Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Starter: Into a World Heritage City
- 1 A Cityscape below the Winds
- 2 Heritage Affairs: Mouse-Deer, White Elephants, and Watchdogs
- 3 UNESCO and the City
- 4 Melakan Row Houses from the Ground Up
- 5 Divide and Brand: Public Space, Politics, and Tourism
- 6 A Melakan Ancestral Village Beyond World Heritage
- 7 Epilogue of a Blessing and a Curse
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - A Cityscape below the Winds
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 July 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Starter: Into a World Heritage City
- 1 A Cityscape below the Winds
- 2 Heritage Affairs: Mouse-Deer, White Elephants, and Watchdogs
- 3 UNESCO and the City
- 4 Melakan Row Houses from the Ground Up
- 5 Divide and Brand: Public Space, Politics, and Tourism
- 6 A Melakan Ancestral Village Beyond World Heritage
- 7 Epilogue of a Blessing and a Curse
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Abstract
After a preface which describes the heritage of downtown Melaka, Chapter 1 introduces the theme of the book: UNESCO World Heritage and urban politics in Melaka, the most celebrated of Malaysian historic cities which is inscribed, together with George Town, on the World Heritage List since 2008. Afterwards, the chapter presents the field site, its history, and its inhabitants, in the context of the city's geographic, political, and administrative configurations. This is followed by a reflection on the ethnographic fieldwork carried out by the author in Melaka between 2012 and 2014. This research is primarily based on interviews with, and participant observation among, a wide range of interlocutors: from residents to heritage experts, and from public officials to activists.
Keywords: the politics of heritage, UNESCO, World Heritage Convention, the cityscape, Melaka, Malaysia
On a hot day in December 2012 I was sitting on the walkway of the Melaka River with Mr. Christopher and Mr. Nicholas. Of all the people I have met, these two Melakans were among those who were the most fond of heritage and history. On the other side of the river, the leaning church of St. Francis Xavier was towering above Padang Nyiru where, some months earlier, excavations had led to the discovery of the ruins of Bastion Victoria, part of the old fort. A couple of metres away, the logo of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stood beside a big sign on an old wall: ‘Welcome to Melaka World Heritage City’. Early that year the construction of a multistorey car park on that piece of land was announced, but the Malaysian Department of National Heritage was able to persuade Melaka's authorities to stop the construction project to preserve the ruins. For months there were no clear plans, except for a couple of informative banners showing the logo of the Department of National Heritage. Rainwater was filling in parts of the excavation site.
Mr. Christopher and Mr. Nicholas were discussing the future of the bastion: Was the government going to rebuild it like Bastion Middleburg? For how long would the ruins be left in that state of neglect? Where was UNESCO? Was the car park going to be built there anyway?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- World Heritage and Urban Politics in Melaka, MalaysiaA Cityscape below the Winds, pp. 23 - 58Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2021