Month: October 2021
NOTICE – OFFICE OPERATIONAL DAYS
NOTICE
Our Heritage Centre and Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman will be operating on four days a week (except on Public Holidays) from Tuesdays to Fridays, from 10.00am to 5.00pm starting this week. Guided tours at Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman are available at 3.00pm with a maximum in group of 15 persons.
BWM Chen Voon Fee Resource Centre will be open on Tuesdays to Fridays from 10.00am to 5.00pm, with a maximum number of 4 persons.
Appointments are recommended for guided tours for Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman and visits to the Chen Voon Fee Resource Centre.
For general inquiries and guided tour bookings, email us at heritage@badanwarisan.org.my. Please email library@badanwarisan.org.my on any inquiries and to book your appointment for visiting our library.
All members and visitors are required to follow government guidelines on SOPs, which include showing proof of vaccination status, wearing a mask and observing physical distancing.
BWM Christmas Fair
Hello everyone!
Are you looking for special gifts for yourself or your loved ones?
Please come visit our Heritage Centre at No. 2 Jalan Stonor, Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 20 November 2021. We are pleased to announce that we are organising a Christmas Fair on that day from 10.00 am – 3.00 pm. There will be a variety of lovely merchandise and hand-crafted items from local artisans for sale during the fair! SOPs will be observed.
BWM Talk Series: East Indiaman: The World of Francis Light by Rose Gan
Organized by Badan Warisan Malaysia.
Live Webinar Details
Date: Wednesday, 3 November 2021
Time: 5:00 PM (Kuala Lumpur, GMT+8)
Topic: East Indiaman: The World of Francis Light
Venue: Virtual – Zoom Webinar
Free Admission
ABOUT THE TALK
KL-based author Rose Gan, accompanied by her daughter, Zoe, as the moderator for this talk, will speak about her newly released book entitled ‘Dragon’. This book is the first volume in the Penang Chronicles, which tells the story of Captain Francis Light and his partner, as well as the backstory of the British settlement of Penang. This new series of historical fiction features real historical characters and events from 18th-century Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Britain.
Before Stamford Raffles of Singapore fame, before Rajah Brooke of Borneo fame, there was Captain Francis Light, the 18th-century trailblazer in the Malay Archipelago. From humble origins in Suffolk, England, Light struggled against the social prejudices of his day. His subsequent adventures as a naval officer and country ship captain took him from India to Sumatra, the Straits of Malacca to Siam, through shipwreck, sea battles, pirate raids and tropical disease. But Light’s most difficult challenge was his ultimate dream: to establish a British port in the Indies on behalf of the East India Company.
Want to find out who his partner was? Register and participate in our webinar to find out many more fascinating details in Rose’s book!
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
British by birth, Rose Gan studied Ancient and Medieval History with Latin and Greek at University of Birmingham. Gan first arrived in Kuala Lumpur in 1978 and has been living and working between both UK and Southeast Asia ever since. Married to a Malaysian, and formerly a teacher of History, Latin and Classics, Gan was also Vice Chair for Museums of the Indonesian Heritage Society, a guide and docent in Museum National Indonesia, Jakarta, and Muzium Negara and the Textile Museum in KL. In addition to lecturing to cultural associations, Gan has been actively involved with museum publications in Malaysia and Indonesia, both as a writer and editor.
BWM Talk Series: Gunung Kanthan, Past And Present As A Heritage Icon
Organized by Malaysian Cave and Karst Conservancy (MCKC)
In collaboration with Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM)
Date: Saturday, 23 October 2021
Time: 2PM
Venue: Virtual – Zoom Webinar
Free admission.
Moderator: Dr. Zubaid Akbar Mukhtar Ahmad
Speaker
Eric Tang Cher Hing
Dr. Ros Fatihah Muhammad
Dr. Yong Kien Thai
Zarris Kem
Surin Suksuwan
Lim Tze Tshen
Dr. Juliana Senawi
Shah Redza
Topic
Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery
Karst
Rare & Endangered Plants of Gunung Kanthan
International Standards for Managing Caves for Tourism
Malaysian Laws Relevant to Conserving Limestone Hills
Fossils and Archaeology
Bats of Gunung Kanthan
Geopark
Webinar Synopsis
Gunung Kanthan is estimated to be half a billion years old and is the largest and most extensive peak remaining of the Kanthan iconic karst complex. As a natural monument, its majestic vertical white cliffs personify Gunung Kanthan.
Gunung Kanthan is documented internationally as a haven for high plant biodiversity not found anywhere else in the world. Additionally, it is the type locality for several new species never before discovered. As the limestone plants are commonly restricted to a given karst hill and to a particular microhabitat, this is the reason that numerous species can be found in such small areas and only on singular hills. It also contains the only remnant of limestone forest in Perak, an endangered habitat that is a refugia not only for large trees, birds, reptiles and frogs but also for a population of the endangered serow or kambing gurun.
Many archaeological and paleontological sites of Peninsular Malaysia are associated with limestone caves. Caves are also sacred places in the Hindu and Buddhist religions and there are several religious sites in Gunung Kanthan.
Limestone hills take millions of years to form but bulldozers and explosives can cause irreversible damage in just a few hours. Quarrying would destroy this magnificent landscape permanently, reducing it to a flat lifeless quarry site. Surely this is against the principles of designating geopark status? It should not be overlooked that sustainable tourism, both local and international, would be a growing market. There is no reason why Perak should not be marketed as the ‘Guilin of Malaysia’, with its temple caves and ecotourism potential for caving and rock climbing to coexist with the preservation its flora, fauna, cave ecosystem, iconic landscape, and cave temples.
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