Modern day Pengerang

The Pengerang area today has seen massive new development, the focal point being a new petroleum complex. This in turn has created much upheaval in the area. The tranquil old coastal road that one used to drive from Sungei Rengit to Pengelih has mostly been destroyed, including the removal of many of the rural costal villages along its former route.

I fear, it's with massive industrial development like this, that one day might destroy the WW2 site well beyond what any British denial scheme could have achieved.

In recent decades the WW2 battery itself hasn't been completely forgotten and it is evident that a survey team had recorded the various WW2 structures at Tg Pengelih. Evidence of this survey can be seen by the various spray painted number designations on each structure. I was able to find old newspaper articles from 1992, reporting of plans to use part of the old battery at Pengelih as a backdrop for a theme park attraction!
These tourism plans however did not go through as the land was already gazetted as military training land, and where a few years later the Navy would build a new training base there, the KD Pularek.
The scrapped theme park plan was unfortunate, as photos from the early 90's showed some of the site had been nicely spruced up, probably in anticipation of its development. Vegetation had been cleared and the various roadside pillboxes given a new lick of white paint, the area looked very smart indeed. However, I must admit that I still struggle to properly grasp the concept of what a theme park at a former coastal battery would have been like!

Today, the Pengelih site is very overgrown and the structures weighed down by graffiti, some dated as old as the 1970's. Scrap metal thieves have also played a big part in helping to destroy what remains there. I am also concerned of metal detector hobbyists who may have combed the land for relics to take back home with them. Removal of such objects would undoubtedly be erasing parts of Pengerang's integral history if not officially logged and recorded.

It's a shame that yet again in Malaysia another historically significant site has been left in limbo. Hopefully one day what is left of the battery can be properly restored and maintained for prosperity, like other WW2 batteries at Batu Maung in Penang, or Fort Siloso in Singapore.