Batu Gajah Off The Beaten Path Tips by l_joo

Entrance fees to Kellie's Castle

Entrance fees to Kellie's Castle is shown in photo, Adults RM5, Children RM2 only.

Kellie’s Castle vandalised June 30, 2005

Below is an article taken from local newspaper, I was here at Kellie’s Castle about a week earlier but did not enter, just standing outside looking, beautiful surroundings and architecture.

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BY KULDEEP S. JESSY

Ng: 'The framed notice board on the castle's history has been vandalised three times'
BATU GAJAH: Kellie’s Castle, one of Perak's top tourist attractions, has been vandalised and some artefacts there have been stolen.

On top of that, animals like ostriches, deer, peacocks and rabbits in an enclosure beside the castle had been killed, said Steven Ng, director of Trans-Clarity Resort Sdn Bhd which had been hired by the state government to manage the site.

Of the 10 deer and 10 rabbits, he said, only one of each survived after stray dogs killed nine deer recently and nine rabbits died of food poisoning.

Thieves had also stolen ostrich eggs meant to be hatched to complement the present pair of ostriches, he said, adding that last month alone there were four break-ins at the castle.

Responding to complaints that the entrance fees of RM5 for adults and RM2 for children were too high, Ng said they were barely sufficient to meet the maintenance cost.

He said the tin-ore gallery on the first floor and an artefacts gallery on the third floor were locked on weekdays due to a shortage of manpower.

Ng said it was not possible to place information material at every nook and corner of the castle because of vandalism.

“Even the framed notice board on the castle’s history, costing over RM1,500, has been vandalised three times,” he said.

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