Coffee table book on forgotten old Penang

GEORGE TOWN: A coffee table book about unsung personalities, hidden or unknown places, and life in old Penang is being written as a way to introduce the state to investors.

The book, which has been commissioned by the International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci) Penang, titled A Penang Heritage Tale, will also promote the state's conferences, workshops, seminars, forums, educational programmes in real estate topics.

Penang Fiabci chairman Daisy Ooi said the book was timely in the wake of George Town being accorded Unesco World Heritage Site status along with Malacca. “The book will showcase some of Penang's most important sites and real estate, and at the same time tell a story about these places by including the history and people behind it,” she said.

Rich history: Melinda Song (left) and Lillian Tong showing the proposed cover for ‘A Penang Heritage Tale’ in George Town. Inset: Ong.

The book's author, Helen Ong, said she would attempt to recreate a certain period, possibly the mid-1950s when the country was on the brink of Merdeka, adding that she would also include forgotten and overlooked anecdotes and facts. Ong welcomes the public to share with her any paraphernalia and photos of the olden days that have stories to tell.

“Contributors will be given due credit for the initiative and effort. When I was first approached by Fiabci to write this book, I thought that there were already enough books about Penang but this idea is something new and refreshing. “All these will be woven into the lives of a fictitious Straits Chinese (Baba Nyonya) family. There will also be some amazing photographs taken by avid photographers,” she told a press conference.

Penang Fiabci committee member Datuk Lim Mook San said the book would be printed in October and distributed during Fiabci's annual Malaysia Property Award dinner. State executive councillors and Fiabci affiliates will also be given the book. A Penang Heritage Tale will be sold at premier hotels nationwide, and the Kuala Lumpur and Penang Fiabci secretariats.

-thestar online.