MILON contemporary magazine িমলন OCTOBER month 20XX 2013
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‘‘Malacca holds more European history than any other city in South East Asia”
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rom the hillock of A’Famosa fort, I could see the oncefamous Malacca Port in South China Sea with a few ships anchored there. A white coloured Church came to my notice from that point. This is the famous St. Paul’s Church, built in 1541, probably the oldest church in the orient. From this church, the famous Portuguese Apostle, St. Francis Xavier, did his missionary work in this part of the world. t was not only the European and British who ruled over Malacca, but also the traders from China, Siam (Thailand), India and Java came there and left their marks. While walking along the Malacca River, I could almost hear the noise of Malay, Arab or Chinese traders exchanging their goods. A big water wheel stood still and tall near the bank of the river which used to quench the thirst of many traders sailing along this river in the past. n both sides of Laksamana Street, I could see a series of colourful buildings holding history into their cradle. A Salmon pink coloured building, which is the oldest Dutch building in the orient, still stood as a witness of Dutch colonisation. This is now called City hall (Stadthuys), and used as Museum of Anthropology. Next to Stadthuys, there is a coral red church called Christ Church, the first protestant church set up by the Dutch in East. As I lit up a candle there, I was lost into the past imagining how the Dutch were building many of these monuments during the initial part of their rule which lasted for 100 years, before the British took over Malacca. y last stop was Sultanate Palace – a replica of the 15th century original palace of Sultan. This testimony of beautiful wooden architecture captures history of the original Malay people prior
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to European invasion, their lives during Sultan’s rule and their relationship with Javanese, Indian, Chinese and Arabian traders. alacca holds more European history than any other city in South East Asia. Many years ago, it was one of Malaysia’s most sought-after destinations. For a long period of time, Malacca was a thriving port in South East Asia with confluence of traders from China, India, Arabs and Java. Even today more ships pass through ‘Straits of Malacca’ than any other sea routes in the world. owever over time it has changed from a thriving port into a sleepy backwater city. The city lost its prominence to bigger and modern cities in Malaysia like Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Nonetheless the city still holds its historic charm as I found out during my recent trip. This historical city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008 due to its many historic attractions. It has been revived as a popular destination for tourists who want to catch a glimpse of Malaysia’s unique heritage.