The document discusses the issues and challenges of conserving historical buildings in Malaysia. It identifies key issues such as lack of public participation, environmental threats, technical difficulties, poor financial support, and pressures from rapid development. Case studies on specific historical sites like the Kuala Lumpur Chinatown and Sultan Abdul Samad Building help illustrate how these issues can lead to deterioration or demolition of important architectural heritage. Promoting public education and establishing legal frameworks are suggested as ways to help balance preservation of historical buildings with new development initiatives.

1. ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION
ISSUES & CHALLENGES OF THE CONSERVATION
OF BUILDINGS IN MALAYSIA

2. a b s t r a c t
Historical buildings fundamentally portrays the most distinctive aspect of the past history and
culture of the place.
Malaysia, has a rich heritage of historical buildings with fine craftsmanship and architectural
quality. These admirable historical features and legacy are formed by the past work of a man.
Hence it is vital to conserve and preserve historical buildings; as they are the asset to the
country that provides the sense of identity and continuity in our current fast changing world
for the future generations.
However, some of these historical buildings are at risk from defects and are not well taken
care; due to the insignificant public participation, environmental issues, technical issues,
poor financial support, and the rapid country development.

3. 01
Introduction
02
-
03
The understanding towards the practice upon building
conservation is still limited, even though Malaysia has
numbered heritage buildings across the country. Hence,
different meanings can be interpreted to describe
building conservation in Malaysia, which is subject to the
wrong perception of the public towards building
conservation, that are strongly related to the issues and
challenges by conservation in Malaysia.

4. 01
Objective of study
02
-
03
To improve understanding towards architectural
conservation in Malaysia
01
02 To understand relationship between conservation
and factors of issues & challenges
03 To propose solution for issues and challenges
faced by conservation works in Malaysia

5. 01
What is conservation?
02
-
03
Retention of existing buildings (historic/heritage).01
02 Involves technical activities such as:
● Conserve(prevent) & preserve(prolong)
● Restoration without alteration

6. 01 General Issues Of The Heritage Conservation in Malaysia
02 Case Studies and Analysis
03 Questionnaire Regarding Public Awareness

7. RAWDATA
Source from Kamal et.al, n.d.

8. ISSUES and CHALLENGES
of heritage buildings in Malaysia

9. ISSUES and CHALLENGES
of heritage buildings in Malaysia
01 Insignificant public participation
02 Environmental issues
03 Technical issues
04 Poor financial support
05 Rapid country development

10. 01 Insignificant Public Participation
“Public Participation”:
Process which an organization consults with interested individuals or
government entities to prevent disputes.
THREATS
• Lack of awareness
• Lack of knowledge on importance of heritage conservation
ISSUES
• Historical buildings not considered as heritage sites due to insignificant
public participation.
SOLUTION
• Educational institutions should cultivate the importance and spark the
interest of heritage building conservation in students since young
Bok House, Kuala Lumpur
An 80-year-old mansion in Jalan Ampang was
nominated as heritage site but rejected and
demolished due to insignificant public
participation.

11. THREATS
• Building on cliff
• Unstable soil condition
• Humid surrounding
• Urbanized polluted surrounding
ISSUES
• Deteriorate old heritage buildings
SOLUTION
• Structure relocation
02 Environmental Issues
Queen Victoria Fountain, Merdeka Square
Built in 1904 in England and brought to Malaysia. Originally
located near Pasar Seni but relocated to Merdeka Square.
Interesting Art Nouveau tiles forms intricate art and sculptor
work & design.

12. 03 Technical Issues
THREATS
• Identification of old buildings
• Absence of important technical data
• Collection of specific rare materials
• Shortage of capable expertise and labour
ISSUES
• Increase difficulty in dividing scope of work
• Supply of materials and resources could not be determined accurately
• Cause overall conservation progress to be laborious and time consuming
• Shortage of original materials and experienced craftsmen reduce the
authenticity of the heritage building
SOLUTION
• Government should provide ample support to concerned authorities
• Cultivate more talents in architecture conservation field
Balai Seni Negeri, Kedah
Built in 1912，the building has been gazetted under the
Antiquities Act 1976 as National Heritage by the Ministry of
Culture, Arts and Tourism under National Museum to conserve
and preserve for the purpose as a one of the historical places
and will be able to offer more as a tourist destination.

13. 04 Poor Financial Support
THREATS
• Poor financial support from government, NGO Badan Warisan Malaysia, and owners
• Conservation project requires high material, labour, and maintenance cost
ISSUES
• Underfinanced situation will lead to suspension of conservation project
SOLUTION
• Heritage tourism could be the solution to the issue. As heritage tourism develops in
high pace, higher financial support will be acquired from the tourism profit, which also
solves most of the technical issues.

14. 05 Rapid Country Development
THREATS
• Traditional tangible and intangible elements are discarded and eliminated
ISSUES
• Development pressure from infrastructure and real estate projects that
requires demolition of heritage buildings
SOLUTION
• Awareness campaign should be held constantly such as educative tour to
visit heritage buildings helps cultivate passion and importance on building
conservation.
• Public petitions with signature collection on heritage registration will help
to designate heritage buildings as landmark and prevent demolition.
Pudu Prison, Kuala Lumpur
The 115-year-old building’s 394m-long prison wall
was brought down on June 21, 2010. The whole
prison complex was then demolished in 2012 to
make way for a mixed development project.

15. CASE STUDY EXAMPLE 1:
KUALA LUMPUR CHINATOWN (KLC), PETALING STREET
Old heritage shophouses in Petaling Street, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur

16. KUALA LUMPUR CHINATOWN (KLC), PETALING STREETINTRO
Rich in Oriental Culture and Heritage;
pre-war shophouses are embodied with olden South Chinese
architectural styles and historical values.
These heritage shophouses document lives history in Malaysia.
Important to the cityscape of KL; as there is combination of old in the
modern city of KL.

17. RAPID COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT ON THE HERITAGE SHOPHOUSES IN CHINATOWNISSUES
MODIFIED
• Lok Ann Hotel, Jalan Petaling; stopped operation to give way to
the MRT project since 2008.
REPLACED
• Replacement of old shophouse with tall building.
DETERIORATED
• Lack of proper care on old shophouses, plants growing on walls
and roofs.

18. 01
1. Lack of proper care attention; as society
are drawn to the new developments that
enhances economic growth
2. Natural ageing process of building; no
conservation. Buildings are redeveloped
and modified; as pre-war shophouses do
not serve high building efficiency and
provision of high profit under the economic
pressure today.
shophouses in KLC as of current day:
Deteriorated / Modified /
Replaced
Society is being
drawn to new
developments
that enhances
economic growth
Replacement of old
shophouse with tall building
Lok Ann Hotel stopped operation to
give way to new MRT development
Modern day
society
New
developments
(attracted)
High profit

19. TO BALANCE BUILDING HERITAGES AND RAPID DEVELOPMENTSPROPOSEDPROCEDURES
+
heritage buildings new rapid developments

20. 1. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Federal and local government authorities and
agencies to establish a responsible and
manageable interpretation of heritage
buildings in the phase of the present day
ambitions in new developments.
2. IMPLEMENTATION
New developments to be built in harmony
with local heritage buildings cultural and
settlement layouts. If an urban reconstruction
is to entail the relocation of an existing
heritage building, the heritage value of the new
site needs to be properly assessed; to avoid
any irreversible losses.
+
authorities to be responsible for conservation heritage new developments

21. CASE STUDY EXAMPLE 2:
SULTAN ABDUL SAMAD BUILDING, KUALA LUMPUR
Exterior perspective of the heritage building; Sultan Abdul Samad building in Kuala Lumpur

22. RAPID COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT ON THE HERITAGE SHOPHOUSES IN CHINATOWNISSUES
MODIFIED
• Lok Ann Hotel, Jalan Petaling; stopped operation to give way to
the MRT project since 2008.
REPLACED
• Replacement of old shophouse with tall building.
DETERIORATED
• Lack of proper care on old shophouses, plants growing on walls
and roofs.

23. ISSUES and CHALLENGES
01 Lack of Financial Report
02 Lack of Priority
03 Lack of Guidelines
04 Lack of Technical Knowledge
05 Limitations

24. 01 Lack of Financial Support
The Straits Times (2017) reported that the current fund for heritage buildings
(including the Sultan Abdul Samad building) conservation is left with RM
100,000; while the request for an additional RM 150 million for heritage
conservation was not granted. RM 255 million was instead spent on the
beautification and upgrading works within the KL area.
This shows the negligence of the public towards past developments in
comparison to initiatives towards later projects.
It was mentioned that the conservationists responsible failed to provide
necessary measurements for the Sultan Abdul Samad building which led to
the drop in priority.

25. 01 Lack of Financial Support
Cracked walls
Growth of plants on
roof
Abandoned; no
proper care and
attention
River of Life projectSultan Abdul Samad building
River of life project worth
RM255.5 million just to:
1. Upgrade water
treatment system
2. Beautify riverside
areas in heritage
zone
Huge sums funding allocated
to preserve heritage buildings
are instead spent on new
developments and
beautification.

26. The Sultan Abdul Samad building is given little priority. If no action is taken in the coming years, the building may begin to deteriorate
without the funds or personnel for maintenance. Without the building, the soul of Kuala Lumpur may be weakened to an unidentifiable
state.
THREATS
• Society is unkeen on conservation
• Majority are driven towards new development
• New developments have superseded the old
SOLUTION
• Elaborate on public awareness
02 Lack of Priority

27. 03 Lack of Guidelines
The lack of rules and guidelines when approaching conservation projects
delay both the conservation itself as well as maintenance processes.
This is a clear indication that neither conservation nor preservation were of
importance in the past. Unlike most developed countries, where historical
buildings are treasured and preserved, our country has been too focused on
catching up that we may lose our historical monuments; a clear example of
losing one’s way in pursuit of another.
New developments are instead beginning to supersede historical ones,
emphasizing on society’s negligence regarding this matter

28. 04 Lack of Technical Knowledge
Lack of technical knowledge in coping with repairing and maintenance in historic
buildings leads to the effectiveness and efficiency in the maintenance of historical
buildings.
This includes the Sultan Abdul Samad building

29. 05 Limitations
● INCOMPLETE RECORDINGS OF HISTORICAL EVENTS
-E.g.: Hang Tuah Mausoleum
● ADAPTIVITY TO MODERN USE (SPECIFIC BUILDINGS)
-E.g.: Religious buildings, monuments
● LEGISLATION AND PROCEDURES
-E.g. : Rire regulations that prohibits restoration
● SURROUNDING HERITAGE CONTEXT
-E.g. : Tree roots, river

30. Case Study Example 3:
THE BOK HOUSE, JALAN AMPANG

31. The Bok House, Jalan Ampang
- A mansion that features classical European architecture
in Jalan Ampang.
- Design by Swan & Maclaren Architects (oldest
architectural firm in Singapore.)
- Owned by a private trustee managed by the Bok family.
- Complete construction at 1929.
- In 1958, The front half of the house was converted into
the Le Coq D’or restaurant (French Restaurant)
INTRO

32. Chua Cheng Bok
- Founder of Cycle & Carriage
OWNEROFTHEBUILDING
- Malaysia’s most prominent businessmen in the first half of
the 20th century
- Philanthropist who made substantial charitable
contributions to society

33. Renaissance-style architecture
Symmetrical around vertical
axis at front facade
ARCHITECTURESTYLE
Use of Roman/ Greek type
columns
Flat ceiling
with imitation classical statues reigned supreme in its
front hall.

34. Abundant
Verandah and balconies.
LOCAL
ADAPTATION

35. - 2001 the house was abandoned by the operator of Le Coq d’Or
- Due to its strategic location in city centre, the local conservation worry that the government will plan to
redeveloped the place. They try to convince the government that the historical value of the mansion however,
December 15 2006, the mansion was demolished, resulting in public outcry.
DEMOLITION OF THE BOK HOUSE

36. ISSUES and CHALLENGES
Lack of awareness and public participation

37. “Just a house belonging to a rich man.”
“The cost of rehabilitating Bok House will be high and there is no significant
history or aesthetic value attached to the building”
“The Government could also not save Bok House from being demolished because
it is privately-owned and not registered as a heritage building.”
By Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk
Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

38. Why is The Bok House significant?

39. TIMELINE
-Complete
construction
and own by
Bok family.
-During World War
II, the Japanese
requisitioned Bok
House. It was
occupied by the
Yokohama Specie
Bank.
-After the war, the
British forces used
the mansion to
house its air force
women.
-It was subsequently
returned to the
family
- The front half of
the house was
converted into the
famous Le Coq D’or
restaurant (French
Restaurant)
-The Chua family
continued to occupy
the house in the rear
quarters.
- Le Coq d'Or was
closed. It was
subsequently
stripped of its
furniture, fixtures,
doors and windows.
-Badan Warisan Malaysia
(BWM) proposed that Bok
House be listed in the
National Heritage Register.
Bok House meets at least
five of the criteria for
declaration as a National
Heritage.
-The
building
was
demolished.

40. 2017
W Hotel, Jalan Ampang

41. “Chua was the first to introduce a bus service to Kuala Lumpur before World War I.
In fact, the rickshaw pullers of the city rioted because of the threat to their
livelihood.”
By Historian Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay
Kim

42. "City Hall and the Ministry needs to relook at how to deal with the responsibility entrusted
on them, and not give the wrong impression to owners that heritage conservation would
obstruct development.”
PROPOSEDPROCEDURES
By Council Member of Badan Warisan Malaysia, Lilian Tay

43. Continuous promotion
by mass media
PUBLICEDUCATIONCAMPAIGN
Seminars and
workshops
Immerge of heritage
building knowledge in
Education institution

44. PUBLICEDUCATIONCAMPAIGN

45. SUCCESSFUL CONSERVATION OF HERITAGE BUILDINGS

46. SUFFOLKHOUSE,PENANG
SUFFOLK HOUSE, PENANG

47. BRIEFHISTORY
Captain Francis Light
- Known as the ‘Great House’ and it was the home for the early
governors as it was used as place for many official and social events.
- 1790 built by the founder of the British Settlement of Penang,
Captain Francis Light. (1740-1794)
- 1805 sold to W.E. Philips as it served as the Governor’s Residence
for Philips and J.A. Bannerman. It served as a Government House
from the year 1810 to 1820.
- Used as a canteen for the Methodist Boy’s School and later on
abandoned.
- A campaign began in 1961 to restore the building
- House was left to ruins due to lack of interest in conservation

48. ARCHITECTURE - The original house that Light built was a simple timber structure of an atap roof.
- The house was rebuilt between 1808 to 1811 and its design was based on Anglo- Indian Georgian Architecture.
- Materials were imported from India and Burma through the East Indian Company trade routes.
- The building has a symmetrical plan with a strong central axis and an open collonnade on the first floor with a regular
column grid.

49. RESTORATION
- Survey was conducted in 1993 by the Penang Heritage Trust
and due to its bad condition
- Scaffoldings were placed around walls and a roof as
temporary protection from the weather.
- In the year 2000, the Penang State Government allocated
RM500 000 for restoration works
- With more funding from the HSBC Bank and The Penang
Heritage Trust, the restoration was completed in June 2007.
- To help with the restoration of the Suffolks House, paintings
between 1811 and 1818 were used.
- The building was restored using its original materials as well
as the colour, texture, design, workmanship and setting.

50. ISSUESANDCHALLENGES
- Lacked skilled and experienced workers in the field of
conservation but after some time, workers gained additional
knowledge and understanding about heritage conservation.
- Difficulty of getting the original materials as most of the
materials used in the construction of the building could only
be found overseas.
- For example, the clay roof tiles had to be imported from
China.

51. 01
Conclusion
02
-
03
The results of the study indicated that issues and
challenges in building conservation work, which are
mentioned above are due to the poor availability of
conservation knowledge, that has a direct linkage to the
insufficiency of support from Government sector.
However, building conservation is a multi-disciplinary
field, which involves professionals such as architects,
engineers, historians, archaeologists, chemists and
environmentalists. In order to achieve higher efficiency
in conservation, more efforts should be undertaken by all
sectors to educate the public about heritage
conservation, especially institutions which are more
effective in impacting the following generation.

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