UNITY, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has intervened after a series of altercations between the Chief Ministers of Penang and Melaka over plans in Penang to develop four hotels within the George Town heritage enclave.

He urged Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam not to seek separation from Georgetown as it can jeopardise the World Heritage Site

The controversy and war of words began when the Melaka Chief Minister said the projects in Penang’s heritage core and buffer zones would violate guidelines set by the World Heritage Committee. 

According to a Bernama report on Nov 30, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had maintained that the state government had not done anything wrong when it approved a 23-storey condominium project by Tanjong Bintang Holdings.

He said the previous administration had used the same guidelines when approving three high-rise hotels, namely the Rice Miller Boutique Hotel, Boustead Royale Bintang Hotel and the E&O Hotel expansion project.

Reports on the Penang-Melaka alternations, can be read here (Bernama, Nov 30), here (NST, Nov 30), here (Straits Times, Nov 29), here (The Star, Nov 28) and here (The Star, Nov 27).

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