Kuala Lumpur, Dec 3 – Steps should be taken quickly to inscribe Bujang Valley on the Tentative List as a World Heritage Site before more monuments fall prey to further furtive and irresponsible acts of destruction, said Badan Warisan Malaysia Executive Director, Elizabeth Cardosa.
In a statement in the capital, Tuesday, she said that this archaeological site had enormous potential and outstanding values to world history and culture.
“Unless there is a rigorous management and protection regime, coupled with swift and punitive actions implemented by the official custodians of our nation’s heritage, the destruction of our country’s heritage will continue and we will only be able to stand helplessly by.
“This loss undermines the rich character and texture of our cultural history which is important to all Malaysians,” she said.
It was reported that a temple tomb among the pre-historical ruins of Lembah Bujang was demolished by a developer recently.
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
Expressing Badan Warisan’s concerns about the destruction of the temple tomb at Sungai Batu in Kedah, she said it was alarming that only few of these monuments in the Sungai Batu area had been gazetted in 2012 under the National Heritage Act, “while numerous others in the area remain without any legal protection”.
“We urge Jabatan Warisan Negara and the State Government of Kedah to immediately put measures in place to halt the needless destruction of this ancient archaeological site and to accord the invaluable assets the necessary protection,” she added.
–Bernama
