WHILE Italy is proud of its world-renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa, we too have our own, the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan. The pagoda-shaped tower is a major tourist attraction in Perak’s third largest town.
This historical landmark was originally built by a contractor, Leong Choon Cheong, in 1885 as a water storage tower for the 800 residents in the area. At the same time, the 25.5m building also served as a beacon to guide ships into Teluk Anson as the town was called back then.
Apparently, the original name of the town was Teluk Mak Intan, named after a wealthy Mandailing cloth trader. Legend has it that Mak Intan lost a diamond hairpin while playing in the bay and so the name was given to commemorate the incident.
Then in 1882, it was renamed Teluk Anson in honour of the last Penang Lieutenant-Governor, Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson who was said to have drawn up the modern plan for the town in the late 1890s.
In 1982, during the town’s 100th anniversary celebrations, the Sultan of Perak proclaimed that the name would be changed to Teluk Intan.
Originally called the High Clock Tower, the building appears to be eight-stories tall but in reality, there are only three different levels with the water storage area at the highest position.
This brick and wood structure started tilting in a north-westerly direction about four years after it was completed. This was attributed to ground movement caused by an underground stream that was not detected when the site was selected.
During two major floods in 1889 and 1895, the lower section of the tower was submerged. It was used as an observation post during the Japanese Occupation due to its height. After the war, it became the Boy Scouts headquarters.
Today, its only function is as a clock tower. Despite its age, the clock which was manufactured in London more than a century ago, still chimes without fail every 15 minutes.
The photograph shown here was taken from a complete set of 24 large photographic cards entitled Malayan Scenes, issued by Carreras in 1928.
Clearly at that point of time, the tower, located at the end of Jalan Selat, did not show the high degree of inclination that is visible today.
