Sri Medan, the iron ore village town

I recently paid a visit to Sri Medan, Batu Pahat to attend a close friend's funeral. Given the well known historical fact that it was once a hive of mining activity, it is now, sadly, a village town with little to show, of its importance as one of the richest iron ore mines in Malaya during the colonial era. A Japanese entrepreneur was quick to seize the opportunity to exploit the rich iron ore deposits to feed imperial Japan's ever hungry industrialization programme in the 1920s. What is left now is a huge hole, which is now a lake, and the vestiges of a once ambitious plan to build a recreational park to attract visitors to this sleepy hollow. Little of its history is known to Batu Pahat residents, except the older generation. Another similar fate befell Tasik Bukit Pasir, which was once a bauxite mine. An ambitious plan to convert the lake into a water theme park has also fallen through, and the place remains empty of visitors, except for occasional love birds who wish to sit and gaze dreamily at the shimmering lake. I wonder who foot the bill for its development? The District Council? Or some entrepreneur who probably lost a lot of money on the project? I suspect the former.

A nursery

The walkway to view the lake

Just about the only people who come here are newly married couples for wedding photos

An interesting account was written about Sri Medan by Malaysia Land Rover Owners' Club.