Yabba dabba doo! Istana Flintstones - it's a page out of history

JOHOR BARU • Busloads of tourists stop by the perimeter walls of Johor's Istana Mersing, or Istana Flintstones, as it is popularly known, daily.

They are mesmerised by the unique shape of the multicoloured building, which instantly brings to life, for them, the home of the Flintstones, a family immortalised in the popular cartoon.

The journey from Johor Baru to Mersing is almost a two-hour ride via a 130km trunk road.

Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, a huge fan of the Flintstone cartoon family, has kept the legacy of the Flintstones alive through his palace.

It is located on a sprawling 24ha site overlooking the sea, with a nine-storey lighthouse, which is still under construction. It apparently has 17 rooms, including two presidential suites.

The two-storey palace, built to resemble a giant cave from the cartoon series, also has a museum and private library, which houses 60,000 original Marvel comics sourced from Australia.

Sultan Ibrahim said that he has been a fan of the cartoon since he was young. "I can remember coming home from school and waiting for the cartoon to be on television. Fred Flintstone, the main character, remains my favourite. I could never get bored watching the series because it brings back many good memories of my childhood."

A life-sized replica of Fred Flintstone's car from the show sits prominently near the palace entrance.

A man gifted with the ability to remember even the finest details, Sultan Ibrahim provided every bit of information on how the structure was put up, and where the materials were sourced.

"Every little thing was built from scratch and it was all properly done," he said as he showed a letter from the Hanna-Barbera company granting him permission to construct the Flintstones-themed palace.

The Johor ruler revealed he is under pressure to open the palace doors to visitors. "I will discuss with my son (the Crown Prince) about which sections of the house can be opened to the public," he said, adding that it took five years to transform the area, which was previously swamp land.

Sultan Ibrahim also said recycled materials, including broken marble pieces and wooden railway sleepers from Keretapi Tanah Melayu, have been repurposed and made into furniture to give the place a rustic look. He added that there is an on-site sawmill and some 350 people working on the project.

The quirky building, which houses everything from swinging chairs to a huge aquarium, is a bona fide private theme park.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK