A PENANG Island Municipal Council (MPPP) councillor has called for a stop to the demolition of all buildings on the island which are more than 50 years old and have architectural value.
Dr Lim Mah Hui further demanded that the MPPP make public the number of historically and culturally significant buildings that had been approved for demolition since 2008.
He said such disclosure was needed as Penangites had been "painfully" witnessing the blatant demolition of historical buildings on the island in the past 12 months, some of which were illegal.
Dr Lim, at a full council meeting at the Town Hall building here yesterday, went on to list a few of the buildings that had been torn down, including the beautiful mansion of Khaw Bian Cheng on Pykett Avenue, two historic bungalows on Burma Lane -- one of which was occupied by former prime minister of Thailand Phraya Manopakorn Nititada and two other bungalows along Brooks Road.
Dr Lim said the Khaw Bian Cheng mansion was torn down without a permit, while in the case of the Burma Lane and Brooks Road residences, two of the three buildings in each location were torn down and only one was left standing in each place.
"This is not preservation. It is architectural and historical mutilation. It is like cutting one limb and preserving the other," he said to the applause of non-governmental organisations' representatives, who had packed the public gallery.
Dr Lim said historic mansions like the one used by the former Thai premier were an important part of the history of Thai Malaysians in Penang, but had been destroyed in the pursuit of profit and under the guise of "development".
"It is myopic to only preserve the buildings in the core heritage zone and wantonly destroy important buildings in the buffer zones and other parts of the city."
Dr Lim called on the state to explain what kind of development was being planned for Penang.
"I have heard that some policy makers want to model Penang like Singapore and Hong Kong, both of which are densely populated international financial centres.
"Perhaps, we should consider a combination of Kyoto and Xiamen, cities which are similar to Penang in terms of characteristics in size, geography and services."
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