Things to do · Papan, Perak
Rumah Besar Raja Billah
Papan · Kinta Valley
Raja Bilah came over from Sumatra. He was Mandailing nobility, and by the 1890s he was penghulu of Papan, back when Papan was one of the busiest tin towns in the Kinta Valley. He finished this house in 1896 and put it on the rise above the main street, where he could see the whole town below him. Two storeys, timber and masonry, built as a Bagas Godang, which is what the Mandailing call the great house of a chief. It was the biggest building in Papan then. It still is.
Important info
Good to knowEntrance is free (as per our last visit). You can walk the ground floor. Upstairs is shut, the timber has gone soft. A heritage signboard went up at the entrance in early 2025. No fixed opening hours, the family look after the place themselves.
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Rumah Besar Raja Billah
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Last verified January 2022. Someone from Small Towns Malaysia was here on that visit. Prices and hours change — tell us if this is out of date.