By Vivien Lian
My team and I went on a Sunday excursion as usual. We visited two caves in a day, both are next to Po Sat Tong in Gunung Karang Besar(correction on print version which I mentioned Kwong Fook Ngan). One we called it Siam Temple (as stated in Google Maps) since it is not named and it is still under construction in making of a temple.
Siam Temple which is home to Monophyllaea plants, to be continued next issue..Another cave is the one I’m sharing this issue which we cave enthusiasts called it Bat Cave since it is full of bats. The highlight of this cave is this turquoise clear pool at the bottom and shimmering rock formations. Since Siam Temple is not registered yet and it is still in development state, we urge the Perak state government to look into this matter and set regulations to deter individuals/organisations from using natural resources without permission. Caves should be free from exploitation for personal interest. They should be preserved and have its nature protected from any commercial and non-commercial use. Look what happened to our Kledang hills!
Entrance of Bat Cave
Turquoise clear pool
It is very challenging to capture the dazzle with the camera, I took video instead. Click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz20Mkjns3Y to see the rocks shimmering in the dark.
A line should be drawn between caves and religion to avoid all these beautiful natural creations to be used as temples, where illegal constructions and garish augmentations have destroyed their natural beauty. The caves themselves are better attractions for tourism. No one has ever been heard to say “I want to visit Ipoh for the temples!” but people do come to Ipoh just to see our limestone caves. Seeing workers layer cement for altars with tonnes of deities cemented above them is so saddening. The caves belong to Perak and they are being used without knowledge of Perakeans.
Build your own temples and worship to your heart’s content but please please leave our gorgeous caves alone!
