Ancient 'candi' crushed by Malaysian developer

Malaysians online outraged over destruction of 1,200-year-old temple razed for residential housing project.

Storified by The Stream· Mon, Dec 02 2013 09:51:46

The tweet below claims to show the candi site after its destruction.



@syahredzan Candi Sungai Batu Site 11 totally gone! It is a 8th Century Temple, blvd to be Buddhist shrine. http://t.co/Qq5fJ1mZOeSatees Muniandy

Many criticised the government of Kedah state for claiming that it could do little to protect the ruins. The government is now attempting to salvage remnants of the temple, and has reportedly asked the developer to stop work at the site.

bizarre how Kedah govt can say they are powerless to stop Lembah Bujang destruction - just issue stop order & gazette area as protected!Lawyers For Liberty

@lawyers4liberty KEDAH ADMINISTRATION sleeps as historical location gets demolished.... and we are to beleive they are ignorant; powerless.thiruselvamk

RE Lembah Bujang: It's atrocious for the state to deflect guilt by arguing "they weren't informed"! It's either they're ignorant or lying!Saddiq

P. Ramasamy, Deputy Chief Minister of Panang, has reportedly vowed to seek legal action against the developer and complicit authorities for their roles in the temple's destruction.



Some wondered why the temple was not already designated as a protected historical site.

Not to flog a destroyed historical artifact, but WHY wasn't the Lembah Bujang site designated a nat'l heritage site at least? #RIPHistorynadster

No need to wait until Candi Lembah Bujang to be listed under UNESCO to protect it. It is Malaysia's herritage.IzwanShahmin

It's a tragedy to Lembah Bujang. Not only historical elements aren't critically documented, but also sites destroyed. Ugly.MRN

Many on Twitter were simply angry.

A candi in L Bujang, remnant of Kedah Tua kingdom, has been demolished for housing project. Yeah, go and erase the trace of your heritage.Osho Manikkam

Heartbroken over destruction of 1,200 yr old Lembah Bujang temple. Senseless stupidity and greed at work.Diana Khoo

It sadden me to the core that our treasured Lembah Bujang is being destroyed bits and pieces to make way for development.Kamarul Azhar Azmi

This story of developers destroying parts of Lembah Bujang ancient malay hindu temple should arouse anger from historians and Indiana Jones.ILikeEndieDaily

And smashing the Lembah Bujang candi? I learned about it in school. I guess they'll remove it from history books now.Erna Mahyuni

Thanks to Ginma