LENGGONG VALLEY, A WORLD HERITAGE SITE, IS IN PERIL.

 CREDIT: THE STAR

LENGGONG: One of South-East Asia’s landmark archaeological sites is in danger of losing its coveted Unesco heritage status unless something is done fast.

Archaeologists are afraid that the Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) certification for the archaeological heritage of Lenggong Valley in the Hulu Perak district could be revoked as the sites have been neglected.

Today, a little over seven years since its inscription in 2012, the historical sites of Lenggong Valley are literally in shambles.

According to former Heritage Commissioner Emeritus Professor Datin Paduka Zuraina Majid, Lenggong Valley could very likely lose its Unesco certification if something is not done to put things right.

“It is sad that we are a trained society but not educated, and what I mean by that is that we don’t have an appreciation of knowledge,” said Zuriana, referring to the current state Lenggong is in.

Lenggong Valley’s archaeological sites comprise both open-air and cave sites. They consist of Cluster 1 and Cluster 2, separated by Lenggong town.

READ ALSO > Lenggong: Now you see it, now you don't

The sites are located in a valley between two mountain ranges, the Titiwangsa Range and Bintang Range.

Cluster 1 comprises the open-air sites of Bukit Bunuh and Kota Tampan while Cluster 2 is made up of Bukit Jawa, Bukit Kepala Gajah and Bukit Gua Harimau.

The two clusters, which are 5km apart collectively, combine to make up the Lenggong Unesco World Heritage site (hover over the interactive map below for more information).

During The Star’s visit to Lenggong Valley, the abandoned archaeological digs at Bukit Bunuh were the first sign that something was not quite right.

The open trenches were left exposed to the elements and were filled with rainwater, with shrubs growing inside.

The site is located in what used to be a rubber estate but is now an oil palm plantation.

Over at the Kota Tampan archaeological site, the wooden shelters and information signposts were falling apart (pic below).

Half of the roof tiles were gone, exposing the site to sun and rain and the area was overgrown with foliage.

If not for the wooden structure, the place could have been easily missed.

The situation was no different at Bukit Sapi, where archaeologists had found stone artefacts caked in volcanic ash left undisturbed from an eruption in Lake Toba, Sumatra thousands of years ago.

The information signboards were broken and the wooden pathway built for visitors was decaying and falling apart.

The situation was similar at the Bukit Jawa archaeological site where the oldest stone tool “factory” in Malaysia, dating back 100,000 years, was discovered in 1996.

Bukit Jawa is believed to be one of the largest prehistoric sites in the world with evidence of early human activities dating back 100,000 to 200,000 years.

Gua Badak, famous for its cave art made about 100 years ago by the Orang Asli, is filled with rubbish.

The wooden shelter, signposts and a bridge connected to the caves were damaged and some of the planks rotten (pic below).

The graffiti at Gua Kajang, a tunnel cave in Bukit Kepala Gajah, was an eyesore (pic below). It was heartbreaking to see the level of indifference shown towards a historical site where fragments of pottery, stone tools, food and skeletal remains were found; believed to be thousands of years old.

The vandalism could also be seen in the other caves in the vicinity like the Gua Asar and Gua Ngaum series of caves. It looks like very little effort had been put into preserving the sites from further deterioration.

And there was rubbish everywhere.

It is hard to fathom that these historical sites are collectively part of the archaeological heritage sites of Lenggong Valley, and even harder to accept the fact that Lenggong Valley is a Unesco World Heritage site.

Besides Lenggong Valley, Unesco has listed the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, the Kinabalu Park in Sabah as well as the historic cities of Melaka and George Town as World Heritage Sites.

The valley made headlines over three decades ago after a series of archaeological research efforts by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research at Universiti Sains Malaysia, starting in 1987 in Kota Tampan, revealed the earliest signs of civilisation in South-East Asia.

The discovery of stone workshop in Kota Tampan in 1987, and the 11,000 year-old Perak Man in 1990 – whose remains were buried in a cave site in Gua Gunung Runtuh, the only prehistoric skeleton – provides an outstanding record of Palaeolithic technological ensemble of prehistoric people.

But its dismal condition today may very well end up in it losing its Unesco heritage site listing.

Is Lenggong Valley in danger of being delisted?

“Yes, but I hope it will not be,” said Zuraina (pic below).

“I know that Unesco reads the local papers, and if this story appears in the news it will come to their attention. But I do not wish for that.

“Considering that it is Visit Malaysia Year 2020, there does not seem to be any intention at all to upkeep these places,” she added.

Zuraina was in fact the archaeologist who uncovered the Perak Man, the country’s oldest prehistoric man, almost 30 years ago.

It was in 2005, when she was appointed Heritage Commissioner under the National Heritage Department (NHD), that work to get the site listed by Unesco began.

After a lot of work and research in preparing the Nomination Dossier for Inscription on the Unesco World Heritage List, Lenggong was declared a world heritage site on June 30, 2012.

Following that, work to prepare the Lenggong Valley Conservation Management Plan (CMP) was submitted to Unesco in 2014.

In 2014, then Tourism, Arts and Culture minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the CMP would manage and develop tourism in Lenggong Valley.

But due to lack of funds and a jurisdiction problem between the Federal Government and the Perak state government, nothing went ahead.

Instead, Lenggong Valley slowly began to deteriorate and the archaeological sites became more inaccessible to the public as the basic facilities like signboards, wakaf spots (bequeathed to the public), footbridges and boardwalks started decaying due to neglect.

Many of the sites are also being abandoned because they are not safe, including Gua Gunung Runtuh, the cave where the Perak Man was found.

The NHD, which manages the sites, said its hands were tied when it comes to developing the area, and also revealed that it is facing a major funding problem.

“We have tried many times to get allocations to repair and develop the area from the EPU (Economic Planning Unit), but our requests have been rejected many times due to jurisdiction issues,” said NHD Central Zone director Johar Kadis.

“Because some of the sites are not under NHD’s purview, the EPU is reluctant to release the funds required to carry out maintenance work in the area.

“Due to these financial constraints, we are only able to maintain some sites but we are aware that the amenities and infrastructure at some of the sites are in bad condition,” he said.

Johar added that considering the current situation, the role of the state government was crucial and it should intervene.

For the record, the archaeological sites of Bukit Bunuh, Bukit Jawa and the Lenggong Archaeological Gallery are managed by NHD, while the rest come under the Perak government.

Notably, Lenggong Valley is the only Unesco site where there is no World Heritage office under the state government.

“I feel it is unfair to put all the blame on NHD as this requires a collective effort and a responsibility that should be shared by everyone because Lenggong is priceless, and it is a Malaysian treasure,” said Johar.

Meanwhile, in a statement to The Star, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry maintained that it has given due attention to the development and maintenance of the Archaeological Valley of Lenggong.

It said a total of about RM1.2mil was spent to prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) and Special Area Plan (SAP) for the area.

Apart from that, a total of RM160,000 was used to put up safety gates at Gua Kajang, Gua Teluk Kelawar, Gua Harimau and Gua Gunung Runtuh to prevent vandalism.

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan, a total of RM130,000 was allocated for upgrade work that includes repairing the boardwalk, signpost shelters, as well as cleaning services at all the Lenggong sites.

Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, a total of RM17,495,150 was allocated for land acquisition (RM12.4mil), upgrading of Lenggong Archaeological Gallery Phase 1 (RM5mil) and other maintenance work (RM100,000).

The ministry also said the upgrading of Lenggong Archaeological Gallery Phase 1 is completed and this includes building a special gallery for the Perak Man as well as upgrading and maintenance work, and development of the Unesco site.

Another RM5mil has been approved for upgrading work of the gallery under Phase 2, and RM3.3 mil to strengthen the structure of the Kota Tampan site by early 2020.

The ministry added that the NHD has taken the initiative to carry out maintenance work of the various caves even though this was not under its jurisdiction.

But no allocation has been forthcoming from the work done beyond the NHD’s jurisdiction.

The ministry also stressed that the responsibility and maintenance of the historical sites in Lenggong Valley should be under the care of the Perak state government as per Section 42 (1), of the National Heritage Act 2005.

The ministry said it hopes that the Perak government takes proactive measures to develop the sites, especially those under its jurisdiction.

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Copy and paste: 2 November 2020 / 17 Rabiulawal 1442H: 9.12 pm