from a previous housing developer after carrying out a land search with the Kedah Land Office on Jan 14.

"The company proceeded to buy the land in February. When we did another search at the Land Office on July 30, again, we did not find any encumbrance," Saw is quoted as saying.

He said a plan for a mixed development project submitted by the previous developer had been approved by the Sungai Petani Municipal Council and the state exco, between 1994 and 1995.

His company, Saw added, had merely taken over the project. He has lodged a police report on Nov 29, following the demolition of the candi.

View comments (39)

Our Nusantara multicultural past

COMMENT We have yet to know the extent of the damage done by a developer in the Bujang Valley historical area, where a candi was found to have been demolised.

Until there is greater clarity on what happened, it is unwise to cast aspersions on the authorities in Kedah, especially those custodians of our national heritage. Let us give them the benefit of the doubt.

What we cannot excuse however is how the Bujang Valley historic site has been managed.
Unfortunately, Malaysians have woken up to the poor condition of care for this historic site after the “demolition” of the historic Sg Batu Candi (No 11).

If it is true that a private developer had been given permission to “clear the land” for development, the Sungai Petani Municipal Council (MPSP) must explain how it came to giving such consent especially as the Sg Batu Candi is quite well-known.

Finger-pointing aside, the MPSP needs to come clean about what happened and more importantly, how can it happen.

Right thinking Malaysians must be wondering how a developer and a local council can be so derelict in the performance of their duties. But a more important question is: why are we talking about the Bujang Valley only now?

I suspect there many Malaysians who are not aware of the special significance of the Bujang Valley. Put simply, they do not know or care about this our common heritage.

About a month ago, I visited the Bujang Valley museum with some colleagues. It took us some time to locate the museum as the signage was not very helpful on the highway.

The museum, which resembles a 1980s archaeological gallery, has seen better days.
A group of school children from Putrajaya came, led by their teachers. One of them, upon examining the artefacts on display, said to his friend: “This must be Shiite religious instruments.”

No one corrected him and they left without having had any kind of meaningful guidance.

Recalling my primary and secondary education History syllabus, I was very sure that our text books had extensive descriptions about Malaysia’s pre-Islamic history. After all, our oldest Malay royal family is the Kedah royal household. It can trace its lineage back to its Hindu-Buddhist past in the 10th century.

The Malaysian education system cannot be so bad that it is not providing knowledge about the Hindu-Buddhist periods, an era that gave us words like ‘kerajaan’, ‘cinta’, ‘putera’, ‘bumi’, ‘menteri’ and other markers of our national language. Perhaps History text-books in schools have yet to catch up to the latest discoveries.

The Bujang Valley historical site, which covers a vast area, has sites dating back to the 1st century BC. Latest discoveries at the Sg Batu archaeological site, verified by the Department of National Heritage and international scholars, has been proven to be the oldest iron-age human settlement in all of Southeast Asia.

When iron ingots were being produced and exported to southern India from the ports of the Bujang Valley, there were no other trading ports in the region as sophisticated or a community so well organised. It would be another 600 years before Borobudur was built and 800 years before Angkor Wat was conceived.

As the Global Centre for Archaeology at Universiti Sains Malaysia does not have enough funds, we were told during our site visit that excavation works have been scaled back. By September this year, a picture of this well-organised iron production centre had been documented and a small gallery set up at the site.

There is even evidence of jetties, foundries, an administrative centre and temples. It is particularly interesting that the Sg Batu site is not an expatriate colony but more likely a combination of both settlement and a local civilisation.

Challenges of management

In many ways, the reason why the Bujang Valley historical site is so badly managed is bound up with Malaysia’s inability to understand who we are.

Having evolved at the crossroads between East and West, with India and China as major influences, it is inevitable that Southeast Asian societies are very open to different cultural and religious influences. If it is difficult to pinpoint a set of cultural markers that make us Malaysian, it is because we share our identity markers with so many different ethnicities and civilisations.

Archaeological discoveries at Bujang Valley are a clear showcase that the people there may not have started out as Hindu-Buddhists although it is clear that in later times - especially in the 5th to the 8th century AD - both Hinduism and Buddhism were dominant.
Seen in this continuum, it is not surprising that present-day Kedah should be a bastion of Islam as it was the first Malay kingdom to embrace Islam.

Lest we forget, the Bujang Valley site covers an area of more than 100sq-km. It covers coastal and riverine areas right up to the Jerai Peak. It also stretches all the way to Ceruk Tok Kun in Seberang Perai (in Penang) and comes under the Sungai Petani municipality.
Obviously, urban planning and development, often superimposed over this area before historical discovery, allowed for plantations and housing development.

If Malaysia is having to meet the challenge of accommodating places of worship that spring up along crossroads and other significant areas, this is because some of these religious sites are scattered over a vast area that may have once been poorly inhabited.

The same is the case for the Bujang Valley site, with candis found in paddy fields and in rubber and oil palm estates.
In fact, one of the reasons why the Sg Batu site was so easily discovered was because the top soil that protected the site had been stripped away for rubber and oil palm planting. It did not take archaeologists too long to reach their target as the top soil was not more than a couple of feet deep.

For readers who have not been to the Bujang Valley or have not ventured outside the parameters of the Bujang Valley museum, it is a worthwhile trip to go experience the site personally.

Once there, the challenges associated with its management and care become very obvious. The local communities no longer identify themselves with these historic sites especially those having been buried for more than a millennia.

More importantly, the tourism infrastructure around these sites is poorly developed and as such, there is very little incentive for the local community to ‘look after’ the sites. The best that we can hope for is for these communities to leave the sites alone.

The best thing for the Bujang Valley now is to have a complete audit of where these historic sites are and design a heritage management plan around them. This should be embedded into the State Local Plan that regulates development at the local level. It is also important to provide more resources to the Department of National Heritage as it can help build local capacity to care for these sites.

Finally, as all land matters come under the jurisdiction of the Kedah government, there needs to be greater vision to see the great potential for the Bujang Valley, which is just a skip and a hop away from the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site, as well as the Lenggong Valley Unesco site.

Going forward, this is the perfect opportunity for the government to take the lead in protecting and developing the Bujang Valley. Archaeological studies have shown indisputably that the site is a result of local and foreign interactions.

It is a clear reminder that, for more than 2,000 years, the people of the Malay peninsula have remained open and supportive of sojourners, migrants and settlers.

Here is clear evidence that the ethnocentric cries of some groups in the country today is a clear blip in our longer history of Malaysian identity-making built upon openness, friendship and mutual respect.

---

NEIL KHOR completed his PhD at Cambridge University and now writes occasionally on matters that he thinks require better historical treatment. He is quietly optimistic about Malaysia's future.

'Developer's historical ignorance not surprising'

It is a historical site that houses the ancient ruins of temples that date back more than 2,000 years. The Bujang Valley in Kedah commemorates the nation's Hindu-Buddhist past.
  
And while such archaeological treasures are celebrated in other parts of the world, Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary-general S Barathidasan said the situation is different here.

So, according to him, it comes as no surprise that the developer Saujana Sdn Bhd, which demolished one of the temples, was not aware that the area was a historical site.

"This is because our education system is only concerned about highlighting the country's Islamic past. There is little or no emphasis given to the rest.

"It is common knowledge that our history textbook syllabus keeps changing over the years, tailor-made to suit the warped agendas of certain groups," he told Malaysiakini.
Against this disappointing backdrop, Barathidasan said foreigners appear to have a better understanding about Malaysia's history as opposed to Malaysians themselves.

The Mipas secretary-general said he was also disappointed to read that the housing developer's checks with the Kedah Land Office showed that the land had no encumbrances.

"This is how dismissive the authorities are when it comes to the nation’s non-Islamic past, once again punching a gaping hole into the prime minister's so-called 1Malaysia," he said.
Malaysian heritage

However, Barathidasan stressed that Bujang Valley is not a Hindu or Buddhist historical site, but rather a Malaysian heritage that must be celebrated by all irrespective of colour or creed.

"What is the point of the government promoting tourism campaigns vis-a-vis the Visit Malaysia Year when such blatant historical massacre happens?" he asked.

Barathidasan urged all politicians not to use this issue to gain political mileage by twisting the facts.

"Mipas hopes that the people do not fall into this trap. Keep your political differences aside, this is about saving the nation’s historical heritage," he added.

Barathidasan called on both the state government and federal government to intervene and stop this unpardonable destruction.

"Bujang Valley must be given due recognition and not be kept under wraps.

"It is heart breaking that the site gained national prominence, only after a temple had been demolished," he added.

Barathidasan also called for action to be taken against the officials who facilitated the selling of the land for commercial development, knowing well that it has invaluable historical significance.

"If this nation is to progress, then there is no room for people with such regressive mentalities in our midst," he said.

"In more mature democracies, heads would have rolled for this incident. But then again... this is Malaysia," he added.
Badan Warisan Malaysia concerned
Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM) expressed concerns over the intentional demolition of the 8th century temple remnants.
Executive director Elizabeth Cardosa said it was alarming that only some monuments in the Sungai Batu area in the Bujang Valley had been gazetted in 2012 under the National Heritage Act, while others remain without any legal protection.
BWM warned that unless there is a rigorous management and protection of such monuments - along with punitive action by the official custodians of the country's heritage - the destruction would continue and the people would only be able to stand and watch helplessly.
"This loss undermines the rich character and texture of our cultural history which is important to all Malaysians," Cardosa said in a statement.
"Hence, we urge the National Heritage Department and Kedah government to immediately put measures in place to halt the needless destruction of this ancient archaeological site and accord them the necessary protection.
"BWM believes this archaeological site has enormous potential and outstanding values to world history and culture and that steps should be taken quickly to inscribe it on the tentative list as a World Heritage Site before more monuments fall prey to further furtive and irresponsible acts of destruction."

Kedah issues stop-work order on relic site

The Kedah state government has ordered the housing developer involved in the demolition of several 8th century heritage site temple remnants known as Candi Sungai Batu or Bujang Valley site 11, to stop development at the site immediately.

Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir said the developer was asked to stop work immediately after a request made by Kedah exco member Tajul Urus Md Zain today.

"I cannot comment further because I need the full report of what happened there. I will have a meeting to find out what actually happened because there seem to be two versions of what happened in Sungai Batu and I want to get the actual picture myself," he said.

The Bujang Valley is an archeological site and excavation had revealed jetty remains, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back 110AD, making it the oldest man-made structure to be recorded in South-east Asia, said a report.

It is said to be the most important entry port before Melaka (15th century) and Singapore (19th century) as the Bujang Valley was believed to be a transit point for Arab nations, India and China.

Mukhriz who officially opened the 'New Seasons Ward' at the Kedah Medical Centre (KMC) in Alor Setar today was asked to comment on the outrage of netizens after a tomb temple was destroyed by a developer.

Meanwhile, Mukhriz said the state government which owns 46 percent share of KMC had spent RM3 million to upgrade the New Seasons Ward at the 7th floor of the hospital with 28 beds, including a VVIP room.

He added that such investment was necessary to cater for the growing demand for quality service and privacy.

MIC leader: How can you sell history?

An MIC leader is shocked that the Kedah state government sold the land that housed ancient Hindu temples and wants the state administration to repurchase it.

"Can the present state government disclose when it was sold?

"Was it done by the previous PAS government or the present BN government? In any event, it is unpardonable, no matter which government did it," said S Murugesan (right).

The MIC central working committee member said Bujang Valley is a historical and archaeological site that is even older than the Malacca Sultanate.

"What were they thinking of when they sold the land to a developer?" Murugesan asked.

He also said he was not convinced by Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir’s assurance that the land would not be developed any time soon.

"Bujang Valley belongs to all Malaysians and it is part of our history and heritage.

"Selling it to a private company shows the short-sightedness and insensitivity of those who made the decision," Murugesan added.

He urged the menteri besar to repurchase the land and ensure that the area remains a historical site that belongs to all Malaysians.

Explain 'cultural barbarism', Najib, MB told

Describing the destruction of an ancient Hindu temple in Kedah as nothing short of “cultural barbarism”, an opposition MP has called on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir to break their silence on the matter.

Padang Serai MP N Surendran (left) said the nation is stunned by the destruction of the ancient temple structure dating from the 8th century in the historic Bujang Valley archaelogical site.

“The destruction, carried out by a private developer, is an act of cultural barbarism, comparable to the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban.

“It is a shame and embarrassment to our country,” added the PKR vice-president.

Bujang Valley, said Surendran, is the most important archaeological site in Malaysia, and is famed throughout Southeast Asia.

The destroyed Candi Number 11, he added, was a tangible part of Malaysian history and invaluable to the nation.

“It is simply incomprehensible that the area was not gazetted as a historical site. How could the federal government and Kedah government allow this to happen?” he asked.

'What's the use of Culture and Tourism Ministry?'
Surendran also took the state government to task for its excuse that the land was privately owned, calling this “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?

“The Kedah government and authorities have displayed breathtaking irresponsibility and cultural philistinism in allowing the development to proceed,” he added.

The federal government, he said, also has a positive duty to ensure that historically significant sites are preserved.

“What is the use of having a Ministry of Culture and Tourism if the nation's heritage is so easily destroyed for private profit? How do we answer for this cultural vandalism to future generations of Malaysians?” he added.

The PKR leader called on the Kedah government and the federal government to take urgent and effective steps to protect the Lembah Bujang archaeological site.

“We demand that the state government immediately issues a stop work order for the development projects at the site.

“We further call  for the urgent preservation of the debris and wreckage of Candi No 11 with a view towards repair and full restoration.

“Meanwhile both Najib and Mukhriz must break their silence on this matter. The people are entitled to an explanation,” he added.

Kedah to get 'experts' to probe ruins before acting

Amid the outcry over alleged destruction of ancient ruins in Kedah's Bujang Valley, the state said it will act only after engaging experts to probe the claims.

The state's arts, culture and heritage committee chairperson Aminuddin Omar told Malaysiakini that they are bringing in experts from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to investigate the priceless archeological site.

Aminuddin said the state government was aware of the situation but needed experts to investigate the site before any action could be taken.

"Both Tanjong Dawai assemblyperson Tajul Urus Mat Zain and USM academic staff will meet up to identify the exact area involved and its focal point," he said when contacted yesterday.

Aminuddin said that Bujang Valley comprises a huge land area which could not be completely gazetted as a heritage area.

He was responding to questions on the destruction of the remnants of a 8th century Hindu temple in Bujang Valley, known as Candi Sungai Batu.

Some groups are appealing to the state government to recognise the historical significance of the site as it is a sign of early civilization in what is now known as Merbok, Kedah.

In an oil palm estate

Meanwhile, Tajul Urus told Malaysiakini that the location of the demolished heritage site was situated on private land.

"We will identify if any candi was demolished (as reported). I drove by the said area, and I only saw an oil palm plantation.

"We will get the archaeologist to look into this," Tajul Urus said, while sounding a bit sceptical.

Tajul Urus said he will try his best to have the site preserved if the veracity of the claims were confirmed, adding that there are numerous ancient temple ruins throughout the Bujang, Merbok and Semeling districts.
Proposed funding from federal gov’t or Unesco

Meanwhile, The Star reports that Kedah exco member for Religion, Indian and Siamese Community Affairs Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid had said that the housing developer could have deliberately failed to inform Sungai Petani Municipal Council about the presence of the candi structure within its development plan.

In expressing disappointment over news reports that the Candi Sungai Batu had been demolished, he said the developer could have neglected to inform the officers over the candi’s location and the officers themselves could have overlooked its significance.

Mohd Rawi said it may need huge amounts of fund as Lembah Bujang covers a vast area containing about 50 candis.

“The state government wanted to protect such heritage monuments and I will propose to the Kedah exco that a special allocation be provided by the federal government or through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) so steps can  be taken to purchase back the land with the heritage sites.

“If we want to block everything, we need to buy it (the land) back,” said the Kedah exco member. 

‘Demolished temple site for Unesco listing’

Historian describes the demolition of ancient several temples sites in Bujang Valley as shameful and unforgivable.

PETALING JAYA: The ancient temple area in Bujang Valley, Kedah, has been submitted to Unesco to be certified as a World Heritage site and it is shameful and unforgivable to demolish the structures before the listing.

Penang Heritage Trust honorary secretary Clement Liang slammed the Kedah government today for “carelessly letting a private developer destroy heritage sites”.

“I cannot believe it. This is unforgivable. Why are they allowing the developer destroy the sites when they should do everything to save it,” Liang told FMT today.

“Any other country will not do such a thing. We cannot feel proud for what we have done,” he said.

Liang said Bujang Valley “is a very important archeological site” and had been submitted to Unesco to be certified as a World Heritage site.

“However, before Unesco can certify it, we have disqualified ourselves first,” he said.

“It’s so disappointing. I feel we don’t deserve to be listed,” he added.

MIC central working committee member S Murugesan expressed shock over the Kedah state government’s decision to sell land upon which the Bujang Valley temple was situated on.

“Can the present state government disclose when it was sold? Was it done by the previous PAS government or the present BN government?” he asked.

“In any event, it is unpardonable no matter which government did it,” he said in a press statement.

Murugesan disclosed he was not convinced by Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir’s assurance that the land would not be developed anytime soon.

“Bujang Valley belongs to all Malaysians and its part of our history and heritage. Selling it to a private company shows the short-sightedness and insensitivity of those who took the decision.

“I call upon the present MB to buy back the land and ensure that the the historical site belonged to all Malaysians,” he added.

No action from authorities

Last Friday, it was reported that a housing developer had demolished several temple sites, including an 8th century heritage site, in Bujang Valley, and the authorities are not taking any action to stop the act.

Non-governmental organisation Bujang Valley Study Circle chairman V Nadarajan had urged the Tourism and Culture Ministry to stop the developer from further destroying the area and preserve the site.

Nadarajan said several ancient temples, called Candi or tomb temples, had been demolished in the last few years to make way for development.

He said the developer had now demolished the remants of the most famous 8th century temple, Candi Sungai Batu estate or Bujang Valley site 11.

Nadarajan, who is a lawyer, urged Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz to stop the demolition process.