The Penang Heritage Trust has come up with the following statement on the demolition of several shop-houses in George Town.
Photos by Penang Media
The PHT regrets the initial demolition by the state government of the traditional shop-houses along Magazine Road which is part of the historic ‘Sia Boey’ enclave.
We had earlier inspected the buildings and spoken to the residents of the area on their invitation. While these buildings are not situated strictly within the heritage enclave (which is bordered by the Prangin Canal), they nevertheless form part of the established communities living and providing services in the inner city.
PHT is very concerned with the rapid depopulation of many precincts in the city which may lead to a completely new population taking over and changing the traditional cultural life of the city. This is a concern that conservation experts in Unesco would definitely share.
We have alerted the YB Chow and appealed to him to consider integrating these buildings and their residents in their proposal to make the Sia Boey area into a public park. There is no reason why these attractive buildings cannot be restored and upgraded and the traditional businesses allowed to carry on in the vicinity of a public park.
PHT has also been working with like-minded group like CHAT (Cultural Heritage Advisory Team) over this issue and several Aduns have also been alerted. We are happy to note that the PDC (the landlords) have finally decided to put this action on hold pending further discussions and investigations ‘unless they become a threat to public safety’.
We hope to convene a meeting with the local authorities and PDC soon future, to discuss a possible development plan that would include revitalising the Prangin Canal area as a recreational public space while integrating the buildings and communities along Magazine Road.
Kalau PDC = Penang Development Corporation, iaitu unit perlaburan kerajaan negeri, maka bangunan tersebut mungkin boleh dikekalkan.
Adakah wujudnya “double standard” dikes ini berbanding Kg Buah Pala?
Sebenarnya, kes Kg Buah Pala mempunyai kesudahan yang sebegitu kerana perintah Mahkamah.
Dalam kes bangunan ini pula, tiada halangan dari mana-mana mahkamah.
Maka pendapat penduduk persekitaran dan pakar-pakar perlu dipertimbangkan. Jangan pula melindungi bangunan yang berbahaya kepada orang ramai.
Sekian.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
LGE for heritage conservation? You must be dreaming! He definitely celebrate the heitage status with you, but on conservation no way. LGE suppose to come out with an integration conservation plan, but up to date he just has no plan but blame the federal government for not allocating RM25million for conservation purpose.
A plan is what one suppose to do. Without a plan, LGE can come out and ask for a budget of RM25 million. What is he going to do with the money? No ideas!
Come year 2013, without doubt Penang will lost it’s heritage status. LGE not only not capable of planning, he also incline to agree with the hidden agenda of some developers in Penang; no heritage status for Georgetown. Heritage mean their land will not have commercial value. They can’t build high rise building….
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Actually, as a Penangnite, the tearing down of the “Sia Boey” building is good because it widens the area and make traffic flow more smoother with the impending completion of the new KOMTAR phase.
The surrounding area is already congested and to make the “Sia Boey” a park or something like that will be another headache for motorists.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Penang need to re-develop its center and incorporate the old buildings in an aesthetic way. As it is the center of Georgetown is mess of haphazard old construction. Why keep these old building just for the reason that these are old?
To me the biggest eyesore is Komtar. It is ugly, unpleasant and environmentally unfriendly. Chop this down and re-do again.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Anil, how come the PHT and CHAT were or are so quiet when it comes to the heritage Kampung Buah Pala???? Are they racists, just interested in Chinese enclave or are they also BN cronies?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
At one of the press conferences in Kg Buah Pala I attended, I did see a PHT manager speaking out strongly to the media about the heritage value of the village and the importance of preserving it.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Are there Indians staying in the old shophouses? If there are, it becomes a racial issue and LGE/DAP “unfair to Indians” bashing platform. If not, nobody talks about race. This shows the maturity of the people who champion (Indian) issues.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
@ Ong Eu Soon
I suggest you read this newspaper column about Penang’s predicament in heritage conservation.
@ anilnetto
Look at the crumpling structure of the houses. Any structural engineer would tell you that is unsound and unsafe. Houses are not meant to last forever. Moreover, financial constrain suggests that it is probably better to tear it and rebuild it than trying to save it. While I agree with heritage conservation, there are instances when it just does not make sense to conserve it.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Not being nostalgic, however many of those Penangites in their sixties today, will remember how we use to chase after trams along Penang Road, Transfer Road, Sri Bahari Road. We even had the Chingay Procession and those Chettiar midnight processions along these roads. The overhead trams cables were not a hindrance at all.
We saw the tram being torn down, much of the tracks I believe are still down there buried under the tar roads.
You will never realise the mistake of today until another 5o years down the road.
Georgetown should make every effort to conserve its pre-merdeka image while modernisation in towns must accommodate the preservation of our past. Only then we can say we have a history.
If the rest of the world is so keen to see us preserve our past, why are we so eager to destroy it. I really do not see any issue of race or politics here.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“Houses are not meant to last forever.”
Well, some are and some aren’t. It seems to me that many houses in Malaysia were and are (I look around me at the paint missing from the foot of my walls due to the omission of a damp-proof membrane) built to last ‘just long enough’. As a foreigner in Malaysia I’m bewildered by the lack of ‘old stuff’. I can’t help thinking it must be harder to form a life-long sense of ‘belonging’ when the world of your youth disappears. I’ve lived (in the UK) in houses that were several centuries old. They’re a very sound investment!
It’s sad to see the excuse of ‘traffic’ used to justify removal of old buildings and ancient narrow streets. In most developed countries, the effort is to remove traffic from city centres so that they don’t turn into foul-smelling, soulless junctions.
While it’s sad that some Penangites’ memories are being undermined, those houses in the photos look as though they’re beyond maintenance. Perhaps the generous thing to do would be to rebuild one or two important examples with a lasting construction method as a nod to Penang’s heritage. All over the world, good examples of ‘heritage buildings’ are extremely sought after. I can’t imagine Malaysia can continue to be so different for very much longer.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Anil
Very great news to hear that the PHT Manager spoke about preserving Kg Buah Pala. But how come the main news is blank on that? Utusan, NST and Star must be siding LGE?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I agree with Tommy and Khensthoth.
I feel that Penangnites are like a bit crazy now. Since the Unesco listing, Penang people treat everything which is old as gold – heritage. Therefore, need to be preserved.
Come on, it is not like that la !!!
I think you all should visit Kedah, the kampong that i came from is exactly like Kg Buah Pala.
Honestly, I wonder it has heritage value. Please pardon as i do not mean to insult… but just to give a point that many people are a bit off balance now.
Maybe we all should visit Li Jiang in China, then, we will realise the true meaning of heritage.
Otherwise, just pop in to Singapore, see how they preserve their old houses. But again, NOT all the old houses are worth to be preserved la !!!
Yes, Penang definitely needs a major re-do… The town is in a mess with so many eye-sore buildings.
Some houses in Pulau Tikus, too, need to be tear down so that the road (along Burma Road) can be widen.
I think Pakatan govt in Penang needs to employ town planners from Singapore if they are serious to rebuild Penang.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
When a building is beyond rehabilitation and in a bad shape, it is better that the state demolish it.
We need to be level headed when it comes to heritage conservation and it doesn’t mean preserving any old building without any consideration for the safety of the occupants , the surroundings and integration into the overall masterplan and traffic dispersal.
The inner part of the city needs a comprehensive redevelopment to ensure the vibrancy and the cultural activities thrives within it. It is no use talking about heritage conservation when basic sanitation like toilet system is not up to the mark and fire-breaks are non-existent.
The people living within this enclave needs to be healthy.Yes, a public park in the Sia Boey area is required but land is scarce within the area.
When an area needs to be redeveloped , let it be in order that the redevelopment is in line with the overall conservation plans.
For this, the population of Penang should not look through rose tinted glasses and comment that this area is a majority area of one race. We should look at it from the perspective of a Malaysian like it or not.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Anil,
You forget that Penang’s heritage status is about the “living heritage of Penang”
Would you condemn fellow Penangites to live in buildings on the verge of collapse?
Get real please! I’m sure you have evolved as a better being than years back so why can’t you allow others to do the same?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I believe Penang government is overkilled for protecting too many pre-second war buildings in Georgetown as the world heritage.
Macau authorities did not declare all old buildings in the heritage zone as the world heritage unlike Penang.
Not all old buildings are having good historical values, selective protection on important few is much better and effective than a full blanket protection on every old buildings.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
… but up to date he just has no plan but blame the federal government for not allocating RM25million for conservation purpose.
===
LGE’s accusation is true. Melaka also got the fund promised by Pak Lah.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Kee kata:
—————————–
I think you all should visit Kedah, the kampong that i came from is exactly like Kg Buah Pala.
—————————–
Betul, kampung saya di Pahang juga sama seperti Kg Buah Pala. Saya rasa kampung saya ini pun sama dengan kampung-kampung lain di Malaysia. Tiada nilai warisanlah.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Saya sudah baca pautan yang dipos oleh khensthoth,
memang Kerajaan Pulau Pinang dibuli. Kepada setiap pengkritik kepada Ketua Menteri YAB Lim Guan Eng, sila insaf dan ingat kesusahan kerajaan negeri sekarang.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Yes go ahead and preserve any old buildings at ALL COSTS> Spent billions on that. But mate, my area is lack of clean drinking water. I have been drinking teh traik sully FOC by the gomen. My roads are worst that East Timor with pot holes. The garabage are not properly dumped. I live under the fear of dengue and pig flu. The transport is very congest and the air qaulity is very bad. So never, we can still live under such conditions and spent Billions to perserve the heritage but allow the air and water environmemt to go rot and destroy man? There goes the extreme views. There must be a balance. Perserving old is fine but also to maintain just why all blogger buy new cars and why not perserve them? A line must be drawn
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“Sebenarnya, kes Kg Buah Pala mempunyai kesudahan yang sebegitu kerana perintah Mahkamah.”
–Wong Ka Wai
LGE himself had stated that there were elements of fraud. 3 members of his administration had went to file a police report on the same. He set up a committee to investigate these “elements of fraud”. If there were such “elements of fraud” what does justice dictate before these “elements of fraud” were fairly resolved ?
The federal court… ruled that the residence/settlers had no legal standing. Darshan singh tried to argue that they do have but the federal court again ruled that legal standing should have be argued in the lower courts. But in the lower court it was never an issue. The high court judge who ruled in kbp’s favour and the nusmetro lawyer did not object on that ground. It was augustine “irrelevant” paul who made that ruling. The residence of kbp were never given a chance to present their case in the appeal court ? Nusmetro’s lawyer doesn’t even have to raise a finger as all the work was done by augustine “irrelevant” paul.
Given the FACTS OF THE MATTER, what does your sense of justice dictate ? Oh LGE’s hand is bound ? But he himself had said that nusmetro cannot demolish without the ok from his government as any demolition requires the government approval. So, Wong KW in light of this what does your sense of justice say to you when LGE had the power to do what is right and just but don’t ?
——
“Betul, kampung saya di Pahang juga sama seperti Kg Buah Pala. Saya rasa kampung saya ini pun sama dengan kampung-kampung lain di Malaysia. Tiada nilai warisanlah.”
—- Wong Ka Wai
Kampung Buah Pala was a settlement village. This meant that their forefathers settled there when they first arrived from india. That is heritage value. And more importantly it is a living heritage as the great great grand children of these settlers are still working the land. What are the FACTS that you have used to form your judgement ? Are you more competent in this department than PHT ? Or is your judgement one based on some emotive appeal rather than sound and objective facts ? Something to think about, hah ?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
kee
September 11th, 2009 at 10.18pm
I agree with Tommy and Khensthoth.
I feel that Penangnites are like a bit crazy now. Since the Unesco listing, Penang people treat everything which is old as gold – heritage. Therefore, need to be preserved.
===
Let read the dossier submitted by Penang previous government to UNESCO, you will be in shock that almost all old buildings (more than 10,000 units!) inside the heritage enclave are declared heritage.
PHT is either overzealous or do not know what they are doing is crazy and overkill. Let use the Pareto principle, preserve 20% selected important and representative buildings with the limited resources.
Anyway, I’m blind to comments made in BM.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Anil, I just wish that only Penangites are allowed to give their comments as it concerns Penang only. All those who are not from Penang, if you do not know the situation please refrain from commenting. It make you all look like fools!
PHT is only doing what they are supposed to do. One question to them: Is there anyone of them living on the island and using that stretch of roads everyday in their course of their work?
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Yes, i agree with Wong Ka Wai, we all need to stand behind Lim Guan Eng, the Pakatan govertment, give DAP our full support in Penang, as i believe DAP deserves a chance to prove itself.
Pakatan rules Penang for only a mere 18 month compared to Koh Tsu Koon’s 18 years and yet we criticise LGE so much…
Rome is not built overnight.
Therefore, I would like to plead to all the Penang people, stand united behind Lim Guan Eng and let us REBUILD Penang. It is not that easy to clear all the mess leave by Gerakan. It will take years…
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Frankly, just make a serious study and recording of the colonial architecture of these “heritage” buildings, and rebuilt a new structure with the same frontal facade/design. No use trying to flog a dead horse aka structurally unsound old buildings.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Developers’ rulez in Penang with LGE in authority. why must everything old, has to be demolished. what about conserving for our own and future generations.
Complain about this comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0