JANUARY 12 — This is in reference to the piece “Siapa kisah Lembah Bujang” (January 12, 2015) by Uthaya Sankar. First let me congratulate the writer for engaging in the difficult task of writing something about Bujang Valley. But then on close reading, I regret to say that his knowledge of history of the region or Kedah in particular leaves much to be desired for.

The Candi that was destroyed by the developer in September 2013 I was one of the persons who visited the scene with the press, was probably built during the Sri Vijaya days about 2000 years ago. I doubt that it was build by the Cholas. A candi could be Hindu temple, it could even be a Buddhist monument.

Sankar says that Rajendra Cholan never set foot in the region of Kedah, but he has no evidence to back up. Given my own research on the early Indian influence in the region, I have not come across a treaty or an accord between the Cholas and the Kedah kingdom. I am not sure from where Sankar obtained this historical information.

There are rumours and speculations that Gunung Jerai has nine temples during the time of Cholas to guide ships. Although I could not visit the top of the mountain during my field trip in 2007 with a former Indian naval commander, I could not get concrete facts about the presence of nine temples on the peak and whether the fire from the temples guided the ships or not remains debatable.

In fact, according to the navy commander, given the mist it will be difficult for ships to be guided from fires lit on the peak. The presence of temples has not been independently verified until to day.

I agree with the writer that the Hindu and Buddhist past of Malaysia has been somewhat shrouded in mystery. The rise of Malay nationalism and the process of Islamisation have contributed in large measure for the slow but sure dilution of the non-Muslim history.

In culturally rich places like Bujang Valley, information from ordinary folks has to be verified with historical evidence. Sankar did a good job of talking to local residents and former estate workers around the valley, but then he did not counter check their versions with history of the region.

While I agree that MIC and other Hindu based organisations have not done much to highlight the historical Hindu past, but then Sankar should remember that the Bujang Valley should be remembered and honoured as cultural place and not so much as a religious place. In fact, the early Malay contribution is as much significant before the arrival of the Cholas. Cholas arrived in Kedaram (present day Kedah) in 2014. In fact, the Indian navy just celebrated the one thousand years of Chola naval expedition to the Malay peninsula.

Finally, Sankar should not take the superficial delight as though he is the only person who visited the Bujang Valley to conduct interviews. When the Candi was destroyed in September 2013 he was not around. When I was attached with the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, we conducted a major research on the Early Indian Influence in Southeast Asia and Chola Voyages. I visited Bujang Valley a number of times with researchers from Singapore and other places. Subsequently, ISEAS' has published two volumes on the above subjects.

In fact, after the destruction of the Candi in September 2013, many organisations urged the government to gazette the historical places in the sprawling Bujang Valley. The state government of Kedah was taken to task for allowing the developer to clear the ground despite the evidence of the presence of the Candi. There was so many write-ups on destruction of the Candi, I am sure that Sankar is aware of.

Please let us not take a look at historical sites in the country from merely a religious perspective. The rich historical heritage of the Bujang Valley and other places should be preserved for future generation. The Malaysian government with its department of antiquity has the moral duty to identify, gazette and preserve these places.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.