Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)
Police museum wins tourists' attention
Liz Price
KUALA LUMPUR
Saturday, January 17, 2009
THERE are a surprising number of small museums tucked away around Kuala Lumpur that many people don't know about. One of these is the Royal Malaysia Police Museum. It is situated on 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 decided to investigate, and convinced me that it is worth a look.
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 history through to modern day, describing the events and displaying the memorabilia.
The museum 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 a gentle reminder of the last 500 years in Malaysia.
For instance, did you know there were such things as pornographic handkerchiefs? I kid you not. These items were confiscated from the Communists in the 1950s. To look at they resemble 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 set up as three galleries and all displays are labelled in Bahasa Malaysia and English. The first exhibit begins with uniforms of the police and the guardsmen. Interestingly shorts were common attire for policemen in those days. As you turn the corner you enter a dimly lit scene from the days of the Melaka Malay Sultanate, from 1400-15.
In front of you is a golden statue of the "Temenggung". "Temenggung" means "great shield", but actually refers to the man who performed the duties of Chief of Police and Superintendent of Prisons for the Melaka sultan's court. His statue watches over the displays of spears and keris, and the Portuguese coins.
The Portuguese had power from the early 1500s, and Melaka was under military rule for about 130 years until the Dutch took possession in 1641.
The exhibits pass from the Dutch era to that of the British who took Melaka in 1795. The uniforms of the Dutch colonial armed forces are displayed. The Straits Settlement police 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 than a policeman.
There is also a display of personal effects of past IGPs, such as ceremonial 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 which have been confiscated.
Many were taken from the communist terrorists, and as well as the run-of-the-mill guns, there was a whole lot of home-made ones used doing the Emergency. Some were quite simple with crudely made wooden handles whereas others were more sophisticated. The items taken from the secret societies were the most varied.
Apart from guns, the hardware included grenades, pipes and bicycle chains. There were knifes, obvious ones like penknives etc, as well as ones hidden in walking sticks, and a horse whip. The "buku lima" were presumably used like knuckledusters, pieces of metal with five holes.
Another cabinet had weapons confiscated from the Kumpulan Botak Chin in 1976. Botak Chin was a notorious gangster. And of course the weapons used by the police are also shown, such as guns and rifles.
A police guard sits outside the weapons room and in the dim lighting at first I thought he was another model until he moved. He is surrounded by a collection of model cars, trucks and boats as used by the military and marine forces.
Exhibits of the Japanese era follow, then a display on the Inspector General of Police leading up to present times, with features on awards, trophies and the modern uniforms. Gallery C is mainly the post World War II period. It tells you how the Flying Squad was established in 1948 but its name was changed to the Jungle Squad, because that is where they were active. There is even a tank on display.
There are various items confiscated from the communists — a money forging machine, communication equipment such as signalling devices and loud hailers, land mines and bombs as well as medicines, clothes and survival kits. The history of the Japanese surrender in 1945 is told.
From here you enter the Bukit Kepong police station and the tragedy that took place there is revealed. On February 23, 1956, 180 terrorists of the Communist Party of Malaya 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 technical equipment such as radios and cameras. One section is dedicated to woman, such as the first policewoman, Miss Wentworth, who was serving in KL in the 1950s.
The invaluable work done by the police, especially in combating communist terrorism and defending the country, is revealed.
Outside are armoured personnel carriers such as the 1952 Ford Lynx Scout Car and an Armoured Sankey, as well as several canons and guns. There is a garage housing three more armoured vehicles. There is also a marine police boat and the Cessna plane and even an armoured railway car. The grounds are planted with rows of flowers and bushes, planted by various police chiefs. The museum is well worth a visit.
The Brunei Times
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http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/life/2009/01/17/police_museum_wins_tourists_attention
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