THE past few months have registered a mixed record for heritage conservation in Penang. The euphoria that accompanied World Heritage Listing last year has given way to confused perceptions of where the responsibility lies for safeguarding and promoting George Town’s heritage status. Where is the delineation of responsibility between levels of government? The Federal government has incurred an international obligation as a result of the UNESCO listing while the establishment of a World Heritage Office in George Town is a responsibility of the Penang state government. Funding for activities related to George Town’s listing remains a thorny issue. A recent Federal government announcement confirmed the role of a corporate entity as the channel for funds once earmarked for Penang, thereby conveying the impression that Penang is being treated differently from Malacca.

Returning to the conservation record, after much public posturing discussions on the issue of the four high-rise hotels in the core and buffer zones appear to have reached a satisfactory conclusion on height limitations in line with the guidelines in Malaysia’s submission to UNESCO. Although one of the developers in the core zone is understood to be less than pleased, it is to be hoped that all parties will recognise that preserving the integrity of George Town’s heritage status will benefit everyone in the long run.

Less satisfactory is the fate of the Penang Hill Railway which has become the victim of an expensive plan to replace it with a single system obviating the need for changing trains at Middle Station. Counter arguments in favour of improved maintenance and simple modifications to the existing system at a fraction of the cost were ignored. Meanwhile, even before work has begun, the cost of the planned project has risen astronomically. Assurances that rail service will be interrupted for only six months during construction have been greeted with scepticism. Hill residents are likely to be denied rail service for a long time and Penang will have lost a treasured part of its heritage. Cui bono?

The Penang Hill Railway, almost a hundred years old, is not the only part of Penang’s heritage outside the core and buffer zones of George Town that should be protected. The Hill itself has come under threat before and was saved in the 1990s only by the combined efforts of a coalition of heritage and environmental groups. Unfortunately, the Hill remains threatened by the encroachment of illegal agriculture.  The Botanic Gardens, the oldest such gardens in Malaysia, is also under threat – this time from ill-considered expansion and construction by the very authorities who should be protecting the site.

Elsewhere, construction of massive condominium towers on Gurney Drive has already undermined a neighbouring access road and caused damage to the historic Loke Mansion. The condition of the St Joseph’s Novitiate also remains a matter for concern. Monitoring by local authorities has been ineffective despite many complaints.

Finally, the continuing and expanding operations of swiftlet breeders in inner city George Town have become a large-scale and unacceptable threat to heritage buildings and public health alike. Repeated deadlines for the cessation of these activities, most of which are unlicensed and illegal, have passed with the authorities doing nothing -- an abdication of responsibility representing a complete failure of governance. We publish an appeal by a George Town resident for decisive action.

** Reproduced with permission. This editorial, written by a guest editor, first appeared in the PHT Newsletter Issue 96 / December 2009. Please click here to visit PHT site.

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form