9/11 could have been a dream killer for Alex Lee. It stopped him from taking his flight to join the dot com mania in the US. Instead he stayed home and found himself asking: how could he go about preserving his own heritage and culture?
That’s how he started buying and restoring centuries-old houses that once belonged to local noblemen around the state of Terengganu, some dating back 2 centuries. Located on the east coast of Malaysia, the region is deep with heritage harking back to the Langkasuka Kingdom.
These buildings were ingeniously put together like a giant wooden puzzle without any nails. They need to be carefully disassembled and moved. He chose a small village named Kampung Mangkuk to reassemble them, adjacent to 244km of unbroken sandy shoreline overlooking popular dive sites.
29 such buildings were beautifully restored with their original wood carvings and converted into a resort-style villa – each appointed with amenities to cater for even the most discerning world traveller, complete with a spacious verandah under palm trees and four poster beds.
He called the resort Terrapuri, The Land of Palaces. https://www.terrapuri.com/
Of Peranakan descent – Chinese who arrived in the 15th century and intermingled with local Malay inhabitants – Alex understands that heritage can only be conveyed through people practising the culture.
So he employs locals to staff his resort where they provide local cuisine with local ingredients. He uses local artisans and craftsmen for everything. His craftsmen are now sought after whenever there is a restoration project.
When fishermen cannot work during inclement weather, he employs them as tour guides at his travel agency, Ping Anchorage, and also got them to use their weaving skills to create giant sculptures out of jungle vine instead of fishing nets (pix).
During tourist season he takes his guests on river cruises through mangrove swamps, island and diving trips, and hikes into the some of the oldest equatorial rainforests that Malaysia is known for internationally.
Only by bringing in visitors can locals appreciate the wealth and richness the region has to offer: in the form of traditional arts such as batik, crafts including traditional shipbuilding (without nails), Gamelan – a music ensemble which was restricted only to the royal court until the 1960’s – and more.
It takes outsiders with hard cash to make locals appreciate that their heritage has value, and can generate revenue.
Alex is working on another resort named Terramalai, due for completion in 2022. Unlike Terrapuri, where all the buildings originated from his home state Terengganu, each of the 11 villas in Terramalai hails from a different state of Malaysia.
Not bad for someone who missed out on the dot com frenzy. Who says entrepreneurs can only be tech-related?
