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 HERITAGE is undoubtedly a very important facet of Penang and with the current World Heritage listing, it is one that requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders, right from the grassroots to the establishment. As part of iGeorgeTown’s ongoing effort to provide a broad information platform, we are initiating a series where reports from the working groups that make up the Penang Forum are published as opinion pieces on the website.
We carry the working group report on heritage, coordinated by the Penang Heritage Trust, as the first part of the series. Click through headers to get to individual sections.
PENANG FORUM REPORT OF WORKING GROUPS: HERITAGE BACKGROUND
George Town, Penang, was inscribed as a World Heritage Cultural Site on 7th July 2008. This listing followed many years of hard work by many people and organisations in Penang, and provides a huge opportunity to maximise the economic, social and cultural opportunities now presented.
Cultural Heritage is the creative expression of a people’s existence in the past, near past and present. It tells of the traditions, the beliefs and the achievements of a site and its people. The listing of George Town is testament to the vibrant and diverse history of the whole state of Penang, a history which needs to drive our state forward into the future. As UNESCO has stated:
“Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. “With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial build-ings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia”. (UNITED NATIONS, UNESCO JULY 7 2008) Back to top ISSUES
There are a number of important issues to consider in drafting and implementing a policy to protect and enhance our heritage and to maximise the opportunities it provides us as a state. The advantages of our heritage, and particularly of being recognised as a World Heritage Site, include a number of significant economic benefits which accrue both to the community and to site owners.
For example, there will be: - A host of new business opportunities generated, not least deriving from the prestigious Heritage listing. These will link to a wider development of a creative economy in Penang, as well as to a cleaner, safer, more positive civic environment through commitment to a decent management plan.
- Increased access to local, federal and international project funding.
- An increase in tourist arrivals, not least in cultural tourism, again leading to greater business opportunities and turnover. Cultural tourists are known to stay longer and spend more.
- Potential for investment in local artisans and craftspeople, with subsidies, training and identification of new commercial opportunities.
- The continuation of other development and business activities.
- Greater economic returns through appreciation in value.
- Improved documentation of city and state.
With regard to tourism, there are a number of issues to consider. For the visitor, we need to ensure that their experience is one of quality, in terms of the sites, the goods and the hosting. The stress should be on the uniqueness of the heritage product, which of course refers to the diverse range of our cultural heritage in Penang, and on value for money. Penang is in an excellent position to exploit its heritage market. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the challenges which will come from increased tourism. These include (and these have been well-documented in other heritage sites around the world): - The importance of assessing and protecting the carrying capacity of built heritage, paying attention to the dangers of infrastructure overload and/or excessive volume;
- The need for excellent management to ensure sustainability;
- The need to (re-) invest in supporting hosting services, including in education and training for service industries;
- The need and potential to (re-) invest in local skills, including artisanship and performance arts.
Issues related to particular sites include establishing the genuineness or authenticity of a site. This applies equally to intangible heritage, when authenticity is compromised for convenience. Further, it will be important to establish and protect the integrity of a site - which refers to the completeness of the site and its attributes. Crucial (and this links to the more general declaration of the Penang Forum) is the involvement of the Penang people. Giving serious attention and support to the role of the community in helping conserve, sustain and extend heritage sites and their contribution to Penang would follow the example of Living Heritage Sites, where it is recognised that it is the people who are the custodians. Of course the whole legal framework and management systems governing heritage protection and initiatives will need to be reviewed and made adequate. Back to top THREATS
There are a number of threats which may affect the future of our Penang Heritage. These include: - Development pressures, which may be a consequence of encroachment, infrastructure development, increased plot ratios, and increased traffic congestion;
- Population pressure (too many people in a small space);
- Uncontrolled urban expansion;
- Environment pressures, which may be a consequence of a failure to protect our local environment, as well as a result of wider issues such as climate change or natural disasters;
- Vandalism, theft and/or other destruction.
These threats need proactive action. They will become exacerbated if we allow a situation where: - A Management Plan has not been operationalised;
- No cultural mapping has been undertaken so no cultural impact assessment can be undertaken;
- There is low understanding of cultural diversity and traditions;
- There is poor understanding of heritage values by contractors and/or designers;
- There is politicisation related to our cultural diversity and traditions;
- No complete documentation of buildings is done in Core and Buffer Zones;
- No designation of important buildings or sets of buildings is done in Support Zones;
- There is a tendency to “gentrify”, leading to displacement of community;
- Conservation work has loose documentation and tendency to take “short cuts”;
- There is a tendency to over-design, sanitise and to use generic ideas, regardless of context;
- There remains a lack of enforcement of conservation guidelines for renovation works.
Back to top RECOMMENDATIONS
1. We need a sustainable tourism plan
This will ensure authentic heritage experience, maintain a profile of visitors, monitor visitor impact, set limits of change, ensure sympathetically designed tourism facilities and infrastructure, resolve conflict between stakeholders, facilitate consultation, education and awareness, and ensure income generation and reinvestment.
2. We need a strong financing plan
This will ensure systematic revenue collection, address the need to negotiate loans for infrastructure development benefiting heritage, address the issue of and need for federal funding, and include an analysis of the role of heritage in poverty alleviation.
3. We need full documentation of core, buffer & support zones
This will allow systematic identification of all buildings and building sets considered critical to the Penang Story, with clear guidelines laid out.
4. We need professionals
There is a need to build the capacity necessary to fully realise the potential of our Heritage. This includes training of (UNESCO) guides, the need to train professionals to conduct cultural mapping and impact assessments and the need to set up networks for documentation and management. The wider development of a high-quality service industry is related.
5. We need to include people in decision-making and implementation processes
Key to the success of heritage protection and potential is the involvement of the people. Proactive investment in developing structures and procedures for partici-pation will be essential: there are plenty of models from other sites to indicate how this might be done.
6. We need education & information
To ensure sustainability and continued innovation in developing our Heritage, we need to introduce World Heritage Education in school curricula and support heritage management and conservation courses in higher education.
7. We need protection of tangible & intangible heritage
The legal framework needs to be reviewed and amended, where appropriate. Enforcement of such laws needs to be stringent, meaning adequate resourcing of enforcement agencies needs to be guaranteed. The protection and enhancement of traditional skills and craftsmanship needs to take place. Read also the recommendations on the arts here. Back to top CONCLUDING STATEMENT
In working to create the context for a well managed world heritage site, the issues of authenticity and sustainable tourism should be considered of paramount importance.
In view of the cultural tourism potential of the George Town World Heritage listing, the soundest and most sustainable economic strategy involves the identification, strict conservation and heritage development of three crucial and inter-connected zones: the core, buffer and support zones. The support zones extend beyond the World Heritage Site and may include specific buildings or sets of buildings as well as traditional villages and settlements.
This should NOT be done primarily for tourism, where the danger of creating “theme-parks” exists, but must emphasise ensuring there is a living, vibrant community within the site. Tourism then becomes a bonus by-product: tourists “share” the heritage, thereby ensuring a truly genuine cultural experience. This Working Group was coordinated by Penang Heritage Trust (PHT). Back to top THE PENANG FORUM The Penang Forum is a coalition of concerned NGOs, communities and individuals who participated in the Penang Forum of NGOs on April 13th at Disted College that is working towards playing a more involved consultative role with the Penang State Government. In February this year, the forum handed Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng a 67-page memorandum pertaining to 11 issues; (i) culture, arts and heritage (2) disabled people's rights, (3) environmental issues (3) goodwill (4) labour issues (5) local government and people’s participation (6) poverty and security (7) labour issues (8) traffic and urban issues (9) women’s issues (10) youth and students. ** Republished with permission. This report appeared in the Penang Forum Report of Working Groups, published in December 2008. Back to top Related links
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