A Bold Step …………
At last Perak State has made a bold and positive step in the UNESCO direction by declaring that Perak is preparing the nomination dossier for five locations to be presented to UNESCO to list them as World Heritage Sites.
In this firm and welcome statement, State Chairman for Industry, Investment, Industrial Development and Tourism, Datuk Hamidah Osman, said a committee had been formed comprising of the National Heritage Department, Tourism Perak, Ipoh and Taiping local councils, district offices, related government agencies together with the heritage societies to prepare the nomination documents. Under the nature category, the sites are Royal Belum (Tropical Rainforest and Biodiversity Heritage) and Gua Tempurung (Limestone Heritage), and under the Nature and Culture Category the locations identified are Taiping (Heritage Town), Kinta (Tin Heritage and encompassing the area between Ipoh, Batu Gajah and Kampar) and Ipoh City (Cultural Heritage).
Of course that is great news, particularly for those of us whose main interest is Ipoh and the Kinta Valley, but let us understand, UNESCO do not give away these accolades easily and in the case of Penang/Melaka the whole process took masses of work from all concerned over many years. So the people of Perak must be prepared to help wherever they can and be prepared for a long haul.
Now have a look at the following photos, all taken recently in Ipoh Old Town and you will see areas where planning and control by the authorities together with landowner responsibility have completely failed. Areas like these will make negotiations with UNESCO an uphill struggle unless they can be overcome. The pictures are not intended to highlight any one person or organisation but are just shots taken at random. There are dozens more examples in the same area.
Close to the defined heritage area and the river bank we have a permanent lorry park and ugly renovations.
Close by there are gaps like pulled teeth and turned into rough and unsightly car parks.
Buildings are abandoned and collapsing.
And many are simply neglected.
So having taken the first bold step the government/City Council now need to take another one and enforce planning and maintenance rules that accord with the UNESCO requirements from TODAY, for the fear is that landowners, afraid of UNESCO regulations will simply demolish their old buildings rather than risk additional expense in the future. They have taken such action before and no doubt will do it again unless prevented by law and the severest penalties.
And for us, the readers, please do support the various organisations like the heritage societies and tourist association in the above committee, I am sure they will welcome your help.
I couldn’t agree more. Old town has undergone many face lift, and this is especially true when it comes to tearing down prewar shop houses. If you notice the stretch of buildings along Lorong Panglima aka Concubine lane, you can see that many of the old structures have long gone. The lane is no longer the same as it was in those days. Besides, as pointed out, many buildings were torn down and ended up being carpark. This is really sad. Just take Yau Tet Shin Market aka Pasar Bulat for instance. Along Hugh Low St there were many buildings in dilapidated condition, some are left to fend for themselves. It is just a matter of time that these building will have to give way for the match-box type of modern building. Of course I support the idea of putting Ipoh into UNESCO list but in reality, it would not be possible unless local gov is financially strong and purchase all these buildings. Or else, there is nothing which can deter the the owners from renovating their premises, altering the otherwise perfect blend of east and west culture, the lovely prewar shop houses.
A bold step indeed but a foolish one too considering the damages done as shown in the pictures above and those picturesque limestone hills at Gua Tempurung and Simpang Pulai.
Perhaps the “honourable” Datuk Hamidah should take a tour herself around the Ipoh old town area and along North South Highway and see with her own eyes what an eye sore they have became.
Sometimes I wonder why the portfolio of overseeing tourism and heritage is helmed by politicians…..it just isn’t right.
What I mean is that we should get someone who truly love,understand and appreciate our heritage and know how to promote tourism in a proffesional way.
Not to somebody with the merits of political affiliation.
I really do not understand what the State Government and City Council are up to! How can they be making alterations to the heritage of Little India (see earlier blog “Little India to be Spruced Up”) and at the same time be going for UNESCO accreditation for heritage. A stage, Police Pondok and arch etc do not belong there!
What are the heritage societies doing about this foolishness?
Thanks for the information. IF … and that’s a very very strong IF, Ipoh is successfully branded as a heritage site, then we may see developments in Ipoh, much like Penang.
But of course, there are sooooo many hassles, obstacles and commitment needed. IF only there was no waste of time and resources in that scuffle that lasted since Mar 2008.
This is a blatant example of the authorities trying to show us that they know best and we have to take in everthing they are throwing at us without a whimper.
What has the state Exco done so far about the lost railway tracks in Taipng, the first railway track laid in 1874, from Taiping to Port Weld? The Gopeng Pipe Line, the pasar bulat n various old structures? I am very interested in heritage conservation……
“Heritage Conservation is often defined as a process to look a site as to retain its special values while conservation also means to maintain, to preserve, to resort or to reconstruct heritage properties into its most orginal state. Here, we have been robbed of some, any answers!UNESCO states….PLEASE WORK FOR NATIONAL HERITAGE AWARD first, its in the NHA 1999 Act……….!
Welcome to our blog, Sundralingam!
to what we’ve been told, Taiping does pay great attention to heritage conservation (much more than Ipoh, which is a shame really!)……Taiping has restored quite a few of those old buildings, instead of just demolishing them.
i’m not sure how many buildings have been saved so far; maybe if anyone out there knows, please share it with us.
Hi Felicia
Another joke played on us poor Perakians, courtesy of the Perak State Govt, to win some hearts I suppose?
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/134907
There wa a comment from “free” that I have removed as it did not appear to be relevant. If “free” feels that it should be allowed would he please explain the relevance to me at info@ipohworld.org.
Regarding Ipoh and UNESCO, have a look at this: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/6/9/metroperak/8856770&sec=metroperak
Now get the update from the Star here
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/7/5/metroperak/11604393&sec=metroperak
You will not be surprised.
Datuk Hamidah’s statement about giving up heritage status is a slap on her own face. As the tourism chairman does she not have a big say in what the state govt needs to do in pursuit of the status? She is practically telling us that she has failed and is incompetent.
Now have a look at this
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/7/6/metroperak/11607073&sec=metroperak
They have been promising to gazette these buildings for years and still we are at “in a matter of time”. Why can’t they say within 3 months or similar?
The Perak State Tourism Committee has shot itself in the foot again and its chairman should be held accountable for this embarrassing debacle. Now that the futile attempt to gain international recognition as a Heritage City has fallen short, this elusive dream has indeed become a nightmare. The foremost question that comes to mind is whether the National Heritage Department was consulted before the Committee proceeded with this grandiose project. Was a preliminary exploratory committee set up to conduct feasibility studies at the onset or was the decision to pursue the coveted Heritage City status made at the whim of the moment? If the heritage buildings in Ipoh do not meet the requirements stipulated by UNESCO, why waste the scarce financial resources to drum up hollow publicity in the first place? As usual, when the State Tourism Committee is caught in a bind, many pressing questions are left unanswered and pertinent issues that we can learn from to avoid similar blunders in future are swept under the carpet.
At the core of the problem is the fact that Perak’s State Tourism Committee is not run by qualified professionals but by appointees whose executive duty is to take advantage of photo opportunities to make their presence felt. The tourist industry is highly competitive. If one wants to swim with the sharks, one must be prepared to be ferocious. Time and time again, the State Tourism Committee has made one wrong move after another in the turbulent world of tourist promotion. Under such dire circumstances, Perak will remain a fringe player at best. Our home state can do better than that. The powers to be should get off from their high horses and take good, hard look at their dysfunctional image in the mirror. The truth is a bitter pill to swallow but no matter how painful it is, take constructive action to salvage the State from the doldrums, for goodness sake. It is about time for the winds of change to blow in Perak’s direction.
Tourism is probably the greatest industry in the world today. Tourists come to see exciting cities and beautiful buildings – heritage and treasures. Ipoh used to be the most beautiful and clean city in Malaysia – today that sounds incredible – for each visit I see more and more demolition of buildings that once were attractions, more and more dirt and disorder. How dare the State Tourism Committee even suggest that it is worthy of becoming a World Heritage Site? Anything of beauty and age will soon be replaced. Ipoh does not even have a proper airport – why should anyone even consider going there – unless they (like me) love it?
As Georgetown is given a heritage status, I’m sure Ipoh is more than qualified.
Unfortunately NCK, Ipoh is not qualified. We do not have the history of Georgetown and far too much has been destroyed. That was made quite clear to the government by UNESCO last year.