Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat

East-West Highway Monument (29 April, 2017)


Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat (GPS: 5.53055, 101.24874), or East-West Highway Monument, is a monument in Gerik, Perak. Located 10.9km from Gerik and 98.5km from Jeli, it commemorates the attack by Communist terrorist on those working to construct the East-West Highway.

The incident took place at 7:00am in the morning of 27 August, 1974. Workers of the Public Work Department (Jabatan Kerja Raya, JKR) were on the way to highway construction site on Pulau Banding from Base Camp Gerik. At kilometer 26 (the present spot of the monument), they were ambushed by Communist guerillas. In the incident, three JKR workers were killed. We only knew them by their first names: Ismail, Husin and Ali. Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat was erected to commemorate their deed and honour their sacrifices.¹ A few other sporadic incidents took place throughout the construction sites of the highway, killing JKR workers as well as members of the security forces. The monument is erected to commemorate their deeds.

Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat (East-West Highway Monument) (29 April, 2017)

Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat is on the map of East-West Highway

Interpretive board, Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat (29 April, 2017)


Letter from Communist Terrorist, displayed on the interpretive board, about intention to sabotage the construction of the highway. (29 April, 2017)


My wife and I at the East-West Highway Monument (29 April, 2017)

Tugu Peringatan Jalanraya Timur Barat on Google Street View

(Mar 2014)

References

Back to Discover Perak mainpage; list of Monuments in Perak and Monuments in Malaysia

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