GEORGE TOWN – Penang marked the 14th anniversary of its Unesco World Heritage Site status amid disrupted water supply following the Baling floods in neighbouring Kedah.
Penang has spent up to RM50 million to uphold its Unesco status since it was first granted in 2008, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, assuring that the state will try its best to keep it.
Launching the heritage excellence centre in Armenian Street yesterday, Chow said nearly a hundred old locations have been restored under the state’s George Town World Heritage Incorporation (GTWHI).
GTWHI general manager Ang Ming Chee said the centre’s restoration was initiated in November 2018, commenced in July 2020, and was fully completed in January this year, with a cost of about RM1.8 million.
She added that the excellence centre will inspire the community to support heritage efforts.
As part of the anniversary, GTWHI held the George Town Heritage Celebrations to promote an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, traditions, arts, languages, and dialects.
“Ultimately, we want to showcase our beloved state’s harmonious society. I think it is a wonderful way to celebrate it this year, marking George Town’s 14th anniversary as a Unesco World Heritage Site. This is an achievement from its early days of application.”
Also present were Unesco Jakarta director Mohamed Djelid and its chief of culture Moe Chiba, Chief Minister Incorporated deputy general manager S. Bharathi, Malaysia National Commission for Unesco secretary-general Jasri Kasim, and National Heritage Department assistant director B. Sanjai Kumar.
However, some 1.8 million people face low water pressure, or no water supply at all, for the next few days, marring the long weekend in view of the Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations on Sunday.
The state’s water supply was hit by an inflow of muddied waters, which clogged the treatment system yesterday following the tragic flooding upstream of the Gunung Inas forest reserve in Baling last Monday. The Vibes, July 8, 2022
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