KAMPAR: Veteran historian Chye Kooi Loong has spent nearly half his life fighting for Green Ridge here to be recognised and preserved as a war memorial park.
And it seems that after 30 years of campaigning, the 80-year-old’s efforts might pay off following a brief visit from Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir yesterday.
Dr Zambry is, after all, the only mentri besar who has ever stepped foot on Green Ridge, let alone climbed the hill or walked through its trenches.
Chye said the Battle of Kampar, which lasted for four days and four nights from Dec 30, 1941, to Jan 2, 1942, had been studied in foreign military colleges worldwide as an example of how 3,000 British forces were able to hold back 6,000 Japanese soldiers for four days.
Taking an interest: Dr Zambry reading about the Battle of Kampar during his visit to Green Ridge yesterday. “Foreigners have shown great interest in Green Ridge and come to visit the site regularly,” he said.
“However, the locals are unaware of its significance,” headded.
Chye said a memorial service would be held at the site on Dec 12 and 13 to commemorate the epic battle.
Dr Zambry, who understood the pain that Chye had gone through in fighting to preserve Green Ridge, said the visit was to honour him and a group of determined ex-servicemen who worked hard to convince the public about Green Ridge’s importance.
“I will give attention to this site, including the technical aspects of the ownership of the land,” he said after the one-hour visit.
The 4.85ha piece of land, sandwiched between two equally historically significant sites, Thompson Ridge and Cemetery Ridge, does not belong to the state government.
The land was alienated to six different companies some 15 to 20 years ago despite Chye’s tireless efforts to save it from suffering the same fate as Thompson Ridge, now developed into Taman Kampar.
According to Dr Zambry, ownership of the land on which Green Ridge stands has been divided among 199 individuals.
“One of the companies is planning a housing project at the site and has subdivided the land, hence the 199 titles,” he said.
The state government, he added, was willing to offer an alternative piece of land should they agree to give up ownership of the land at Green Ridge.
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