200-year-old temple razed

Time to rebuild: Phun inspecting the temple’s interior after the fire in Penang. — K.T. GOH/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The Bats’ Cave temple at the foothill of Penang Hill, built more than 200 years ago, was destroyed in an early morning fire.

The blaze razed the building, leaving only its stone structures standing.

The temple, located at Jalan Pokok Ceri and known as Bit Poh Tong among the locals, was home to thousands of bats.

It also housed an imposing 2m-high statue of the Chinese God of Prosperity Tua Peh Kong.

Bat Cave Temple vice-chairman Phun Shou Seong, 65, said the fire broke out in the wee hours of the morning.

“We are still unsure of the cause of the fire. It broke out in the storage room where we keep the joss sticks and it spread to the temple next to it.

“In just 20 minutes, the entire building was up in flames,” he said when met at the scene.

Luckily, there were no casualties during the incident.

“The temple is open from 9am to 5pm daily.

“Our caretaker will usually leaves around 7pm and there will be no one at the temple after that.

“The temple is more than 200 years old and there are many visitors especially during Chinese New Year. We get both local and foreign tourists.

“The temple is a famous place for people to perform rituals for the Grand Duke (Tai Sui in Cantonese) and da xiao ren (hit the villain). “The temple is a significant place for tourists as Tua Peh Kong is regarded as the patron saint of prosperity and good luck.

“We retained the temple’s interior heritage structures and only rebuilt some parts of the temple in 2006.

“The 2m tall Tua Peh Kong statue made of granite was among the additions to the temple in 2006,” he said.

He added that the committee members would meet tomorrow on how to rebuild the 4,000sq ft temple.

“We will probably set up a task force for reconstruction.

“The loss is estimated to be around RM1mil,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ayer Itam assemblyman Joseph Ng said it was sad to see the historical temple destroyed by the blaze.

“It is a heritage temple and I remember coming here to pray since I was young.

“The state government will assist in the rebuilding of the temple.

“The temple committee can apply for the state government’s non-Islamic places of worship fund for restoration work,” he said.