8th century temple site in Bujang Valley demolished

B Nantha Kumar  | November 29, 2013 

 

PETALING JAYA: A housing developer has demolished several temples sites, including an 8th century heritage site, in Bujang Valley, Kedah, and the authorities are not taking any action to stop the act.
Non-governmental organisation Bujang Valley Study Circle chairman V Nadarajan has 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, had been demolished in the last few years to make way for development.
He said the developer had now demolished the most famous 8th century temple remnants known as 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.
“The temple in Sungai Batu estate is the most famous tourism spot in Bujang Valley, but now it is gone,” he said.
Nadarajan, who has written a book on the Bujang Valley heritage site, said the authorities had failed to stop the demolition.
“The National Heritage Department, Museum, Kedah state tourism committee and Sungai Petani Municipal Council should have protected the sites but they have turned a blind eye to the demolition work,” he added.
Area is packed with historical artifacts
He said that he was not sure when the Candi Sungai Batu was demolished but believes it was done earlier this week. He only realised it was demolished when he visited the Candi two days ago.
“This entire area is packed with historical artifacts. Most of them are hidden away from our view. This particular temple site is famous with tourists.
“The developer is greedy and willing to pay the fine for the demolishing the temples (and its remnants) because they will make a huge profit from the housing project.
“I am surprised why the Malaysian government is so careless in Bujang Valley when countries like Indonesia and Cambodia are proud of their heritage sites,” said Nadarajan.
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.
“It is the most important entry port before Malacca (15th century) and Singapore (19th century). Bujang Valley has been a mid-way hub to Arab nations, India and China,” said Nadarajah.
“We should be proud of the heritage and not give the site to profit-minded individuals,” he added.
Nadarajan urged the ministry to issue a stop-work order to the developer and preserve the remaining sites.

 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/11/29/8th-century-temple-site-in-bujang-valley-demolished/

50,000 displaced in Malaysia floods

50,000 displaced in Malaysia floods
Bangkok Post | November 05, 2010

Four people have been killed and almost 50,000 have been forced out of their homes and into relief camps as floods hit northern Malaysia, state media said Friday.

Rising waters have hit three Malaysian states on the border with Thailand, which has also been seriously affected.

An airport and a major highway have been closed, and train services and water supplies have also been disrupted by Malaysia's worst floods in five years.

The first fatalities were a 13-year-old boy and a 64-year-old German woman whose bodies were recovered in Kedah state earlier this week.

The bodies of two girls who fell into an irrigation canal in Kedah were recovered Thursday, state news agency Bernama said, and another two children who disappeared while playing in a flooded padi field were feared drowned.

Bernama said that nearly 50,000 people have now been taken to relief centres to escape the floods in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan states.

Prime Minister Najib Razak urged flood victims and residents in the affected areas to be cautious.

"Don't treat this lightly, don't treat this as a carnival because the disaster can lead to fatalities," he said according to Bernama.

Floods: Concerted effort sadly lacking

Floods: Concerted effort sadly lacking

THE earth has seven oceans that cover almost three-fourths of its surface. Wind and other events cause the oceans' water to sometimes overflow. When this happens, flooding on the shores occurs. When the ocean's storms force water on a coast to raise the sea level in that area, which are known as storm surges, this causes flooding along the coast.
In cold regions, flooding takes place when the snow begins to thaw. And when the snow melts and flows down the mountain sides and into the river, it may not be able to contain such a huge volume of water, and thereby, overflows causing floods.

But we do not have this type of problem here in Malaysia.


Since the 1960s, Malaysia has been facing the perennial problem of floods, and so far this year, the floods have hit the northern states of Perlis and Kedah, and are also threatening Kelantan.


The current floods, caused by heavy rainfall overnight, have forced more than 1,000 people to leave their homes in Perlis and Kedah. In Kelantan, people in several low-lying areas have been advised to be prepared to evacuate if the situation worsens.

We have lofty ambitions of being a developed and high-income economy, which is well and good. We are focusing on attracting high-technology investments and developing the services sector to be globally competitive, yet we are unable to find solutions to these recurring woe.


Where are our planners, engineers, administrators and environmentalists in putting forward solutions to combat this yearly anguish? If it is a natural disaster beyond the control of mankind, then it is comprehensible. But it is not a despair we cannot find a solution to.

I am not an environmentalist, but could the problem of flooding be due to the indiscriminate felling of our trees and other forms of greenery, thereby, denying us water-absorbing mechanisms? If this is the case, then immediate measures must be taken to protect our environment.

How is our drainage and irrigation system? We spend millions every year on infrastructure projects, but why is it that emphasis is hardly given to mitigate this perennial problem?


Where is the concerted effort of politicians and non-governmental organisations in tackling the problem of floods?

http://www.nst.com.my/articles/23flod/Article/

Lokasi paling berhantu - Gurun, Kedah

WANITA berkebaya merah (dalam bulatan) yang dirakam pengguna Lebuh Raya Utara-Selatan dekat Gurun, Kedah.

Lokasi paling berhantu - Gurun di Kedah

Oleh AMREE AHMAD

MUNGKIN ada yang tersenyum menonton iklan terbitan Proton yang memaparkan adegan puntianak ditegur ibunya kerana tidak memakai tali keledar penumpang belakang.

Akibatnya dia terhumban ke jalan raya apabila pemandu wanita kereta Proton itu terkejut sewaktu menekan brek kecemasan.

Iklan 30 saat itu cukup popular sekitar akhir 2007 kerana ia dipaparkan dalam bentuk lucu biarpun sekadar kempen kerajaan berhubung kesedaran pemakaian tali pinggang keledar.

Ironi, ramai pasti seram sejuk jika paparan sedemikian adalah realiti dalam kehidupan sebenar.

Namun ada juga yang pesimis kononnya hantu tidak wujud dan sekadar mainan perasaan semata-mata. Malah berdasarkan rekod saintifik, belum pernah ada manusia mati akibat dibunuh oleh hantu.

Terbaru, kawasan Gurun di Kedah mendapat perhatian ramai ekoran pendedahan beberapa pihak yang mendakwa melihat hantu hingga mereka terlibat dalam kemalangan.

Anehnya, lembaga eksentrik itu dikenali berdasarkan jenis pakaiannya - baju kebaya merah.

Kisahnya bertambah menarik apabila 'wanita kebaya merah' itu dipercayai roh jelmaan mangsa kemalangan maut yang tidak tenteram.

Kawasan lebuh raya makhluk itu berlegar kebetulan pernah mencatatkan banyak nahas ngeri suatu ketika dulu.

"Hakikatnya sejak dulu lagi manusia mudah takut kepada hantu akibat pengaruh filem cereka yang sebetulnya tidak berasaskan logik," jelas Ketua Penyelidik Kumpulan Pengkaji Paranormal terkenal tempatan atau PSI, Syed Abdullah Hussien Alattas.

Popular dengan gelaran Uncle Seekers, beliau mendedahkan Malaysia kemungkinan besar ialah negara yang paling banyak memiliki hantu.

Lebih menarik, perkara itu disahkan pula ramai pengkaji Barat berdasarkan kepada buku tulisan mereka sejak tahun 1896 hingga 1960-an.

Peliknya dalam tempoh kurang 100 tahun itu, ribuan buku penulis asing bercakap mengenai hantu di Malaysia mendedahkan negara kita 'mewah' dengan lebih 700 jenis hantu. Itu setakat jumlah yang baru sahaja dikenal pasti dan didaftarkan di dalam katalog.

"Angka sebenar mungkin banyak lagi tetapi mujur Malaysia selepas dibentuk pada 1963, menyaksikan semakin kurang penulisan ilmiah berkaitan hantu

"Jika tidak tentu jumlah hantu negara kita sudah mencecah lebih 1,000 jenis," terang beliau dalam nada berseloroh.

Mengulas mengenai kepercayaan kepada hantu, masyarakat Orang Asli dikenal pasti paling tinggi memiliki jumlah hantu.

Ini berkait rapat dengan faktor kehidupan mereka yang banyak bergantung kepada alam sekeliling kerana mereka tinggal di dalam hutan.

Manakala kaum Melayu, ujar Syed Abdullah, tidak ketinggalan mempercayai sejumlah besar hantu, menjadikan mereka sebagai bangsa bertamadun moden yang 'meriah' dengan pelbagai makhluk halus.

Setakat ini, bilangan hantu dalam masyarakat Melayu dianggarkan ada 300 jenis.

Ini berdasarkan kajian beliau selama 19 tahun sejak 1989 dengan sokongan 17 penyelidik tetap dan 26 lagi separuh masa yang membentuk kumpulan PSI.

Mereka turut mendapat bantuan daripada sembilan bomoh dan 85 sukarelawan yang menjelajah ke seluruh negara.

Tidak hairanlah tema hantu juga menjadi pilihan pembikin filem genre seram bermula dengan Pontianak pada 1957 membawa kepada 33 filem. Antaranya Sumpah Orang Minyak (1958), Badang (1962), Si Tora Harimau Jadian (1964), Puaka (1974) dan Toyol (1981).

Namun, hantu biarpun sering dikaitkan dengan orang mati tetapi berdasarkan tinjauan Uncle sendiri ke atas bilik mayat Hospital Kuala Lumpur mendapati para petugasnya langsung tidak bimbang diganggu oleh makhluk halus itu walaupun bekerja keseorangan pada lewat malam.

Jurnal yang sempat menemu bual beberapa pekerja mortuari awam di sebilangan hospital kerajaan turut terkejut melihat mereka bertugas seperti biasa. Bagi individu terbabit, tiada apa yang perlu ditakutkan apatah lagi momokan hantu.

"Mengarutlah, mana mungkin orang mati boleh hidup!" Itu jawapan standard mereka.

Namun, sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga, ada juga yang mengamalkan petua tertentu seperti membaca ayat Kursi selain tidak takbur dan yang penting, jangan panik!

"Mungkin sudah biasa bertugas di situ namun pemerhatian pasukan saya menunjukkan tiada aktiviti paranormal di sekitar bilik mayat atau kejadian aneh meskipun dipenuhi dengan ribuan mayat termasuk yang mati dibunuh, lemas atau terbakar," terang beliau lagi.

Bagaimanapun, pada umumnya kawasan perkuburan dan jirat Cina merupakan tempat paling banyak aktiviti hantu dicatatkan diikuti rumah tinggal atau bangunan terbiar lama, tempat penyembelihan haiwan ternakan, lokasi kejadian bunuh dan langgar lari mati.

Bercakap mengenai makhluk halus, Mufti Perak, Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria menjelaskan bahawa umat Islam perlu mempercayai kewujudan hantu sebagai ciptaan Allah berpandukan kepada pelbagai dalil al-Quran dan hadis Nabi.

"Namun Islam sebagai agama yang lengkap berasaskan sumber kitab Allah dan sunah Rasulullah mendidik umatnya menitikberatkan soal ilmu.

"Ini bermakna kita perlu melakukan banyak kajian tertentu berhubung kehadiran hantu di alam dunia," katanya.

Justeru beliau merujuk usaha pihak tertentu menggunakan teknologi canggih untuk mengesan makhluk halus yang boleh dianggap sebagai pendekatan sesuai bagi mendedahkan masyarakat dengan kewujudan hantu secara ilmiah selain memperbetulkan salah tanggapan umum selama ini.