MELAKA TO BE A WORLD HERITAGE CITY

MELAKA TOWN : An area covering 42.37 hectares of prime land and 187.13 hectares covering the old city centre has been proposed to the World Heritage Body by UNESCO for Melaka to be a World Heritage City.

The area covers the Civic Zone which include St. Paul's Hill and its surrounding areas, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Jalan Tokong and Jalan Pantai commercial areas and the Melaka River.

General manager of the state Muzium Board (PERZIM), Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Wahab said that the areas listed were solely based on discussions between local and foreign historians and the various criteria and guidelines from UNESCO.

Abdul Karim said that the porposed area is believed to be the oldest since the founding of the city which is also known as the "Old Melaka".

"St. Paul's Hill is also called the 'Melaka Hill' has been the focal point since the days of the Melaka Sultanate, Portuguese, Dutch and British," Abdul Karim told Mingguan Melaka.

The commercial areas are mainly based on its cosmopolitan fators with its unique architecture and preservation of the Portuguese, Dutch, British, Chinese, Malay and Indian buildings up to its present day.

Touching on the Melaka River, Abdul karim said that the river had played its important role as the main port which has dealt with its entrepot and spice trading during the good old days.

Besides Melaka, the old centre in George Town, Penang has also been included in the UNESCO's list of heritage cities.

Mingguan Melaka : 5 Nov - 11 Nov 2000. Issue 19

Copyright © 2000 by IKSEP, Melaka . Issue 19 (5 Nov - 11 Nov 2000)