pearl of the orient – penang island in 2009

i revisited penang island, the pearl of the orient in the year 2009.

it is still a charming place with lots of colonial buildings, old shop houses, mansions, temples, mosques. parks, etc. many places revoked memory of my visit in 2000 : pearl of the orient – penang island in 2000

however, i can sense a hidden struggle in penang, i.e. the struggle between development & preservation of the heritage areas and buildings, the struggle between development & protection of the natural areas.

it is a struggle that is commonly faced by all the historical towns which are striving to improve its economy and livelihood for all. i must say that some cities / towns in the world have coped well with this struggle, especially those cities in Japan, where modern development seems to go hand-in-hand with the preservation of heritage.

in penang, i have seen many derelict heritage mansions and shop houses which are left to deteriorate and ruin under the tropical weather. it is sad to watch them being in this deteriorating state. it is an uphill task to preserve all these gems in penang. fortunately, there are organizations who are working hard to do exactly this. one of the active organisation is the penang heritage trust

another thing that is missing is the overall planning & design of penang, i.e. a master plan which does not promote development at all cost, but a sensible and sustainable development plan which also preserves the heritage and nature.

while the UNESCO world heritage site at the historical core of georgetown in penang was designed by our forefathers to be a highly walkable district, it has now become the arena of cars. cars are everywhere in the historical core, adding fumes, noise and danger to the otherwise beautiful and charming district.

hopefully the pearl of the orient would not be turned into the parking lot of the orient, given the fact that penang has one of the highest car ownership in my home country!