The hills of Simpang Pulai, awaiting a time when it all gone.
The hills of Simpang Pulai, Ipoh as seen from the North South highway
Simpang
Pulai just outside Ipoh is a beautiful place even with is karst landscapes of
carved out mountains and lime ponds saturated that it turned green.
The
dominant industry here for the last 50
years has been quarrying the vast amount of limestone hills here extracted
initially for roads, cement and the
construction industry.
Now it is
quarried more for its calcium carbonate powder or CCP used in a wide variety of
industries.
The Kinta
Valley limestone consists largely of calcite which is white in colour. Even
though it is tinged with a touch of grey it has no effect on demand.
White
limestone is used in a wide range of industries such as to whiten paper, in
plastics as a filler and a multitude of other uses which include latex gloves,
skin whitening and toothpaste.
The whole of
the Kinta Valley is underlain with limestone present in the form of hills above
ground and under the ground stretching from Kampar to Tanjung Tualang in the
south, Chemor and Kanthan to the north and Simpang Pulai to the east.
The early
limestone quarry owners 30 years ago applied for a portion of a hill. Sometimes
a hill would be owned by three quarries.
The owners
would carry out blasting on their side of the hill. When they had exhausted the
lease they would leave a boundary between them scarring the landscape leaving
the ‘scars’ behind.
Multi-national now practice top-down quarry operations until a time there is no hill left.
In recent
years the interest of multi-national companies in Simpang Pulai saw the
introduction of top down quarry operations. This was possible by their purchase
of the entire hill but which will see the loss of the entire HILL…eventually.
A scarred hill left behind.
Then we
shall witness a new landscape …..BARRENESS….. Time will tell.
All Souls Day 2016 at St Michaels Church cemetery.
The weather
was warm but the sky was cloudy with clear blue skies on All Souls Day 2016.
The cemetery
at St Michaels Church had been tidied up and was covered with white marble
chips,
St Michael's Church. My parents are interred at the church cemetery.
White marble chips amidst a tidy setting make for a pretty picture.
Amidst the backdrop of crosses and a blue sky the cemetery looked a
pretty picture.
Cemeteries
are places we go to visit our loved ones but with age we tend to meet with old
family friends seen only occasionally.
I was there
to say a prayer at my parents grave and those i knew that were interred there.
The grave of Sybil Kathigasu at the cemetery.
I stopped by
the grave of Sybil Kathigasu, the heroine Eurasian nurse of Papan who was tortured by the Japanese
during the 2nd World War and awarded the George Medal for bravery.
I similarly
stopped by the grave of Datuk Brother Vincent Corkery, the former Director of
St Michaels Institution (SMI) who passed away in March this year.
The graves of Fr Anthony Chong and Brother Vincent Corkery (right pix) Former SMI Teacher Clement Vythilingam at the grave of Bro Vincent.
Bro Vincent
appeared to have a good number of visitors and this included former SMI teacher
Clement Vythilingam.
Interestingly Bro Vincent lies next to Fr Anthony Chong a former priest with St Michael’s
Church.
Also at the
cemetery paying his respects to his parents. was Martin Jalleh, a religious yet
political commentator who posts regularly on his Facebook page,
The official
opening of St Joseph’s Hall at St Mary’s Chapel, recently marked another
milestone in the growth of the chapel.
The hall
which is linked to the Chapel was officiated by Vice Provincial of OMPH Church
Rev Fr Eugene Fernandez CssR after the 10am Sunday mass on October 9th
2016.
Rev Fr Eugene Fernandez officiated at the opening of St Josephs hall.
St Mary's Chapel with St Joseph's Hall on the left. At the hilllock behind is
...the Grotto at St Mary's
In his
homily Fr Eugene said that the opening of St Joseph’s Hall was a testimony of
the faith of the catholic community at Tg Rambutan.
“St Joseph’s Hall is a reflection of a community that is walking with Jesus and
a show of their strong faith throughout the years” said Fr Eugene.
Clockwise. The chapel built by three local youth in 1979 and subsequently enlarged during the time of Fr David Anthony.
..after which activities such as mass, baptism's and wedding was held there.
Indeed the
Catholic community at the 8th milestone, Kg Tersusun, Ulu Kinta has
grown from a community of five families in the 60’s it now boasts of having over
100 families, a chapel and hall and a grotto atop the adjoining hill.
A slide
presentation of the history about the community stated that during the 60’s and 70’s the
community was served by the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 16 Km away.
The community
initially held their Mass at the nearby Methodist School. It was not until 1979
that three local youth from within the community built the chapel at the
present location.
The
community subsequently enlarged the chapel during the period with Fr David
Anthony after which various activities such as mass, feast day, baptism and
weddings was held.
The chapel then was built on government land. In 1987 their
application for the land was approved.
The chapel received approval for the land in 1987 and the current St Mary's Chapel was blessed in 1992
The Catholic community at St Mary's. From 5 initially to well over 100 families now.
It was not
until 1992, with a grant of RM70,000 from the Penang Diocesan Fund and together
with donations from the parishioners, the present chapel was built and officially
blessed and opened by Bishop Antony Selvanayagam.
According to
Peter James, Chairman of St Mary’s Project and Upgrading Committee, the project
to build a hall was mooted since 2007.
“The initial
plan was to have an open hall which was completed in 2010.
“However as
there was bouts of theft and vandalism by monkeys from the adjoining hill
despite having iron grilles the committee decided to build a closed hall”
A
fundraising was started in 2013 and resulted with the opening of St Josephs
Hall.
The mass and
opening ceremony saw an attendance of over 350 who also attended the lunch. While
St Joseph’s hall accommodated over 200 diners the rest spilled over to the
tents outside.
St Mary's Chapel 2016 a far cry from 1979, thirty seven years ago.
The Offertory on October 9, building materials, sweets and a souvenir.
The morning mass was held smoothly amidst a melodic choir and a
responsive congregation.
A view of St Mary's from the top of the Grotto.
A full house luncheon at St Joseph's Hall paying attention and ....
...listening to Rev Fr Eugene Fernandez, Project Chairperson Peter James and viewing the slide presentation of St Mary's brief history.
Fr Joseph Stephen with members of the Project committee.
Lunch is served ....
...with ample seating comfort to enjoy ones meal
Fr Joseph Stephen and Peter James presented souvenirs to thank the benefactors (l-r) Lawrence and Kathy Tham, Francis and Irene Ng, Dato Simon and Datin Miki Chan and Michael and Phyllis Goh
In contrast
to the images of a young and growing chapel some thirty years ago the progress that
St Mary’s Chapel displays now is a clear testimony of the faith of a community
that has helped it grow and progress.
The multiple members from the Redemptorist Congregation who have worked with the residents to grow the community over the last 40 years.
Communion (video) at St Mary's Chapel, October 2016.
OMPH Church parishioners before the start of the lantern walk.
The Mid-Autumn Festival has been celebrated all throughout
Ipoh town recently and OMPH Church not wanting to be left out held their own festival
celebration at Parish level.
The event was organised by the Chinese Apostolate group. (above pix) Richard Choo from the Chinese group addressing the guests. (below) The MC's addressing the guest in English,Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia
The Parish event was organized by the Chinese Apostolate
group and held at the Church premises last Sunday evening September 11.
Rev Fr Joseph Stephen welcoming the parishioners.
It was an elaborate affair with Parish Priest Rev Fr Joseph
Stephens officiating at the event.
The evening started with dinner being served before the
commencing of the activities.
A slide presentation explaining the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival during dinner.
While the parishioners dined a video explained how the
Mid-Autumn celebration came about.
Dance presentation by the Chinese Apostolate group.
The activities after dinner included dances by the Chinese
section and games where both young and senior could participate in.
Games. Passing the hula hoop without breaking the human chain
The winners of the Treasure Hunt (above) and the participants(below)
A section of the parishioners viewing the activities
The final event of the night was the lantern walk held at the parking lot within the church.
The final event, the Lantern walk was what all the children were waiting for.
Some of the families that participated in the walk.
It was an evening of fun for the families in the Parish that
concluded by 10pm.
