Town of ghostly memories
Liz Price
KUALA LUMPUR
Friday, August 24, 2007
PAPAN is one of the smallest and oldest towns in Malaysia and part of its charm is that half of the town lies in ruins. It is almost a ghost town, yet many of the buildings are still occupied.
No 74 Main Street, Papan, must be one of the most famous addresses in Malaysia's northern state of Perak. It was from this building that Sybil Kathigasu and her Ceylonese doctor husband, Dr AC Kathigasu, ran a clinic during the Japanese Occupation. They gave medical aid to the Malayan People Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and Force 136 operatives, who were hiding in the hills of Papan.
Sybil was arrested and tortured by the Japanese, and eventually died from the wounds she suffered as a prisoner of war. Sybil, a Eurasian, was the only Malayan woman ever awarded the George Medal for bravery.
No 74 still stands and is now converted into a museum dedicated to Sybil and maintained by the Perak Heritage Society.
President of the Society is Law Siak Hong, and he has dedicated much of his time in setting up this museum as well as organising many historical events in Papan. And it was due to him that the "Papan Memories" night took place on August 18 2007, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Merdeka and the 62nd anniversary of the end of World War II.
A pleasing number of people turned up for this event, many of whom were expats living in Ipoh. It was a good chance for people to look around No 74 and to learn a bit about the history of Papan through the photos and exhibits on display.
Papan has always been associated with tin, although the name Papan means "plank" in Malay and probably refers to earlier days when it was a lumber town.
In the mid 19th century, Papan came into being as a timber town. The inhabitants were Malays, Chinese and immigrant Mandailings from West Sumatra.
By the 1880's Papan was an important area for tin mining, when there were 13 mines in operation. A dam was built by the Mandailings, possibly with the help of the Chinese, to supply hydraulic power to the mines. At the same time, more Chinese were coming to Papan to work in the mines.
Due to these rich alluvial tin fields, Papan grew rich. Streets were laid out by the 1890s and by the turn of the 20th century, the main street had more than 100 shophouses and public buildings, making Papan bigger than Ipoh.
Morning markets were held at the lower end of town. There was a school, post office and government dispensary. For entertainment there was a Cantonese opera theatre at the upper end. And throughout the town were brothels and opium dens.
The Papan mosque was completed in 1888, built in the character of the mosques in Mandailing. The original Kwan Yin temple was built in 1874. Many of the mansions are still standing today.
The town grew in population during the Japanese Occupation. Thousands of war refugees fled to Papan after Ipoh was bombed by the Japanese in December 1941.
Papan acquired the reputation of being "a bad place" during the Occupation, from where the MPAJA and Force 136 operated. It was during this period that Sybil Kathigasu and her husband were running the clinic.
Examples of medical tools and medicines bottles are on display in the clinic. Looking around the exhibits is a moving experience when you think of the atrocities that took place.
Having learnt about the history, some of the visitors went for a boat ride on a mining pond at the back of the town. Others went to explore the town and venture into some of the ruins.
Trees are taking over and invading houses, some of which still have old furniture in place. At dusk everyone gathered for a buffet supper of local delicacies and war time specialties. For some of the foreign visitors, it was the first time they had tried tapioca. There was even a large birthday cake for Malaysia's 50th Independence celebration.
After eating, everyone went to the basketball court for a short dance performance by some local Chinese youth. It was a perfect setting, the area lit by candles and the dancers illuminated by car headlights. The music and costumes really completed the effect. After the last dance, the spectators picked up the candles and led by Siak Hong, went for a candlelit walk around the ruins.
If there are any ghosts in Papan, they were in hiding that night. At least one house, No 2, is reputed to be haunted.
Papan is a fascinating place, and hopefully will remain standing for decades to come.
The Brunei Times
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Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/features/2007/08/24/town_of_ghostly_memories
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