Istana Lama Raja Billah, Papan

“The minute that you’re not learning I believe you’re dead...” – Jack Nicholson

(Istana Raja Billah, Papan)

4.5153, 101.012955
04°30′55.08″N 101°00′46.64″E

Istana Lama Raja Billah is located next to Masjid Lama Papan.

(Has always been the largest building in Papan)

(The 'Rumah Asal' on the left of the concrete building)

(A staircase at the back leading to the upper level)

(One of Perak National Heritages)

Istana Billah is a mansion that was originally owned by Raja Billah who came from Mandailing, Sumatra. He was the son of King Tedong Berani in West Sumatra who fled in the 1860s to the Malay Peninsula following a war during The Dutch colonization.

(Intricate decorative wood carvings)

(Inspecting the Big House surrounding)

(A potential tourist destination in Perak)

(The Rumah Besar was the local equivalent of Bagas Godang)

Raja Billah was an influential and rich person and was appointed as the chief Headman of Papan. He had built an impressive wooden mansion which he called Istana Billah. The wooden mansion of Istana Billah has the design similar to the palace of Raja Mandailing of Bagas Godang community and still stood intact on the bank of the Perak River.

(The courtyard is left unmaintained)

(A large hall with octagonal columns and a raised platform)

(A palace full of history)

(This old palace was completed in 1896)

(Myths of mysteries and strange phenomena)

Istana Billah is located on a hill, magnificently built for Raja Billah who made Perak his home and where he spent the last remainder of his life. The construction of this palace was completed in 1896. It was then the largest building in Papan town. In 1994 Istana Billah is turned into a museum by the Department of Museums and Antiquities. This mansion was once used as a filming location for the movie Anna and The King in 1999.

(The entrance and brick walls of Istana Raja Billah)

(The Istana Lama was closed to visitors during the pandemic)