During his visit to Malaysia again in December, my PhD supervisor Prof. Karl Wagner took the opportunity to come to Ipoh and spent a night here. It was to celebrate my success in obtaining my PhD degree recently during the 9th OUM Convocation, which he was unable to attend due to work commitment.
We had good Bean Sprout Chicken and Yong Tau Fu. This has been one of the main attractions for him to come to Ipoh. Before he left, he visited the Toong Wah Cave Temple which was located near the Lost World of Tambun. This was his second visit to this temple as it was located 100 m above.
During his visit, w have good discussion on the joint research that we plan to do. We are also planning to write a book to share our discovery.
The Tong Wah Cave Temple located near Tambun in Ipoh celebrated its 138th anniversary yesterday. The cave, which was founded in 1872, was thought by many archaeologists to be more than 250 million years old.
Dato' Rosnah Kassim delivering her speech
The video clips of the speech by Dato' Rosnah are as follows:
Part 1:
Part 2:
The cave temple, which is located 100m above ground and 500m away from the Lost of Tambun, is visible from the main road leading to Tanjong Rambutan.
Dato' Seri Ahmad Husni delivering his speech
The video clips of Dato' Seri Husni's speech are as follows:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
The function was attended by over 800 people. Also present were the Minister of Finance (II) and Member of Parliament for Tambun, Dato' Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah and State Assemblyman for Ulu Kinta, Dato' Rosnah Kassim.
Dato Rosnah meeting members of the public whoh have come to celebrate the 138th anniversary of Tong Wah Cave Temple
Launching the anniversary celebration by Dato' Seri Ahmad Husni and Dato' Rosnah together with temple committee chairman, Mr. Lee
The objective of the function was to raise fund for the development and expansion of the Buddhist Meditation Centre located at the foothill of the cave.
Dato' Seri Husni meeting members of the public who have attended the celebration
Temple Association Chairman, Mr. Lee, said that the Tong Wah Cave temple was founded by Liew Tong Sen in the 1870s. Several buddhist monks used to stay and do their meditation there. Several philanthropists include Leong Sin Nam has provided funds in the early stages to help develop the temple. Its strategic location and also its long history can become a tourist attraction for the state of Perak. He welcome any individual or organization to help expand and develop the temple.
The burning of the giant joss stick
During her speech at the function, Dato Rosnah congratulated the temple committee for having successfully organized the functions. She hopes that everyone regardless of their religious beliefs can live harmoniously and peacefully and contribute towards the development of the nation.
Dato' Seri Husni with some of the committee members of Tong Wah Cave Temple
Dato' Seri Ahmad Husni in his speech also congratulated the temple's committee on their 138th anniversary celebration. He said he was very happy to be invited to the occasion. As MP of Tambun, he will provide assistance to the temple committee to ensure that the Tong Wah Cave Temple will become not only a place for the buddhist to meditate and offer prayers but also as a tourist attraction.
Group photo with members of the Lion Dance from Tat Choi Primary School
During the function he contributed RM20,000 to temple committee to help fund its development plan. He also said that as MP of Tambun, he will always be with Tong Wah Tong committee.
Video clip showing the announcement on the RM20,000 allocation given by Dato' Seri Husni to Tong Wah Cave Temple:
Part of donors who have come to celebrate
Dr Richard Ng, the Director of OUM, with Dato' Seri Husni and Dato' Rosnah
Members of the Line Dancers
During the functions, more than RM5,000 were collected from the bidding of the giant joss stick and also from the generous donors. There was also lucky draw and karaoke held during the function.
Chatting with the Line Dancers from Tat Choi Primary School
Dato' Seri Husni shaking hands with Jun Hoong, whom he has given advice on future education
Group photo for remembrance
Group photo with the Tong Wah Cave Temple committee
The function which began at 7.30pm with the national anthem song "Negaraku" ended at 11.00pm.
Members of the Tong Wah Cave Temple committee lining up to give Dato' Seri Husni a grand send off
On the eve of Chinese New Year 13th Feb 2010, approximately 150 people gathered at the Tong Wah Cave temple to celebrate the countdown. The occasion also the burning of giant joss sticks by worshipers and well wishers.
Many came with their family members to offer prayers to the Lord of the Land, the guardian of the temple. There were also lion dance being performed at the foot of the hill before performing in the cave located 155 steps above.
By 11.00pm, the names of donors and worshipers were called to collect their sticks dipped in kerosene to be used to light up the giant joss sticks.
At 11.45pm sharp, the giant joss sticks were burned. It was then followed by the lion dance performance. Fire crackers were lighted up at 12.00am to mark the start of the year of Tiger.
Mandarin oranges donated by well wishers were given away by the lion dance. By 12.45am, everyone started to descend and travel back to their destinations.
According to Mr. Chang, who is one of the committee members of temple, this is the first time that they received huge support from the public in terms of donation and number of giant joss sticks.
The temple opens daily from 9.00am till 6.30pm. For further information, kindly contact Mr. Chang at 016-5186178
Welcome to the blog of Tong Wah Cave Temple. This temple was founded about 140 years ago by some monks and later financed by philanthropists of the Kinta Valley, which was once well known as the number one producer of tin in the world.
The temple as seen from the foot of the hill
The entrance of the temple
At the front of the temple
Among the generous individuals who help set up the committee of the temple include Leong Sin Nam, who is an ex-tin miner.
Inside the temple
Located about 2 km from the Lost World of Tambun, Ipoh, this cave is visible from the Tambun road after passing the Lost of Tambun and the Banjaran Hotspring. Almost every week, the temple receives a few hundred visitors and worshipers from all over Malaysia as well as from other countries. The temple is also an attraction to many tourist now. No entrance is charged but visitors can make any contribution towards the maintenance and development of the cave.
Location map of Tong Wah temple (click on image to enlarge)
Committee members of the temple
The temple was located in a cave which is about 100 m high. Special stair case has been constructed to enable visitors to climb up the hill. From the temple, we can catch a very nice view of the limestone hills around.
Inside the temple
A view from inside out of the the temple
The signboard at entrance reads: "If you are able to climb up the hill - it is fate. If you are able to come down from the hill - it's your luck".
