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Sultan Abdul Samad building has potential to be a
Unesco heritage site.
— Photos: ART CHEN and LOW LAY PHON/The Star
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KUALA Lumpur’s iconic Dataran Merdeka and the
century-old Sultan Abdul Samad building have the potential to be under the
Unesco World Heritage List.
Dataran Merdeka or Merdeka Square, as it is often
referred to in tourist brochures, is the historic field where the Union Jack
was lowered and the Malayan flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on Aug
31, 1957.
The Sultan Abdul Samad building on the other hand,
located opposite Dataran Merdeka, is a late 19th-century building in Jalan
Raja.
Constructed in 1894, the building with its Moghul
and Moorish architecture, was designed by architects Arthur Charles Alfred
Norman, Arthur Benison Hubback and Regent Alfred John Bidwell.
Amin Nordin said areas like Petaling Street also
have potential due to the historical significance of its old temples,
shophouses and associations that were steeped in history and over 100 years
old.
He said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was in talks
with Jabatan Warisan Negara (National Heritage Department) to make this happen.
Unesco World Heritage status is awarded by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and a
site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one of the 10
selection criteria to qualify to be listed.
A check on the Unesco website showed that as of
this year, there are about 1,092 sites listed as world heritage: 845 cultural,
209 natural, and 38 mixed properties.
Italy, with 53, has the most number of Unesco World
Heritage sites followed by China (52) and Spain (46). In Malaysia, Unesco only
recognises five sites – Gunung Mulu National Park (Sarawak), Kinabalu Park
(Sabah), Lenggong Valley archeological site (Perak) and the historical cities
of Melaka and George Town (Penang).
Any application for Unesco listing must be made to
the National Heritage Department.
Support for move
International Council on Monuments and Sites
(Icomos) Malaysia chairman Datuk Hajeedar Majid said the council has questioned
why the Federal capital could not get the recognition when both Melaka and
George Town were able to.
He added that Kuala Lumpur’s core teemed with
history that goes back to the 18th and 19th centuries as seen in old
shophouses, colonial buildings, and places of worship.
“We have been quite careless with our (buildings)
in the past.
“There was loss of opportunities in the past, and
the historic core of Kuala Lumpur has been redeveloped in an insensitive way,’’
he added.
Hajeedar, who is the former National Heritage
Council chairman, elaborated that late 18th-century shoplots and early
19th-century shophouses have been redeveloped and the entire scale was not
compatible anymore (with the old buildings).
“The old colonial buildings should have been
declared heritage sites sooner. But having said that, it is not too late,’’ Hajeedar
said.
“Historical areas can still be salvaged, but, it
must be done with other pockets (of historical sites) such as Jalan Raja, Medan
Pasar and Petaling Street area,’’ he said.
“The sites must be physically and visually linked
with one another. But more importantly there must be political will for this to
happen.
“We must push for this without fear or favour,
Hajeedar said, adding that in the past efforts aimed at preserving historical
sites had given in to political pressure.
Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun agrees that old areas
like Jalan Tun H.S Lee, Medan Pasar and Petaling Street should be considered
for the Unesco World Heritage status.
He said Petaling Street where the city’s Chinatown
is located has more than 100 years of history with old temples that are easily
over a century old.
“Petaling Street is unique and is one of the oldest
areas in Kuala Lumpur that must be preserved.
“It is sad that Kuala Lumpur with its tin mining
history and cultural significance is not part of the Unesco list.
Fong said the federal capital which prided itself
on many sights connected with old buildings such as Masjid Jamek built in 1909,
now known as Sultan Abdul
Samad Jamek mosque, 124-year-old Taoist temple called
Guan Di in Chinatown, and Hindu temples like the Sri Mahamariamman, founded in
1873, are not on the Unesco list.
He added that the Guan Di temple built in 1888 in
the heart of Petaling Street is popular with tourists.
“When I was 12 years old, I used to come here all
the time with my parents and I have always been fascinated with temples like
the temple’s Dravidian architecture,” said Fong, 71.
“I also want to propose to DBKL to carry out
heritage walks to educate tourists and locals on the history of the place,’’ he
said.
He said after the last general election the
government came down hard on Petaling Street traders for employing foreign
workers to man their stalls.
“We cannot have that anymore. I have already warned
the shop owners not to employ them,’’ he said.
“Petaling Street must remain authentic to its
cultural history,’’ he said, adding that it would help to push for Unesco
status or at least a national heritage status.
He said that he would seek a meeting with Tourism,
Arts and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi to lobby for Petaling Street to be
a national heritage site.
-thestar online.
