There is a temple dedicated to the Taoist Deity, Tai Seong Loh Koon at the Lumut Naval Base. It was built more than a hundred years ago by the early settlers, the temple has served the local community well. I had visited the temple a few times over the years but hadn't been there after 2008 and was I in for a big surprise when I visited it again yesterday. Instead of the small temple pictured above, I was confronted with the big building below.
It seemed that there was a freak storm in 2005 which damaged the building and it was certified unsafe by the consultant appointed by the Temple Committee. According to the report, the structure and foundation of the building was weakened with visible cracks. The consultant had recommended the building be demolished before any untoward incident occurred. As a result, the temple was reconstructed with an estimated cost of RM700,000.
This is the front view of the temple which now faces a parking lot instead of the sea.
Me posing in front of the temple.
The new temple has a staircase on the left and another on the right leading up to it.
The Idol of Tai Seong Loh Koon.
Newspaper clipping on write up of the temple.
The White Tiger Deity
A aerial view of the temple
The back of the temple
Here is the blog for the temple.
1 comment:
My father was a former naval personnel at Lumut Naval Base. We shifted to the living quarters for naval servicemen in the 1980s from the former quarters at Woodlands, SG. Instead of following my father, we stayed on in SG. However we would spend a few school holidays at the Lumut Naval Base. My parents being Taoist, would take us (then very small children) to the Taoist temple by the sea. I remember it was Tai Seong Loh Koon temple. There was a long flight of stairs on the left side of the temple. Back then, the temple was already lined with cracks and very old. My siblings and I used to play or walk along the beach in front of the temple. The temple caretaker was an elderly man. We used to stay at Blok A3, so we would walk to the temple in the late afternoon. At Blok A3, I used to wake up to people staring at me through the windows of my bedroom along the corridor. The corridor was quiet and isolated as there were few families on the 10th level but not quite so, with the people quietly looking at me. When the adults were around, I couldn't see them. I now wonder about what used to be located at site of Lumut Naval Base. Was there a reason why the people were lingering around? It was strange that a temple was erected facing the sea. A mosque within the military compound serves the largely Muslim naval servicemen but why is there a Taoist temple.
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