INTRODUCTION

In the eyes of the world, it is the multicultural character of George Town and Melaka that sets them apart from other World Heritage Sites. The historic centres of the two cities are cultural sites in Malaysia, jointly listed as a World Heritage Site in July 2008 for their histories of trade and civilizational encounter, their living traditions and intact townscapes, all of which reflect a confluence and co-existence of diverse cultures. An obvious manifestation of the cities' multiculturalism is the clustering of various religious sites - George Town and Melaka each has a “street of harmony”, where mosque, church and temple have stood side by side for hundreds of years. This tradition of religious pluralism was apparently a factor which persuaded the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to include them in the prestigious list.

George Town, capital of Penang, has not always been celebrated for its historic qualities. Over the last fifty years, the processes of nation-building, local place-making and economic globalization have influenced the public estimation of this former British colonial port city. Its reputation is now greatly enhanced by the recent UNESCO inscription, even though the process of getting listed took almost ten years. Furthermore, this recognition was only possible with the new thinking of UNESCO and its partner ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) in terms of cultural sites. Since the creation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Committee has gradually (some say too slowly) enlarged its purview beyond monumental sites to acknowledge the value of intangible heritage and historic communities.

The story of the “Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca”, it could be said, started in Melaka and continued in George Town. The river port of Melaka dates back to 1400, when it was established by the precursors of the first Malay Sultanate on the Peninsula. It became an illustrious port on the maritime silk route and a stopover on the Zheng He voyages, before being occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch and British in succession.