Penang

GEORGE TOWN (July 4): Some 29 villages in Penang might face the risk of ‘disappearing’ forever, including its Malay heritage culture, following rampant development projects in the area, say academicians.

Universiti Sains Malaysia Policy Research and International Studies Centre director Assoc Professor Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said most of the affected villages were now located in the north-east district.

Among the affected villages are Kampung Bagan Dalam, Kampung Batu Maung, Kampung Batu Uban, Kampung Binjal, Kampung Buah Pala, Kampung Dalca, Kampung Dodol, Kampung Gajah, Kampung Genting, Kampung Lima Kongsi, Kampung Makam, Kampung Melayu, Kampung Nelayan, Kampung Padang Benggali and Kampung Pisang.

Azeem Fazwan said apart from the rampant development projects, land ownership was also a contributing factor to the issue as the lands they were occupying belonged to other people.

“One of the factors causing villages in Penang to slowly disappear is land ownership. When the landlords develop the land [of the village], that village will be gone forever, given another name and so on.

“This had happened before and is already happening. If we look at villages in Sungai Nibong here for instance, they were long gone from the Penang map because the lands are now being developed into housing projects, condominium and others.

“Although at one point there might be people living there, the villages are not there anymore. This is the challenge that is being faced in this state,” he told Bernama recently.

Azeem Fazwan said the implementation of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) projects had also contributed to the “disappearance” of such villages in the state as these projects involved land acquisition exercise.

He said if PTMP were to materialise, the Penang landscape would change and the current villages would be gone, too.    

“If this [PTMP] were to happen, the landscape of Penang would totally change especially in the south-west district. So, when the development begins to spread to the south-west district, the current villages in Bayan Lepas, Teluk Kumbar, Batu Maung and Teluk Bahang will disappear,” he said.  

Therefore, he said, it was possible for these traditional villages to be out of the picture in five years’ time if there were no efforts by stakeholders to protect and preserve the villages.

Other villages that might be at risk are Kampung Permatang Tepi Laut, Kampung Permatang Tok Subuh, Kampung Pondok Upeh, Kampung Pokok Asam, Kampung Pulau Jelutong, Kampung Selut, Kampung Siam, Kampung Sungai Nibong Kecil, Kampung Tanjong Tokong, Kampung Teluk Air Tawar, Kampung Teluk Kumbar, Kampung Tengah Jelutong, Kampung Tengah Air Itam and Kampung Terang.

Academician Professor Datuk Ahmad Murad Merican said the current traditional villages must be gazetted under the National Heritage Act to ensure that the villages would not be out of the picture.

He said the state government should play its role in gazetting the villages immediately so that the identity of the Malay community in the areas remained protected and intact.

“The first challenge in gazetting traditional villages is to carry out inventory and define what is meant by traditional village. The definition of traditional village has not been formalised. Not all 660 villages in Penang can be considered as traditional village.

“So, we choose a strategic village, for instance, to be turned into traditional village,” he said.

Do not ask your BFF about the value of your home. Click here at The Edge Reference Price to find out.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 4, 2016. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.

SHARE
RELATED POSTS
  1. INFINITY8 to open its first coworking space in north Malaysia in 3Q2024
  2. Ancubic Group unveils sales gallery and breaks ground for A-Park Batu Kawan in Penang
  3. Chow: PDC developing three industrial parks with total investment of RM3.2b