Are we losing the 'real' Malacca?

Traditional trade such as making wooden replicas of kampung homes can still be found at Kampung Morten today. But the trade needs to be protected. — Filepic

Heritage proponent Josephine Chua looks away from a famous international theme restaurant whenever she passes by Lorong Hang Jebat in Malacca. The conspicuous peach-tone building – located where the iconic Jonker Street begins, beside the famed Malacca River – always invokes a sense of what is grossly wrong with the preservation of her beloved city’s illustrious history.

“How can a building that has never been there before, make it to the core heritage area? Who gave the approval?” Chua rhetorically asks with a sigh.