The destruction of Padang Pahlawan

February 16, 2008

I came across a short tv program that is specialized in complaints and grouses yesterday. It caught my attention because it was about an issue in my hometown. The people are complaining about the logic of building Dataran Pahlawan Mall on the historical Padang Pahlawan.

Now, any one who are historical conscious would know Padang Pahlawan is the first place where the Malaysian independence from the Brits are announced. It was a historical site for the nation and at the same time it also holds a special place in my childhood memories. Long before fire crackers are officially banned from this nation, this was one of the few places we often launched moontravellers deep into the sky without worries.

Children from the opposite schools often used this padang to play football and other sports like rugby. Kereta lembu(s) used to reign supreme in this place. But now, Padang Pahlawan has become a distant memory because it technically does not exist anymore. It was replaced by a mall. Apparently the people who are being nterviewed in the short program shares the same sentiments with me.

Even the pakciks in trishaws also agrees. They seem angry with the construction of that mall over a historical place. It’s not like there are not enough spaces in Malacca. To me, it’s like building a mall within the complex of Forbidden City. Of course Padang Pahlawan’s value is no where as old as Forbidden City but it’s not the matter of longevity here. It’s the matter of national identity.

Although Padang Pahlawan is only half a century old but it is part of the nation’s identity. Do I have to tell you how relief I was when they decided to move that stupid keris tower project that was supposed to be built opposite of Stadhuys? The people protested against the project but the complaints are largely ignored until they found the remnants of the Porta De Santiago (aka A Famosa Fortress) wall underneath the construction site.

They had no choice but to shift the project else where. We should really thank the accidental discovery of the old A Formosa wall for achieving something what the locals couldn’t do :- Saving the Stadhuys landscape.

It’s no different than a giant pole stuck in the middle of nowhere. The stupidity of the design should not be allow to exist in the first place. Just like that Pulau Melaka project that took them more than 1 decade to complete only to get deserted.

Technorati Tags: stadhuys, history, Portuguese, Melaka, Malacca, ruins

Posted in Rants, Malacca