> Heritage status at risk!

The Pakatan Rakyat Penang government has come under attack for having approved a previously shelved multi-storey hotel project.

At least one person fears this could be the death knell for Georgetown's world heritage city status.

 

Penang Gerakan chief Dr Teng Hock Nan pointed out that the 23-storey project was approved within three months of Pakatan wresting power from Barisan Nasional (BN) in the state on March 8.

The BN state government, he said today at a press conference in the Penang Gerakan office, had rejected the original project plan.

 

"Does this project pose a danger to Georgetown’s heritage status?" asked Teng, the former state executive councillor.

Georgetown was listed as a heritage zone by Unesco on July 7.

In June, however, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's government had approved the project in the heritage buffer zone, to be developed by Low Yat Group’s Bintang Holdings Sdn Bhd.

Teng recalled that the BN administration had been severely criticised by Low Yat Group executive chairperson Low Yow Chuan, when the developer had been advised to reduce the building height from the proposed 24 storeys to eight storeys.

 

Press reports on June 6, 2006 quoted Low as blaming bureaucratic redtape as the main hindrance to property investment and development in Penang.

 

"When I asked why, they gave some excuse about heritage. But they have approved a columbarium across the road," Low had said.

 

However, Teng said the state government had never approved the columbarium project and had shelved Low Yat’s project after Low threatened to pull out when told to reduce the building height.

 

"But now the new state government has approved the project. Why? We hope the project will not jeopardise the heritage city listing," he said.

Teng also stressed that three other high-rise hotel projects approved by the BN administration will not hamper the city’s listing. 

 

Two of the projects are in Weld Quay, a core heritage zone - the RM52.7 million Rice Miller Boutique Hotel by Asia Global Business, and the Boustead Royale Bintang Hotel by Boustead Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The third is a 17-storey extension, costing RM84.47 million, of the E&O Hotel in Lebuh Farquhar, which is also part of the buffer zone.

‘Negotiate with developer’

On Saturday, Teng Chang Yeow, the former chairperson of the state preparatory committee for listing of Georgetown, had revealed that Unesco was fully aware of the three high-rise projects.

He said the projects were approved based on new heritage-dominated guidelines, which were submitted to and accepted by Unesco.

Visiting Professor David Lung from the world body had also been briefed about the plans.

However, Teng said the state government should have checked on the heritage-based reasons cited by the BN government in rejecting the original Low Yat plan.

"Unesco was unaware (of this and) neither (was) the visiting professor briefed on the Low Yat project," he claimed, expressing the hope that Georgetown would not lose its hard-earned status.

Pointing out that all is not lost, Teng urged the state government to negotiate with the developer to reduce the building height in line with Unesco specifications.

The new guidelines submitted to Unesco in January were an amended version of the original local authority guidelines enforced in 1996.

The amended guidelines govern, among other aspects, height, environment and aesthetics in core and buffer heritage zones. The guidelines were endorsed by the state planning committee in August last year - Malaysiakini.