In February 2005 independent researcher Raimy Che Ros made a startling claim - that he had discovered an ancient lost city in the dense jungles of Johor.

He claimed that he discovered this lost city called Kota Gelanggi, or Perbendaharaan Permata (Treasury of Jewels), after 12 years of research. Gelanggi is also known as Linggiu.

He added that this ancient city could be 1,000 years old, making it possibly older than other ancient civilisations in the regions such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia.

Raimy, however, has never visited the ancient city. His discovery was all based on his research of literature on Malay history and tales told by the local natives.

A Johor activist now says the reason Raimy failed to discover any physical traces of the lost city was due to the fact that the whole area in which the ancient city is located is in an area controlled by Singapore.

"The ancient city falls within the water catchment area that has been 'sold' to the Singaporean government by the Johor state government in the late 1980s," said Zaaba Abdul Samad ( right ).

The state government had agreed in the mid-1980s to allow its southern neighbour to pay for the construction of a reservoir in the Linggiu forest reserve. Work on the Linggiu Reservoir started in 1988 and was fully completed in 1994.

The Singapore government signed a water pact with Johor in 1990 for the supply of water from this reservoir. Although the Johor state government owns the dam, Singapore pays for all its operational costs. Singapore's Public Utilities Board manages and maintains the Linggiu Reservoir.

The construction of the reservoir saw many Orang Asli settlements being displaced. The Singapore government paid RM320 million to Johor as compensation for the environmental damages and the loss of land use.

"The size of the water catchment area is slightly more than 51,000 acres - about a third of the size of Singapore," Zaaba told m alaysiakini during a visit to the reservoir recently.

Research hijacked by others?

Locals have also complained that not much is known about the agreement between the Singapore and the Johor governments on matters pertaining to the reservoir as no public document are available on it. The only available public document is the Gazette Map of the reservoir.

There is also a fear that the reservoir is located in a precarious position that in the event of a mishap, residential areas in the base will be badly affected by the gushing water.

"The fact is that we have no freedom to enter into the area. Given such circumstance, it is no surprise that researchers like Raimy are unable to back their claims," he said.

Following Raimy's claim of finding the lost city, the Department of Museum and Antiquities mounted an archaeological expedition to verify the location of the lost city.

However, after a month-long study, the government researchers found no such evidence. The official finding of this team has not been released as yet but a member of the expedition revealed 10 months later that the lost city did not exist.

Khalid Syed Ali, an archaeologist in the National Heritage Department, said in a working paper at a forum last April that the team did not find any evidence of ancient civilisation in the Linggiu area.

"Of course, they didn't find anything. The 15-member team itself was a hastily formed one. They went in not knowing what they were looking for and after one month they came out. Where is their official finding?" asked a local historian who wished to remain anonymous.

He added that if the Museum and Antiquities Department was serious over the discovery, they should have given all their assistance to Raimy to conclude his research.

"They should have made it possible for him to enter the area. As it is he was not even included in the expedition," said the retired civil servant.

"As the area is now under the control of Singapore, I won't be surprised if in the near future the Singapore Museum announces the discovery of an ancient city in Johor and exhibits remnants of the lost city there," he added.

An official from the Singapore Museum declined to comment when contacted to ask if any archeological work was being undertaken in the Linggiu Reservoir area.

Water Kingdom

Local legends also have it that the Linggiu Reservoir was seated in an ancient civilisation site.

There are ancient accounts of how the place was raided by the Indian-Chola conqueror Raja Rajendra Cholavarman I, of the South Indian Chola Dynasty in 1025AD.

Similarly details about the Kota Gelanggi civilisation also appeared in the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) which was edited and revised by Tun Seri Lanang, the Bendahara Royal Court of Johor in 1612AD.

Ancient Javanese scriptures also mentions a Gangga Ayu kingdom (Water Kingdom) here, just like an old Siamese text which talks about the existence of a kingdom in the 14th century at the mouth of Sungai Johor. This is where the Linggiu Reservoir is located now.

"We don't know how true are all these ancient tales. Even the Orang Asli communities here talk about it, from what they have heard from their forefathers," said the Johor historian.

"However now, I don't see how we can start doing any research work in the area as it is fully controlled by Singapore," he added.

Zaaba agreed with this, adding that the Johor government should reveal more about the agreement it has with the Singapore government on the reservoir.

"I am sure there are provisions in the agreement allowing interested parties to go into the areas for genuine purposes.

"But sadly we don't know that for sure due to the lack of public documents," he lamented.

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