GEORGE TOWN – A veteran conservationist wants Penang to legislate new by-laws to ensure that artifacts, heritage properties and monuments remain protected – even if they are located on private lands marked for redevelopment.
There have been too many instances where heritage items are destroyed just because they sit on private land, said Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) treasurer Clement Liang.
He cited the recent desecration of an ancestral tomb containing the remains of Foo Teng Nyong, reportedly the third wife of Kapitan Cina and apparent founder of Taiping, Chung Keng Quee.
The incident drew wide rebuke in heritage and conservation circles after pictures of it being dug up and leveled by an excavator were tweeted by history researcher Jeffrey Seow, a descendent of the Chung-Foo lineage.
There is speculation that while the tomb was destroyed, the remains may have been reinterred elsewhere. This has yet to be confirmed, as the developer of the land involved has remained tight-lipped.
The tomb is located off Jalan Bulan Terang in Fettes Park, within the vicinity of Mount Erskine, which is home to thousands of ancient grave sites.
In an interview with The Vibes, Liang said many landowners laid waste to historical structures as they value commercial returns more.
He recalled the Metropole Hotel, demolished in 1993 during the pre-dawn hours on Christmas Day, and the destruction of other smaller monuments on land that owners wanted to develop.
“It is simply history repeating itself. The Foo tomb was (apparently) destroyed when the people were preoccupied and just after the Hungry Ghost festival had ended. (This is) to apparently make way for housing when it could have just been preserved at its spot.”
Liang said that there are several heritage buildings on the island and mainland, with many also located beyond the core and buffer zones of the Unesco World Heritage Site, all of them needing attention and protection.
“Usually the developers will say that the assets are located on private lands, so it is the prerogative of the landowners. It is a lame excuse to destroy history. Once gone, it (an artefact) cannot be replicated. It is that fragile,” said Liang.
Liang said Penang and its two city councils need to do more instead of relying on the defence that historical assets are located on private land.
“Perhaps, the monuments and buildings can be reacquired by the state or relocated to an area on public land. We cannot simply be sitting and waiting for it to be demolished.”
George Town World Heritage Incorporated general manager Ang Ming Chee, who visited the scene of the Foo Teng Nyong tomb’s destruction, said she had rushed there with officials from Penang Island City Council.
The council has halted further work on the site near the tomb pending an investigation. The state had previously allowed the developer to exhume the tomb’s remains for relocation but did not give a permit for its demolition.
Ang said she is scrutinising the approval documents to see if the developer had flouted the conditions.
State heritage commissioner Rosli Nor said that he was saddened by the incident but stressed that the authorities have done their best to protect the tomb following a campaign by history researcher Seow to protect it.
Meanwhile, former PHT president Khoo Salma Nasution shared a message from Seow, which read: “I am given to understand, from (those) who spoke to people at the site, that the remains of my great grandmother were reinterred in Batu Gantong.”
Last year, Seow ran a campaign on change.org seeking public support to protect the tomb, which was completed in 1884, a year after Foo’s death. Foo was born in 1849, according to the inscription on the tomb’s headstone.
Seow has also written a historical anecdote on Foo, which states that her 138-year-old tomb is one-of-a-kind and likely unique in all of Southeast Asia.
“Hers was the third marriage of the Kapitan Cina of Perak, Chung Keng Quee (Zhèng Jǐngguì) – they were married in 1873,” he wrote.
He also noted the continuation of Foo’s lineage in other notable Penang personalities, beside the tomb’s unique form and structure, which made its preservation for future generations worthwhile.
“It is unclear how, if at all, the grave and the land that it is a part of ever left the hands of the family, and steps are being taken to ascertain this, as difficult as it may be.
A spokesman for Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang’s exco for tourism, said that the state plans to get a full picture of what transpired before responding further. – The Vibes, September 1, 2022
