OPTIMIZING THE VALUES OF MALAYSIAN HERITAGE IN THE 21
STCENTURY
By Wahiza Abdul Wahid1, Juliana Manan2
1. Introduction
Malaysia is one of the Southeast Asian countries particularly known for its multi-ethnic with a current population of 32,878,829 (worldometers.info, September 28, 2021). With a total land area of 328,550 square km, Malaysia consists of two distinct geographical regions which are the Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia.
Plate 1. A map of Peninsular and East Malaysia
Besides being a multi-ethnic country, Malaysia is also a multicultural and multilingual society with its ethnic groups that maintain separate cultural identities (Kahn, Joel S, 1998) and being recited by Andaya and Leonard Y (1982) as ‘Asia in miniature’. Therefore, the varied cultures originated from the different group of people in Malaysia had shaded the culture of Malaysia. The cultures were the indigenous tribes, followed by the Chinese and Indians who later came through trading. Malaysia was also influenced by the British, Persian and Arabs. All these had furnished to Malaysian unique and distinctive cultural identities as it is currently portrayed.
Current Scenario of the Cultural Heritage in Malaysia
Frerks, Goldewijk and Els van der Plas (2011) stated that cultural heritage can be at its most vital point critically at times of political or economic crisis and emergency. It is not a surprise that in time of violent conflict and disaster that the societies would turn to their history, identity and culture, which helps them to cope with the aftermath of crisis. At this moment they will then realize the importance of saving and preserving their culture from any kind of threats and the need to contribute in restoring the self-respect and identity of the affected communities. Supoj Prompayuk and Panayu Chairattananon (2016) stated that there are four (4) principal reasons of a cultural heritage protection which are:
i. as a cultural memory since a preservation of a cultural heritage supports physical evidence of its history and transfers value knowledge and skills of the ancestors.
ii. as a convenient proximity, where the cultural heritage preservation may uphold the interaction among the environment, people and community activities.
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA
EAST MALAYSIA
iii. as an environment diversity, an identity of the local community with its local artifacts and local artisans.
iv. as an economic gain, in which the preservation of a cultural heritage will benefit its community in saving a cost of new buildings and attractions to visitors.
In defining cultural heritage, it can be either in the form of tangible and intangible cultures.
Tangible cultures are as in the objects of art, archaeological sites or monuments and architectures, whereas, intangible cultures are as in performances, music, ritual, dance, theatre, knowledge, skills, oral history, language and memory. To discuss further, in defining Malaysian culture, the Malaysian government had taken effort in defining it through the National Cultural Policy of 1971.
Diagram 1: The three principles of National Cultural Policy (1971)
Here, the official culture of Malaysia is defined as being based on Malay culture and with the incorporation of Islamic influences. However, the character and identity of a nation is shaped and represented by its cultural heritage, which surrounds the whole spectrum and the living style of its societies. Undeniably, from time to time, transformation occurs. This is due to the external impulse, changes in environment, influences of other cultures and the advance technological development.
Therefore, to rescue and safeguard the existing cultural heritage, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has instigated a program of preservation and conservation by designating both the tangible and intangible endangered cultural and artistic expressions as UNESCO Cultural Heritage preserve (NST, July 2, 2017). UNESCO (2013) in its Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention has stated that the cultural and natural heritage are assets that are priceless and irreplaceable, not only of each nation but of humankind. At the national level, the National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645) was tabled and endorsed in order to ensure conservation and preservation of the National Heritage; including sites, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, underwater cultural heritage, artefacts and
Based on the indigenous culture of this
region
Islam as an important component in
formulation the of national
culture
National Cultural Policy
1971
Suitable elements from other cultures may
be accepted
related items (Suaib et al, 2020). Efforts and initiatives are made and have always been thought of in preserving the cultural heritage of Malaysia, and in fact all over the world and these actions have to be taken because of the speedy phase of modern developments, the unstoppable increase in population and the continuous changes in lifestyle. Making it worse, human greed and weakness, are taking a toll on Malaysian tangible and intangible cultural heritage at present.
Currently, the tangible and intangible heritage, such as crafts, the performing arts, traditional values and norms and anthropological healing practices, have given way to the development of advance modern technology that have affected the behavioural expressions and lifestyles of individuals and the community. Because of the lack of awareness of its significances and values particularly among the younger generations, the traditional intangible heritage is also slowly being forgotten and threatened. Apart from this, as a result from the economic progress, natural heritage sites, such as caves, forest reserves, flora and fauna, are directly or indirectly threatened by human developmental activities. Making it worse, regardless of the rich and diverse heritage buildings in Malaysia, they suffer from problems and threats where many of the buildings are deteriorating and result to threatens of Malaysian cultural values. What could have possibly been the cause is highly due to the poor inheritance of its related documentation (Ali, M., 2018). These are not only happening in Malaysia, but all over the world, especially in well-developing countries. Despite the existence of Tourism and Culture Ministry to supervise and publicize both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, this situation continuously happens, even though with the establishment of the Department of National Heritage in 2006, under the National Heritage Act 2005 (ICH Courier of Asia and the Pacific,2019). The Act contributes towards the preservation and conservation of natural, national and cultural heritages, which include both tangible and intangible and other related matters. All the heritage policies are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture.
2. Issues and challenges facing conservation of Malaysian heritage
Several factors have been recognised to be among what are regarded challenging to the sustainability of Malaysian heritage. The first major factor, which had caused a major turnabout in the life of Malaysian nowadays is the urbanization, changing lifestyles and over-consumption. Several researches had identified that over the past several decades, more and more single, young urban professionals had chosen to migrate to the city areas.
They probably feel and consider that the lifestyle of the old historic areas to be tedious.
Living in condominiums or apartments is now a preference to the younger generations and this is probably due to their desires for privacies. Old historic sites and houses are not left abandoned for the lack of awareness in appreciating the heritage left by their great grandparents. This is a saddening situation seeing that as mentioned by Johar et al. (2010), historic buildings are known as a provider of a symbol of cultural identity and heritage of a society on a particular time.
Second challenge faced could be the management process which is identified to be inappropriate. The responsibility to preserve and conserve the national and cultural heritage is becoming a big challenge not only to the government, but also to the private sectors and local communities. Integrating cultural heritage conservation within a broader framework of reliable development is critical. It will help if the government support research and putting effort to document all researches pertaining to the national heritage by the universities and any institutions involve in heritage preservation and conservation.
Thirdly, a challenge which most countries over the world might face will be the lack of
fundraising or financial issues. Especially in Southeast Asia, the preserving and conserving of cultural heritage has been a low priority for the governments. Shortage of funding from international agencies is a common problem to be faced at present. It is important for the society and communities to be creative in acquiring financial in order to escalate in sustaining the national heritage. It is understood that the World Monuments Fund (WMF) has launched a regional network of participation and partnership for heritage in Asia. The poor forms of governance had also been another challenge. It is not merely the responsibility of the government in the conservation of heritage in each country. The growing concern is that, the responsibility should be held by the community at large and advocates as well. Interactions must occur between heritage stakeholders and the public, non-profit and private sectors to initiate significant resources. In many cases within the Southeast Asian countries, policies, institutions and infrastructure for heritage stewardship remain ambivalent and unsystematic. There are many that still need revision so that many will share responsibilities to conserve, care and maintain the heritage, be it tangible or intangible.
Another challenge of preserving and conserving heritage nowadays is the growing number of tourists from all over the world and their expectations. In the recent years, more and more tourists are more attracted to visiting places of historical and cultural significance.
Having mentioned this, the values of historic buildings and cultural heritage are elevating.
This encourages the authorities to sustain the heritage assets. Visitors or tourists nowadays are demanding, where they desire something more than leisure while visiting places. They have high expectations that they now prefer not just to observe, but to experience the local cultures and participate with the communities in order to feel and enjoy their visits to the fullest.
The lack of public awareness is probably one of the greatest challenges in discussing the national heritage of Malaysia. This can be considered as a major factor bringing to the failure of conserving and safeguarding a nation’s heritage to an expected degree. Ummu Liyana Halim and Noordeyana Tambi (2021) in their research on the awareness of community on the conservation of heritage buildings in George Town, Penang revealed that the local community awareness of the heritage buildings around them are considered at a moderate level, which suggested that they are quite ignorance towards preservation of these heritage buildings. The owner and tenant of the heritage building should work well with the local authorities in joining activities of heritage conservation. The community should be well informed, trained and educated with knowledge on heritage so that they can be more committed to it. To this, it is wise for the government, tourism ministry and other related bodies to organize programs, activities and projects involving a broad range of societies so to create awareness and appreciate the historical, natural and cultural heritage. Through this, the community could possibly value more in relation to its heritage.
There are many ways or methods to be employed and all these will need cooperation or collaboration to make it happen. A systematic process of heritage conservation should be well developed and cultivated to secure the heritage properties for the future generations.
Other to this, environmental degradation is also one of the main concerns. This is obvious in most developing countries, such as traffic congestion, deforestation, water and chemical pollutants, deforestation, soil erosion and several others. Summarizing this, similar to other Southeast Asian region, Malaysia is facing with multiple challenges and issues in safeguarding and conserving its national heritage. This is supported by M. Zaid et al.
(2021) which indicated that the existing Malaysian heritage conservation are not environmentally focused although its legislations on social and economic are sustainable.
The legislations should be improved by integrating the environmentally sustainable criteria in the Malaysian heritage conservation. However, the preserving and sustaining awareness is not just the government’s responsibility but should be shared by many parties and bodies.
This is to ensure that the country’s heritage properties will be handed over to the future generation in their authentic form.
3. The Tangible and Intangible Heritages of Malaysia
Malaysian heritage comprises of different categories under the 2005 Act, as listed under the following table.
Table 1. Categories of Malaysian Heritage under the 2005 Act National Heritage Act 2005
Natural Heritage Natural features of areas in Earths physical, biological formations,
Malaysia geological
features, physio-graphical
features, mountains, rivers, rock
formations, streams, sea shores, any
other natural sites with natural beauty,
including flora and fauna and with
outstanding values in the aspect of
science, history, nature and conservation.
Cultural Heritage Tangible Physical
artefacts produced and
preserved intergenerationally within
Malaysian society (artistic creation,
buildings, monuments or architectures,
products of human creativity showing
cultural significance of Malaysian
society)
Intangible - Performing arts
(folk-music, folk dance,
theatres, drama, etc.)
- Oral traditions (folktales, changed
hymns, idioms and phrases (legends etc.)
- Customs (social practices, religious
ceremonies, festivals, rituals etc.)
- Material
folklores (functional objects
created or made by folk groups)
Being a part of the international spice route several hundreds of years ago, Malaysia has had an interesting past. Celebrating its intriguing cultural diversity, from the people to its architecture, Malaysia reflects a colourful heritage. As always, to understand a nation’s culture, one must first get to know its people. For generations, the Malays, Chinese and Indians and other ethnic groups have been living together peacefully. Altogether, these cultures have influenced each other, thus, creating and portraying a unique Malaysia culture. Besides, many centuries of immigration and trades with foreign countries, such as China, India and Arabs in particular, had resulted to the mix of cultural influences. This is obvious in the intangible art forms such as traditional art performances, such as the Chinese opera, Indian dance and Malay martial arts. Malaysian various religious and cultural festivals have always been appreciated by all, especially the tourists who are also mesmerized by the multi-cultural and religious activities and events they could always enjoy during their visits to Malaysia.
There are still limited data and research regarding the many forms of the intangible heritage art of all over the country as its preservation works are not being actively performed. The development and transmission of societies, cultures, and trends in this fast- moving era causes the task of finding data on intangible culture heritage as challenging.
Following this, preservation work of the intangible heritage in the past is nearly impossible.
Lim et al. (2021) stated that the information regarding intangible cultural heritage is believed to be more difficult to obtain compared to the tangible items since intangible heritage is in mere form.
National Heritage Sites of Malaysia
In discussing the national heritage of Malaysia, at present there are four sites in this country, which had been designated by the UNESCO. The first two UNESCO world heritage in Malaysia are:
i. Kinabalu Park (2000), situated in Sabah (Borneo) – This Park is known to be one of the first national parks established in Malaysia. UNESCO addressed and documented it to become the World Heritage site in Malaysia in 2000 and it became one of the most important natural sites in Malaysia. This Park is believed to be a home to more than 4000 flora and fauna species.
Plate 2. The Landmark of Kinabalu Park
ii. Gunung Mulu National Park (2000), situated in the Northern part of Sarawak (Borneo) – This natural site is classified as Malaysian national heritage due to its caves and karst (landscape underlain by limestone) formations in an equatorial rainforest landscape. It is also well known among explorers to see its gigantic cave system and surrounding rainforest. The land area of this park is approximately 52, 860 hectare and is the house to more than 3500 species of vascular plants, being dominated by Gunung Mulu, which is roughly 2736-meter sandstone pinnacle and Sarawak Chamber being known as the largest cave chamber in the world. It is also believed that Mulu caves had been explored by 100 scientists for 15 months.
Plate 3. The landmark of Gunung Mulu National Park
Plate 4. Locations of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Malaysia
iii. Malacca and Georgetown, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca (2008) – Malacca and Georgetown had been the first cultural heritage site being inscribed by the UNESCO, which combines two urban centers well known for their historic sites and colonial past. These two towns represent 500 years of cultural and trade exchange between the East and West. They also demonstrate the development of an urban settlement that blends the ethnic beliefs and colonial influence in the region.
iv. Archaeological Heritage of The Lenggong Valley (2012) – This is considered as one of Peninsular Malaysia’s most valuable archaeological and cultural sites, inscribed by the UNESCO, seven years ago. The prehistoric age of Malaysia is dated back to this site
Plate 5. The historical city of Malacca Plate 6. The historical city of Georgetown (Georgetown, Penang Malaysia, Published on January 25, 2020, by Sandip Roy on unsplash.com)
where many excavations had been carried out, apart from the oldest human activities which can be traced back at this site. There are lots of evidence and proofs found at this site, such as skeletons, cave drawings, stone tools, weapons, potteries, and others.
Between the years 2014 and 2017, several other natural and cultural sites had been included in Malaysian tentative list. Under natural criteria, National Park of Peninsular Malaysia (Taman Negara), Gombak Selangor Quartz Ridge and Royal Belum State Park are listed, whereas FRIM Selangor Forest Park is listed under cultural site.
Plate 7. The Lenggong Valley (Picture by Nam Onrit published in www.aseanworldheritage.com) Besides natural and cultural heritages in relation to nature and architectures, there are numerous other popularly known tangible and intangible heritage of Malaysia. With thirteen states and three federal territories in Malaysia and its cultural diversity, Malaysia has become a center of attraction for foreign countries and tourists for their visits. The tangible and intangible heritage of Malaysia originated from almost all the states. ‘Silat’,
‘Congkak’, ‘Gasing’, ‘Wayang Kulit’, ‘Sepak Manggis’, ‘Wau’, ‘Sepak Takraw’ are categorized under games and pastimes. ‘Labu Sayong’, ‘Belanga’, ‘Terenang’, wood crafts, metal crafts, hand-woven, ‘batik’, ‘songket’, ‘tekat’, ‘pua kumbu’, ‘keronsang’, ‘cucuk sanggul’ and ‘pending’ are handicrafts. Being a multi-racial country with majority of Malays, followed by Chinese and Indians, the traditional costumes such as ‘baju kurung’,
‘sarong’, ‘baju melayu’, cheong sam’, ‘kurta’ and sarees are common attires widely worn.
Diverse music and dances also exhibit Malaysia’s multi-cultural and multi-racial heritage.
Among the well-known are ‘rebana ubi’, ‘gambus’, ‘kompang’, ‘gamelan’, ‘sape’, ‘dikir barat’, ‘boria’, ‘mak yong’, ‘kuda kepang’, ‘zapin’, ‘joget’, ‘tarian lilin’, Chinese Lion Dance, Dragon Dance, Indian Bharata Natyam, Bhangra, ‘Ngajat’, ‘Sumazau’, Bamboo Dance,
‘Branyo’ and others.
The list of historic, natural, and cultural heritage of Malaysia is endless. No doubt, one needs to live and experience all the above listed in order to understand and fully appreciate Malaysian heritage properties. As culture, be it tangible or intangible is being dynamic, there is a need to sustain and preserve with various approach efforts as discussed earlier. Mason (2002) cited that the values of heritage are contingent and not independently specified as its authenticity cannot simply be found, fixed and unchanging and that these values are usually hypothesized in the conservation subject. It is vital aspect
in cultural heritage conservation in measuring the potential impacts of cultural heritage tourism development on Malaysia’s local communities. More efforts are needed to improve the communities’ quality of life despite considerable constraints.
4. Recommendations in optimizing the values of Malaysian heritage
Malaysian and Southeast Asian’s cultural heritages are altogether unique. They illustrate the dynamic and prevailing traditional communities flourishing in a culture of tolerance, peace, diversity and progression in the middle of both modernization and social change. Cultural resources are being regarded as tourism products and as national pride items. Therefore, preserving and conserving these resources are vital as to generate income and to upgrade the country’s economy. Some actions are required to be taken to account.
The Department of National Heritage has been on the front line in elevating public awareness for the cultural heritage of Malaysia. In cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Istana Budaya and Department of Museums Malaysia and with support from the state government, they are made responsible to preserve and conserve Malaysian national heritage. More efforts are needed in conserving buildings and monuments of historical, architectural, and cultural significance; supporting performances and visual arts; scheduling seminars, seminars, workshops, and tours on heritage;
publications, websites, and competitions; and setting up archaeological galleries. Supports from the government and various parties can be in different forms such as educational courses, personnel training, research activities, establishing museums, exhibitions and others.
Supportive measures and actions should be drawn up to produce incorporated master plans for the historic and cultural sites, develop guidelines for design and urban streetscape, restore and conserve the structures of heritage. Partnerships between all levels of government, stakeholders and bodies may help to initiate ideas for more advantages in securing the national, natural, historic and cultural heritage of Malaysia. For better preservation, the international management guidelines are recommended and could be incorporated into local legal provisions.
New concept of maintenance and management is a necessity. For the purpose of effective management of the monuments, sites and other heritage, a concept based on management is a need, focusing on two components: those who manage from the administrative and academic sides and, those who are mainly responsible for the management.
Simultaneously, a framework can be developed in addressing local issues. For example, more research has to be done in order to facilitate the issues of conserving this heritage.
For example, Salvesen and Keitsch (2021) in their study proposed a framework for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) for Uyghurs community by using a participatory design approach. This framework may be experimented and applied to certain situation in Malaysia.
As for the younger generations who are interested to be recruited for the management, trainings are to be made essential or necessary, which includes the aspect of personnel management, planning, communication skill, human relation, legislation, safety, environment and knowledge in archaeology or any related subject areas. Apart from this, awareness campaigns which are systematic should be organized yearly. This is to develop the sense of belonging, care and love for the culture and heritage of the country. New approach is required and be adopted for the protection and preservation.
The Department of National Heritage has a blueprint for preservation and conservation by recognizing heritage sites and the endangered forms of both tangible and intangible cultural heritages. Malaysian government agencies should be proactive in leading the dialogue pertaining heritage among interest groups. All activities organized should create a win-win situation. By this, the indigenous residents can maintain their sense of identity, while simultaneously helping the economic growth. The citizens should be proud that Malaysia is a great repository of cultural and natural treasures of exceptional value.
Therefore, all Malaysians must play their part in preserving and optimizing Malaysia’s glorious heritage.
5. Conclusion
The richness of Malaysian historical and cultural heritage has been recognized as an asset that could intrigue visitors and help in generating income for the nation. Working on successful agenda for the national heritage, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Department of National Heritage should come with innovative interpretations of historic sites, public art programmes and special cultural events. Occasional cultural events in connection to preserving and promoting the richness of our Malaysian cultural heritage should be frequently organized and carried out to uphold the values and identities of our society.
Heritage preservation in Malaysia often becomes a means of resistance to further urbanization. The main aim is to educate the public about the conservation of the country’s legacy. In order to achieve and to succeed in sustaining, more researchers and expertise are encouraged to conduct extensive historical studies in uplifting societal understanding.
At the same time, this is also to add value to the content of local heritage. Several shortcomings will still occur; however, better plans and management are needed to overcome any issues regarding conserving Malaysian heritage. It is not just through preservation, conservation of almost 200 heritage items including buildings, monuments, cultural, tangible and intangible objects in Malaysia will help to safeguard so that they can be passed on as legacy for the future generation.
It is highly hoped that the intrinsic meanings and values of cultural heritage conservation would transcend and create awareness among all stakeholders, tourists, the local communities, and the younger generations of Malaysia. Malaysian heritage attractions can act as powerful communicators in developing collective national identities. As the attractions do not only represent singular but three distinctive ethnic groups, it is not a surprise when Malaysia is receiving more foreign tourists, especially those who are arts and culture lovers. It seems a lot of efforts to be made by the Department of National Heritage and Museums, however this will help in optimizing the values of the national heritage of Malaysia in the long run.
Many problems and situations are to be tackled for saving our national heritage from damage and creating continuous development. Only because after the pandemic which occurred almost two years ago and boarders were closed, not only Malaysia, but countries all over the world have not been receiving visitors or tourists. It is a great hope that as soon as the boarders open, Malaysia will start to accept tourists who are excited to experience the beauty and uniqueness of Malaysia’s culture and heritage. It is the duty of every Malaysian to appreciate and preserve our rich cultural heritage and be able to attract more to visit our country in the near future.
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