But under the law, the national heritage department has the power to grasp “any object which is supposed to have a cultural heritage significance attached to it”, warned Sharmaine Yap, legal researcher of the Azmi & Associates KL law firm.
The national heritage law also gives the ministry the “discretionary power” to determine whether an object is “sufficiently historical” to be seized, she told me.
“As such, metal hunters are advised to report or notify the commissioner (of the heritage) immediately after the discovery of the so-called historic object, despite the temptation to sell such an object for its important benefit,” said Yap.
The ACN understands that the National Heritage Department has in some cases taken measures against metal hunters under such provisions, the community concerns not to approach the objects they find which could fall into the sufficiently historical category.
AFIS said its most lucrative sale concerned an “old currency”. When asked to develop the nature of the article, he refused. “I can't share. If I do, authority in this state will start to watch me. ”
New in social media
However, AFIS stressed that more from his metal hunting income comes from the monetization of social media videos in his fodder than from what he found.
Its “Best Finder” page on Tiktok has 1.3 million likes and nearly 175,000 subscribers, with clips featuring its original discoveries. Some, like the discoveries of old rings or amulets, are decorated with legends and soundtracks that create intrigue.
One of AFIS's favorite things to hunt metals is that it allows it to “generate offline and online income” simply with a metal detector and a phone.
“I have unearthed a lot,” he said, adding that he only hunted during the weekend. “Even if I find a bottle plug, I will record and publish on social networks. I can always earn money.”
