GEORGE TOWN: The state is hopeful that the Federal Government will classify part of the historic Kampung Tanjung Tokong here as a heritage village soon.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he was hopeful after he was told that Information, Communications and Cul-ture Ministry Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim had forwarded the state’s proposal to the National Heritage Department.
Dr Rais is also believed to have suggested a meeting be arranged between the villagers and heritage officers to determine if the village can qualify for the heritage status.
“Since the ministry has the authority to gazette heritage villages, a reply (to me) from the minister in charge is certainly a step in the right direction,” said Lim.
When asked on the land size of the proposed heritage village, Lim replied that it should be determined by the stakeholders.
He said: “A meeting should be held with the stakeholders, who are the land owners, UDA Holdings Bhd, the village residents as well as the representatives from the ministry.”
Lim said this after a meeting with heritage expert Prof Datuk Dr Wazir Jahan Karim, who is also the chairman of the joint action committee of Tanjong Tokong that was formed to oversee the gazetting of the village as a heritage one.
Dr Wazir said she was pleased with the feedback obtained and she hoped the proposal would eventually be passed.
“It is important that the village, which is over 300 years old, is gazetted as a Malay heritage zone as we do not want to lose any traditional traits that the village has to offer to development,” she said.
The fishing village is said to have existed before British colonialists landed here in 1786. - The Star
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