K. SILADASS

BAT TOWN PROJECT

(speech delivered by K.Siladass to officiate this event on 22^nd December 2013)

I am very delighted that a group of youngsters from Kluang have shown immense creativity in thought and action by organising this Bat Town Project. These youngsters of Kluang have shown that there is always a correct way in life and pursue that course to better and reach greater heights. A very thoughtful attitude and approach at a very young age.

It is not an exaggeration if I were to say that we see youths in great numbers who have lost their way and found themselves in activities which are socially and legally incorrect. The organizers of this event have shown, given a chance their energies individually and jointly could be directed to activities which could benefit the society, and the country as a whole.

By dedicating their energy in re-discovering Kluang, I believe it is the first step in right direction to acquire more knowledge and bring it to the notice of the whole Malaysia and the world. History is all about the past. Sometimes history is lost under the weight of ignorance and disinclination to know and understand the past. These children are indeed reminding us of the necessity to understand, appreciate and treasure the past. I am confident that other towns would emulate our young organisers.

When I first came to this town in the mid-fifties I was just
passing by which was forced upon me. The train service between Labis and the south had been interrupted because of derailment caused by terrorist activities. We had to travel in military truck from Labis to Kluang and here I had to take a cab. At that time it was a small town
surrounded with many plantations of rubber trees. When passing by it did not strike me I will return to Kluang one day.

However, a few years later, may be at the end of 1957 I returned to Kluang and not long after that I began to work as clerk in a law firm along Jalan Ismail. I am told by the organisers of this event that they have begun their discovery along Jalan Ismail.

It is in No. 19, Jalan Ismail, I first met the late Chelvasingham McIntyre, who was then the High Commissioner for India. Before entering the diplomatic services, McIntyre was an active lawyer with an office in Kluang and that too at Jalan Ismail. McIntyre would, in later years, become the judge of the High Court in Malaya and the Federal Court. He also served as the head of the Industrial Tribunal.

It is at No. 19, Jalan Ismail, I began my legal career.

Along the same road, just beside the Chinese School there was a law firm of M.P.D. Nair & Co. M.P.D Nair was a prominent politician in Singapore and he had also served as a Minister in the Labour Front Government in the
mid-fifties.

Jalan Ismail is noted for its other important occupant. Dr. Wee Lee Fong, my friend, practised medicine on one of the premises along Jalan Ismail. Dr. Wee Lee Fong, a soft spoken medical practitioner, was the Secretary-General of the Labour Party of Malaya and a very fiery speaker.

I left Kluang in the late fifties and returned in July 1964 and continued as a legal clerk at 12, Jalan Lambak, Kluang. Once again I left Kluang in the early seventies to read law. My law firm began the practice on the same premises in 1987 and continues to be there. The number of premises had changed but not the structure.

Perhaps the youngsters who have boldly ventured into this marvellous project must also give impetus to nature and beautify the town. Nature by itself is beautiful and let us not destroy it. It is nature which gives us the encouragement to see things in better perspective. Nature is a great artist and we all derive our inspiration from it. So let us not destroy it. Gunung Lambak is a natural beauty providing immense rich scenes in the mornings and evenings when lights add further glamour to the town. Another important feature we need to acknowledge is the significant role played by Kluang Rail which had its humble beginning at Kluang Railway Station in 1938, and the aroma of its coffee has spread throughout the country. There are many out of Kluang who express their enthusiasm to visit Kluang just to taste the rail coffee.

One of the direct descendants of the founder of Kluang Railway Station Coffee Shop, Mr. Jack Lim, still holds the family tradition and had indeed spread the aroma of rail coffee to various places in Kluang itself. Kluang Rail has become synonymous with Kluang Town.   

I wish the organisers the best in their endeavour and I am confident they will succeed. And I am also confident that the citizens of Kluang will wholeheartedly support this project and the organisers.

These are the youths with whom the future of Malaysia is destined. And I am confident that these youngsters are the symbol of the future with dynamic mind and dynamic future.

I am glad and honoured to declare open this worthwhile project.