Malacca and Georgetown: a comparison
Malacca and Georgetown are jointly nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. After visiting Malacca, I am ashamed to say Penang lags far behind in terms of vernacular shophouse conservation. The people in power seem to think that rotting dilapidated shophouses exude a positive charm. That kind of attitude won't do at all.
Nice craftmanship..eh?
We need action! We need to find out what makes Penang special and work on assimilating it with the heritage architecture. Malacca has succesfully encouraged business owners to restore old shophouses which are doing very well as hotels, restaurants, craft shops, art stores, etc. I entered this place called Malaqa today. (the photos are available in the Album) They have preserved the rustic charm of the old shophouse while sucessfully selling their range of carpentrywork as well as art. Its truly amazing how they have beautifully restored the building. Even the window panes are gorgeous. Same goes with the restaurants, hotels, etc. Now why can't Penang apply this kind of preservation?
Penang has similiar old trades as Malacca, some maybe different, but the same method can apply in restoring the shophouses. I do not care much about the state government tiling roads and all that... what is the point when the 'content' of the shophouses is unattractive? Do tourists come to Penang to see well tiled roads? I am sure many business owners and developers see the potential in developing old shophouses, but the Penang state government hasn't made it condusive with its half-witted, lack-of-imagination type of planning. What do you think? Penangites, heritage buffs.. speak up!