Padang Rengas folk use 1,600 oil lamps to build replica of FT Mosque

KUALA KANGSAR: Residents of Kampung Ribu in Padang Rengas recently joined hands to construct the "Federal Territory Mosque" using about 1,600 pelita panjut or oil lamps as a way of keeping the tradition alive.

Kampung Ribu Panjut Fans Association chairman Amiruddin Mohd Lazim said the giant panjut measuring 9.5m high and 15m wide was built using 35 bamboo poles as the main pillar and 11 other bamboo poles as reinforcement.

"Technically, we had to use 64 beams, 128 pegs, 20 pieces of sheets for flooring, 20 bamboo poles used as side guards on every floor and about 500 pieces of bamboo nails which had been sharpened to ensure the stability of the structure.

"It has become the village tradition to enliven the last week of Ramadan and the ‘malam tujuh likur’ with this,” he said when met here Monday (April 17) night.

According to Amirudin, the Federal Territory Mosque was chosen because the mosque's design was a blend of Ottoman and Malay architectural styles and heavily influenced by the Blue Mosque in Turkiye.

"Our preparation for this project started with us holding a committee meeting and determining the date to start work which is about a month before Ramadan with the cutting of bamboo for the panjut tower poles.

"The workforce for this year's construction involved all the male and female members and was assisted by youths. In fact, every night there will be about 15 people coming to the panjut site at around 10.30pm for installation work," he said.

Last year, they built a replica of Putra Mosque while the Selat Melaka Mosque was built in 2021. - Bernama