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Notes from Council by Elizabeth Cardosa
May-June 2010

Bulletin Licence Renewal Delay
We apologise for not getting out the March-April 2010 issue of Buletin Warisan. Our KDN license lapsed in February and we applied for a renewal of the licence in November 2009. In previous years, this process has taken two to three months but for some reason, it was unusually delayed this year and we have only just received the new licence.

Our e-news continues to be sent out twice a month for those who like be take updated on a more regular basis. Members who are not already receiving the e-news should contact the Secretariat with their updated contact details.

Suffolk House – Update

It is now almost six months since we opened Suffolk House to the public. We have been working on fine tuning our service and training our staff.

Most heritage and historic buildings which have been restored in Malaysia, and which are being used commercially, have a primary function as a hotel or homestay, restaurant, museum or office. We hope that with Suffolk House, we are able to expand the use of such properties by introducing a combination of activities which retain the original character of the place while introducing new elements and functions which help make the site sustainable.

Suffolk House is being managed following a model by other organisations such as the Historic Houses Association where it is open to the general public with a restaurant, meeting and function spaces and museum style rooms on display which together provides an interpretation of the story of the building, the personalities involved, its architecture and the social and cultural context of its heyday.

Our restaurant continues to attract repeat customers and we are also beginning to see the functions which were booked a few months back take place. Visitors are now coming in for both guided and self-guided tours.

The museum rooms have been furnished with antique furniture mainly Georgian, early Victorian and Anglo-Indian, dating back as early as 1810, with some pieces from the early 20^th century.

We have to mention especially Chris Smith and RE Rogers who expedited the shipment of the items from the UK to Malaysia. However, the set up of these rooms have not been completed as we did not have the artefacts and accessories to complete the “picture”.

We have therefore been scouring around to find the types of items which will give visitors an impression of the lifestyle led by the early occupants of the house. We have bought some of these items as well as received donations from various sources, from India as well as from the UK. Thanks to Mark Gibson for helping identify the right period of furniture, and to Dominic Voon, Helen Gardiner adn Peter Davidson for sourcing these items.

Thanks must go to Datin Paduka Melanie Leong for donating a pair of beautiful Hepplewhite antique chairs and a pair of pewter candelabra. Datin Waveney Jenkins, Elizabeth St Claire George, Datin Valerie Albakri and Puan Sri Elizabeth Moggie have also between them generously donated several accessories and other items for furnishing the museum rooms in the house. We have to thank Zehan Albakri for getting some items over from London to us via Iqbal Abdul Rahim and Peter Ferrer who so kindly acted as personal couriers!

We hope that many others will support this project by donating accessories and items, as well as by donating towards the maintenance of the building.

Badan Warisan members will get a discount on the ticket price for guided and self-guided tours. Remember to bring your membership card with you when you visit to enjoy this discount. You can contact Melanie Anthony, our Visitor Services Coordinator, for more information. Tel 04-2281109 or e-mail melanie [at] suffolkhouse [dot] com [dot] my.

Staffing at Badan Warisan’s Secretariat

We continue our search for full time staff to join our small team at Badan Warisan’s office in Kuala Lumpur.

The posts which are available are for general administration and accounts, and for our information services. We are also looking for a part-time staff for our project at No 8 Heeren Street in Malacca.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in finding out more about the jobs available, please contact Elizabeth or Ee Lin at 03-21449273 or e-mail heritage [at] badanwarisan [dot] org [dot] my

Membership Renewal

We value your continued support and thank all members who have renewed their subscription and sent in donations.

EXTENDED: “Warisan Kertas 2” - Exhibition and Sale of Books, Maps, and Ephemera on Malaya and Borneo By Popular Picture History Resources

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News & Announcements

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Walls Come Tumbling Down, History Bypassed
Would this decision to demolish have been made were the building to have been the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad? Both these buildings were built at the same time, and the design credited to the same engineer, C E Spooner. And yet one is retained, despite having had extensive changes made to its interior, while the other has largely retained its original form. While it may be too late to save Pudu Jail, Badan Warisan hopes that the awareness raised by this will strengthen the resolve members of the public to be conscious of how fragile our heritage is and to speak up for its protection, conservation and preservation.

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Notes from Council
It was an historic moment for Badan Warisan Malaysia when, at approximately 1p.m. on Saturday 4 July 2009, our President, YABhg Tun Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid signed a lease agreement for the management of Suffolk House with YAB Mr Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang, witnessed by about 40 people including the State Secretary YBhg Datuk Zainal Rahim Seman members of the State Ex-Co, the Penang Heritage Trust and Friends of the Botanical Gardens, as well as members of the press and media.

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MERDEKA STADIUM RESTORATION RECEIVES AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FROM UNESCO
Badan Warisan Malaysia congratulates the Merdeka Heritage Trust and Permodalan National Berhad on winning the Award of Excellence for the 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation for the restoration of Stadium Merdeka. We also delighted that the restoration of Suffolk House in Penang received the Award of Distinction. Congratulations to Arkitek LLA Sdn Bhd, HSBC and the State Government of Penang.

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PENANG HERITAGE TRUST AND BADAN WARISAN MALAYSIA ON THE SUCCESSFUL INSCRIPTION OF MELAKA & GEORGE TOWN AS A SERIAL WORLD HERITAGE SITE
BWM is honoured to have played a part in the country’s achievement. During the last 10 years, we have had to add our weight and experience to actively support the efforts to promote the nomination. Last year we authored the World Heritage Site Management Plan (WHSMP) for George Town which was formulated on behalf of the Penang State Government. This plan formed part of the nomination dossier which was submitted to the World Heritage Centre. A WHSMP is a prerequisite for listing.

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Buletin Warisan September - November 2006
Notes from Council - In the past few months, some members and friends of heritage have commented that they would like to know more about the sorts of heritage issues which concern Badan Warisan Malaysia, and how the Council responds to them. This is especially so for those who do not often come to the Heritage Centre nor participate in activities which have been organized for members. To address this, a note on a selection of issues which are raised at Council will be presented in the Buletin Warisan for your greater understanding and appreciation of the efforts by Council towards promoting the conservation and preservation of Malaysia’s built heritage. In this edition, I am focusing on the most recent campaign for Bok House.

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Terengganu's Rich Heritage
In June 2005 a rather mixed gathering of people from the arts, the media, the adventure travel business, photographers and film makers were assembled at the salubrious Sutra Beach Resort north of Kuala Terengganu courtesy of DiGi Telecommunications for a celebration of some aspects of the state’s rich cultural heritage. The primary focus of the occasion was DiGi’s “Amazing Malaysians” contribution to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the individual concerned was none other than the renowned architect and conservationist, member of Badan Warisan YM Raja Dato’ Kamarul Bahrin Shah.

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Report on the Fundraising Dinner 6 December 2007 by Puan Sri Datin Amar Elizabeth Moggie
Malaysians are generous and some donations came from companies we least expected. BWM’s tax exempt status is a great incentive to donors and we were encouraged by people who genuinely supported our cause. We received 3 Platinum donations (4 including Sime Darby), 9 Gold donations, 23 Bronze donations and numerous Warisan donations. Even though some donors did not want to attend the dinner, all 62 tables were filled.

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TOWN PLANNING AND CONSERVATION: WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
In the preservation of the streetscape or heritage enclaves, we should take a new course – leasing the properties for long periods, instead of selling them outright. The biding process should be open to investors in the country and abroad. The period suggested is a 50-year lease, and the government needs to ensure that these properties are protected when the lease term expires, and this needs to happen before anything is signed. We should not sign away our architectural jewels.

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Events

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