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By James Justice. I WOULD like to add a few comments in reply to the articles in the Business Times about the Crag Hotel heritage site in Penang. I am a son of a British planter and Kedah JP born in Penang in 1955. I am also an alumnus of Uplands School 59-66 and organiser of its 55th anniversary reunion in March. This year’s event brought well over 100 Uplanders and their families back to Penang, prompting me to make enquiries with the state government, if they would in conjunction with the alumni restore the Crag Hotel site as a heritage site.
When I made enquiries in March, there had not been any structural survey made of the site in 35 years. So how could it be restored? What stands out in this latest offering is that no developer wanted the old school to restore as it would not be profitable enough. But they would do it if enough land surrounding the school was made available to build on. The state government under the pretext of Penang Heritage is allowing some developer to destroy the beauty of Bukit Bendera. Considering the investment needed just to repair the road and bridge to the Crag before any restoration can be started how is this going to work? Penangites should insist a clause be inserted saying that the Crag’s restoration and its opening must be the first phase before any other works start? The state government should explain with the limited infrastructure, water, sewage and electricity how the hill can cope with the new train, let alone new buildings. Also without the cable car to Teluk Bahang that was once suggested how will the 3,000 people stuck on the hill get down when it has breakdowns? Not a problem with the old train with 300 at a time at the top. I have a suggestion for the Penang Government if it is really interested in heritage that will put money in its pockets and the pockets of locals on the hill. It should do what the previous state government failed to do. It should invest in heritage tourism right under its nose with the help of thousands of people like myself, Penang born and schooled on the hill to boot. A state restored and run site will not make millions, but it will turn a profit and not destroy the beauty of the hill.
I have watched Penang closely for some years and see it turning into a cheap Dubai full of MM2H, until the money runs dry that is and all real Penangites are forced to live in Butterworth, because they can’t afford the houses there. Imagine the day the bridge is blocked and the idle rich wake up to find no staff and Penang silent? The bubble burst in the US and Europe and the strength of the ringgit is slowing tourism down already. But Malaysia carries on doing what it does best, building roads and bridges to nowhere, factories and hotels that remain empty. And someone always makes a profit. Remember Rome was not built in a day, but it burnt to the ground in one. ** Reproduced with permission. This opinion piece was first published in the June 16, 2010 issue of theSun. The writer is from Winchelsea Beach, East Sussex, UK.
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