"Batu Bersurat literally means 'the Stone of Inscriptions'. Carved on this particular huge bolder are sketches of a tiger carrying a child, two round-shaped leaves along with the letters,'If Carlo 1743' and 'VOC,' an acronym for the Dutch East India Company."
The sketches were believed to be the work of grieving soldiers in memory of a Dutch dignitary's son who went missing whilst playing near the stone in 1743, during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Syah III (1728-1756). One version of the tale was that some of the Malays and Bugis, who disliked the Dutch for ill treating the locals, kidnapped and killed the boy.
Another version claimed that a tiger ate the boy. From that day, the rock came to be known as the `Batu Bersurat` or `The Rock of Inscriptions'. The rock measures about 10.7m long and 4.6m wide and stands 4.3m tall.
Last viewed - July 30, 2010
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