Introduction
George Town, Penang was established in 1786 by the British and as such has more than 200 years of urban
history. Apart from colonial buildings, George Town has more than 5000 units of traditional shophouses with
heritage value. These are mainly low-rise two- or three-storey buildings in which the residents used to work
downstairs, typically in their family businesses, and live upstairs. Efforts to conserve George Town’s urban
heritage began in the early 1970s, but the first formal public policy to protect heritage buildings was published
only in 1985. Penang has submitted a joint application with Melaka to be listed on the UNESCO World
Heritage City List in 2005. UNESCO has deferred a final decision on the listing until, amongst other things,
specific laws are adopted to protect these buildings. These laws were first presented and passed by Parliament
in 2005. At the end of August 2007, a third evaluation will be conducted by a UNESCO expert but a public
briefing organised by the local planning authority to facilitate this visit was attended by only one
representative from a government agency. So while there is strong support from the government and public
interest groups, there is still no ground swell of support from the public in general to protect George Town’s
urban heritage.