Anyone with a fetish for monoliths and ancient graves, Pengkalan Kempas is the place to head for. It’s a little place just 60km away from Melaka with a small, predominantly Chinese population of 1000people. A town that can be easily mistaken for a lay-by with a total of 26 shops of which only 10 are still operating, a small primary school, an abandoned petrol station, a government health centre and a police station make up the structure of the town. Set just a short distance away on an oil palm plantation, is a little known place called the Pengkalan Kempas Historical Complex. Within the vicinity is a large grave purportedly the final resting place of Sheikh Ahmad Majnum, a holy man who came to Melaka in the 14th century. Sheikh Ahmad was slain during a battle with Sultan Mansor Shah’s army. (Sultan Mansor Shah reigned over Melaka from 1457 to 1477). Sheikh Ahmad was buried here in 1467 and his grave is reported to be the oldest known Muslim grave in Malaysia.
There are a number of megalithic stones strewn around the area. Some fully carved and others left unfinished. 3 strangely shaped stones were named “rudder”, “spoon” and “sword” by the locals attributing to their shapes and are believed to be carved during the 2nd or 3rd century. Some of them have Arab and Sumatran scripts carved onto them but there is no evidence that the inscriptions were chiselled onto the stones later. The locals believe that these stones have special powers, which allow them to grow.
A headstone-like structure with a hole in the middle is believed to have been an ancient form of ‘lie-detector’. The accused would put his arm through the hole and each time false answers to questions were given, the hole would constrict, tightening round the arm until the truth was told!
Opening times: every day and 9am-6.00pm but the gate is open even after. Try your luck!
LOCATION
Pekan Pengkalan Kempas, Port Dickson
