Penang marks decade of George Town's Unesco World Heritage Site listing

PENANG (July 8): The Pearl of the Orient yesterday marked George Town's 10th year of being listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, which culminated with the George Town Heritage Celebration Street Festival.

The festival was held from 6pm to 11pm yesterday and featured 25 community workshops which showcased culture and traditions through food, games, crafts and language, reported Bernama.

"While it wasn't easy for us to receive the inscription, neither was it easy for us to manage the responsibility," chief minister Chow Kon Yeow (pictured) said while giving a speech at the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site 10th Anniversary Celebration and George Town Heritage Celebration 2018 yesterday, reported Bernama.

"Therefore, we wholeheartedly appreciate the status and have been working relentlessly over the weekends and overtime to care for our site and to protect, manage and safeguard our cultural heritage," he added.

Chow said "for the past 10 years the state government had risen above hiccups and challenges, explored sustainable, creative and innovative approaches in managing one of the most complex cultural heritage site in the world".

He also added that the annual celebrations on July 7 "was testament to the ability to collectively celebrate differences and appreciate similarities while commemorating the significant recognition from Unesco".

Thousands of tourists visited the five-hour event themed "Potential – Of the Past, In the Present, For the Future".

Chow also hoped that Putrajaya and the National Heritage Department could work with the state and also provide funds for the preservation of the heritage site.