THE key to the revitalisation of Penang’s capital includes better governance and more opportunity for direct participation in the city’s management, says Neil Khor

** This story first appeared in the September 1, 2008 issue of Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge. 

PENANGITES recently mounted a wonderful three-day celebration, now that George Town has finally been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. All those who kept the hopes alive on the matter and worked so hard for it, despite various setbacks, can rest for a moment and enjoy that sense of achievement.

For many of us who have moved away from Penang, to Kuala Lumpur, or even further afield to Singapore, Australia, the UK or US, the celebration was a welcome opportunity to return to George Town and share in that sense of pride — pride which has sometimes been all too lacking in recent years.

But now that the fireworks and the harmony “walks” have ended, many are thinking about the future of Penang. The good news is that there is renewed civic pride with this achievement of making it to the World Heritage listing. It opens up possibilities for the future which would never have happened otherwise — a chance for Penangites to renew their commitment and interest in Penang’s future, rather than just sentimental reminiscences about the past.

The World Heritage listing represents a clear moment of departure, and a chance to brush off the encrusted sediment of “business as usual”, as international recognition can be harnessed to improve governance, stimulate the economy and make realistic, sustainable plans for Penang’s future.

New government, new expectations
On March 8, 2008, a majority of Penangites opted for a new state government. They gave Pakatan Rakyat (PR), with its non-sectarian policies, a definitive victory. Of course, there are many other reasons Barisan Nasional (BN) lost Penang, but most political analysts agree that the issue of quality of life was one of the most important.

Penangites were perhaps hoping that a new state government will chart a different future with a completely new role for George Town as a heritage centre, with all that means in terms of investment and sustainable tourism.

But before that can be delivered, issues like traffic congestion, uncontrolled development, economic stagnation and environmental degradation must be tackled. Internationally, we are now entering a new era. The era of greed, profligate consumption and wholesale destruction is slowly giving way to new patterns of thinking. Human survival is now seen to be dependent upon conservation, cooperation and environmental concern. This is where Penang can both take the initiative and set an example.

George Town as a liveable city
The key to George Town’s revitalisation includes better governance, and more opportunity for direct participation in the city’s management. The past political siege mentality created an ever-widening division between the rulers and the governed. This is no longer applicable if we want to maintain World Heritage status. Henceforth, we must engage the people once more, and reawaken their enthusiasm and pride in their old home town.

Fortunately, in this era of the Internet and YouTube, the actions of those in power are constantly being monitored and commented upon, reawakening the people’s awareness that their opinions matter. Modern technology has expanded the role and influence of Penang’s lively civil society, and now is the time to harness that interest.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Penang are full of ideas and are ever willing to share them. Already under way is the second Sustainable Penang Initiative, where NGOs, local governmental officials and state and federal bodies are all talking about creating an economically and ecologically sustainable Penang. They too see George Town’s listing as an opportunity to do things differently.

But NGOs themselves must embrace change. There must be more engagement with the grassroots, not just acting as pressure groups, but also mobilising the people. At the same time, they have to adapt to the new PR administration now in charge of the state. Developers need to grasp the opportunities that World Heritage listing offers them, including opportunities to exploit the potential of listed heritage buildings in the heart of the city, as has been done so successfully in other places.

Transition to knowledge economy
We all know that Penang was listed as a World Heritage Site because of its unique cluster of pre-World War II buildings. But Unesco also takes into consideration the cultural context of a place. In the case of Penang, its multicultural diversity was especially important, and the values associated with all that. Penang now needs to look ahead. In street parlance, we want to be assured that the char koey teow and mamak mee goreng will taste better in the future.

But things will not taste better if the Penang economy fails to develop into the post-industrial “knowledge economy”. There are already signs that the manufacturing-based companies are no longer growing at a rate that Penangites have become accustomed to. Quality tourists are also shunning Penang. Manufacturing and tourism, the state’s biggest money- earners, are stagnating, and some new thinking is needed.

In 1969, with the loss of Penang’s free port status, the state turned away from trade. Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, Penang’s charismatic and innovative chief minister at the time, made a dynamic decision to concentrate on manufacturing and tourism.

And this was done very well. To be a manufacturing-based economy, Penang needed to develop infrastructure and housing to cope with the massive influx of workers. We did not mind then that we were giving up our public amenities, as unemployment was as high as 15%. By 1990, the state had done well and today, Penang is a middle-income economy, its people earning US$15,000 (about RM49,500) per annum, roughly 40% above the national average.

This new income level supports our commercial economy — our malls, hotels, cafes, private colleges and overseas holidays. Ecologically, we urbanised at a very dramatic rate. This put tremendous pressure on our hills and rivers. The result is the black muck we call Sg Pinang and the perpetual flooding in Caunter Hall. Penang lost its public parks, swimming pools and football fields.

There was little incentive to think differently so long as foreign direct investment continued flowing in. But failure to cope with problems of congestion and ecological sustainability resulted in a progressive degradation in the quality of life. There was also a perceptible move toward the gigantic. PGCC, which is the symbolic climax to this type of unsustainable development, was the straw that finally broke the proverbial camel’s back, consigning the long-entrenched BN government into the opposition benches this year.

Now that the World Heritage listing has come about, Penang has a chance to move on and adapt once more to the changing world, to move on from the days of frantic industrialisation into the post-industrial era. If in the past, we looked away from George Town, now is the time to re-focus on the city.

Before that can happen, George Town must become a “livable” space once more, rather than a crumbling relic. As mentioned earlier, all three governmental bodies (federal, state and municipal) must work together to engage in an earnest effort of restoration and regeneration. This, we know, will do much to combat crime, and promote cleanliness and orderliness, besides improving the profitability of the area. These are problems that need immediate attention.

Improved quality of life for Penangites will translate into a better environment for high-spending visitors. If foreigners wish to make Penang their “second home”, word-of-mouth promotion will soon bring in the tourist dollars, whilst adverse reports will do the very opposite. For too long, we have concentrated on tourists who use our facilities without contributing very much to the economy. It is time that we put our own people’s interests first. If George Town becomes a “livable” space, the heritage tourists and other big spenders will follow.

Managing change
Penang should now be developing the post-industrial knowledge economy, and Penang’s engineers are already leading the way. In companies like Agilent and Intel, Malaysians are involved in intricate problem-solving work. But the transition will be gradual, and it will be greatly aided by having a thriving and revitalised capital city. World Heritage status would be a great rebranding tool.

The existing infrastructure in Penang can no longer cope adequately with demand. This is because the scramble for rapid development has been allowed to swamp the infrastructure which is needed to underpin it. This problem must now be urgently addressed, and our World Heritage status should give an added incentive to get down to it.

The state government must tackle these deficiencies with renewed determination and innovative ideas. It has been suggested that the introduction of better public transport might take some pressures off the roads, but it will be ineffective if they simply pile into the existing congestion.

The Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) and the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) have been sold to the public as solutions to the congestion problem, but there is no proof that that either of them could do the job.

Furthermore, the LRT simply does not have the passenger carrying capability to make a significant dent in the traffic congestion problem, although it might appeal to tourists and the few who could afford to use it on a regular basis. A solution will have to be found to reduce the impact of so many cars squeezing into the narrow streets of historic George Town.

Like governance, economic sustainability can only be achieved if stakeholders realise the reality on the ground. They need to manage change. Congestion is now so bad that it is putting off investors.

Then there is the problem of crime. In a World Bank survey carried out recently, it was discovered that Penang firms spend more money on security than on R&D. That may be an annual glitch — firms putting in hardware and thus increasing spending dramatically — but it reflects a problem of perception regarding security issues.

But the most important ingredient of the knowledge economy is talent; its human resources. Penang has a high rate of investment in R&D, its companies are not heavily reliant on bank loans, and a third of them derive investments internally. But the irony is that most of our local firms are training workers for the multinational corporations (MNCs). Better salaries and better opportunities elsewhere means that Penang has great difficulty retaining this talent.

With governmental bureaucracy hindering the entry of foreign talent and incentives drawing away local talent, the transition to a knowledge economy is going to be slow. This is not only happening in manufacturing; there are also similar problems in Penang’s health sector. Penang has the lowest doctor-to-patient ratio amongst the urban centres in Malaysia. With more doctors being drawn into the “health tourism” bonanza, how long can our public health service continue to provide the excellent health care we have been enjoying hitherto?

The new PR state government must remember the quality of life issue. Fail to make the char koey teow taste better and it might share the same fate as its BN predecessor.

An equitable society
Not all things are gloomy. In the recent past, George Town has proved its potential to attract investment. Certain investors have spotted good opportunities in the property market — buying and restoring heritage buildings. The evidence is already on the ground. The regeneration of Leith Street, Muntri Street, Love Lane, Armenian Street and the Muslim Endowment properties along Buckingham and Acheen Streets have mostly been achieved from the ground-up.

In most of these cases, it was one major catalytic project that spurred change. The restoration of Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Leith Street is a good example. It sent ripple effects down the road and even spurred similar heritage redevelopments in adjoining Muntri Street. More recently, clan and temple associations have exploited the growing interest in heritage sites.The restoration of the Khoo, Yap and Cheah kongsis have in turn inspired the Teochew and Hokkien associations to restore their properties.

Once again, the heritage listing of George Town has mechanisms to temper commercial imperatives. George Town did not get listed for its buildings alone. It got listed partly because of its diverse and mixed population. The previous state government showed initiative by restoring Muslim Endowment properties. These waqaf properties constitute a significant portion of George Town. Plans are now afoot to convert some of these properties into social housing.

In Buckingham Street, shophouses have been adapted for contemporary needs. Ground floor units were renovated for commercial use whilst the upper floors were converted into social housing. By providing the inhabitants a link to the commercial economy at affordable rentals, these communities can continue to live in George Town, thus adding to the diversity that makes the city so interesting.

George Town’s residential population was dealt a blow with the lifting of the Rent Control Act in 2000. It reduced much of the class diversity and the multicultural mix of the city. However, it gave a new lease of life to some property owners who took it upon themselves to renovate their properties, with the possibility of better rents in the future.

As 90% of George Town is in private hands, there is a limit to what the state government can do. Many of these properties are also tied up in various family trusts. In the past, this has saved George Town architecturally, but has done little to promote adequate maintenance. In short, many of these properties are falling down, and but for World Heritage listing
they might have been demolished.

The state government must now put in place the kind of regulations that exist in most old, historic cities, which require owners to conserve and maintain listed properties. The awarding of local government loans, grants and tax incentives are common and might also be considered.

There is a lot of untapped potential left in the city. Heritage Management Guidelines should help manage this living city. This is important, as the attractions of George Town will be significantly reduced if its diverse population is forced out by rising property prices. Hence, some affordable housing needs to be maintained in the city centre. It is unimaginable not to have the ubiquitous street hawker in our midst.

But more importantly, Penang’s multicultural diversity should be nurtured, from local government downwards. Civil society groups have emphasised the need for more urban parks and spaces where inter-cultural exchange can take place.

A well-designed arts centre would be of great benefit. There is already an Arts for Education programme involving schoolchildren. There now needs to be a comprehensive arts and cultural agenda with the aim of making George Town a city for the arts as well as commerce.

Above and beyond the three Cs (congestion, crime and cleanliness), the state government can take a lead role by transforming existing government properties into inter-cultural spaces. Malaysians are ready to move out of their ethnic and cultural silos. The “harmony walk” led by the new chief minister during the first day of Heritage Listing now needs to be the platform for future cultural interactions.

Inter-cultural harmony
Over the past 50 years, we have been aware of our own distinct cultural heritage but saw little incentive to develop it. So, we must not spend the next half-century looking backwards through rose-tinted glasses. We need a renewed awareness of George Town’s identity and future potential.

Malaysians also need to start looking at each other and learning from each other. World Heritage status means the celebration of universal values, the same values that have made Penang great. George Town’s listing is a new opportunity to do things differently. It is time to bring together all those who share the same aspirations for Penang and Malaysia.

George Town is not merely a symbol of inter-cultural harmony, it must be the personification of CAT (competence, accountability and transparency) governance and an international example for sustainable development. Such opportunities come but once in a lifetime. “Penang Leads” is our motto and lead we shall on a global stage. That will make all Malaysians proud.
 
Neil Khor Ph.D is the author of Glimpses Of Old Penang and other social historical accounts of Penang. He is currently post-doctoral fellow at the history department of the Faculty of Arts, University Malaya.

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