MASJID LAMA BATU 6

GOMBAK, SELANGOR

DARUL EHSAN

Ar. Datin Seri Dr.Norwina Mohd Nawawi

The Masjid Lama Batu 6, Gombak is located at Batu 6 or the Sixth(6th) mile of Jalan Gombak (Gombak road). Batu 6 is a neighbourhood town in the sub-district of Setapak in Gombak of Selangor. The Masjid Lama Batu 6 is strategically located by the main road, Jalan Gombak, en route to the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia, from Kuala Lumpur. The Masjid is within walking distance from the villages by the Gombak River, and bicycles, motorbikes and cars from the more expansive surrounding residential and commercial areas. The current Masjid was rebuilt on a waqf land in 1931 by the local community. Masjid Lama Batu 6 is 90 years old today (2021). The Masjid represents the long-standing solidarity of its users and has had their undivided sentiments for many generations. Many of the present users of this Masjid particularly enjoy the traditional elements and its inviting communal atmosphere still preserved.

The Masjid stands on Lot 3347 in Taman Kenangan, endowed by an esteemed member of the community, the late Ahmad Bin Ali, a nobleman by descent. The adjacent lots were donated as waqf land to the Masjid. The (Masjid's) management build 'Wakaf houses' and a religious school or Sekolah KAFA (Kelas Al Quran dan Fardhu Ain/ Quranic and Fardhu Ain Classes) Integrasi for Batu 6 Gombak, to sustain the Masjid and continue with Islamic teachings to the community. During the early years of the Masjid establishment, the surrounding environment was a low-lying area with paddy cultivation and narrow dirt paths. There were also fruit and palm trees as favoured by the locals for their local cuisines. According to the storytellers, houses and structures were scattered on the landscape sloped to the Gombak River. Their make was mainly of timber and metal sheet roofing.

Consequently, with the decline of cash crops and soil quality in the late '70s, the area ceased to have paddy fields. Instead, manmade structures had significantly developed over the open and natural environment of Batu 6 by the '80s and '90s. Thus, in 2021, Masjid Lama Batu 6 is found nestled amongst a bustling commercial and residential area, hidden from the non-community and passers-by of its significance.

HISTORY OF BATU 6, GOMBAK

Retrospective of history, the founding of Batu 6 probably begins with the settlements of the Minang or Minangkabau and Mandailing migrants from Sumatra Island, along the banks of Sungai Gombak (Gombak River). According to interviews and anecdotes, most of the houses along the river banks were of jungle poles, woven bamboo and palm-leaf thatched roofs. These Sumatran emigrants set up villages for trading, mining and agriculture during the peak mining era in the early-mid 19th Century (Nelmawani Bungo and Nordin Hussin (2011). It was also stated by Gullick, J.M (1990) that 'the river was the only highway through the jungle, the main road into the heart of Selangor', and that, in the past, the steamboats could not sail further than where the confluence of the two rivers, Klang River and Gombak. However, sampans the usual means of transport by the villagers. According to Gullick, Jalan Gombak (Gombak road) was formally pathed in 1915. Before that, a jungle path by the Orang Asli was used.

The river was significant to Batu 6 and its vicinity as a means of travel between settlements. The river is also the source of water for the irrigation of the wet-rice cultivation. Other river activities included fishing, swimming and ablution. The pollution upstream and the siltation of the river it is no longer serves the community as means to communicate but still forms an integral part of the natural environment of Batu 6.

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