Following Options’ successful heritage issue last year, which focused on George Town, we are starting a monthly column that will look at the various aspects of heritage. In this article, Neil Khor examines the business opportunities that the World Heritage Site brings as well as some of the unforeseen outcomes of mass tourism.

George Town is best experienced in the cool of the evening, with the gleaming copper domes of the Kapitan Keling mosque mellowing, as traffic in the streets begins to pick up.

The evening procession of cars leaving the city is matched by the return of the swallows. The birds return to an assortment of “homes” ranging from art deco to neo-classical, mostly re-fitted shophouses or more humble wooden dwellings. Wherever they are, their valuable nests can be collected and made into soup.

George Town, it seems, needs to be conserved for the birds as well as future generations. Neither should be denied a home in the city’s architectural legacy that has been built up over many generations. But conserving that heritage comes with a price tag, and sacrifices have to be made to match unlimited wants with finite resources. Thus, priorities have to be established. The value placed upon things is ultimately reflected in how much we are willing to pay, or give up, to have them.

The problem with heritage is that we are attempting to put a price on intangibles. How does one determine the price of having the experience of visiting the Taj Mahal? What about living in the Ducal Palace in Venice or working in a refurbished shophouse where Sun Yat Sen planned the 1911 Chinese Revolution?

How can the value of heritage property be defined in economic terms? Professor David Thorsby, a heritage expert at the University of Sydney, approaches the question by looking at “what it [heritage] means, who experiences it, how it is determined, how it should be measured, and what role it should play in decision-making concerning the item’s conservation, restoration or re-use.”

In other words, why preserve a historic building, when a 35-storey building put in its place might generate a much more handsome return? Yet when real estate prices are compared around the world, heritage or historic properties appear to attract more buyers and better prices. Heritage conservationists would go a step further. They point out that historic buildings enhance the value of neighbouring properties as well. After the city was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site (WHS) in July 2008, property prices in George Town have remained robust despite prices falling just about everywhere else.

Most heritage properties are located in key areas, and this further enhances their value, while the people working seem happier working in an historical environment.

So how can the enjoyment that owners or tenants get from living in a heritage property be evaluated? For the owners, the rent that the property generates is a key factor. Studies worldwide have shown that individuals with high income prefer refurbished heritage properties to new developments. This is especially true among executives working in advertising, finance, banking and the arts. These high-income earners, dubbed the “creative class” by urban geographer David Florida, prefer living and working in heritage buildings because they are attracted to the special character of these buildings. It seems they are willing to pay a premium to work or live in a location that suits their working needs, and they like being associated with the history of the place.

Then there is the added benefit of people who enjoy visiting heritage properties. This realisation that heritage properties are important reminders of a community’s shared history is the cornerstone of the heritage conservation movement. It provides that essential character, an historical identity, that would otherwise be lost.

In the UK, concerned citizens decided to set up the National Trust to save properties deemed to be of great importance to British heritage. Today, some 60 years later, millions of visitors continue to flock to National Trust properties, yet tourism on such a scale was an unforeseen outcome. Good conservation and management policies mean that the UK continues to have a wonderful stock of heritage properties.

Outreach programmes and heritage education gave rise to a continuing supply of devoted volunteers, researchers and visitors, all contributing towards these buildings and their surrounding environments. They in turn provide the basis for a burgeoning workforce of skilled artisans who have extensive knowledge of the right techniques and materials, both ancient and modern, that are required to maintain these properties in a manner that is entirely authentic.

Accidental damage, sometimes extensive, like the great fire at Windsor Castle, can be restored in a way that is proper and authentic, while drawing upon additional up-to-date knowledge and techniques. In the process, fresh discoveries can be made, not just about traditional building techniques, but often about the hidden contents of the building that may lie behind the damage.

But in urban areas like George Town, conservation programmes should not be planned simply with mass tourism in mind. To do so, would be to promote a place at the expense of its local inhabitants. They could be priced out, get short shrift or, in the case of Lijiang in China, turned into exhibits for tourists to gape at.
Conservation should be an end in itself because it benefits so many, even those who are not living in such places and have never visited them. The listing of Melaka and George Town as Unesco heritage sites, for example, was a powerful source of national pride.

Even though not all of us agree about the right objectives, there are a growing number of developers who understand the importance of heritage as a brand, and know how to use it.

In Malaysia, we see E&O Properties profiting from the legacy of the Sarkies in the E&O Hotel in Penang, while the YTL Group has restored the Majestic Hotel in Melaka, associating its own brand of excellence with the site.

So, it seems that not only swallows know that they are living in desirable properties. In the business world, heritage is associated with class, high standards and unique recognition. It might be a good time, as the global economy cools, to reflect upon the repositioning of cities like George Town, and provide fresh incentives for families and trade to go back to the traditional communities of the city centre; to start thinking about conservation in a holistic fashion so that future generations have the opportunity to experience the city — something that many of us have taken for granted.

Dr Neil Khor believes in sustainable initiatives in heritage conservation. Traveller, writer of glossy books and political commentary, he is currently Post-Doctoral Fellow in History at the University of Malaya

Logan’s Memorial — Remembering the man who coined the word ‘Indonesia’
James Richardson Logan is best remembered as a civil rights lawyer who defended the local Chinese community in 1857, in a case involving the right to use firecrackers and put up “wayangs” as part of their cultural practice. Logan was also the editor and main contributor to the Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, which promoted the collection and dissemination of local knowledge.

A prolific writer, Logan’s articles were not only farsighted but ahead of its time. He wrote about climate change and cultural identity.

Logan was also the founding editor of the Penang Gazette, with his brother, Abraham, of the Singapore Free Press. Both papers were instrumental in galvanising support for the Transfer Movement, the first constitutional rights movement to transfer the administration of the Straits Settlements from Bengal to London.

Logan has also been acknowledged as the person to coin the word “Indonesia” to describe the islands in the Indian Ocean. When he died in 1869, the people of Penang erected a memorial to remember him by, which stood on the grounds of the High Court until it was moved away for a brief period during World War II. The memorial returned to its location in front of the building until 2007, when it was moved across the street, following the restoration works and expansion of the Penang High Court building. Logan Road was also named after him.



This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 749, April 6-12, 2009.