Penang considers adding the Bukit Bendera funicular railway, Makam Datuk Koyah, and other historic locations to its official state heritage list.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang is preparing to expand its state heritage list, with the more than a century-old Bukit Bendera funicular railway stations and track among the sites being considered for recognition.
State Tourism and Creative Economy executive councillor Wong Hon Wai said other sites in the pipeline included Makam Datuk Koyah in George Town and the Kwangtung and Tengchow No. 1 Cemetery.
He added that the state was continuing to identify and list significant sites and cultural elements under its heritage framework.
“There are a few more in the pipeline, and we have listed some of them,” he said.
Wong added that Penang enacted state heritage legislation about 15 years ago and has since continued identifying sites for inclusion on the list.
The effort formed part of the state’s broader push to preserve its heritage and living culture.
Wong said Penang was also supporting joint applications for Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage recognition, including one for the Chingay procession involving Malaysia and Singapore.
Another proposed Unesco application, Story Weaving: Coastal Towns and Settlements, George Town and the Indian Ocean, involves India, Malaysia and several other parties, with Penang represented by the Kapitan Keling Mosque in George Town.
“It is still in the initial stage,” he said.
Wong stressed that preserving living culture was central to Penang’s creative-city model, as visitors were drawn not only to its food, beaches, hills and heritage sites, but also to cultural practices that remained active within the community.
“What is more important to them is that the culture is still alive,” he said, citing joss-stick and paper makers, sign painters and clan associations that continued traditions passed down through generations.
He described Penang as representing a more culture-based creative-city model, alongside Malacca and Ipoh, while countries such as Japan and South Korea had developed their creative industries around high technology, information technology and entertainment.
“For Penang, we are working hard to ensure that the arts and culture sector, as well as the creative sector, flourishes,” he said.
In May, Penang gazetted 50 cultural heritage items.
These included 15 heritage sites, seven intangible cultural heritage elements and eight heritage food items.
Among the intangible cultural heritage listings were the Chingay procession, St Anne’s procession, Penang Tanjong dialect and Silambam, an Indian martial art.
