Northam Road cemetery vandalized

Begin forwarded message:

From: Angeline Shannan <ashannan.angeline@gmail.com>
Date: November 6, 2012 22:06:29 GMT+08:00
To: ParticipantsofPenangForum@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Sim-Poey Choong <choong.sp@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [ParticipantsofPenangForum] Northam Road cemetery vandalized
Reply-To: ParticipantsofPenangForum@yahoogroups.com

 

Thanks, Alex, for that enlightening response. We still have to recover and update the knowledge gained way back then and put it on the agenda again. There's a lot of historical research to be done to enable the restoration when we manage to acquire the expertise. Sitting back and mourning won't help either. This needs wider publicity and raising public awareness of the importance of historical artifacts and monuments.
If PHT can help do something about awareness raising, that would certainly help.
Thanks,
Angeline

On 5 November 2012 01:41, Alex Koenig (Berlin) <alexkoenig@gmx.net> wrote:

I fear that the many signs of vandalism to historic buildings in Penang (actually throughout Malaysia) are not attributable to present policy mistakes but to those of the past.

Rather it is the consequence of unprofessional handling of historic structures. There is a lack of knowledge and experience in dealing with historic artifacts. To be able to be "like Singapore", one would already need to do in the past, such as Singapore. End of the 80s the "Construction Industry Development Board" (motto: "Promoting Building Quality Excellence") had established a training center for construction workers near Singapore-Hougang. When I visited it back then, the "Construction Industry Training Institute (CITI)" had classes of approximately 100 participants, learning how to work on traditional buildings, tough by the older generation, who passed on their experience and knowledge to the younger builders. Without any doubt, in those days was also enough professional demand for many of Penang's 12,500 pre-war houses.

In lengthy negotiations around 1988 a comparable institution for MPPP was created by concerted effort:

The craftsmen guilds wanted to provide experienced teachers;

MPPP supplied workshop space at their godown in Jln. Sungai and Syed Alatas Mansion (now Islam Museum);

Dr Choong Sim Poey negotiated with Penang's construction industry and "Building Material Suppliers Association" on the recognition of a certificate and higher salaries for graduates of training courses;

EPU and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to finance a vocational training centre;

The BWM worked out detailed T.o.R.

We started under Tan Sri Lim Chong Eu, but in 1990 were all related activities abandoned. They just wanted to have new buildings.

Available experience was then thrown out. This lost experience, however, needs to be rescheduled today with a delay of 25 years - or be bought expensivly in Singapore.

Until then, it's better to Penang's heritage to rot slowly, rather than getting quickly destroyed by premature work by unqualified persons.

Best regards,

Alex Koenig
(MPPP Building Dept., Urban Conservation Office, 1990-1993)

Am 03.11.2012 07:14, schrieb Sim-Poey Choong:

 

This is shocking!! Is this another childish anti-colonial political statement?
Rgds SP

On 2 Nov 2012 16:01, "Alex Koenig (Berlin)" <alexkoenig@gmx.net> wrote:

Northam Road cemetery is listed as Heritage site in MPPP´s Heritage Inventory of 1988. It is the historic resting place of the early settlers of the 18th and 19th century. Now it has been horribly vandalized. Who did that?
I guess MPPP is trying to repair the damage now. But they should contract professional staff using appropriate tools, ... and not caterpillars.

The pix below had been sent by Dr. Gwynn Jenkins.

Best regards

Alex Koenig

 

 

 

Gwynn Jenkins PhD FRGS

Consultant in Architectural Heritage and Cultural Anthropology.

116 Armenian Street,

10200 Pulau Pinang,

Malaysia

 tel/ fax       00 60 4 261 9281

h/p                            012 559 8621

email         dr.gwynn@gmail.com

--

http://www.aliran.com - a different perspective of Malaysian issues. More critical, more analytical, a space to speak freely. 

Blog: http://shannanjp.blogspot.com

Be kind to unkind people - they need it most - Anon.

There is nothing in the world stronger than gentleness - Han Suyin

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