Malacca govt reply on treasure theft

Malacca govt reply on treasure theft: they will seek the assistance of the police here to monitor and act against relic hunters who have been selling priceless artifacts excavated from the Malacca River. Star news reported State Tourism, Culture and Heritage committee deputy chairman Chua Kheng Hwa said the state government would rope in several other agencies, including the Heritage Department, to prevent further plundering of the nation's treasure.

“I don't know how the looting went undetected as agents of the scrap metal dealers have been combing the riverbank since early last month,” he said.

“We will lodge a police report to stop them from taking away more of these artifacts.”

On Wednesday, The Star reported that agents of scrap metal dealers had been selling old Portuguese coins, bullets and religious amulets that were unearthed during a recent landslip along the banks of the Malacca River to antique brokers from Singapore. (You can read it here: Ancient treasure found and sold)

The artifacts were discovered after an ancient jetty at Stadhuys collapsed in May.

Chua added that he had also informed the state Heritage Department to immediately monitor the situation.

“I will also table a proposal to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam to conduct a study and do excavation work as probably more treasure is buried underneath this ancient waterway,” he said.

“We need archaeologists, including foreign experts, to study the relics.”

At the peak of the Malacca Sultanate and when Malacca port was colonized by the Portuguese and Dutch, the river would have seen trading vessels from various countries, some of which could have capsized.

In an immediate response, Malacca police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said the police would render full assistance to the state government to safeguard the national heritage.

“Marine police will be dispatched to patrol the river stretch,” he said.

Meanwhile, a check revealed that no digging activities were being carried out.

Source: The Star.

I do think they don't know where are the exact place the relic hunters get the treasure. I had read some blog by Malacca metal detecting enthusiast that you can easily get treasure from Malacca beaches. Just make sure you bring the right metal detecting devices and do the hunting at a beach with less people around. They are also possibilites that the relic hunters found the ancient treasures from dozens of shipwrecks off the Tanjung Tuan coast. On May this year, the state government announced a billion-ringgit offer to salvage companies to retrieve treasures from sunken ships along the Malacca coastline. Why the salvage companies need to share their finding/money when they can retrieve the treasures them self with no action by authority. They keep on talking but no action taken so far.