RM 50 Million Fund for Heritage Buildings in 2009 Budget

Yesterday, Prime Minister Badawi allocated RM 50 million fund for conservation work for the World Heritage Cities of Melaka and Georgetown in his Budget 2009. Compared to an overall budget of RM 209 billion, this amount is certainly a drop in an ocean.

Moreover, the amount is to be divided with Melaka and Georgetown. Conservation work and renovating heritage buildings are not cheap and involves specialised expertise. Hopefully, this allocation is just the beginning for Malaysia in recognising the importance of preserving our heritage for future generations.

I remember once some VIP mentioned that preserving old buildings is not progressive. They should be demolished and newer buildings must be built to replace them. How wrong these comments are. These old buildings with their unique characters reflect the architectural designs of their times and should be preserved.

Build newer buildings by all means BUT ensure that they are built outside the core heritage areas. Visitors to our heritage cities want to see unique buildings and cultures. They certainly do not want to see skyscrapers like theirs at home. If they want to see these skyscrapers,they can do so back in their own backyard.

Singapore has destroyed their heritage buildings during the building frenzy in 1970s and 1980s and they are regretting it. Bras Basah Road had elegant colonial buildings but they were bulldozed. Similarly, Hong Kong followed the same course on their buildings. Luckily, the Hong Kong authorities have maintained the Hong Kong Tram system.

The past can certainly co-exist with the present and we should preserve them for the future. Food for thought.

GETTING THE CRUISE LINERS TO BERTH INTO MELAKA

25th. August 2008

It was recently reported that a Malaysian Cruise Liner had to by-pass Melaka because Melaka had no proper disembarking and embarking facilities. The waterway into Melaka is shallow and cruise liners must anchor off-shore before passengers and crew can disembark into Melaka.



A cruise liner can bring in at least 2000 passengers or more into our shores at any one time. Should half of the passengers and crew decide to visit Melaka, more than 1,000 people of high nett worth can visit for a single day. That means we need to have shuttle boats to bring in the visitors and to bring them back to the ship. Moreover, on reaching our shores, we need to transport them to our historical sites and entertainment venues. We need at least 25 air-conditioned buses to ferry them around.

Do we have the necessary facilities and space to cater for such a crowd at any one time?

The Melaka State authorities should identify a suitable space to build a proper CIQ facilities so that our special guests can visit us without any hassle. The spin off is inmeasurable since the large entourage per visit will give direct economic benefits to locals. Local traders can sell their local souvenirs, offer our visitors our local cuisines and show them our friendly hospitality.

Imagine how many guests can visit us if we can receive at least 4 cruise ships or more per month.

Tourism Melaka would like to appeal to our Melaka State Government to undertake this infrastructure as early as possible. We should undertake this project on a fastrack basis so that Melaka can reap the rewards from our status as Melaka - World Heritage City and Everlasting Living Heritage.

MELAKA MUST ENSURE SECURITY & SAFETY TO MALACCANS AND VISITORS TO MELAKA

During my recent weekend visit my home town in Melaka, I had a very bad experience in a recently opened cineplex . Located on the 5th. floor of the shopping complex, it housed 10 cinema screens for customers to view different movies.

The first thing you will notice on the ticketing level of this new cineplex is the lack of sitting. The whole area was not designed to house a cinema and is not catered for families to see shows at all.

There are no chairs for the elderly to sit and there is ONLY ONE lift and 2 excalators. There is also one fire exit.

My worst fears about the safety and security of the cineplex were justified when the show I attended ended just after mid-night on Saturday, 19th. July 2008.

Patrons who have gone to see their favourite shows at the different cineplexes were not allowed to use the 2 excalators to go down to the ground floor by the security guards. All patrons, young and elderly, were forced to use the fire exit staircase and a small lift catered for 10 persons only. With a minimum of 1000 or more patrons coming out of their cineplexes at about the same time, meant that the safety and security of patrons are being taken for granted. Patrons have to walk at least 5 floors of stairs to go to the groundfloor.

What will happen if there is a fire on the fifth floor? With limited fire escapes and one small lift to cater for rushing patrons, we are just waiting for a disaster to occur. The questions raised here are :-
1. Has the Fire and Safety department done a safety check and who gave the approval for

these cineplexes to be opened? Are there any fire springkler systems installed?

2. Since there is clearly a lack of fire escape exits, has the cineplex owners been notified of these
short comings?

3. Who ordered the security guards to prevent patrons to use the escalators? In fact the

escalators should be changed to going down mode to ensure patrons leave the premises in an

orderly fashion instead of using fire exit only.

As Melaka City has just been given the status of Unesco World Heritage City together with Georgetown in Penang, the authorities in Melaka City must ensure the safety and security of Malaccans and guests to our heritage city.

We want visitors and locals alike to enjoy our city and feel safe while visiting our historical sites, enjoy the shopping and being entertained in various entertainment outlets such as cineplexes and theatres.

Tourism Melaka strongly urge the authorities to audit all the public entertainment centres around our City so that immediate measures can be taken before any unforseen incident occurs.

MELAKA LISTED ON UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CITY LIST

9th. July 2008

Eight more sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List

7 July 2008 – Eight new sites in places such as Malaysia and Croatia have joined the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it was announced today.

The additions mark the first time Papua New Guinea and San Marino have had sites inscribed on the List.

Melaka and George Town, cities on the Straits of Malacca in Malaysia, have been imbued with a multicultural heritage after more than five centuries of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West.

This was the official announcement by UNESCO on listing Melaka and Georgetown as Historic cities on the Straits of Malacca on 8th. July 2008. Indeed, it is a proud day for all Malaccans in Melaka and around the world.

As Malaccans, we have known all these years that Melaka is a unique place and steep in history. We have a tradition of long history, melting pot of cultures, harmonious living of different races, religion and creed over the centuries. History is and will continue to be our assets and we as Malaccans, wherever we are, should continue to preserve and enhance the historic sites, traditions, heritage such as food heritage, cultural values, languages, artform and skills of our uniqueness.

This listing in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites comes with commitment and responsibility for all Malaccans. We cannot just think of profits which we can gain from the influx of visitors from around the world. We need to extend our hospitality, grace, friendliness and be courteous to our guests, locals and foreigners, as they come to view our city, taste our food and enjoy our hospitality in our inns, hotels and guest houses. Let us tell our guests why Melaka is a place that is worth visiting and they are always welcomed over and over again.

For all Government agencies, non-government agencies, Melaka Government, professional bodies and inviduals including all Malaccans, who have done our small part in getting Melaka listed, Tourism Melaka want to extend our gratitude and a big THANK YOU for a job well done.

This listing is important to put Melaka on the world heritage list and is just a small step. We have many more challenges ahead. Let us strive to maintain our listing status, preserve our heritage, cultures, languages and food over the years.

INTERESTING NEW OFFERINGS IN MELAKA IN 2008

Melaka has just celebrated Chinese New Year where major tourist spots were filled with tourists and locals alike. There were large crowds at Stadthuys, Dataran Pahlawan, Mahkota Parade,Jonkers' Walk and people were seen taking the open top Panorama buses and river cruises.


For shoppers, new kids on the block were Mydin Hypermarket at Melaka Bazaar located at Melaka Sentral (this hypermarket is opened 24 hours) and 3-floors Carrefour Melaka at Dataran Pahlawan.

Then, we have newly opened Aldy Hotel Chinatown at Jalan Bunga Raya and Jalan Munshi Abdullah junction at Melaka New Chinatown and Melaka's first boutique hotel, Majestic Hotel,Malacca at the end of Jalan Bunga Raya. Another boutique hotel has her ground breaking ceremony at the mouth of Melaka River recently and will be opened in end 2009.

For those interested to view and enjoy the Melaka River walk, you will be surprised to see that the Melaka River water is clean for once. You will not be able to see the muddy water of yesteryears. Maybe, it has been due to the new barrage at the river mouth which stops the sea water to move upstream when high tide occurs. Before, the sea water with the muddy silt travels up the Melaka River when there is high tide. Now, the barrage has stopped this occurrence and kept the river full all the day. Another benefit of this is that river cruises can now be operated daily,daytime and at night and they are getting popular with visitors.

To be opened soon will be the "Melaka Tower" which visitors can view Melaka City above 110 metres via a rotating cabin.

Melaka open top Panorama red double decker buses and the colourful "becas" are must try events and everyone is excited about riding these buses and becas.

So, if you want to visit Melaka, there are certainly various activities for everyone. Melaka has history, historical sites, museums, river walks and sea & sea cruises, food, shopping, cultures and friendly Malaccans to be your hosts.

Enjoy

Touring Melaka Historical Sites by Melaka Red Double Decker Bus

23^rd. September 2007

Melaka :

Our historical tour of Melaka on the Red Bus started at about 11.00am. We have heard about Melaka’s newest tourism product – See Melaka historical sites on a Red Double Decker Bus but we have yet to try it until today.

With a baseball cap, a bottle of drinking water and casually dressed for the occasion, we waited for this bus at No. 13 designated stop for the Melaka Red bus. No. 13 stop named “Renaissance Stop” is located opposite Melaka Renaissance Hotel. In fact, it is in front of Hotel Okid at Jalan Bendahara and near Hotel Accordian too. We had to wait for about half an hour before the Red Double Decker was sighted coming down towards us at about 11.00 am. We had earlier spotted the “Panorama Red Bus” but it did not come our way. We found out later that the “Panorama Red Bus” route covered the historical sites and outskirts of Melaka City at only RM 2.00 per adult for the whole day. Very affordable by any standards!!

The “Melaka Red Double Decker Bus” route only covered the historical sites around Melaka City. The fare is priced at RM 5.00 per adult per day. Travellers can hop on this bus and hop off to see the sites at your own leisure. Then, hop on the next bus for the next site. This is certainly a good and cheap way to see Melaka historical sites for the whole day.

After boarding the double decker bus, we climbed up to the Upper Saloon of the bus for birds’ eye view of Melaka. The bus was brought in from London as we can still see some signages in English and fares in Sterling! Driven by one driver whom you have to pay your fares to, this bus is also air-conditioned. A Plus point against the hot and humid weather of the tropics.

The bus first passed Meng Seng Charitable Hall which is linked to the founding of Malaya and turned right towards Jalan Munshi Abdullah.

It crossed over Hang Tuah Bridge and we reached Jalan Hang Tuah where we will see Hang Tuah Mall . Also located on Jalan Hang Tuah is the new Melaka City Campus of Technical University of Malaysia.

It passed Soon Seng Plaza and Legacy Hotel at the end of Jalan Hang Tuah before moving passed Tesco Hypermarket and towards Melaka Sentral (Melaka Bus and Taxi Terminals).

After a brief stop for passengers, it travelled back to Jalan Hang Tuah and veered left into Jalan Gajah Berang. For visitors interested see the “Chitty Museum”, you can hop off at the designated stop. We moved towards Jalan Tranquerah via Jalan Ong Kim Wee and to the end of Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker’s Street).

It continued into Jalan Kubu and turned into Jalan Kampung Hulu where Kampung Hulu Mosque is located. The bus then moved slowly into Jalan Kampung Pantai and visitors can see the old Pre-war Chinese shop houses.

It then crossed over the Melaka River by using the Chan Koon Cheng bridge before turning right to Jalan Laksamana (or Riverside Road). This road will lead us into the historical old sector of “Stadthuys” or the “Red Dutch Square” area.

Besides the “Stadthuys”, the Clock Tower, “Christ Church” and “Youth Museum” are located here. You can stop (Stop No.5 or Stadthuys Stop) here for your photo shoot or enjoy Malacca's famous "Chendol" across the road.


Moreover, the newly discovered “Middlesburg Wall” of A Famosa is also located here.

The historical journey continued by passing by the newly discovered “Middleburg wall" towards the replica ship of “Flor de la Mar”. This Portuguese ship was the flagship of Alburqueque who conquered Malacca in 1511. After capturing Malacca, the Portuguese took Malacca’s treasures and loaded them up into their galleons. However, on their journey back to Portugal, the fleet was caught in a heavy storm and the “Flor de la Mar” with Malacca’s invaluable treasure, sank off the coast of North Sumatra.

After passing this replica ship, we entered the reclaimed land of “Banda Hilir”. Before the area was built up, the site was Malacca’s Esplanade where Malaccans used to enjoy their morning and evening walks besides the Malacca Straits. In the evenings, we enjoyed the sight of sunsets and cool evening breezes. In late 1980’s, the sea in front of the Esplanade was reclaimed and now, the air-conditioned Mahkota Parade shopping mall was built on it.

Recently, in 2006, Malacca’s newest shopping mall, Dataran Pahlawan was opened. This 2 storey shopping mall was built on the “padang” of Banda Hilir.

Since then, the padang has been reduced to a third of her original size. The construction of the mall has been turned the area into another concrete jungle and traffic jams are seen especially during weekends.

By late 2008, Melaka Tower will rise 140 metres in the same area and another hypermarket such as Carrefour will operate just in front of Hotel Equatorial.

The Red Double Decker bus passed by Hotel Equatorial and moved towards Jalan Bandar Hilir. On this road, there are a few hawker complexes which are opened during the evenings. You can get Malacca’s famous ho chien, popiah and delicious local cuisines along this road. At the end of the road is the Henry Gurney Prison for teenagers and the St. John’s hill.

Soon, we reached the Semabok junction and turned left into Jalan Panjang before moving towards Bukit China. We then passed the “Martyrs Memorial” which was built in honour of the fallen heroes against the Japanese Occupation of Malaya during the 2^nd. World War.

Just around this memorial lies the “Poh San Teng” temple and the “King’s Well”. This well never goes dry and a wall has been built around it to protect this well during the Portuguese/Dutch eras. As the legend goes, any person who drinks the water from this well, will always come back to Malacca in his/her lifetime.

Both of these historical sites are located just below the foothills of “Bukit China”. Bukit China or Chinese Hill is now the largest Chinese cemetery outside China. Before, legend said the hill was the area where the Chinese princess, “Hang Li Po” and her entourage stayed thus the name “Bukit China”. Now, Bukit China is the largest green lung within Malacca and many joggers climbed up the hill for their morning/evening runs.

Our historical city tour continued down Jalan Munshi Abdullah. Passing Meng Seng Charitable Hall again, we then turned right into Jalan Bunga Raya. The last stop for us in front of the former “Majestic Hotel” just before Kampung Morten.

Overall, the journey took about an hour and fifteen minutes. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and was able to see Malacca from this double decker bus. We hope to take the "Panorama Bus" in the future to see the outskirts of Malacca from our last stop.

Meantime, we hope you have enjoyed our blog. We hope you will also come and see Malacca on this Red Double Decker Bus. Enjoy.

Light up important historical sites in Melaka City

It is good that the Melaka Historical City Council has lit up the main roads from Ayer Keroh into Melaka City Centre. Colourful lights were strung along the lamp posts along the routes. To some extent, the lights have made the roads into the City colourful and give an air of festivities around the city.

The Melaka Historical City Council should go a further mile by lighting up strategic historical sites around the city. Flood lights mounted at these sites can create and enhance the value of these sites. Sites like the Stadthuys, A Famosa, Istana, St.Peter's Church, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Kampung Hulu mosque, Poh San Teng etc. can be made to "glow" at night from 7.00pm until mid-night from Fridays to Sundays. By doing so,these sites can attract visitors to visit them at night.

At the same time, webcams should be installed around these areas for people around the world to view them via the Internet. With cheaper broadband internet connections, it is now inexpensive to install such webcams. They can help promote Melaka to the world.