Beras Terbakar Langkawi
Locally the place is known as Beras Terbakar which means
Field of Burnt Rice. Although there is nothing much to see there now, it has a
lot of historic significance. When the battle broke out between Siam and
Langkawi at Pancur Straits in 1821, at one stage the then chief of Langkawi's
Army Dato Kemboja realized that soon the Siamese would capture the island.
Padang Matsirat had been the main place in the island with
vast stretches of paddy (rice) fields. And rice has always been the main source
of supply and means of livelihood in the island. In order to prevent it from
falling in the hands of enemy, the Army Chief immediately sent a messenger to
Padang Matsirat and ordered the villagers in the area to collect all their paddy
harvest and burn them.
The villagers brought all their harvest to this place which
is located in the house compound of Ku Halim Bin Ku Hassan in Kampung Raja who
was then the king and the place was the ancient capital of the island. They dug
a huge hole in a field at this place, put all the collected paddy and burnt the
entire crop.
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