By Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson.

THERE is an activity in George Town that threatens the basic fabric that this historical city is based on. It threatens to ruin not only its buildings and historical architecture, but truly threatens its communities and its cultures. It is detrimental to the health of the residents of George Town. It is detrimental to the value of real estate in George Town, to sustainable tourism, to the basic quality of life in George Town.

It totally threatens the very valuable UNESCO World Heritage listing of George Town and in turn threatens the joint listing given to Malacca. And yet it remains an activity to which the council, the local government, the health department and the local people themselves turn a blind eye and, in effect, allow the complete deterioration of a vibrant, exciting city that can offer long term sustainable prosperity to all.

This is fact. Bird faeces ages and becomes airborne. These particles contain dormant fungi that once inhaled into the warm, moist environment of the lungs, breed infectious disease. These airborne spores can also settle on food and water, be taken into air ducts. Birds are a perfect vector for spreading disease. They travel over great distances, can harbour over 40 types of parasites and are able to internally host 60 types of infectious disease. People do not tolerate rats, yet in terms of disease and damage the two pests are very similar.

The practice of swiftlet (aerodramus fuciphagus) breeding in heritage buildings amongst residents must end. It is unfortunate that the local authorities misled not only the people of George Town but the people who are investing in George Town and Penang. On the one hand the authorities are encouraging investors and developers to revitalise the historical core zone of George Town, hoteliers to open boutique hotels, and Malaysia My Second Home applicants to buy and restore in George Town; on the other hand they allow the very activity that will drain all value out of these investments.

Who will want the developments, the restored houses, the boutique hotels, when they are surrounded by illegal swift breeding houses? What will happen to the value of these properties? Who will want to live next to a health hazard? Who wants to live with the noise pollution offered by these thousands of birds and the artificial taped sounds that accompany them? Why invest in a home next to a building being destroyed by the sprinkler systems and the piles of bird droppings that keep these swift houses damp and dank? In effect, by allowing this activity to expand rapidly, the authorities are conning all stakeholders in George Town.

Am I talking nonsense? I am talking from experience. We as a family have always wanted to live in George Town, from the moment we moved here from Pangkor in 1999. It reminded me of all the towns I grew up around on the various plantations we lived on as kids. It was a question of what property would come up that we felt could become our permanent home. This property came up in 2006 on China Street. We decided to buy and restore and although we knew that there were several swift houses on Beach Street and on China Street itself, we were lulled into a false security by trusting in our authorities. They promised that at the end of December 2008, swift houses would be moved out of George Town.

I pay my taxes, I am a good law abiding citizen and I trusted the Penang authorities. I felt confident that they would follow through and were doing something for the good of all residents in George Town; they were thinking of everyone’s long term health and prosperity; of the long term development of a unique historical city of which there really is no equal anywhere else in the world. The authorities then deferred this ruling and gave the swiftlet breeders another year until the end of 2009. I have been deeply disappointed by this lack of political will, by the total inability of the authorities to enforce law, to protect their people. It seems to have been a total academic exercise -- sort of like all those people that get 8 A+’s and then don’t go on to do anything with their lives. What is the point of important looking bits of paper and all that pompousness if there is no will to make a difference?

It is very easy for council and the government to say that they cannot act. At the end of 2008, however, it was made public that no more licences would be issued for swift breeding. In effect, all new breeders who are now ripping apart historically valuable buildings in the core zone of George Town are illegal and have no licences. Why have they been allowed to continue, even to start and now to expand all over the core zone of George Town?

The local government and council have a duty to uphold the law, to enforce it and to protect the basic health of the people. There are absolutely no guidelines to ensure swift farming does not become a nuisance. What measures are in place to deal with an outbreak of bird flu, an outbreak of lung disease that can occur from infection by the airborne fungus and spores that breed on bird droppings? It goes without saying that by creating an artificial overpopulation of these birds in an area heavily populated by both a permanent and a transient working population, the stage is being set for a nasty outbreak of some kind. What will the government do then, what will council do, how will the health department take action?  Who can we turn to? One house emptying its sewage in a lake may not cause a problem but a thousand houses doing this will make people very, very sick. It is just a matter of time.

My big question is: “If it is illegal to breed chickens and ducks, pigs and goats in a crowded, historical area full of people, restaurants and offices, how can it be morally right to breed swifts?” Swiftlets are birds that produce lots of droppings, that are allowed to breed in unhealthy artificial conditions, that produce spores, fungus and mites detrimental to the health of people living in the area.

It seems true that the breeders themselves feel no moral obligation to their fellow Penangites. They live away from the centre of George Town, they rent the buildings they use, they do not feel they need to maintain these buildings for the landlord. They believe it is fine to allow the deterioration of the homes connected to their rented swift houses, they feel that they can damage the health of the people living in the area of their swift houses and yet, keep themselves and their own families safe. They are motivated purely by money. It is cheaper to rent an old building in George Town than to build a custom swift house in an agricultural area. All that needs to be done is put in the pools for water, the sprinkler system and a CD system which blasts the swiftlet distress calls to attract the birds. The breeders who buy up these old building often piously claim that they restore the buildings, often renovating the frontage of the building whilst ripping up the rest of the building, claiming they are an asset to George Town.

Developers who offer and start worthwhile projects are often hammered with stop work orders when they do not comply, and even before they start they are made to wait months on end for approvals. In addition they must make concessions and space for substations and get permission for all changes and additions. Yet swift breeders who move into buildings seem to be able to rip out all architectural details, knock out structural walls, block up five-foot ways, and change the total landscape of a street without any interference from council and authority. It begs the questions: Are the authorities scared of the swift breeders? Are they paid off by the swift breeders? Why do the authorities practise these double standards? I would certainly like to know the answers.

(Please go and see Lorong Chee Em between China Street and Market Street, leading off Beach Street. Please note the newly bricked up buildings, windows, doors right along from the back entrance to Karikudi Restaurant. Also note the green slime oozing from under the roller shutter of 23 China Street -- also a swift house with a false frontage on China Street.)

I have complained to council about the bird droppings all over my house, in my house, the dead birds that we find in our house, the mites that crawl off the bodies of these birds when we find them, the noise pollution from the tapes that run 24 hours, the sprinkler system that keeps my party wall wet all the time and constantly in the state of damage.  I have complained for nine months now. Council has visited and “inspected” for nine months now. Council all tell me, “That’s not allowed”. Council tells me bluntly that by December 2009 the swift houses have to move out and that notices have been given, yet they have done nothing about trying to put stop work orders on the swift breeders currently building their caves out of heritage houses.

Surely the blow would be much less painful if a swift breeder was stopped six months ago when reported, not left to completely build a cave, spend the money, destroy the building and work until midnight disturbing the neighbours to find that in December 2009, council is apparently going to zoom in and bash the cave down. If the breeder received a notice on paper after spending his money, he would be unlikely to act on it unless forced and if forced he would certainly react much more strongly than if stopped six months ago before he had invested his money in an apparently lost cause. Council has dug itself into a great big hole. By not enforcing the basic laws on a certain group of people they have a much more difficult job ahead, while at the same time have lost the respect of the people they are supposed to serve.

It is absolutely true that swiftlet breeding for saliva nests is lucrative. It is a brilliant complement industry to agriculture, as the swifts feed on insects over agriculture, jungle and vegetation. These particular swiftlets that produce the saliva nests for consumption are found only in a very small area within this region of Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. They are a protected species but no longer endangered and it is no longer justifiable to claim that breeding them prevents their extinction. Technically their nests cannot be sold and exported without a licence. Even tourists are breaking the law by taking them out of the country. Permits should be obtained from Perhilitan.

In Sumatra the swift breeders are responsible for the creation of abandoned towns. In Batam they are being forcibly evicted to reduce noise pollution in the city and to prevent the city from becoming so unsightly. In Vietnam authorities have realised that swift breeding “will not be implemented in crowded areas to prevent problems in case there is a bird flu outbreak.” Dr Christopher Lim, a noted swiftlet authority, (The Star, 23 August 2009) says that permits must be obtained from local councils and breeders must attend a Veterinary Services Department course. He also says, “Farmers must also adhere to the department’s Good Animal Husbandry Practices Guide. Other rules apply, like using only non-residential areas and not using heritage buildings.”

George Town is a residential area full of heritage buildings. Why is Melaka not putting pressure on George Town? The benefits to the residents of Melaka since the UNESCO listing have been many. There has been a huge clean up, the river has been cleared, and the general upgrading of amenities, the increase in tourism numbers, has benefited everyone. Whether you agree with the way in which Malacca has made its improvements is beside the point. The authorities there have acted. George Town’s lack of compliance regarding the danger of swift breeding and the lack of respect given to residents and heritage structures alike directly endanger Malacca’s listing. This should be a matter of concern not only to Melaka but the Federal Government as the authority ultimately responsible for safeguarding the joint World Heritage listing of George Town and Melaka.

It is time to have a say in this issue and it is time to protect not only your own future but that of your children and beyond. It is also crunch time on how you, the people of George Town, want this wonderful city, full of your own memories and family history, to be remembered in time. It really is time to say that the historical value, the intrinsic cultural make up of George Town, its wonderful mix of residents, are far more valuable to all residents and stakeholders than to just a few swift breeders that want to make their money at the expense of others. 

** Reproduced with permission. This article first appeared in the PHT Newsletter Issue 96 / December 2009. Please click here to visit PHT site. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of PHT or iGeorgetown. 

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