Before Malaysia found petroleum, tin mining was one of the biggest economic sources. It was the earliest type of mining that operated in our country, believed as early as 1820s.
As far as I know, there’s only two dredges that we have in Malaysia. One is in Batu Gajah, Perak, prominently known as Tanjung Tualang Dredge (TT5), and the other one is unknown; but known to some people.
Whilst I’m not occupied with classes on weekend for this time being, I planned some short motorcycle trips with my friends. One of it is to delve into the unknown dredge which is known as the Seri Banting Dredge.
I bet many of you have been to Tanjung Tualang, but none of you are aware of the existence of Seri Banting Dredge. This unpopular dredge is located about 40km from KL city; and is believed to have been there since 1974. It is surrounded by Dengkil, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, and is also located near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) area. To my knowledge, the dredge ceased its operations in 1997.
To reach here, you need to walk about 1km. It is surrounded by a lake which you have to use a gangplank or floating bridge (I don’t know what is the name of that thing actually) to enter the dredge. Eventhough there’s no sign indicating ‘no trespassing’, authority is on standby to take care of the place.
We’re in a fluke as when we arrived there, no one was guarding the place; make it easier for us to commence our exploration. This dredge is still looking great and sturdy, crawling with mosses and rusty parts on the walls and machines. Some of its floor are fragile and if you’re not wary of it, there’s a higher chance for you to get wet and if you can’t swim (like me) you’ll definitely drown.
I don’t have any knowledge whereas this place is a private property or under the government care. Howbeit, it’s sad actually when thing like this get abandoned. Instead of TT5, we should have another dredge museum especially near Klang Valley. Many knows, without tin, there will be no great city such as Kuala Lumpur.
