Wednesday July 18, 2007

Malacca, Penang asked to resubmit heritage site applications to Unesco

By MARSHA TAN

MALACCA: Malacca and Penang's George Town never failed in their application to be listed as Unesco heritage sites, state Tourism, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Rahaman Ab Karim clarified.

He said Unesco also never rejected any application from both states.

Abdul Rahaman said the states were only asked to resubmit the applications according to Unesco’s latest format.

“The Unesco World Heritage Committee which met last June in Christchurch has accepted our dossier to include both places for review,” he told Gan Tian Loo (BN – Duyong) at the state assembly yesterday.

As such, he hoped that there would be no more confusion on the matter.

He said the countries that agreed to have Malacca and George Town listed as heritage sites included India, Cambodia, the Netherlands and several African countries.

“An official from Unesco by the name of Dr David Lung is expected to arrive in Malacca between Aug 23 and 28 to inspect several sites before moving to George Town.

“Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah, Malacca Museum Corporation and the National Heritage Department are preparing for the visit,” said Abdul Rahaman, adding that a list of inventory and historical sites had also been drawn up.

He said the official would be briefed on the state’s efforts in protecting and preserving the heritage sites, adding that it would only be known next year at the Unesco Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec, Canada, if the proposal was successful.

“I appeal to the opposition leaders not to jeopardise our efforts and hope that everything will be tip-top when the expert arrives to inspect the sites,” said Abdul Rahaman.

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