A 200-year-old Siamese village may be flattened to build a hotel.
GEORGE TOWN: A 200-year-old Siamese village is at risk of being demolished and flattened to pave the way for a mega hotel.
Residents of the living heritage, located on an acre of land in Lorong Bangkok, Pulau Tikus, received eviction notices from the new landowner, Five Star Heritage Sdn Bhd, in April with a compensation offer of RM30,000 for each family.
However after staging a protest against the eviction today, the developer is now applying for a court order to evict the residents instead.
DAP’s Pulau Tikus assemblyperson Yap Soo Huey has written to the MPPP and state government urging the authorities not to approve the hotel project, arguing that the residents wanted their cultural heritage to be preserved and recognised.
The village is home to some 40 families in 17 homes who have been residing there for six generations.
Deputy Chairman of the Penang Siamese Society, Boon Leua Aroomratana, 56, a Penang Port worker, who was born and bred in the village, said if the village was demolished, a major part of his life and childhood memories would be erased including close community ties nurtured through the years.
His father, Noo Wan @ Wan Dee Aroomratana, 93, who is a Thai cultural dance or Menora expert, shared his son’s sentiments.
He said a traditional Menora dance troupe was also born from the community and continued to perform nationally and regionally.
Noo Wan also explained that the residents were descendants of the Siamese, who migrated to Penang, and started family businesses in Pulau Tikus.
Many of the other Siamese families in the village recalled that their land was granted to the Siamese and Burmese communities by the East India Company on behalf of Queen Victoria in 1845.
The land was to be held in trust by four trustees that were elected and appointed from among the Siamese-Burmese community.
Early this year, the community was told their land had been sold.
The village is part of a four-acre piece of land with many heritage landmarks like the Buddhist temple Wat Chaiyamangalaram that houses a statue of the Reclining Buddha. There is also a Siamese cemetery within the grounds.
Residents of the living heritage, located on an acre of land in Lorong Bangkok, Pulau Tikus, received eviction notices from the new landowner, Five Star Heritage Sdn Bhd, in April with a compensation offer of RM30,000 for each family.
However after staging a protest against the eviction today, the developer is now applying for a court order to evict the residents instead.
DAP’s Pulau Tikus assemblyperson Yap Soo Huey has written to the MPPP and state government urging the authorities not to approve the hotel project, arguing that the residents wanted their cultural heritage to be preserved and recognised.
The village is home to some 40 families in 17 homes who have been residing there for six generations.
Deputy Chairman of the Penang Siamese Society, Boon Leua Aroomratana, 56, a Penang Port worker, who was born and bred in the village, said if the village was demolished, a major part of his life and childhood memories would be erased including close community ties nurtured through the years.
His father, Noo Wan @ Wan Dee Aroomratana, 93, who is a Thai cultural dance or Menora expert, shared his son’s sentiments.
He said a traditional Menora dance troupe was also born from the community and continued to perform nationally and regionally.
Noo Wan also explained that the residents were descendants of the Siamese, who migrated to Penang, and started family businesses in Pulau Tikus.
Many of the other Siamese families in the village recalled that their land was granted to the Siamese and Burmese communities by the East India Company on behalf of Queen Victoria in 1845.
The land was to be held in trust by four trustees that were elected and appointed from among the Siamese-Burmese community.
Early this year, the community was told their land had been sold.
The village is part of a four-acre piece of land with many heritage landmarks like the Buddhist temple Wat Chaiyamangalaram that houses a statue of the Reclining Buddha. There is also a Siamese cemetery within the grounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment