Story and pictures by LIZ PRICE
ALL MALAYSIA
THERE is a surprising number of small museums tucked away in nooks and crannies around Kuala Lumpur that many people don’t know about. One of these is the Royal Malaysian Police Museum at Jalan Perdana, between the National Mosque and Lake Gardens.
I must admit I didn’t know of its existence until some visitors from England drew my attention to it –– they had been walking up to Lake Gardens and saw a plane exhibited outside the museum –– so I decided to investigate.
An armoured personal carrier used by the Jungle Squad in the 1950s.
The Police Museum is one of KL’s least known attractions, but deserves better publicity. It was opened in 1961 and displays several thousand items pertaining to crime and crime prevention, artefacts and documents. It is a very interesting collection of everything to do with the Malaysian Police, from the sultanate through to the modern day, describing events and displaying the memorabilia.
It is also a good place for people to brush up on their history. History is generally not a popular subject, especially when people are looking forward, so this museum serves as a gentle reminder of the last 500 years in Malaysia as seen from the perspective of law enforcement.
Did you know, for instance, there were such things as pornographic handkerchiefs? I kid you not. These items were confiscated from the Communists in the 1950s. At a glance, they resembled normal handkerchiefs with an innocent scene, but if folded appropriately, a pornographic picture is revealed. Needless to say the museum didn’t display the folded version of the picture.
The museum is divided into three galleries, in chronological order, with arrows showing the route to be taken. All displays are labelled in Bahasa Malaysia and English.
The first exhibit begins with uniforms of the police and the guards. Interestingly, shorts were common attire for policemen in the colonial days. As you step into the first gallery, Gal-lery A, you are taken back to the Malacca Malay Sultanate, circa 1400-1511.
This segment is dominated by a bronze-coloured statue of the Temenggung. Temenggung means “great shield,” but this actually refers to the man who performed the duties of Chief of Police and Superintendent of Prisons for the sultan’s court. The statue watches over the display of spears and keris, and the Portuguese coins. The Portu-guese were in power from the early 1500s, and Malacca was under military rule for about 130 years until the Dutch took possession in 1641.
Jungle Squad in the 1950s.
The exhibits then proceed from the Dutch era to that of the British, who took over Malacca in 1795. The uniforms of the Dutch colonial armed forces can be seen here. The Straits Settlement police, under the British, were amalgamated in 1825, although their uniform differed from state to state. These are shown in Gallery B. The Sarawak police uniform looked more like that of a boy scout’s than a policeman’s to me.
There is also a display of past In-spector General of Police’s (IGP) ce-remonial uniforms, medals, and gifts presented from foreign dignitaries.
Normally, armaments bore me, but the weapons gallery here held my attention for quite a while. Half of the display cabinets show weapons that were confiscated. Many were taken from the Communist terrorists. As well as the run-of-the-mill guns, there were a whole lot of home-made ones used during the Emergency. Some were simple with crudely made woo-den handles whereas others were more sophisticated.
The items taken from the secret societies were the most varied. Apart from guns, the hardware included pipes and bicycle chains. There were knifes too, obvious ones like penknives as well as blades hidden in walking sticks. There was even a horse whip. The buka lima were presumably used like knuckledusters, pieces of metal with five holes for the digits. Another cabinet had weapons confiscated from the Kumpulan Botak Chin in 1976. Botak Chin was a notorious gangster who portrayed himself as a modern-day Robin Hood.
And, of course, the weapons used by the police are also shown here, such as guns and rifles.
Outside this room, there is a collection of model cars, trucks and boats used by the military. Mr Syers is also featured in the museum. His is a name some KL people may recognise. H.C. Syers was the first Commissioner of Police of the Federated Malay States in 1896. Incidentally, it was Syers, along with an American naturalist Hornaday, who “discovered” the caves at Batu Caves in 1878. Syers unfortunately met his end when he was gored by a seladang in 1897.
Then, there are the exhibits of the Japanese era, followed by a display on the Inspector General of Police leading up to present times.
Exhibits in Gallery C are mainly from the post-World War II period. They tell you how the Flying Squad was established in 1948 but had its name changed to the Jungle Squad be- cause the jungle was where they were active. There is even a tank on display. There are various items confiscated from the Communists: a money for-ging machine, communication equipment such as signalling devices and loud hailers, land mines and bombs as well as medicines, clothes and survival kits. Also, learn about the history of the Japanese surrender in 1945.
From here, enter the Bukit Kepong police station and the tragedy that took place there is revealed. On Feb 23, 1956, 180 Communist terrorists attacked the police station and killed many of the officers, as well as the policewomen and children. The attack lasted four and a half hours and the station was burnt to the ground. Next is a display of haram articles such as drugs, equipment for forging, and items relating to gaming and lotteries such as the Chinese game Chap Ji Kee.
The last section covers the present day, with a feature on Bukit Aman, including its religious activities. There is a segment for technical equipment such as radios and ca-meras. One section is dedicated to women, such as the first policewoman, Miss Wentworth, who served KL in the 1950s.
Also, learn about the invaluable work done by the police, especially in combating communist terrorism and defending the country.
Outside, there are tanks, armoured personnel carriers and cannons. There is a garage which houses three limousines used by IGPs. There is also a marine police boat. The garden has rows of flowers and bushes planted by various police chiefs. The museum is definitely well worth a visit.
The Royal Malaysian Police Museum
No 5, Jalan Perdana, KL.
Tel: (03) 2272-5689
Open daily except on Mondays,
10am – 6pm and admission is free.
Originally published in The Star on
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