Locals at risk of being priced out of the real estate market in UNESCO-designated George Town

Although many real estate investors are attracted by shiny new buildings, heritage properties can attract a substantial premium, despite higher maintenance costs and potential restrictions on alterations and redevelopment.

George Town Harbour (credit: Hajotthu)

As reported this week by The Star Online, the value of heritage properties in UNESCO-designaed George Town, a British colonial era city on the Straits of Malacca in Malaysia dating from the late 18th century, has increased by 37 to 157 percent since 2008. With surging prices the result of strong demand from Malaysians living overseas and Singaporeans, local residents risk being priced out of the market - an all too common problem for those who reside in or near a world heritage site.

Heritage preservation a (non-)priority in Penang

While the conservation of built heritage is much trumpeted by municipal authorities, practices often fall short of principles when the promise of a shiny new development is on offer.

The most recent case in point was the Runnymede Hotel in George Town, a historic city and world heritage site on Malaysia's Straits of Malacca. Built in 1921, the Runnymede is located near the site of Thomas Stamford Raffles' home, dating to the early 19th century. Parts of the building complex, notably the historic Raffles bungalow, were hurriedly razed during Chinese New Year last week to clear the way for a new mixed-used development on the site.

Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore *

Notwithstanding the site's significance and proximity to the nearby George Town world heritage district, local authorities were quick to justify the demolition. For their part, heritage groups expressed dismay regarding the manner in which Penang Island City Council had acted, and in particular their failure to demonstrate the political will necessary to safeguard the area's heritage buildings.

Historic George Town (credit: Hajotthu)

 

As other jurisdictions with world heritage sites (e.g. Edinburgh) have discovered to their cost, a lax attitude to heritage protection can be enough to cause serious political headaches as one's world heritage designation comes into question.

* George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-60a5-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Heritage villages under threat in Malaysia?

Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca, are one of four world heritage sites in Malaysia. As noted by UNESCO, the influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible, reflecting 500 years of trade and other exchanges.

Today the cities receive millions of visitors, yet nearby traditional Malay villages are being razed to make way for the rapid urban development that is now nearly ubiquitous throughout South-East Asia. However, as recently reported by the Rakyat Post, developers plans are sparking a lively debate as to what constitutes heritage, and prompting one opposition politician to claim that the state government's "idea of preserving heritage is all about the Unesco World Heritage site, but what about these kampungs [villages] with a living heritage?”

Of course, the tension between "living heritage" and "preserved heritage" is not unique to Malaysia, and it is difficult to get the balance right. However, it is worth making the effort. While everyone can point to a historically significant site which is being overrun by developers and hustlers, there is something sterile and unsatisfying to visit a site that has been stripped bare of the social and community fabric from which it was created.