Muzium Angkatan Tentera Darat, Port Dickson

I went to Muzium Angkatan Tentera Darat Port Dickson last UPSR holiday.

Tempatnya, pastilah di Port Dickson. Kat tepi jalan aje dekat-dekat dengan army camp. You will see a big army plane by the side of the road. It is free for all. It is closed on Monday and Friday. I went on Monday mula-mula only to find it closed. Haziq was devastated because he was all excited about going to the museum. And I thought it will do him good. After all this is another activity in Port Dickson rather than the pool, sand and beach.

We went at about 12:00 noon. The sun was scorching. Man, was I tanner than usual. We walked around the rows of cannons, tanks, locomotive and vehicles used during war.

And of course the children would love to fiddle everything. They went up the cannon, helicopter and some armoured vehicle. I am sorry I don't know the technical name for them.

Jalan punya jalan around the complex, and I thought ini aje ke kat muzium ni, automotif aje. Sampailah pusing satu building colonial army camp tu. Adusss berpeluh-peluh jadinya.

Orang tak ramai, my family including my parents and adalah tiga orang budak sekolah. So we were priviliged to be entertained by one of the museum staff who is also a mat tiarap (askar). Which made the visit more fruitful. We heard a lot of unsolicited insider stories.








Amazingly that is not all in this museum. I saw the thing watchamacallit? The metal ventilation thing yang pusing-pusing orang selalu letak kat roof untuk buang heat tu. I saw it kat atas jalan. So I asked ada apa kat bawah, hoping that ada bunker peluru or something. Then he said ada replika tunnel Parti Komunis Malaya. The one in Betong Thailand.

So we dengan excitednya pergilah tunnel tu. The actual entrance kat tunnel tu tak adalah sekemas yang ada kat museum ni sebab yang tu orang gali, yang ni, eh orang jugaklah gali, tapi pakai machine.



The tunnel in the museum is 142m long. (I think the original is 1km long). A trip through this tunnel would leave a lasting impression on the visitors on the tribulation and hardship of the army personnel in countering the CPM (Communist Part of Malaya) threat. Yang bestnya ada lover aku sekali sebab my lover is so into insurgencies history and kemerdekaan stuff. So he was excited looking at the actual food dump container there. Whereas aku tengok sanitary pads yang dia orang buat dengan belt and cotton. OMG! Haziq pulak excited tengok surgery room tu. Maybe the fact that ada bloodied manequin there. Jack2 was just happy to practice his walk.

But going through the tunnel brings shudder to one and you would appreciate peace because war is difficult and survival is thin.

Genuine artefacts, graphic panels, diorama, information kiosk and LCD panel shows are placed along the tunnel.

Seriously aku tak sangka puak canggih jugak museum ni. The LCD panels are nicely done, quite tasteful and very IT gitu. Pakai touch button style. Language is both Malay and English.

Pastu ada lagi stuff in the building. History of independance, zaman kesultanan Melaka, colonial time, cerita askar melayu, zaman Jepun dan duit pisangnya, angkatan tentera, communist party. Not necessarily in that order.

Outside they put up the jambatan bergantung thing. Ooohh I love his wobbly jambatan bergantung. I thought of scaring the kids by shaking it while they walk. But instead it's my helper who shrieked out for help. Then the kids joined shaking the bridge to my helper's dismay.

Verdict of the place : Seriously an interesting museum. It brings out the patriotism in me and keinsafan. Very informative. Well displayed. I hope it will be maintained well.

I also would like to propose, how lah eh, can anyone suggest who I should write to. I should have asked them the other day. I proposed that they make a bigger promotion on this museum. Partcularly during the month of Merdeka. Promote aggressively to Kementerian Pendidikan, schools, colleges, universities and the public in general. Maybe een the penagih dadah yang dah nak tamat graduan. Biar dia tau orang merdeka bukan nak suruh dia hisap dadah. I don't think ramai yang tau or even interested nak tau. Marketlah sikit.

And also I hope they have an information board masa nak masuk tu, so I know and can plan which one to visit first. Confusing sikit.

Sayang kalau the effort is not recognised. Sesungguhnya ianya boleh membangkitkan semangat.

Saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan di sini, untuk meminta kita semua memberi sedekah Al-Fatehah or say a prayer for our past heroes who have sacrificed their life in the name of our country and in the name of God. May Allah bless them.

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edited to add

Muzium in telah dirasmikan oleh DYMM SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail. In the actual lingo is beliau telah berkenan mencemar duli telah merasmikan Muzium Tentera Darat bertempat di Pusat Latihan Asas Tentera Darat (PUSASDA), Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan pada hari Selasa 28 Jun 2005 jam 9.00 pagi.