Thursday, 12 December 2013

Ancient Malaysian treasures for sale on modern eBay

KOTA TINGGI: It’s not just Kedah that’s crying foul over the loss of valuable historic sites. Artefacts and treasures from Johor are also being sold at lucrative prices in a thriving black market trade – and much of the treasure comes from the state’s old administrative capital of Johor Lama.

To make things worse, The Star’s checks on eBay and other sites revealed a startling truth. Historical artefacts from Perak and Malacca are also on sale.

The treasures, which run into millions of ringgit, include gold, silver and tin coins, animal-shaped currencies, celadon, terracotta and blue and white Chinese ceramics and weapons.

The trade, which has been going on secretly for the past 40 years, has been attracting private antique collectors and antique shop owners from both Malaysia and foreign countries, including from Singapore.

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