Penang gazettes 15 heritage sites this year

GEORGE TOWN (May 28): Penang has officially gazetted 50 cultural heritage items this year under the Penang State Heritage Enactment 2011 as part of efforts to preserve the state’s rich cultural treasures.

State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the inaugural gazettement involved 15 heritage sites, seven intangible cultural heritage elements and 28 local heritage food items.

“Among the 15 heritage sites gazetted on May 7 are Cherok Tok Kun Inscription, Fort Cornwallis, the Guar Kepah Archaeological Site, Penang Free School, Kapitan Keling Mosque, Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi and St George’s Church.

“For the intangible cultural heritage category, unique elements such as nasi kandar culture, kopitiam culture, the Thaipusam procession, the Chingay procession, the St Anne’s Festival in Bukit Mertajam and the Penang Tanjong dialect were gazetted on Jan 22, followed by the Nillaikalakki Silambam martial art on May 7,” he said in a statement today.

He said the Teong Guan Phor Thor festival is currently in the process of being gazetted, while Penang’s diverse gastronomy also received recognition through the gazettement of 28 heritage food items, including nasi kandar, pasembor, char kuey teow, asam laksa, Hokkien mee, roti benggali, cendol, teh tarik and ais kepal.

Wong said the institutional recognition was not merely an administrative procedure, but reflected the state government’s strong commitment to preserving historical memory and social identity, while positioning cultural heritage as an important asset for tourism and the creative economy.

He said the move would also pave a stronger path for Penang’s cultural heritage to be elevated to the national level under the National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645), with the potential to be nominated to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in the future.

“2026 can be regarded as a significant year that sees Penang’s cultural heritage reach a higher, deeper and more organised level of protection.

“The achievements attained in the field of cultural heritage this year are highly commendable and have created a new record never achieved in recent decades,” he said.

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