Lawyer spirits mansion away

KUALA LUMPUR: A lawyer here has dismantled a century-old colonial mansion in Perak, only to piece it together again hundreds of kilometres away in the coastal state of Terengganu.

The Alma Baker Mansion was built in 1894 by a New Zealander, Charles Alma Baker, who had settled in Batu Gajah and made a fortune from contract surveying, tin mining and rubber planting in the then Malaya.

The house was recently dismantled piece by piece and transported 764km across the country using five 40-foot lorries, where it was reassembled in Kampung Telaga Papan in Setiu, Terengganu.

Its former grandeur of a classic Malayan-style bungalow – raised on tall masonry columns and with high ceilings – was maintained by its new owner Datuk Ahmad Hisham Kamaruddin, who made minimal modifications to suit the house’s new environment by the seaside.

The house has also been renamed Ombak (wave).

“We bought a piece of land in Terengganu and our initial plan was to buy a number of traditional Malay houses and connect them by a series of covered walkways.

“But we were unable to find more than a couple of houses that were suitable,” said Hisham, who discovered and purchased the neglected mansion in 2004.

Hisham, who has a passion for architectural conservation and preservation, said the house would be used to entertain family members and close friends.

As an acquaintance of Hisham put it: “I am not sure who is crazier: Charles Alma Baker, who built the house back in the 1890s, or you who dismantled it piece by piece and put them together again like Humpty Dumpty.”

Together with British friend Adam Brian John Cousins, who succumbed to cancer in July last year, the two have immortalised the relocation process in a 120-page coffee-table book entitled From Alma Baker Mansion to Ombak: Relocation and Restoration of a Colonial Style Malayan House.

The book was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at Carcosa Seri Negara yesterday and its limited circulation will be supervised by the Department of National Heritage.

“To preserve our heritage is everyone’s business and we are very happy that individuals like Hisham are taking steps to do this.

“We urge more non-governmental organisations and individuals, both young and old, to work towards protecting our heritage.

“Otherwise we would be a population left with no memories,” said Commissioner of Heritage Prof Emeritus Datuk Zuraina Majid, who was present at the book launch.

Zuraina said the department would consider nominating Ombak in the international Aga Khan Award for Architecture under the houses category.