ON THE FOOTHILLS OF MAXWELL

What is used to be Maxwell Hill, Taiping has been renamed as Bkt. Larut for many years already. Who was Maxwell?

Maxwell, W. George, Sir - Chief Secretary, FMS 13.9.20 - June 1926

1906. Mantra Gajah (Magic formula used with elephants in Malaya). JSBRAS 45:1-53

1932. The constitutional problems of Malaya. Crown Colonist 2:73-8

____ and Gibson WS. 1924. Treaties and Engagements Affecting the Malay States and Borneo. Suffolk Lane, Jes Truscott, London

Many Malay political leaders have shallow ideas about history. As if to show their patriotism they would rename places and streets. They hope to gain political mileage but actually they are sending the wrong signals to the younger generation. On their own they have done nothing significant.

Jalan Gurney is now called Jalan Semarak. That happened during Mahathir's time. What is Semarak to Gurney? The former is a name of a tree, the latter died in a hail of communists' bullets at The Gap, Fraser's Hill. 

Now this Pretender renamed Jln Travers to Jln Rakyat. He wants to show that his heart is with the rakyat. Yeah, after his jet bivouacked from Hawaii to LA to Indianapolis to Bangkok! He has to make it known to the world that "I got E. coli". Was it from here or Thailand?

Main Street, Taiping. Supposed to be the wettest place in W. Malaysia. Is it still?

Morning walkers, going up or coming down Maxwell Hill.

World War II cemetry. Muslim soldiers from the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India) who died fighting in Malaya and Asia.

Taiping Museum, historical resources understudied and underutilised.

The best cendol in town at Restoran Ansari Famous Cendol.