Country’s first WW2 bunker discovered on Ipoh airport grounds

Malaya Historical Group chief researcher Shaharom Ahmad says the find is significant because all other historical bunkers discovered before this were located above ground.

PETALING JAYA: An underground bunker used during World War 2 (WW2) has been discovered on the grounds of the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh.

The discovery of the underground air shelter, which is believed to be the first underground bunker from WW2 to be discovered in the country, was made during a study of Malaysia’s airfields and airports by the Malaya Historical Group (MHG).

According to MHG’s chief researcher Shaharom Ahmad, the find was significant because all other historical bunkers discovered before this were located above ground, reported The Star.

He said the 9m-long and 9m-wide bunker was located 2.5m underground and was believed to have been built by the British to protect their soldiers and civilians from enemy air strikes.

“The structure is still sound with no real signs of damage given that it is about 75 years old,” The Star quoted Shaha­rom, who has been carrying out research on WW2 artefacts and remains since 1996.

He added that the bunker resembled other British underground bunkers found in Singapore and Europe.

Shaharom said researchers also found Chinese characters inside the bunker, believed to have been written by builders from China who were hired to build the underground shelter.

Writings on the wall in Chinese read “food enough to feed 2,100”.

The discovery has also raised the possibility that there are other underground shelters in the area.

“There could be more historical structures in the vicinity as underground bunkers are rarely built on their own,” Shaharom said.

Sultan Azlan Shah Airport mana­ger Mohd Ali Osman said this was the third historic find within the grounds of the airport.

“Before this, we found two military pillboxes (concrete dug-in guard posts).

“There were also police quarters and an abandoned Senoi Praaq (Orang Asli police personnel) quarters located on the same field where the bunker was found,” he said.

Ali said said discussions would be held with the Perak Heritage Society, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and the Ipoh City Council for further studies and to turn the bunker into a museum and major tourist attraction.
He said MAHB had given its permission to MHG to conduct the research as it was located at an empty field.

“We are giving our full support to transform the area into a military heritage site for the state’s tourism sector development,” Ali said.

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