Friday, May 6, 2011

Exhibit Outside the National Museum

There is also quite an exhibit outside the compound of the National Museum for those who have a hard time to fork out RM 2 to enter the museum.

This is the Perahu Payang (fishing Boat) which the the largest Malay fishing boats with a crew of 15-2o men. It is used mostly along the estuaries of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The Dragon Racing Boat originated from Thailand. The boat, which can accommodate 6-8 crew members was used for racing during the Water Festival. The boat's body is decorated with a dragon motif while its front incorporated with a carved dragon head. This type of boat can still be seen today, especially during water festival celebration.

This building called "Istana Satu" (First Palace) was erected by Al-marhum Sultan Zainal Abidin III, Sultan Terengganu in 1884, in the compund of Kota Istana Maziah, Kuala Terengganu. This building is of traditional Terengganu Malay architecture called "Rumah Terengganu Tiang dua belas" (12 column Terengganu House). The wood used is cengal.

Batu Aceh is a type of gravestone. These gravestones, carved by the Acehnese between 15th and 19th centuries were widely distributed in the Malay Indonesian archipelago and were used to embellish the graves of Malay royal families and chieftains. Their form and decoration show a combination of the art both pre and post arrival of Islam. Their inscriptions, beside recording the name of the deceased and the date of death, also have quotations from the Quran and poems, which contain death as the central theme.

Moving on, there are a few structures which are common in Sarawak like the Kelirieng (Burial Poles). In the past, it was customary to rebury their dead by collecting the bones from the coffin and placing them in a jar from their houses. The jar would then be placed inside or around the pole.

The megaliths erected here come from an excavated megalithic site in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan.

The statue of Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham was erected to commemorate his numerous contributions towards the early development of Malaya. The cost of this statue was borne by his many friends and admirers. The statue was first placed adjacent to the Selangor State Secretariat Building facing the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers and was officially unveiled on 19 January 1921. During the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, the statue was temporarily removed but was returned to its original site on 15 October 1946 before it was finally moved to its present location.

King Edward VII was born in 1841. His Majesty was the first born of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. When he was 22 years old King Edward VII married Princess Alexender of Denmark and the royal couple was bestowed with 6 children. King Edward VII was 58 years old when he ascended the throne after the demise of the Queen Mother. His Majesty was very popular with his subjects and also known globally. King Edward was laid to rest in 1910 after a 9 year reign. His eldest son, King George V, succeeded him.

The 22 Class Diesel English Electric Locomotive was ordered by KTMB from English Electric of Great Britain and the first entered service in 1971. The purchase was part of a plan to replace all the existing steam locomotives with diesel ones at the time.

This steam locomotive was acquired by The Federated Malay State Railways at a cost of RM 121,600 was first put into service in 1921. In November 1969, it was withdrawn from service from the East Coast main line in Kelantan. It had covered about 1.5 million rail miles.

This class "T" steam locomotive was one of the five small tank engines built by W.G. Bagnall Limited of England in 1927. They were the first British built engines to have steel fireboxes and shipped completely assembled for the use by the Federated Malay State Railways in 1929. Used for dock service, it was stationed at Singapore and Port Swettenham (now Port Klang) until 1964.

This arch is a replica of the Pintu Malim (Malim Gate) one of the arches of the Kuala Kedah Fort situated at the Kedah River estuary. Kota Kuala Kedah is the only Malay fort constructed of brick which has survived to the present day.

The fort was built during the reign of Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah who ascended the throne in 1760. It was designed and built for the defence of Kedah against the Siamese army. When the British first moved into Kedah, they use the fort as an administrative center. To suit the needs of the British, a new and bigger gateway was built, larger than the Malim Gate and known as the English Gate.

This is the 1.3 litre Proton Saga. It was the first of 30 cars to be manufactured during its test run stage. It created history by becoming Malaysian's first national car when it was completed at 2.30pm on Thursday, 18th April 1985.

The Dennis Fire Engine which had been in service from 1958 until 1981. This was one of the earliest fire engines used in the country until more modern machines replaced it.

This coach was put into service at Penang Hill (now Bukit Bendera). It is the only one of its kind in South East Asia. Designed and built by a Swiss firm, it was put into service on 21 October 1923 and withdrawn from service in December 1977 when it was replaced with a modern and bigger coach.

The Sekoci boat is a traditional small vessel which is popular in the state of Terengganu Darul Iman. It is used for fishing purposes to catch squids and to fish along the coastal areas using nets.

1 comment:

Steve said...

Looks fascinating - I must make the effort of a trip here. Loved the old trains and cars and would to explore more here.