The cost of heritage conservation
Badan Warisan Malaysia president Lim Wei Ling had castigated MBPP for approving the demolition of the old Rex Cinema for a condominium project, pointing out the 84-year-old building’s architectural, social, cultural and heritage and the loss to future generations.
“Preserving the facade will not be enough. The Rex Cinema was built with significant interior Art Deco features and details, and these should be maintained,” she said in a statement.
Lim also highlighted the recent demolition of another heritage building in Clove Hall, lamenting the irreplaceable loss of a historic piece of architecture on the island.
In response to the criticism, Rosli said the Clove Hall building was not listed or gazetted as a heritage building.
“It is not practical to list all private buildings outside the heritage sites or for the state to acquire these buildings to protect them as heritage buildings,” he said.
He said the state could not be using public funds to acquire heritage buildings just to preserve it without justifying if such a move has economic benefits to the general public.
“Asking the state to take over these buildings will incur a lot of public funds so this is not practical,” he said.
He also noted that there were no good incentives or direct benefits for owners of these buildings to preserve the properties too.