This is the first time I have seen Gunung Kanthan in the news for a long time. In recent years it has been frequently mentioned due to the efforts to try and save it from being quarried.
The Malay Mail 18 August 2026 "How much of Malaysia must we destroy before we call it heritage? — Khoo Ying Hooi". The articles talks about general heritage but specifically mentions the Sakyamuni Caves Monastery at Gunung Kanthan. It says :
"The controversy surrounding the century-old Sakyamuni Caves Monastery at Gunung Kanthan in Perak is not simply about one religious site. Rather, it is about the way we repeatedly reduce heritage to a dispute over land ownership, quarrying rights, development plans and economic value, as though history itself is somehow less significant because it cannot be calculated in ringgit per square foot.
The monastery has existed there for generations, while the limestone hill itself carries geological and ecological significance that predates the Malaysian state by an unimaginable span of time. It is a place where religious practice, community memory, biodiversity and local history meet. Yet here we are again, debating how much of it can be sacrificed in the name of development."
It goes on to talk about other sites that are being lost. It goes on to say :
"Gunung Kanthan makes the issue even more serious because some destruction cannot be disguised as redevelopment and later repaired. Limestone formations created over millions of years do not grow back. Rare ecosystems do not reappear because we suddenly discover their value after quarrying is completed. A century of spiritual life connected to a particular cave cannot simply be moved somewhere else. Places accumulate memory through time. Their meaning comes partly from being where they are."
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