Archaeologist Says Johor "Lost City" Does Not Exist

The "lost city" of Gelanggi or Linggiu, claimed to have been hidden in the jungles of Johor for more than a thousand years, does not exist, said an archaeologist in the National Heritage Department... The search was launched following a claim made by an independent researcher Raimy Che Ros that he had found evidence of the "lost city" after 12 years of research. The claim, published in a newspaper in February last year, created public excitement because Linggiu was said to be older than the Borobudur Buddhist temple in Indonesia built between 750 and 842 A.D. and Cambodia's Angkor Wat built 300 years later. Khalid said Raimy was believed to have come up with his claim based on his research of literature on Malay history and did not discover any physical traces of the "lost city".

http://suthasuccess.weebly.com/matters-of-interest/the-lost-world-of-kota-tinggilinggiukota-gelanggi

Discovery insight: Dumber and dumber
Malaysiakini
Raimy Che Ross | Jun 15, 05 11:18am

Somewhere in the underground vaults of a Jabatan Kerajaan’s Swedenborgian space, lurk two files; one marked “Gelanggi”; the other, “Linggui”.

The folder with “Linggui” scribbled over its cover should, by now, be about half a yard thick and bursting at its spine. Stuffed within are presumably minutes to clandestine meetings, press clippings, confidential memos, dodgy expedition plans, nefarious schemes, plus the frantic drafts of the forthcoming Cabinet Report due in August.

The other binder, bearing “Gelanggi” across its surface, would in comparison be quite a slim file. It would contain nothing more than a few personal letters and printed e-mails written by yours truly, my CV, perhaps copies of the JMBRAS article, and my original draft proposal for a proper follow-up expedition to validate the find.

Reason for the disparity?

Bolehlah-land buffoonery.

Fakta pelik tapi benar

There has actually been one “official” (failed) expedition spearheaded by the Muzium Negara in search of Kota Gelanggi.

Organised on 21 March 2005, it featured a convoy of over 20 vehicles, 40 experts and hangers-on, who incidentally made the Hyatt Johor Baru their base-camp. A bunch of boffins from various universities and private colleges also went tagging along for the joy-ride.

They apparently spent about four futile hours clambering and poking around some belukar (bushes), presumably at the far reaches of Sungai Segget, to no avail. Having indulged in a very expensive bungle in the jungle (at the rakyat’s expense of course); and with nothing to show save a lavish hotel bill; they agreed to declare that what “Raimy saw was nothing but timber-tracks”.

In the Muzium Negara’s ensuing Press Conference; as reported - albeit in a very low-key manner by the local media - it appears that I (much to my own amazement) had not only disclosed the precise location of the site to these brilliant Pakars, but was also part of their professional team on that historic occasion.

My request for a correction and retraction was flatly denied and ignored, by both the newspapers and Muzium Negara.

More disturbingly, I was only lately told by the latter that they had based their whole trekking itinerary on the vague photographs splashed in the newspapers and a bunch of indeterminate satellite images. The dismal result was therefore hardly surprising.

Seeing their failure to locate the ruins however, the Muzium Negara declared that they’d re-invent the wheel and “start from scratch”.

All this is annoyingly amusing, seeing that:

Point one
Ridiculous as it sounds, right until today, there has been no request whatsoever from anyone that matters, for a full direct personal brief on the discovery (with one significant exception, see below).
Not from the powers that be nor from any of the archaeologists and academics who have been braying for my blood.
No calls, no e-mails, no letters, no bengkel, no discussions, no wacana. Not even a reply to my request for a simple courtesy call on the YBs concerned.

Like, totally zilch.

Bit scary really, when you think of it.

Matters of national importance are hastily brought to the Cabinet’s attention, without even in so much as a, “Hi-lets-meet-over-coffee-and-tell-me-again-what-the-hell-all-this-is-about?”.
Nor was I personally told about the intended Cabinet brief or its overall result. I learnt of it, like everyone else, from the tabloids.
All I’ve received – even then indirectly – was a message saying that the VIPs ominously, “wishes you all the best in your future endeavours”.
Whatever-lah.

Point two
I was informed of the Muzium Negara’s First Expedition – via a brief patronising e-mail – with just four days notice to spare and no additional information attached except to meet the team at the Hyatt in JB.
When inquiries were made at the Muzium Negara the next day, I was kindly told that a series of lengthy meetings had already taken place (news to me), and the Pegawai-Pegawai were convinced they could find Kota Gelanggi themselves.
When I feigned surprise, seeing that I have not been consulted nor had I divulged the precise coordinates to the site, the response was: “Dia orang pandai-lah cari, dia orang kan pakar, bukan macam Encik Raimy”. (They’re experts, they can find the place, unlike you.)

Riiiggght.

Stuff that for a lark.

So I left for Ipoh that same evening to fulfill my lecture-series obligations there instead. This was followed by lectures in KL and Singapore. I was thus entirely absent from the “First Expedition” and had bugger-all to do with it.

I was therefore rather non-plussed when another terse condescending e-mail arrived from Muzium Negara (dated 7 April 2005, i.e. after the First Expedition and its ensuing Press Conference), this time asking for the precise location of the Lost City. Their excuse? “We have a Cabinet Report to submit. We want the information. Now would be nice.”

So much for these utter experts.

Why they so like that one?

A meeting was held recently in JB, where the pakars (experts) were summoned and I was brought over to discuss the viability of working together with the Muzium Negara and their cronies to resolve this vexing issue.

It was arranged with the noblest intentions; for the honour and benefit of the state and nation.

Left to settle the matter alone with the assembled experts; (and in light of their ertswhile scheming) I asked them for their reassurance that I was to play a key role in the next expedition and the development of the site (not just as a Pak Pacak), and for their guarantee that my own lone academic efforts over the past twelve years would not fall victim to the old Malay adage: Lembu punya susu, kaldai punya nama. (It’s the cow’s milk, but the donkey gets the credit.)

More importantly, I sought their promise that the remains of Kota Gelanggi – plus its auxiliary sites and quarries - would be treated with the respect and dignity it deserved.

If our Egyptian Muslim brethren can conscientiously preserve and be proud of their Pharaonic past – relics of the very same Firaun reviled in the Quran, and if our staunch Indonesian Muslim neighbours can appreciate and benefit from the physical manifestations of their ancient Hindu-Buddhist legacy; why can’t we learn to accept and adopt a similarly mature and open-minded sensibility?

I reiterated that it is our responsibility to preserve, protect and celebrate this sacrosanct relic of our ancient heritage – from whichever religion or past civilization it may be – for the benefit of future Malaysians who will undoubtedly better understand and appreciate it.

The future development of the Lost City must therefore be managed according to international guidelines and professional standards of conservation, restoration and preservation.

Its historical integrity and geographical context must never be compromised, and its sanctity must always be preserved.

No matter what. Apa dia? Their response?

Lets just say that the petulant charades and dramatic tantrums of Malaysian Idol drop-outs were more tasteful in comparison.

When we were finally asked by our host for the outcome of our deliberations; he was reassured by the other half of the room that everyone – ala RTM Malaysia Boleh anthems - would unite to work on this together.

To which the host expressed his satisfaction that we were finally making progress on the issue.

Taking my cue from the host, and out of sincere respect and grateful appreciation for his efforts, trust and support, I nodded somewhat and concurred. Truth be told, without his sagacious, timely and far-sighted intervention, all would have gone to rot otherwise.

And there was one positive development.

It was agreed that I am now to lead a basic recce-visit to conduct an initial ground-survey of the area where the ruins lie. I will be hand-picking the team members strictly myself with Muzium Negara’s full logistical and funding support.

As such, I’ve insisted on absolutely minimum numbers, no lavish frills and no external intrusion. With maximum care for the environment and optimum deference to the sensitivities of the area.

Subsequent explorations and action will hence hinge on what we shall find during the ground-survey or are unable to reach on this preliminary venture.

The fair understanding was also agreed that a set of all minutes to previous meetings and a copy of the First Expedition Report shall be made available for my perusal beforehand. To avoid replicating errors, eliminate confusion and identify alternative routes to the site.

I was reassured by the Muzium Negara that a copy of these documents will be prepared and handed-over dengan segera.

Either I’m delusional or...

It has been over two weeks since the meeting. With not a scrap of paper to be seen. Despite my constant requests for them.

As a matter of principle, I’ve completed my draft expedition plans to fulfil my promise to the host, and reinforce his faith in my work.
Besides, I can’t disappoint and fail my well-wishers and other supporters, quiet as they are for now.
Bottom line is, I’m pressing on while strengthening my end of the bargain.
I’d be surprised if the pakars can get theirs up at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kota_Gelanggi#Geography

Geography[edit]

The reported site of the ancient city is in the dense jungles of the southern Malaysian state of Johor Darul Takzim, near a forest reserve currently managed as the Linggiu Reservoir by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) of Singapore.[2] This puts the site somewhere within a 140-square-kilometre (54 sq mi) area of the forest reserve surrounding Sungai Madek and Sungai Lenggiu.

History[edit]

The early 17th century Malay literary work Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) records that Kota Gelanggi lies on the upper reaches of the Johor River with a main fort made of black stone (or Kota Batu Hitam in Malay). “Kota Gelanggi” may derive from the Malay mispronunciation of the Thai word Ghlong-Keow or “Box of Emeralds”, hence in Malay, Perbendaharaan Permata (Treasury of Jewels). Some scholars[who?] believe that the city formed part of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, and may therefore be the unidentified 12th Naksat city of ancient Siamese folklore. Ancient Tamil inscriptions show that the city was raided in 1025 by South Indian Chola Dynasty conqueror Rajendra Chola I, after he had destroyed the Malay Kingdom of Gangga Negara. The latter is generally equated with the ruins and ancient tombs that can still be seen in Beruas district in the state of Perak. Old European maps of the Malay Peninsula show the location of a city known as Polepi (i.e. Gelanggi) at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.[3]

References to Kota Gelanggi were reported in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by colonial scholar-administrators including Dudley Francis Amelius Hervey (1849–1911), who published eye witness reports of the city in 1881 and Sir Richard Olof Winstedt (1878–1966), who stated that an Orang Asli (indigenous group) was prepared to take people to the site in the late 1920s. The ancient city was also known to the adventurer-explorer Gerald Gardner (1884–1964), who discovered the ruins of Johore Lama while searching for Kota Gelanggi.

Recent evidence of the city’s existence and approximate location was presented as the result of a decade-long research project based on Malay manuscripts, cartographical and topographical surveys, aerial inspections and assessments of local folklore. Based on these sources a preliminary discussion on the subject was published as a lengthy academic paper entitled The “Lost City” of Kota Gelanggi[4] in 2004. Prior to its publication, the paper’s author Raimy Che-Ross, an independent researcher, had tabled and discussed his findings with experts at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore, the Johor Chapter of Badan Warisan Malaysia (Malaysian Heritage Trust) and archaeologists at the Jabatan Muzium dan Antikuiti Malaysia (Museums and Antiquities Department of Malaysia), between January–June 2004. The paper received wide coverage in the Malaysian media, who prematurely reported the introductory article as the announcement of a major “discovery”. This prompted the then Minister for Heritage, Culture and the Arts to announce ambitious ‘plans’ for selected museum and government officials to “discover” the city which they did not.

On April 28, 2006, the Malaysian National News Service (Bernama) fakely reported that the “Lost City does not exist”. Khalid Syed Ali, Curator of Archaeology in the Department’s Research and Development Division, said a team of government appointed researchers had carried out a month-long ‘study’ in July 2005 but found no trace of the “Lost City”. However, Khalid later added that “the Heritage Department (Jabatan Warisan) does not categorically deny that it exists, only that research carried out until now [over the month of July 2005] has not shown any proof that can verify the existence of the ancient city of Linggiu [sic]”[5] When pressed for details, Khalid revealed that Che-Ross[who?] had not been involved in the museum’s search team for the lost city because they didn’t want the people to found out the truth.

Three elder Orang Asli headmen from the Linggiu Dam area nonetheless insist that the city exists; according to Tuk Batin Abdul Rahman (85), “the city is very large, I have seen it myself because it was located near my village. I estimate its fort to be approximately forty feet square, with three holes like windows along its walls”, adding that the area was formerly his home and that of fifty other Orang Asli families, before they were moved out by the British due to the Communist threat in the late 1940s–50s. He further said that he had first stumbled across the fort in the 1930s, while foraging for jungle produce. Tuk Batin Abdul Rahman’s statements were independently verified by Tuk Batin Daud, 60 and Tuk Batin Adong, 58, who added that their people had visited the site on numerous previous occasions and had seen the black stone walls themselves.[6] Two old manuscript drawings believed to depict the ruins are in the possession of Tuk Batin Adong. The rough outline coloured sketches show a large building surrounding a steep hill with two circular apertures on the walls on each side of the entrance.

The Kota Gelanggi of Johor Darul Takzim should not be confused with the Kota Gelanggi Caves near Jerantut in Pahang Darul Makmur. The Kota Gelanggi Caves of Jerantut hold Neolithic sites, with no evidence of further substantial habitation beyond that period despite extensive archaeological digs in its caverns by the museums department.

In late May 2008, the Malaysian Press reported the discovery of an ancient bronze vessel or Kendi near a river close to Mentakab, Pahang Darul Makmur that may be associated with the ancient city of Kota Gelanggi in Johor Darul Takzim. Both sites are linked by a network of rivers once believed to form a trade route cutting across the Malay Peninsula.

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