Thesun 2009-07-09 Page15 A Lesson From Unesco

theSun

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| THURSDAY JULY 9 2009

INTERVIEWS VIEWS

A lesson from Unesco JUST last week, at its annual meeting in Seville, Unesco’s grand World Heritage Committee (WHC) concluded that of the 890 properties inscribed as world heritage sites, just three were to be demoted into its “danger” list. The three sites – Belize’s Barrier Reef Reserve System, Colombia’s Los Katios National Park and Georgia’s Historical Monuments of Mtskheta – were considered to be under severe threat for various reasons. If nothing is now done over the next year to convince Unesco that they are being safeguarded, the sites may be removed from the heritage list altogether. Unknown to many, Malacca and George Town – which share a joint listing in the World Heritage Sites list – were on the verge of having the ignominious honour of being placed in this “danger” list. The humiliating situation was averted just days before the status of the two cities was being reviewed, thanks to three letters the Penang government shot to the world body last month. The correspondences, all signed by the chief minister himself, highlighted the state’s commitment to abide by a recent Unesco report on George Town, and appealed for Malacca and George Town not to be relegated from the heritage list. The crux of the Unesco report had centred around four controversial high-rise buildings – all hotels – that were approved by the local authority in Penang in direct conflict with building restrictions stipulated in a dossier approved by the world body. So in April this year, Giovanni Boccardi, chief of unit of WHC’s Asia and Pacific Section, conducted an inspection visit to George Town together with David Logan of the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The upshot was the nononsense report dubbed “Unesco Mission – Reactive Monitoring

to George Town, Penang” which outlined measures that Unesco required the state to undertake if its heritage status was to be preserved. Now that the protracted controversy and the suspense over the status of our two cities have been resolved, it would be fitting to see what important lesson can be learnt from this whole affair. People may remember that the whole controversy blew up when Richard Engelhardt, the Unesco regional adviser for Asia-Pacific, warned during a visit to Penang last November that George Town’s heritage status may be affected due to the four high-rise projects approved in the conservation area. He said the sincerity of an authority would be put into question if inappropriate structures were passed after application for heritage status had already been submitted. “Certainly I am sure the World Heritage Committee will be very askance to that and take it as a sign of not serious management,” he said. Indeed, the nomination dossier approved by Unesco in granting world heritage listing to George Town and Malacca stipulated new building projects in George Town were to be capped at 18m. The state government was placed in an unenviable, difficult position. If it revised the approvals given to the four projects, it risked incurring the wrath, and possible legal action, of the developers. If it did not take remedial measures, it risked being punished by Unesco. Treading on a tactical tightrope, the state made its move only after Unesco issued its report. “If we made the commitment before Unesco had come in, then we would have faced a lot of complications from developers,” Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng admitted. But with Unesco’s clear directive on the matter gave the necessary weight, and

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Share transfer held up SOMETIME ago my son-in-law deposited a public listed share in my central depository account (CDS). So a few days ago I went to my broker to have it transferred to his CDS account, in Kuala Lumpur. And the broker’s office said they were unable to do so as my son-in-law was not considered a member of my family. How did they decide that and who are they to do so? But they are willing to have it transferred to my daughter’s name for a fee, and with her marriage certificate made available to them to do so. And she has no CDS account as yet. Isn’t CDS making things difficult for its depositors? Is there an easy way out? Bulbir Singh Seremban

Train skips heritage area I REFER to “Confusing messages over Malacca aerorail” (Letters, July 1). The original plan was to build a transit system of 18.4km from Mahkota Medical Centre in Bandar Hilir to Ayer Keroh toll. To avoid building in the Unesco and surrounding heritage area, the revised plan has been shortened to 14.3km from Jalan Tun Ali to the Malacca Zoo. For details, please visit the public display at MBMB, Department of Railways or www.dor.gov.my. Lim Sue Beng Pyramid Express Sdn Bhd

B-Land raises RM190m from BToto placement pg 16

a sort of immunity, for the state to direct the developers to scale down or amend their plans. Interestingly, developers who have been riled by the move to restrict the size of the buildings have pointed out that such projects could in fact help rejuvenate commercial activities in the heritage zone. Increasing

TheNutmeg Verses by Himanshu Bhatt

the number of hotel rooms to accommodate and draw more bona fide tourists could even be part of a new recourse for dwindling traditional trades to survive. But if there is anything that this whole episode has now left behind, it must be the hard imprint of how seriously heritage conservation needs to be taken by all relevant parties in the country. For a world body like Unesco, there is simply no compromise as far as its conditions and covenants are concerned. If we choose to seek world

recognition for ourselves, our commitment and effort must be on par to the lofty standards that are expected. It is a lesson that all the relevant parties in this country – whether government, NGO or business concerns – would do well to heed as we work to project our image and our very heritage in the international community. Himanshu is theSun’s Penang bureau chief. Comments: letters@ thesundaily.com