IPOH: GUA Tambun’s prehistoric drawings are facing the threat of permanently fading away. The cave and its drawings located a mere 10-minute drive from the state capital is facing threats from natural and human elements.
The Neolithic-era drawings, dating back at least 3,000 years ago,
are slowly fading due to these factors.
To make matters worse, some visitors to the site have vandalised the exposed wall of the cave with their own modern graffiti.
These graffiti — in the form of palm prints, sketches and paintwork — have been an eyesore to history buffs and heritage activists.
Perak Heritage Society president Mohd Taib Mahmud said the question of preservation of the heritage site had been raised many times previously.
He said with the cave wall exposed directly to rain and sun, the drawings of humans and animals, such as like deer, octopus, fish and tortoise, had begun degrading in their quality.
“The natural elements compound the matter further by eroding the cave wall. But, sadly, it is the human element that causes so much heartache. The graffiti has certainly blemished the beauty of the pre-historic paintings,” he told the New Straits Times.
He said the Perak Heritage Society was concerned no proper measures had being taken to protect the degradation of the site from these elements.
It is learnt that the site was declared a national heritage by the Department of National Heritage in 2010.
Taib, a former state library corporation director, said the Department of National Heritage and other relevant authorities, including the Ipoh City Council and the state government’s Tourism Perak, should work together to safeguard the area and make it a major tourist attraction.
He pointed out that no efforts had been made to “sell” the cave
drawings as a tourist attraction, adding that none of the local
tour packages included a visit to the site.
“Some people think that when an area is turned into a tourist attraction it would lose its natural beauty. That is not true.
“Sometimes, an area is managed and guarded better when it is turned into a tourist site.”
Taib said the authorities need to spend resources to ensure that the prehistoric drawings remained intact and the area unpolluted from human activities.
He said the Perak Heritage Society organised regular field trips to
the cave site to promote as a “must visit” spot, adding that
visitors who joined the field trips were first advised on the do’s
and don’ts when they arrived at the site.