Saturday, February 25, 2012

Are We Trying To Hide A Lost City?

Malaysia a.k.a Boleh Land or the land of gung ho can-do-anything spirit has so many sensitivities that it is not possible really to do just about anything you want, gung ho spirit or not.

For example we cannot talk freely of race, religion or the royalty or a thousand other things unless you want to run foul of a slew of laws including the Sedition Act, The Official Secrets Act and of course the dreaded ISA (Internal Security Act ) and spend time in the slammer enjoying insipid curry rice paid for by the rakyat.

Or unless you are a special specie of amphibian. Or you have the right connection.  Or you are the connection yourself.

Most countries would be very proud if they had a lost city to show case to the world and would do anything possible to uncover it for everyone's attention.

Apparently not so in Boleh Land. Here we may not want to draw attention to a lost city if it would be an inconvenient truth.

The lost city I am referring to is Kota Gelanggi.

Initially in 2008, there was a lot of interest and preparations were in earnest for the project of locating and uncovering Kota Gelanggi. But after the initial euphoria, everything went quiet.

Why? Did someone find something about the city that may be an inconvenient truth?

Because apparently Malaysian history only started with the Malacca Sultanante in 1400s?

The Malacca Sultanate is regarded as a Malay Sultanate but some people dispute this, claiming for example that the first ruler was Parasmeswara who was an Indian and a Hindu.  A later ruler did convert to Islam but some say that conversion does not a race make.

But stranger things do happen in Boleh Land and I am not wise to posit.

The inconvenient truth may be that Kota Gelanggi was the first capital of the ancient Indian Srivijaya Empire that preceded the Malacca Sultanate by several centuries?

If so, it would show that the Indians had been here much earlier.  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Kluang's Little Bangsar

Kluang's Little Bangsar
Click To Visit

Kamini's Indian Wedding - Click To Visit

Kamini's Indian Wedding - Click To Visit
I attended my neighbour's daughter's Indian wedding dinner at the Sentul HGH Convention Centre. Click for a peek

Yasmin Ahmad - Click To Visit

Yasmin Ahmad - Click To Visit
Yasmin Ahmad was arguably Malaysia's best story-teller, filmmaker and advertiser. She was well known for her Petronas commercials and had won numerous international awards including the Golden Lion award for the 'Tan Ming Hong In Love' commercial. Her feature film Sepet not only garnered her several international awards including for Best Asian Film but also drew multi-racial audiences that rarely happens for a local film.

Genting Highlands - Click To Visit

Genting Highlands - Click To Visit
Genting Highlands Is A Popular Retreat With A Casino

Batu Caves - Click To Visit

Batu Caves - Click To Visit
Malaysia's Famous Landmark. Note The Statue Of Lord Muruga And The 272 Steps To The Temple Cave In The Background

Petronas Twin Towers And KLCC Park - Click To Visit

Petronas Twin Towers And KLCC Park - Click To Visit
Petronas Twin Towers Are Still The World's Tallest Twin Towers

Some Early Morning Views Of KL City Skyline - Click To Visit

Some Early Morning Views Of KL City Skyline - Click To Visit
Some early morning views of the KL city sykline I took from the 3rd floor of the KL Court with a low-pixel hand-phone camera

Kluang Town - Click To Visit

Kluang Town - Click To Visit
Kluang was a sleepy hollow, but is fast becoming a bustling town. You can't miss the bust-shaped gunung Lambak lording over the place and the town is well known for its tv brand coffee powder

Kluang RailCoffee

Kluang RailCoffee
The Kluang railway station coffee shop, now re-branded Kluang RailCoffee, is well known for its cuppa of coffee and the charcaol grilled piping hot buns oozing with butter and kaya...It used to attract standing-room only crowds. It still does, but the last time I was there it wasn't a good experience for me. The famous coffee had somewhat lost its oomph and even the buns...The shop has a long and noted history being first opened for business in 1938 and the place is now run by the 3rd generation LIm family. I hope the next time I return, the coffee would regain its oomph. Click to read more...