Being honoured with World Heritage status is one thing, making it work for George Town is another. The city is not alone in struggling to draw advantages from such an award. There are others it can learn from. For that purpose, Lestari Heritage organised a conference on “Economics of Heritage Revitalisation” on Oct 8+9, 2009. Khoo Salma Nasution reports.
MORE THAN A YEAR after Penang and Malacca were conferred World Heritage status, some people still wonder whether the award is more of a burden than a boon. While Unesco and the international heritage community have acknowledged George Town's unique qualities, some Penangites still need convincing.
Since the loss of free port status around 1970, George Town has been in decline. In light of the global economic slowdown, the real estate sector is worried that height restrictions on the city will only dampen Penang's economic buoyancy. Earlier this year, it was announced that four previously approved high-rise developments in the World Heritage Site would exceed the Unesco-endorsed height limits. After months of suspense, the Penang state leadership managed to resolve the crisis to the satisfaction of the World Heritage Committee, but at the risk of being sued by an unhappy developer.
A host of other problems are reported by the Cultural Heritage Advisory Team (CHAT), an alliance of groups monitoring the state of heritage on the ground. Day by day, unapproved renovations simply strip away heritage character. Illegal conversions of old houses into irresistibly lucrative bird's nest breeders tend to damage the physical fabric, pose a latent public health hazard and traumatise the neighbours. Obviously, regulation and enforcement need to be seriously tackled.
