In an interview with FMT, Khoo spoke about the discovery of relics, said to date back to the 13th-century Majapahit empire, beneath the Malacca river.
He said the recent discovery of relics was unsurprising as in its glory days, Malacca was the world’s busiest port in the world.
“At the Malacca port, some 80 to 90 languages were spoken. It shows you how many outsiders came to trade.”
Hence, he said, it was not inconceivable that many ships or boats carrying various items would have sunk there, along with their cargoes.
“If you dig deep enough, you may find much more. Such relics not only help us understand our past but are great in helping boost tourism efforts.”
Khoo said in many developed countries, areas which held many relics and artefacts would be preserved, and development in such areas would be minimised.
“So, we should consider doing the same, especially in Malacca’s waterways and the areas near the Straits of Malacca.”
In the recent reports on the discovery of the relics, it was revealed that the relics were found by professional divers along a 2km stretch, about 20 metres beneath the Malacca river.
The divers discovered parts of a Hindu temple and a fort-like structure two weeks ago. The submerged city is believed to have existed even before Parameswara founded Malacca in 1400.
Majapahit, the last Indianised kingdom in Indonesia, was based in eastern Java.
Following the discovery of the artefacts, Hindraf Chairman P Waythamoorthy called on the tourism and culture ministry to act swiftly to safeguard and seek assistance from Unesco and inter-governmental advisory bodies on the artefacts.