Wednesday 20 August 2014

Torn Down and Disassembled is not Preserve or Restore

Penang Gerakan expressed regret that East Design Architects director Richard Jong had failed to explain the “disassemble and reassemble” format was acted on which guideline.

Penang Gerakan secretary Oh Tong Keong referred to the approval letter No:JPB/KM/5020/A (MPPP/OSC/PM(2171)/13) that mentioned: Memulihara Bangunan perniagaan No 218 Jalan Macalister sediada Jalan Macalister. Di atas Lot-lot 914,915,916 & 918, Seksyen 13, Bandar George Town, D.T.L,Pulau Pinang.

Oh said the key word in this document is ‘memulihara’, which means to preserve and restore. “Now the building is gone,” Oh said at a press conference at the Penang Gerakan headquarters on Wednesday.




“Be it torn down or disassembled, you simply can’t link it with ‘preserve’ or ‘restore’,” Oh added.

Based on the document, Oh alleged that instruction or instructions from the Penang Municipal Council had been seriously violated.

“The building which has been torn down is a second-class heritage building which must be preserved and restored,” Oh said.

Oh stressed that he was not targeting any individual or company on this issue. “Our concern is always with the preservation and protection of heritage buildings. “But, only Jong can help us to understand the situation better.”

“Even State Executive Councilor Chow Kon Yew and Penang Municipal Council president Datuk Patahiyah don’t seem to know about this project,” Oh added.

Local dailies reportedly quoted Chow as calling for relevant authorities to come out with a guide for future reference.

Oh doubted the second-class heritage building was ‘disassembled’ according to any guideline.

He said the rakyat deserved to know who had approved the demolition and under which guideline was used.

He said a USM professor might have been appointed as consultant for the project. “But expert consultants have no power to approve the demolition of the building,” Oh said.

During the press conference, Oh showed the brochure for the said development.

“The brochure did not mention nor show the existence of the heritage building. If the heritage building is part of the development, it should be made known,” Oh added.

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