KUALA LUMPUR: Carcosa Seri Negara welcomed the grandson of the former British High Commissioner, Sir Gerald Templer, today.
Named after his grandfather, Gerald Templer paid a visit to the historical building with his girlfriend, Victoria Narancio, to have a glimpse of the room and house his grandfather used to live in.
"This is my second visit to Malaysia, but my first to Carcosa Seri Negara, and it has been the most amazing experience," the 32-year-old London-based, management consultant said.
Sir Gerald passed away seven years before his grandson was born and Gerald remarked that visiting Carcosa was one of the ways for him to know more about the life of his grandfather who was also a senior British army officer.
“I’m glad to see that this building is still well maintained as it’s very important and meaningful. It has a sense of space where history took place. It’s not an abstract story but a true testament of the history of a multi-cultural nation – a beacon of peace," Gerald said at a press conference today.
The junior Templer also opined that his grandfather would have been very pleased with the refurbishing work planned for the building, as peace, heritage and culture have almost been of utmost importance to him, adding that Carcosa would be a great legacy to leave the Malaysian youth.
“Malaysia holds a very special place in my family; even my parents celebrated their honeymoon here. I love everything about it, and wanted my girlfriend to experience the wonders of the country.”
Also present at the press conference was Asian Heritage Museum (AHM) chief executive officer KK Tan.
“If we lose our heritage, we will lose our soul. We must preserve this building at any cost. I’m very pleased to be able to give Templer a tour of his family’s legacy and contribution to the development of Malaysia,” Tan commented.
Sir Gerald was a British military commander who served in both the first and second World Wars.
He was known for breaking the movement of the communist guerrilla rebellion in Malaya between 1952 and 1954, using a new approach of winning hearts and minds of the local people.