The Teluk Intan Leaning Tower can be abbreviated as TILT and that is what it does!

This 25-metre-high tower in the small Perak town of Teluk Intan is Malaysia’s answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It is not as old, nor as tall, nor as famous as its Italian counterpart but it does have a distinct incline and that makes it a curiosity worth visiting.

It was constructed in 1885 by Leong Choon Cheong and a few Ceylonese contractors.

It was built primarily to store water for local usage during the dry season and in case of fire.

Since it began leaning over due to soft soil foundations, it has become a tourist attraction.

It is a three-storey brick construction with a large steel water tank at the upper level.

From the outside however it has been disguised to look like an eight-storey Chinese pagoda.

Local people contributed to buy the clock from James W Benson, Turret Clock Makers of Ludgate Hill, London. It still works and chimes every 15 minutes.

The second floor of the tower was used by the Scouts in 1940. From 1977 to 1992 it was used as a branch of the Family Planning Board. It must have been too strange to work in an office with a sloping floor.

You might find it slightly disconcerting to walk on such an obviously tilting surface and you will likely start thinking that one day this building is going to topple over – please let it not be today!

Now that the water tank is no longer used and is empty, the building must be much lighter than it was designed to support and hopefully it will remain upright for many more years to come.

This article first appeared in Malaysia Traveller.