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Page 11
 
 

Seven Storey Intruder

KUALA LUMPUR'S DECISION to put up a seven-storey building at the high court grounds has drawn strong protests. Badan Warisan president, Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, opposes the proposed federal building. Heritage Trust also objects. The extension it says will block the courthouse vista. The Court, built in 1905 for SS$200,000 is protected under Antiquities Act 1976. It is also one of the American Express Heritage Trail buildings, as the Penang Tourist Guides Association have pointed out.

Landmarks in the vicinity are St Georges Church, the Penang Museum and the Light St Convent; the three buildings exude history and each wears a distinct style of architecture. To add insult to injury, KL also plans is to remove the Logan memorial, built to commemorate an outstanding lawyer and scholar who also editor of the Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. Penangites and Logan’s descendants here will be outraged

The stubbornness of Kuala Lumpur seems highhanded especially, as Mdm Kee Phaik Cheen has revealed, the state in fact offered another site at the Dewan Sri Pinang grounds. Dato Eddie Choong, president of the Penang Ratepayers Association says that the Federal government should respect the feelings of the Penang people. For some reason the Penang Bar Committee has remained silent

KL has many questions to answer. Why should the new building squeeze itself into the courts grounds? If the old building is to be retained as a court house why cannot it be retained as a division of the high court, the other divisions being housed in the new building. The library, after it was deprived of its vast room, has had its great collection of books scattered, and lawyers and judges deprived of sources of research into the law. Should not the library be put together again and housed in the new building? And because Georgetown is most of it heritage should not the plan be open to public inspection so that the public sees it does not violate the character of the city

Although the British colonial regime has gone the administration continues the colonial style of government. Orders, not consultation, are the order of the day. KL must not be rash and humbly enter into talks with the state, the council and with caring NGOs

Second Thoughts?

IS PULAU BURUNG to be reprieved? It seems that the state is now looking for an alternative site to dump the island's rubbish. Meantime, assemblywoman Tan Cheng Liang (Jawi) continues her opposition; she says that the money - RM30-38 per ton for transfer costs - should be spent on an awareness campaign to reduce the weight of garbage. The woman rep battles on, valiantly and alone. The DAP and Keadilan do not seem interested but that is not surprising seeing that the all embracing political culture persuades them to ignore a territory regarded as MCA; otherwise why do they ignore a glaring environmental problem which surely calls for a joint effort by all, irrespective of political persuasion? As for UMNO, its silence after the initial demonstration is unacceptable. Is the fate of a few Malay fishermen too insignificant to trouble them?