GEORGE TOWN: The federal government should release the RM25 million pledged for heritage conservation of George Town's Unesco World Heritage site so that the issue is not raised at the Unesco World Heritage committee annual meeting next year, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Wednesday, March 31.

He said the pledge made by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi under Budget 2009 should be fulfilled.

The federal government had announced RM50 million for both Malacca and George Town after both were declared jointly as a Unesco World Heritage site on July 7, 2008.

While Malacca has received its portion of RM30 million sometime ago, the Penang state government has yet to receive any funding from the federal government though both cities are jointly inscribed, Lim said.

"Though the funding was pledged by Abdullah to preserve, conserve and promote George Town as a world heritage site, we have been left in the lurch.

"This has caused the state government numerous problems to responsively carry out a comprehensive plan for the site.

"If the funding is not forthcoming, the matter will be raised at the Unesco meeting next year," Lim warned.

He said the state government has not let up on its efforts despite the lack of support from the federal government.

Without federal funding, the state government was forced to allocate RM1 million from its own coffers to fund activities and manage the site on its own accord, Lim said.

The state government has also appealed for RM81.6 million from the central government under the 10th Malaysia Plan for several urgent projects as part of the heritage preservation, conservation and promotion activities, he added.

Lim said this at the World Heritage office where he announced the winner of the urban design competition entitled Marking George Town — an idea competition for a Unesco World Heritage site, where four finalists had been shortlisted out of 138 local and foreign entries.

The winning entry is a local team Sculpturework Sdn Bhd which proposes sculptures and drawings at several locations which tell local stories and characters.

Costing RM1.87 million, the project can be implemented in three months.

The winner stands a chance of implementing the ideas if the state government decides to proceed with the proposal.

Lim stressed on the need to create awareness about the importance of promoting art and conserving heritage in order to understand the cultural background and environment.

"Heritage is about identity — the past contributes to our sense of who we are today and is an important factor in determining our future aspirations.

"Heritage places and collections open a window between the past and future and enable us to unlock stories and connect with traditions and celebrations which we may otherwise know little about," he said.