Surau fully made out of bamboo

The framework of the ‘surau’ is being constructed from bamboo at Kuala Kangsar, Perak. — Photos: RONNIE CHIN/ The Star

BUKIT CHANDAN, famous for the Iskandariah Palace, Ubudiah Mosque and picturesque view of the Perak river is set to have a new attraction soon.

Billed as the first ever bamboo religious institution in Malaysia, Chandan Puteri is set to see a surau made out of 100% bamboo.

Inspired by the bamboo architecture in Indonesia’s Yogjakarta, Islamic Green Village founder Jamaluddin Ahmad, 55, said he wanted to bring the idea to Malaysia.

“I was impressed with what I saw there. I thought we should have such architecture here.

“In the past, the Melayu Nusantara (Malay archipelago) architects used bamboo for their monuments and buildings.

“We have lots of bamboo here in Malaysia but for this project, we decided to get the bamboo from Indonesia,” said Jamaluddin.

Project manager Hasnul Zulkarnain Abd Munaim, who was at the project site to explain the intricacies of the surau design said only eight workers were needed for the project.

“They are skilled workers from Yogjakarta. After we visited this village in Chandan Puteri, we decided to build another Islamic Green Village and the surau is one of its attractions.

“We brought in two containers of bamboo from Indonesia and the bamboos brought were the big betung bamboo for the main structure of the surau, black betung bamboo and small betung bamboo to construct the various parts of the surau,” he added.

He said the betung variety was chosen for most of the structure because it lasts long and if the surau is well kept and maintained, it can last up to 100 years.

“An architect from Bali, Nugro Widhi Nugrohos said the surau’s design incorporates a proper ventilation space and has good natural lighting too.

“The design looks modern even though we use bamboo for the construction.”

Built based on the five silver roof concept which originated from the Malay archipelago, more than 4,000 bamboos were used for the construction.

The other types of bamboo used were the apus bamboo for the roof and wulung bamboo for the other poles in the surau.

Nuts and bolts were used to combine the bamboos while the floor of the surau is made of ceramic tiles.

Hasnul said the cost of the project was RM650,000 and expected to complete by October this year. The surau will be able to accommodate 500 people for each prayer session.

Initially, it was built for the folk in Chandan Puteri but Hasnul expects it to be a tourist attraction in Kuala Kangsar once the project is complete.

Hasnul said bamboo artwork is a forgotten art these days and he hopes this project will revive an interest in bamboo architecture.

“I hope the Malaysian government will see its potential.

“We have lots of bamboo here and it would be great to see bamboo concept buildings in this country.”