Call To Preserve High Chaparral As `Heritage Site`

George Town, Malaysia - Penang‘s High Chaparral or Kampung Lorong Buah Pala should be treated with the same standard as the heritage status of George Town‘s inner city which is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) president Dr Choong Sim Poey said.

He said although Unesco would only judge George Town‘s status based on how the core and buffer zones were managed, the state government should show a genuine commitment in supporting historic and traditional communities outside the zones for the sake of maintaining a good image.

He added that many other countries in the world were trying to “recreate” traditional villages to encourage and boost tourism.

“Kampung Lorong Buah Pala‘s case is similar in some ways to the Tanjung Tokong Malay traditional village, which we had tried to save but failed.

“Why can‘t we maintain and upgrade Kampung Lorong Buah Pala as a protected enclave instead of building another concrete jungle, something that Penang definitely does not need,” he told the News Straits Times yesterday.

Dr Choong was commenting on Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) legal adviser P. Uthayakumar‘s threat on Thursday to call on the United Nations to revoke George Town‘s listing as a Unesco World Heritage Site if the Penang state government failed to save Kampung Lorong Buah Pala from demolition. Hindraf is banned by the authorities. The village started with plantation workers and cowherds settling there over 100 years ago.

Uthayakumar said demolishing the village would destroy the homes of its residents, their way of life, livelihood and culture, which the people had continued to preserve for five generations.

Dr Choong said the PHT did not expect the Kampung Lorong Buah Pala issue to blow up to its current magnitude and that the organisation had not worked out a strategy to aid the residents‘ plight.

“But in principle, we support this village as a heritage village that it is and we maintain our view that all historic communities should be supported.”

The village‘s residents, who were served eviction notices on Thursday, have until Aug 3 to vacate the land before the bulldozers move in.

Source: http://www.nst.com.my (3 July 2009)
Photo: http://members.virtualtourist.com

Share

Write your comment !