LAST WEEK saw concerns for Penang’s heritage preservation rising when the federal government made a an apparent U-turn on its promised RM25 miilion allocation to help with conservation plans. Read here and here. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had earlier acknowledged that the state needed funds to conduct research on an Integrated Conservation Management Plan (ICMP). It is also needed to finance other programmes and projects listed in the Heritage Management Plan that was part of the nomination dossier approved by Unesco. Feb 1, 2011 is Unesco’s deadline for Malacca and Penang to submit a detailed conservation plan each for their heritage sites. Read here

• A state-level heritage trust fund will be established as an alternative channel for obtaining funding for George Town, a World Heritage Site. The fund was to get financial assistance from tourism entrepreneurs and the local community interested in preserving and revitalising the city's heritage assets. Read here
• The state government will table a heritage bill at the state assembly sitting to give it powers to declare certain places in the state as heritage sites. “A heritage law would give us the legislative force to provide better protection to these sites,” Lim said. Read here

In related news, heritage experts from Unesco and other parts of the region will come together for a brainstorming session to revitalise the George Town World Heritage Site. Read here for more on the event.

For more information on SOCIAL ISSUES, read here

Other news

• Kampung Lorong Buah Pala to 'live on' forever: Kampung Lorong Buah Pala may be seeing its final few days but the village dubbed as Penang's High Chaparral will continue to live on in paintings and drawings. Fourteen local artists captured its final days. Read here
• Kg Tanjung Tokong folk fighting to end development plans: Kampung Tanjung Tokong villagers are opposing plans for a mixed-development project. They hope to collect at least 3,000 signatures from concerned Malaysians to voice their displeasure over the move. Read here
• Penang set to become high-income economy: Penang is set to become a high income economy and is preparing itself to become a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy in order to maintain its competitive edge. Read here
• Smoking civil servants in Penang to receive free nicotine treatment: Civil servants who smoke are eligible to receive free nicotine treatment provided by the state government in a move to turn Penang into a smoke-free state. Read here
• Competition for best design to mark Penang heritage zone: The state government has launched an international competition to search for the best design to demarcate the boundary of George Town's World Heritage Site. Read here
• Stop-work order on Gurney Paragon project lifted: The stop-work order against Hunza Properties Berhad’s Gurney Paragon project along Gurney Drive was lifted on Aug 7 after the developer completed remedial works on the sunken driveway of an adjacent condominium, Gurney Park. Read here

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