GEORGE TOWN – No major structural damage was inflicted to the colonial-era Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) building in China Street Ghaut here as the contractors were just removing a previously installed temporary partition, said Penang Heritage commissioner Rosli Nor.
Pleading for calm, Rosli said that building owner KTM Bhd had presumed that the agency did not require permission.
“It is illegal and the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has issued a stop work order pending a revision of the terms and conditions,” said Rosli in an interview.
He said that the heritage office had received assurances that the work will now stop.
The building previously occupied by the Royal Customs and Excise Department is located opposite the Think City Sdn Bhd offices – a prominent promenade in Penang.
It is also located within the Penang Creative Digital District.
“We were told that the original tiles were not destroyed by the contractors. The owner just wanted to remove the partition. That is all.”
Rosli said that the local authorities will continue to monitor the building, which is located near the Weld Quay ferry terminal here.
However, the incident had caused worry among heritage activists since the building is listed as a Category One building, which only allows minimal disruption.
The group opined that the Penang government is placing its Unesco World Heritage Site status under stress now because of its lack of urgency in addressing the quality of conservation and preservation of buildings in the over-200ha core and buffer enclaves.
While MBPP has chosen to remain quiet following the latest incident, Penang Heritage Trust vice-president Khoo Salma Nasution and George Town heritage action group co-founder Mark Lay laid into the authorities for their ignorance of unsupervised development within heritage site areas.
This comes as Penang prepares to mark the 15th anniversary of its heritage listing.
Khoo Salma has written to Unesco, seeking its help to remind the state government of their obligation towards the heritage status.
She said that as the KTM building is listed in the core zone, it will hopefully jolt the authorities into doing something concrete before the situation gets out of hand.
Lay called on the authorities to increase their attention to conservation and preservation and sustain Penang’s status as a heritage enclave. – The Vibes, March 17, 2023
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