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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Re-Bugis Street-kan Georgetown, Penang?

Once Singapore demolished its famed or if you like, notorious Bugis Street. Then it realized that was a bad bad move, one which lost for the famed Lion City its soul.


But being the efficient Sing government it was (is?), it rebuilt Bugis Street, reclaiming a significant part of its colonial heritage.


Is Penang going down that way, following the same track as Sing had originally in demolishing its Bugis Street?

Khoo Salma Nasution, president of the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) believes so - read FMT's Pakatan Rakyat govt making Penang ‘soulless’, specifically sweetie Khoo ........ citing evictions of residents in Lebuh Chulia, Lorong Chulia, Jalan Kuala Kangsar and the imminent Lorong Cheapside.


PHT said the evictions were taking their toll on the city’s intangible cultural heritage, with a number of artisans affected.

The George Town World Heritage Site: Population and Land Use Change Surveys commissioned by Think City showed a significant drop in the city’s residential population between 2009 and 2013, with the population decreasing by about 800 people to below 10,000.


“We are deeply concerned about the state of the rental market and tenants’ rights within the heritage site.”

“We believe the situation is untenable,” she said, adding, that George Town’s heritage was as much about its people, their daily lives and their livelihoods as it is about architecture.


What do you think?


8 comments:

  1. Bugis street in Penang is under the control of the federal government through the George Town City council. There is very little the state government can do because they only collect land rent. All assessment rates are paid to the City council. They are the ones in control and this idea should be directed at them. Since 1957 Penang has been left to tits own wits like Kelantan. do not try to do what Singapore did without altering the constitutional arrangements now in play for penang.

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  2. Finally you have read anil netto articles.......

    He is a catholic

    Cibai.......by the way, do you know that nong nong time ago, orchard road area has a humongous open air kopitiam

    hahahahaha......why everything must comes from singapore one?

    Including one lim yew hock..........or Omar Lim

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    Replies
    1. cibai, no I haven't read anil's article but I will attempt to

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  3. I used to live in the Penang inner city area , but moved out , like so many others.
    My own property was well maintained and modern inside, but the neighbourhood was getting run down, dangerous and unpleasant.
    The inner city has been hollowing out for decades, and it is unfair to single out the PR government being at fault.
    In fact , in the last 2-3 years the inner city environment has been improving markedly. The Penang government has encouraged private sector Investment there, and many run down buildings have been given a new lease of life, converted into cafes, pubs, retail outlets and hotels.
    Heritage rules are still enforced, the original building cannot be demolished.
    There is a price to that, which is the inner city is getting too expensive to live in.

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  4. 'Bugis Street-kan Georgetown'

    wow, what a phrase man!

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    Replies
    1. hahahaha.....the cina word 'kan' very flexible one.....and when sentences constructed using the cina 'kan' and the melayu 'kan'.....the effect can be aploplexic ( spelling ?)

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    2. not 'cina' word but hokkien word, wakakaka

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  5. I've been looking for a language Where "fuck" is a perfectly innocent and polite word...wakakakaka. .

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