[Photos] In Perak’s Lenggong, A Community Centre Becomes A Keeper Of Two Million Years

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Nestled in Malaysia’s northern state of Perak, this quiet valley holds some of the oldest evidence of human settlement in Southeast Asia—stone tools, ancient bones, traces of fire.

It’s the kind of heritage that typically lives behind glass in museums or appears in academic journals.

But recently, Lenggong took a different approach – it opened a community centre.

The Lenggong Community Centre was officially launched by Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, the local MP and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.

It’s not a museum.

It’s not a tourist attraction.

It’s a space for residents—farmers, teachers, small business owners—to learn about, engage with, and eventually take ownership of the heritage that’s been beneath their feet all along.

The Lenggong Community Centre—the yellow building—once housed Captain Hubert Berkeley, British District Officer of Hulu Perak from 1864 to 1942. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Its placement is deliberate: right in the middle of town, where people actually live and move. Heritage as something lived, not just visited. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Shamsul Anuar (centre) walks visitors through exhibitions on the upper floor of the Lenggong Community Centre. The space translates academic research from institutions such as Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) into something residents can engage with. Heritage as conversation, not just conservation. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

From Learning to Leading

The centre is the work of Think City, a Malaysian impact organisation, in collaboration with UTM, as part of the Lenggong Valley Sustainable Community Development Programme launched in 2023 with support from Yayasan Hasanah.

The idea is straightforward: give people the tools and the space to understand what they have, and they’ll figure out how to protect it.

Refurbished in partnership with the Lenggong District Council, it’s a flexible space for workshops, heritage programmes, and everyday community events—the kind of place that can host a geopark seminar one day and a colouring contest for kids the next.

Dato’ Hamdan Abdul Majeed, Think City’s Managing Director, said the centre represents a shift from communities learning about their heritage to taking ownership of it.

We’ve seen communities move from learning about their heritage to taking greater ownership of it. The community centre supports the next phase of this journey by giving local groups the space to sustain and build on that momentum.

Siti Kamariah Ahmad Subki of Yayasan Hasanah framed it as more than infrastructure: “When communities are trusted with knowledge, support, and continuity, they don’t just participate; they begin to lead.”

She added that the centre is designed to help residents build livelihoods around heritage—work that’s “meaningful, dignified, and worth sustaining.”

(From left) Hamdan, Shamsul Anuar, and Lenggong District Council Yang diPertua Mohd Amzari Mohd Arzami at the Heritage Community Centre launch. The partnership between civil society, local government, and elected representatives reflects the collaborative approach needed for community-led heritage work. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Lenggong town is nestled in a valley, with the Bintang Mountain Range visible to the left. The valley lies between the Bintang Range to the west and the Titiwangsa to the east, forming a distinct geographical corridor. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Wakaf Che Teh Fatimah in Kampung Sira—a traditional Malay house serving as a community hub. This is the kind of grassroots heritage work already happening in Lenggong: practical, community-driven, and focused on bringing people together rather than just preserving the past. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

A Geopark, a University, and a Long Game

Lenggong is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now there’s a push to have it recognised as a UNESCO Global Geopark—a designation that highlights geological and cultural significance while encouraging sustainable tourism and education.

UTM will support activities at the centre through its satellite research lab, in alignment with efforts led by Shamsul Anuar, who is also the UMNO Information Chief, to position Lenggong as a Global Geopark Education Hub.

That means learning programmes, short courses in geopark management, conservation training, and academic support that build on the community’s existing knowledge.

The centre is also tied to the Northern Region Archaeotourism Network Programme (NRAN), launched in 2022 under the Ministry of Finance, which aims to develop heritage-based tourism across northern Malaysia.

But the real work isn’t about attracting more visitors—it’s about ensuring the people who live here understand what they’re sitting on—and have a say in what happens next.

A traditional Chinese medicine shop in Lenggong town, where Chinese signage sits alongside Malay text. Heritage here isn’t just about stone tools and fossils—it’s about the multiracial community that has shaped the valley for generations. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

A wooden Malay house on stilts in Lenggong town. Heritage here isn’t just about ancient artefacts—it’s also about preserving the skills and knowledge embedded in structures like this, still standing among newer buildings. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

A Malaysian Chinese elder repairs a bicycle wheel for two Malay young boys in Lenggong town. The Heritage Community Centre aims to support moments like this—where skills, stories, and everyday life intersect with the valley’s deep history. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Heritage That Doesn’t Just Sit Behind Glass

Lenggong’s archaeological sites include the Perak Man, a skeleton dated to around 11,000 years ago, and stone tools that suggest human activity stretching back 1.83 million years.

It’s the kind of heritage that could easily become something distant, something managed by experts from elsewhere.

The community centre is a bet on a different model: that heritage is strongest when it’s lived with, not just preserved.

For now, the centre is open. Programmes are starting. Residents are beginning to use the space.

Whether it becomes a lasting hub or just another building will depend on what happens in the months and years ahead.

But in a valley where human presence has endured for nearly two million years, there’s reason to think the long game might just work.

The Perak Man skeleton on display at the Lenggong Archaeological Museum. In 2021, scientists successfully reconstructed the face of Perak Man, providing insight into the appearance of early humans in the area. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Ongoing research from the museum’s findings contributes to understanding human evolution and migration patterns in Southeast Asia. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

Ancient stones at the Lenggong Archaeological Gallery, some dating back over 400 million years. The collection spans from deep geological time to the stone tools crafted by early humans nearly two million years ago. (Pix: Fernando Fong)

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[Photos] In Perak’s Lenggong, A Community Centre Becomes A Keeper Of Two Million Years
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