Penang Watch

Look like there was scant regards to conserve the core area of Penang's heritage zone!

(From Penangmedia)

For any Penangites who have watched the movie ‘Lust, Cautious’ by
Ang Lee, the street scene shot in Church St Ghaut against the backdrop
of Yeap Chor Ee Building and the Customs House Clock Tower is a moment
of pride and a reminder again that the view of rows of historical
buildings in George Town is a unique asset that must be preserved for
the better future of Penang. Unfortunately, once again, we are seeing
another insensitive and ugly high-rise new hotel building being
approved by the government in late 2007 to have it next to the tallest
Clock Tower in Penang. In fact the modern-designed hotel will be so
tall that it will over-shadow the Clock Tower and render the tower
totally invisible from the other side of the island once the hotel is
completed in 2011. Such an approval to erect a new high rise in a
designated heritage core zone has clearly violated the UNESCO’s
guidelines on World Heritage sites on preserving the ambience of a
historical area and further jeopardising the chance of George Town
getting into the World Heritage Site listing this year.

Strange thing is, the previous government had stopped approving
plans for many high-rise buildings in the heritage core zone in recent
years but why a project by this KL-based “Asian Global Business Sdn
Bhd” could discreetly bypass the policy.

We must stop this senseless assault to our historic city and don’t
let it from destroying the uniqueness of old George Town.Please write
to our new CM Lim Guan Eng and let’s not perpetuate and condone the
mistakes made by the corrupted BN government.

- YT Lim