The surau of Kampung Setul, Yan...

OK... Straight to the point... I must complete this story as quickly as possible as it is the last in a set of 7 stories for this blogspot started at Teluk Intan two days ago... Before I can feel comfortable and complete enough to leave Perak. And my gut feeling tells me, I must also complete one article for the bi-lingual blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) before I can enter Selangor which is just a kilometre away from where I'm writing this in Tanjung Malim! Here it is...

The verandah of surau (small praying hall of) Kampung Setul in Yan. This place might be only one of many places visited in Yan 18-20 January 2007 but I believe it deserves it's own story.

What happened was while at Titi Hayun (look at Yan again... The call of Gunung Jerai... ) I was greeted by a lad who was curious at my presence. After all, the way I look with my big rucksack, the way I walk with confidence despite being a lone stranger in an unfamiliar territory attracted much attention.

I told him about my Aceh connection and he pledged to sent me to a surau which he positively believed has ties with Aceh. Actually, he thought the surau is within the boudaries of Kampung Aceh but he thought wrong and that is another story. After I'm done having fun at Titi Hayun, he sent me to the surau before leaving to join his friends.

As it turns out, the surau was in Kampung (village of) Setul which is rather curious to me because it was named after some people immigrated from Setul. Hmm... Then again, maybe I shouldn't be that curious. For information, Setul is a district (some said even a small state with its own little king) which was under the rule of Kedah. Following some British-Siamese treaty or interference or such, it was handed to the Thais and went under their rule right to this day.

For all my stars I simply can't find the Aceh connection then but my heart says just stick around and see what comes about... So there...

Hmm... I did mention in the article In Yan to find the Aceh connection... there's something curious about the pink colour of the halls of main mosque of Yan. As it is, the surau at Kampung Setul is also predominantly pink too... Is there a connection here? (Apart from the same colour of course...)

The pictures you see here were taken after spending the night at the surau. I arrived the day before almost at dusk. The lucky thing was the locals were celebrating a kenduri (a feast) that night... So I actually had a nice free dinner with plenty of nice friendly company to boot!

Now, these people said they are related to each other and originated from grandparents who left Setul for some reasons... Maybe because of the Thai takeover? Maybe this could be a very obvious answer. The Thais are predominantly Buddhist and some especially the military were not so in favour of Setul's originally major Muslim population. So some said, what practically followed next was genocide... Either embrace their faith or suffer persecution, at least that's what some told me...

I did ask about the history of this particular surau... Is there any weird happenings? Or any good spiritual presence worth taking note of (I said this almost whispering to their elders)... Well, they were surprised that I planned to spend the night there. It's just, they said, do it at my own peril... For there is definitely some sort of presence around at it could scare those not that pure at heart.

Suffice to say, I survived the night intact. I did feel a strong unseen presence but then again I've had plenty experience of similar effect.

Nevertheless I'm there not to challenge any forces but just to follow my travelling urge while finding answers to some questions plaguing my life. It seems, the forces that guard the place acknowledge this. They (or he?) not only accepts my presence but guarded me from any possible disturbance from elsewhere... After all, I am just a lone traveller which is susceptible to attacks from those with bad intention. So there...

Oh... Back to the issue of the colour pink as seen at the surau of Kampung Setul, also at the main mosque of Yan... While writing this, I remember the locals at Yan saying that right in front of the main mosque, there used to lie the tomb of a saintly person... If memory serves me right, his name is Sheikh Uthman Al-Qadri. What is sure, he is a Sheikh ( a religious teacher) and carries the family name Al-Qadri which are said to be among the descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

A day before going to Kampung Setul, a local took me by bike and brought me to to the saint's present grave, I can't remember in which village... Hmm... Come to think of it, perhaps that is the connection? Although the Al-Qadri family is said to flourish in Borneo, I have reason to believe it also has connections with Aceh through some families there which I positively believe are descended from the Sultanul Awliya (king of saints) Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani who lived in 12th century Baghdad!

Enough... I've told what can be told to release what's inside me... Now I must get on an complete a story for the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) before I can get into Selangor. Take care! :]

Yan again... The call of Gunung Jerai...

19th January 2007. If memory serves me right, it was a Friday... So the Yan main mosque would play host to the Jumaat or Friday congregational prayers soon. Still, I want to continue exploring around but not too far as I didn't want to miss the weekly congregational prayer which is obliged by men.

Actually Muslims in the midst of travel are exempted from this obligation. They can opt to conduct the normal daily Zuhur or early afternoon prayers as a replacement. Why, a person travelling far like me could even delay the Zuhur prayers right well into the ends of the time for Asar prayers, that is just before dusk but I chose to conduct the Jumaat because of the feeling of brotherhood it evokes having many people congregating at one place all in the name of God, the Creator of all in existence!

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And so I just walked around the town centre... It's just a kilometre away and I could make the Jumaat prayers in time at a moment's call...

It's only after the Jumaat prayers that I decided to take the rather long walk going inland away from the town of Yan. That's when I passed Kampung (village) Aceh, said to be the place where Aceh immigrants were originally concentrated at in Yan.

Too bad I didn't feel much connection. The locals said, most of the old folks of Acehnese descent have either moved out or passed away. The remaining young didn't keep close to their roots, as in practicing the way of their elders especially religious-wise... Perhaps that is why I could only scarcely feel the connection? Nevertheless, I do feel slight spiritual pulls here and there, maybe because of the aura left behind by the deceased elders? It's just I felt a stronger pull calling me to walk on... To where? Let's just continue with the story...

I walked on and came across this school. My legs still want to go on...

As it is, the peaks of Gunung Jerai seemed to beckon!

Interesting to see this tree right in the middle of the road. I learned later (actually I did feel it there and then), there's a strong spirital presence emanating from the tree!

Much later I came to this sign-post... Both places mentioned are local resorts... Which one should I go to... The answer came rather obvious. Just follow the pull like a spaceship being sucked by a tractor beam in an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century... Head for the foot of Gunung Jerai... Just walk on straight... (Now I'm beginning to sound like a Zombie... Say this with a drawling voice: I need brains! Haha!)

And so I arrived at the resort area of Titi Hayun, literally translated as the 'swinging small bridge'. It seems there was one such bridge there at one time. Now it is replaced by this concrete one which can only swing if there's a Tsunami or a Transformers giant robot swinging it for fun... Hmm...

Right after crossing this bridge, I saw this staircase up the hill...O o.... I though I just want to have a splash at the ravines here but something is pulling me up the stairs... Ah... Just follow the light... Is it the call of Gunung Jerai grabbing me by the balls?

And there I was, this unfit self for the lack of sporting activities the last 20 years with a huge rucksack behind my back alone climbing up this stairs... Coincidently, the locals call this staircase Tangga Seribu or the thousand steps... I found out why while almost being flat!

I found this shack and decided to stop for rest. After all, I couldn't see any more steps... Perhaps there are some more and I was told later, the steps actually leads all the way to the peak of Gunung Jerai but I think enough climbing for the day. I was already having breathing trouble the last few weeks for reasons I'm not sure of... Maybe because of the side-effects of abruptly stopping smoking since September? After 22 years of hardcore blowing and puffing to clear my stress away? Or maybe I'm having breathing problems of the black magic attacks I believed were instigated against me my some people who wants me dead? I sure can't reveal the details...

Whatever, I was nearly out of breath then. I swear, it's only a strong self-will which contributes a systematic control of breathing which stops me from passing out alone in this jungle... Otherwise, God know what would happen to me next...

Nevertheless, I managed to put my body and breathing in order and went down the steps safely. It's time to take a dip in the cool waters and ease myself...

Later, I was taken to this surau (small praying hall)... Let me continue the story in another article ya... Cheers! :]

In Yan to find the Aceh connection...

After leaving Merbok, I went staight to Yan.The Kedah town and district situated between the Melaka Straits (sorry... I refuse to use the Anglicised spelling Malacca) and Gunung Jerai was said to be opened my immigrants from Aceh. And being a person with ancestors coming from that land myself, I decided to go to Yan to look for some sort connections, physical or otherwise...

I arrived in Yan afternoon 18th January 2007. It was my first time there and I decide to immediately scout for the main mosque as a possible place to spend the night.

On the way, I saw this school... I was immediately struck by the name Langkasuka... Refer to Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the first king of Kedah? for a brief story of this ancient Malay kingdom... Is this the connection I'm looking for? It might not be immediately related to Aceh but it could be related to ancient Aceh under a different name... Just like Kedah was part of Langkasuka... So was Kelantan in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia and Patani ruled by the Thais, all part of the more ancient Langkasuka... Hmm...

There, the main mosque of Yan... Looks welcoming enough...

The pink-coloured halls... Why chose this rather girlish colour bringing aura of Barbie dolls to mind? Never mind... I have found myself a cosy spot for night. So its time to explore Yan...

I walked to Yan's very own 'beach'... At least there some stalls to have meals and drinks... Well, it is situated by the seaside but you can only call it a beach at certain times... Why? Just look at the pictures below...

Notice the mud? Maybe you can call it a beach during high tide but not at this hour... By the way, this is the view towards south...

The view towards the north shows an island the locals call Pulau Bunting... Bunting as in pregnant (not the English bunting as in big promotional posters and such) because they said it looks like a pregnant woman lying down.

I looked at it and try to 'find' the pregnant woman in question. Nope... I can't really see it. Either they are wrong or the woman in question is physically deformed, heh! Just kidding...

Anyway just look at the mud... Would you swim at this 'beach'? Yes, the place is pretty scenic but for one to take a dip and suffer the conquence of having mud smeared all over? Urgghhh!!!

Still, it is called Pantai Murni which literally translates as the 'pure beach'... Hmm... Somehow the words ring a bell but in a very unflatering way, hehe! :]

Anyway, I left the 'beach' at dusk... Look, the view of Gunung Jerai as night dawned...

Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the first king of Kedah?

Greetings dear readers... I'm now in Tanjung Malim after spending the night at the main mosque there... Glad to inform everyone, I am in the final stages of my current journey after leaving Kuala Lumpur more than 3 weeks ago. It happens that last night is my 7th night in Perak, after spending 6 nights in Kedah, 5 nights in Kelantan and 4 nights in Pahang. Notice the order of number? Is it sheer coincidence or what?

Anyway, I last made any posting at my blogspots two days ago in Teluk Intan. For information I completed my 155th posting in CATATAN SI MERAH SILU, 88th in this blogspot and 44th for
SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) at the town where dad was born. Notice again the order of numbers? Oh... By the way, I have a 'fetish' for numbers... Certain ones carry a certain reverbation for me and serve as some sort of spiritual pointers as how to navigate life and what choices to make next.

Anyway, the occurence of those numbers as the total of my postings made me pause a bit in my writing in order to savour the moment. Now, in my last day in Perak (hopefully, hehe!) in my current trip, I intend to break the ice before crossing the border to Selangor just a kilometre away... Here it is...

Somewhere in the district of Merbok with the height of Gunung Jerai in the backdrop, lies a set of ancient graves believed to belong to the family of the first king of Kedah. His name is said to be Sultan Muzaffar Shah and he lived and ruled in the early 1100s AD, some 300 years earlier than the said official opening of the kingdom of Melaka...

Now, the kingdom of Melaka is almost always referred to in official Malaysian history as the earliest and most prosperous Malay kingdom. What about Kedah which is acknowleged by everyone as having existed much earlier? I believe everyone knows that but why wasn't it recognised as much as Melaka? Is it because they think Kedah is a minor kingdom while Melaka used to be quite a grand empire ruling over a big part of the Malay Archipelago? Or is it because Kedah lacked prominent personalities like that in Melaka?

Now practically everyone knows the name of the legendary Melaka and Malay warrior, Hang Tuah. Many also know of the exploits or Melaka rulers such as Sultan Mansur Shah and Sultan Mahmud Shah, also the bravery of its other rulers like Sultan Alauddin and Sultan Muzaffar (the Muzaffar of Melaka of course as the name Muzaffar is used by many Malay rulers). But how many (outside of Kedah) know the exploits of Kedah's very own rulers or its long legendary history especially as narrated in the classic text Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa?

Look at the plaque above... I'm sorry if I can't explain it clearly as the trip to this place was made in January 18th 2007, a continuation from the trip as told in The ruins of Pengkalan Bujang .... And the writings, being in such choice of colour against such background in stone is not that clear either and I admit, I have to rush to complete this and the next few posting before I'm, 'allowed' to leave Perak and get into Selangor. But it did say, Sultan Muzaffar Shah of Kedah died in either 1136 AD or 1129 AD (if memory serves me right)... At least enough to give the idea, how far way back was the time this king flourised in...

Oh... I almost didn't make it to this place as first, I don't know its actual location... Second I was already very tired that day after walking from the town of Merbok to the archeological museum in Bujang Valley then spending time at the ruins of Pengkalan Bujang. And third there is no public transport to get to the tomb of Sultan Muzaffar and it is at least 6km away from Pengkalan Bujang.

By God's grace, a staff working at the excavation site at Pengkalan Bujang heard about my predicament and took me there...Truly God has planned everything... It is we humans who often fail to see the wisdom behind His every move and timing...

And so there I was staring at this scene. Beautiful isn't it with the 1,200 metre plus high Gunung Jerai in the background, the most visible high ground within a 100km radius or so I think. Here is a beacon said to have guide travellers, traders and adventurers in an around the region for more than 1,000 years! The other highlands are situated within Banjaran Titiwangsa or the Main Range which is quite a distance inland.

Thus they said, that is why Kedah (or rather the ancient kingdom of Langkasuka) was founded earlier than the other kingdoms in Peninsular Malaysia... When a warrior prince from the Middle East or European region (depending on how or where you interpret the location of the ancient kingdom of Rum) by the name of Merong Mahawangsa was stranded on the shores of an island called Pulau Serai which is actually ancient Gunung Jerai ! During a time when most of the land you see in the picture was submerged in water, perhaps as remnants of the flood during Prophet Nuh's time? God knows best...

As it is, the story as recorded in the ancient text Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa is steeped in magic and tales so outlandish for the modern mind to believe or take note of. Merong Mahawangsa was a prince who headed a fleet to bring the son of the Emporer of Rum to China to marry the princess of the emporer there. But a giant bird, the arrogant garuda (I believe the English term is roc or something as there is a similar legend about a giant bird in ancient Europe and Middle East) pledged to prevent the marriage from happening in front of the wise King Solomon (also known as Prophet Sulaiman in Islam).

The king just allowed the giant bird to take its shot... Said the king, what God has planned, no one can alter however powerful one is... It's only a matter of time before God's decrees take its course. To cut a long story short, the giant bird attacked the fleet that carried the prince of Rum towards China. The attack happened not far away from the present shore of Kedah and in the aftermath, Merong Mahawangsa founded the kingdom of Langkasuka starting at Gunung Jerai and that is the precursor to the opening of the state of Kedah.

The small road leading to the tomb of Sultan Muzaffar Shah...

Now, some may wonder, why did I put a question mark in the title of this article... Is Sultan Muzaffar Shah the first king of Kedah or not? Well, that might depend on how you interpret history. Some say, Sultan Muzaffar Shah is actually Merong Mahawangsa after converting to Islam and taking on another name. Others say, the Sultan Muzaffar Shah buried in Merbok is the grandson or great grandson of the legendary Merong Mahawangsa.

Now, the Sultan Muzaffar Shah who is said to have flourished in the earlier 1100s AD or so is officially acknowledged as the first king of Kedah because he was the first to embrace Islam... In the hands of another legendary figure known as Sheikh Abdullah whose tomb is believed to be on top of Gunung Jerai. So there were a few other kings before him but they where not officially recognised by the present authorities as the kings were supposed to be infidels.

There are a few who beg to differ saying all the kings were Muslims all the while. There are a small group who even dared to put forward the theory that Merong Mahawangsa came to Kedah as a Muslim as he made the trip sometime in the 7th Century, well after the Prophet Muhammad SAW has preached the universal message of truth with a famous envoy Saad Abi Waqas having spread the religion up to China! Well, that may be the case... What puzzles me, the text Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa mentioned that Prophet Sulaiman was still alive when Merong Mahawangsa founded Langkasuka or early Kedah. Now, official history said, Sulaiman lived in the 900 years before the Prophet Isa or the Christ was born. This is about 1,500 years before Prophet Muhammad walked on earth. So how do you tally all this?

I left the tomb wondering the whole significance of the trip... What does it say? I do know that since December, I got a feeling saying most of the Western interpreted official history on the ruins in and around Merbok were consciously falsified by parties aligned with the world Zionist movement to fool the Malays... And so we are taught, the original populace of the Malay Archipelago were Hindus before they were either forcefully converted, cooerced by circumstances or simply driven away into the forest by Muslim 'invaders' which came later.

Suffice to say, I believe these are all blatant lies... Islam has always existed with the advent of humanity on earth as brought down by the Prophet Adam but it was the devil and their cohorts which try to lead people astray making them bow down to idols and such. And thus came the term Hindu to refer to a group of religion where a major part of its so-called adherents worship a variety of idols and such is supposed to be the way of the original people of the Malay Archipelago. Enough of this... Just give what I said a thought...

So the time came for me to leave Merbok. Look at the sign-post and guess where to next... Cheers! :]

The ruins of Pengkalan Bujang

OK... Continuing from the story of Bujang Valley. While at the museum there, a staff mentioned how there were some excavation works in progress at Pengkalan Bujang some 6km away. Thank God, seeing how interested I was with all this, he offered to take me there after completing some stuff. So there I was in Pengkalan Bujang... The time was about 2pm or so, the date 18th January 2007...

From outside, I could see this building...

I went inside. The building houses some ruins from the area, believed to have been built in the 6th century of so, that is if my memory serves me right...

The same building also houses a simple museum... Again, if memory serves me right, there are ruins believed to date from as early as 2nd Century AD here, the earliest in Kedah, perhaps the earliest in the whole of Malaysia!

There... Reminds me of the pictures of the Mojehandero-Harrappa city ruins of India said to be 4,000 to 5,000 years old, pictures I've seen in my secondary school history books!

Another part of the ruin...

That's when I saw there's some excavation works in progress...

Some university students (can't remember which university) trying to look for gold?

There... How many holes must you dig before you hit jackpot, hehe! :]

One last look at the ruins of Pengkalan Bujang before the travel continues... One thing I felt during these whole archeological forays (including the ones at Bujang Valley), history is about to be rewritten here but not by you guys... The academic methods in uncovering history through archeological methods have been set by a world standard devised by Jewish elite thinkers under the Protocols of the Elders of Zions which intends to subvert every accepted knowledge to their cause... That is the eventual subjugation of the world to the Zionist Jews. So there's no way they would allow the real truth to surface as the truth would set us free while they don't want us to be free.

You might ask, what truth I'm talking here. Let me just give you a clue... The truth of Islam... The same universal truth preached by our father, the Prophet Adam during the advent of mankind on earth 6,000 (some believed 40,000 years ago) and the truth brought forth by the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad SAW, 1,400 years ago...

The offical history books with its Western Orientalist slanted views try to teach you, the original faith in the Malay lands were Hindu... Islam only came later to 'disturb and force' the original populace to either accept it or run elsewhere for their lives... And so the ruins such as that in Pengkalan Bujang are said to be proofs of this, that Hindu was the dominant and original religion here.

Well, let me just say this... I'm too tired and exhausted to explain right now... I still got a few places to go while in Teluk Intan, Perak (that is where I am the last 2 days on my current travel) and it feels like there's certain forces which don't want me to succesfully complete what I intend to do... Really I feel very sick and the body too weak but I continue holding myself up in dignity including to complete the stories I should release at any particular time in my blogspots. Suffice to say the theories about Hindu being the original religion in the Malay lands are all blatant lies to reduce the the beauty of Islam as completed by Prophet Muhammad to just a 'foreign' religion supposedly preying on the weakness and gullibility of the populace.

By the way, the original religion has always been Islam through and through but the physical practices could be different depending on time and place... The Islam of old used to be under the code of Prophet of Abraham before the code or syariat of Muhammad came. But pervertion of the original religion which lead to idol worship is what prompted the British colonialists to coin the term Hindu... For a group of religions practice in Hindi (now India)...

As far as I know and believe, ruins such as the ones in Pengkalan Bujang was actually Islamic ruins but of Islam under the code of Abraham. But the British colonialiasts, spurred on by Zionist thinkers went to the extend of planting bronze idols at selected site as 'evidence' that the Malay lands were originally populated by Hindus... Enough!

The ancient valley of Bujang in Merbok

The British-built clock tower at Sungai Petani...

After leaving Kota Kuala Muda, I immediately head for Sungai Petani, the main Kedah town some 60km south of the capital Alor Setar. I arrived just before dusk. That's when I had to make a choice whether to spent the night there or continue the journey towards Yan, a coastal town in Kedah which I've never visited before and thus was well on the current travelling programme.

The answer that came - If I could find a cheap hotel for under RM20 per night that night, then I would sleep there. Otherwise, just head towards Yan whether I reach it or not that night. Just get out of town.

As it happened, I couldn't find a room for that price... And there was one last bus to Yan. And so I headed there but decided to stop elsewhere...

The small town of Merbok seen in the morning...

I spent the night at a surau there. Apparently just before I stepped on the bus to Yan, a new 'instruction' dawned into my heart - go to Merbok and visit the places there. There's answers to be found related to my search to understand more the coming of Islam to the Malay Archipelago.

Actually, I was already thinking about going to Merbok even before stepping foot on the northern part of Malaysia more than a week before. It's just Merbok was not a 'complusory' destination, just like Bukit Meriam is not must-visit place in this particular trip.

Having problems trying to understand what I mean? Well let me give you a clue. As far as this particular trip to the North is concerned, I must visit Yan and Alor Setar among other places. I would feel sorely inadequte if I don't do so because it is complusory on my list. Bukit Meriam on other hand is not a must-visit place. That's why I could go straight from Kota Kuala Muda to Sungai Petani without feeling guilty. But Merbok become 'compulsory' when I received the 'instruction' just before stepping foot on the bus. Otherwise, I would have saved time and energy by going straight to Yan. So there...

So what is in Merbok that makes it compulsory to visit? Just look at this signboard... The archeological museum of Bujang Valley, 2km away.

It was early morning and I had the energy... Decided to walk all the way and came across this big house said to belong to a very wealthy Malay...

Some 15 minutes later (or was it more?), banners greeting visitors enter the view...

And so after a brief stop at the main museum building, I headed straight for the artifacts on display outside, things which I don't know function for what originated from areas in and around the Bujang valley from as early as the 2nd century AD!

Some of the artifacts won't be out of place if put alongside ancient Greek city ruins and such...



Hmm... Pillar like this make the word Atlantis comes to mind...

There, more ancient gadgets on display... These bowls (or bowl-like things) could either be soup bowls for giants (legends say they do exist in Kedah sometime ago) or maybe it was for cooking people inside? Hehe! :]

Hmm... One look at this particular artifact and the word trilobite, those ancient insect-like sea animals which were supposed to live before the dinasour appeared 70 millon years ago came to mind...

Ah... My heart urged me to share the remaining pictures to be used on the Bujang Valley story at my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU instead, so there I go now...