A proposed hotel development threatens to wipeout the historical and cultural identity of a heritage land in Pulau Tikus, Penang. This land is currently home to the only surviving Siamese village community in Penang that came together when Siamese and Burmese began settling on this site almost 200 years ago.

Many residents and businesses on this land are descendants of the Siamese who migrated to Penang and still speak the Siamese language and keep their traditional customs. One of the affected residents is Wan Dee Aroonratana who is a Thai Menora grandmaster and recognized by Penang Heritage Trust as a Living Heritage of Penang, an outstanding cultural expert on the local Siamese customs. His family and other Siamese families have been living in this village for up to 6 generations. Menora, a traditional temple ritual dance originated from the Siamese community in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia is facing succession problems in this country but a traditional Menora dance troupe was proudly born from this Kampung Siam and continues to perform throughout Malaysia and the region to keep the traditional Siamese dance art alive. Several other families from this community also started businesses in the area (the Town of Pulau Tikus) and have very close multigenerational ties with the extended local community and are an integral part of the Pulau Tikus social fabric.

The settlement of Burmese and Siamese people in this village is part of the story of Pulau Tikus that explains how the exiled Thai dignitaries and royal families later took residence in Pulau Tikus (including the renown Prince Damrong Rajanubhap, the first Thai Prime Minister Phraya Manopakorn, Prince Swasti Sophon, Princess Prawet and Secretary to King Rama VII Wibulsawat) and the building of Siamese temples (Wat Chaiyamangkalaram, Wat Buppharam and Wat Sawan Arun) in this area. The continuing presence of the Siamese village community is a vital link to Malaysia’s shared social and cultural history with Thailand. It is also part of the rich heritage and identity of Pulau Tikus.

Development of a hotel on this land threatens to destroy the sense of identity and history of the place. We urge the Penang Burmese community, their current trustees and their development partners in Five Star Heritage Sdn Bhd to affirm that any plans for the land must ensure that the role and significance of this historical settlement for both Burmese and Siamese people, granted ex-gratia by the East India Company on behalf of Queen Victoria in 1845, will be protected and the cultural heritage of the community be respected and continue to exist in Pulau Tikus, Penang.

BACKGROUND:

The land was originally part of a larger parcel (Grant No. 2655) granted in Trust by the East India Company on behalf of Queen Victoria on 30th May 1845 to Trustees elected and appointed by the Penang Burmese and Siamese Community. Grant No. 2655 prohibits the Trustees and their Successors “to grant, bargain, sell, assign, transfer, convert or otherwise alienate the said piece of Ground or any part of parcel thereof but which shall remain, continue and be for the benefit of the Burmese and Siamese Community of Prince of Wales Island and its Dependencies from henceforth forever.”

However, since 1845, the land has been subdivided twice with a series of court proceedings that resulted in the Siamese Trustees managing a larger parcel of the land (12,397 m2; Lot. 2102) where the Wat Chayamangkalaram (Reclining Buddha Temple) is located and the Burmese Trustees managing 2 smaller parcels of land 2778m2 (Lot. 10030) and 2681m2 (Lot. 10029) that respectively include the Penang Burmese Trust Property and the Siamese village community.

On 27th April 2011, the Penang Burmese Trustees entered a joint-venture with Airmas Development Sdn Bhd to incorporate Five Star Heritage Sdn Bhd with the aim of building a budget hotel on Lot. 10029. Ownership of Lot. 10029 was subsequently transferred to Five Star Heritage Sdn Bhd, which on 17th April this year applied to the Local Council (MPPP) for permission to plan for demolition of existing 7 shophouses and 10 wooden houses and to build a 5-storey hotel with 97 rooms and 3 units of shops / offices.

Wanton demolition of traditional shops and houses will destroy a heritage enclave that holds together ancestral traditions, language and faith of a community. It will be a great loss and a shame to the nation if the Siamese minority community that existed for two centuries in Pulau Tikus is forced to disperse and their culture wiped out from this land.