malaysiangKAMPAR, Jan 3 — The value of scrap metal seems to be more important than the signboard commemorating the World War II Battle of Kampar in Green Ridge, at least to unscrupulous parties who stole it recently.
Malayan Historical Group (MHG) chairman Shaharom Ahmad said it regretted the action of those who stole the signboard without appreciating the historical element and information of the signboard denoting the battle.
“Tomorrow is the second anniversary of this signboard being installed. Not even two years and it (the signboard) has gone missing. I am disappointed because a small part of the community prefers the (monetary) value of scrap metal to the intrinsic value of this informative signboard in community life.
“It is not easy to put up this signboard at your own cost. Those who stole it do not care about the effect of the theft of this signboard, which serves to educate the community in preserving the historical value of the existing site,” he told Bernama today.
He was commenting on the loss of the signboard installed at Jalan Ipoh-Kampar here, which members of the association noticed was missing from the area this morning.
According to Shaharom, the loss of the signboard was deeply felt by the association, which now had to think of another way to replace it with materials that did not attract thieves and their ilk.
The signboard bearing information marks the site of the Second World War Battle of Kampar in Green Ridge which is awaiting to be gazetted as a heritage and tourism site as was recommended by the Indian government.
At the end of December, India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, B Nagabhushana Reddy was reported to have said that the notion of gazetting this historical war site was a wish expressed by the Indian prime minister during his visit to Malaysia in 2015 to honour the sacrifice of British and Indian soldiers during World War II in Kampar.
The 6.47-hectare site is a testament to the fierce battle between 1,500 British troops including Indian, Sikh and Gurkha soldiers who fought against 4,000 Japanese troops for four days and four nights from Dec 30, 1941 to Jan 2, 1942.
The battle saw 150 British soldiers as well as 500 Japanese soldiers killed and buried in one place in the same area known as Green Ridge, thus the significance of the signboard in remembrance of the heroic deed of the allied troops in wartime Malaya.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
