Broken pieces of history

The Dataran Merdeka Heritage zone is the site for the governments multi-billion ringgit river beautification project. — Photos: P. NATHAN /The Star

DOZENS of historical buildings gazetted as national heritage assets in the city are slowly deteriorating, a condition that is exacerbated by our hot and humid weather.

Some of these buildings are over a 100 years old and are literally falling to pieces.

At least six heritage structures located in Jalan Raja, the city’s popular tourist attraction – also dubbed the Dataran Merdeka Heritage zone – are already showing signs of decay.

A case in point is the iconic Sultan Abdul Samad Building, built in 1897 which served as the government’s administration building during the British era.

Located in front of Dataran Merdeka, the building with its impressive clock tower and copper domes is showing signs of damage.

The General Post Office designed by architect Arthur Charles Norman in 1896 and constructed in 1904 is also deteriorating.

The red bricks of the Textile Museum is flaking away .

Both the High Court and the Industrial Court buildings, formerly the Chow Kit & Co Department Store, are in poor state.

Already at critical stage is the once majestic former Federated Malay States (FMS) Survey Department headquarters where one of its dome’s spires collapsed last year, an indication of how fragile the heritage buildings in the area are.

Warning signs

Architect Steven Thang Boon Ann said the heritage buildings at Dataran Merdeka required regular maintenance and constant monitoring, more so because of the Malaysian weather condition.

“Our climate of moisture and humidity makes it necessary for regular maintenance of these buildings; our biggest problem is water and the fact that these buildings are all located near the river (confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang) makes it all the more crucial,” he said.

Thang, who is also a council member/co-chairman of the Heritage and Conservation Committee of Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM), said while most buildings looked perfect on the outside, a closer inspection of the buildings showed signs of damage and decay that is slowly creeping into their walls.

Organic growth such as algae can, if left untreated, cause damage to the paint and wall plaster of a building.

“Water or moisture is the main enemy and the common cause for deterioration in older buildings and if it is not addressed soon, the moisture will move its way into the building and materials will start to erode,” he said.

“You can see the tell-tale signs in rotting wood, corrosion, water stain marks and bubbling surfaces.

“All these will happen in both new and old buildings and must be tackled at source,” he added.

Thang said the challenge was not to eliminate the problem but to manage it.

Since the buildings are located near rivers, and coupled with weather conditions such as heavy rain and flash floods, regular monitoring is required.

“If there is no proper drainage to channel the water out, it (water) will eventually seep into the building which will start to deteriorate.

“We call this ‘rising damp’ in buildings.

One of the domes of the former FMS Federated Malay States Survey Department after its spire collapsed.

“What it means is that water from ground level goes up and is sucked into the walls, although this can happen with water from the top level too.

“For example, water ponding from an exposed roof top can also seep down,” he added.

Regular upkeep

According to Thang, it is crucial for the building owners to appoint a conservator to do a dilapidation study that determines the extent of the damage.

Since most of the buildings are designated Category One in the National Heritage Act 2005; this means that they are deemed buildings of exceptional interest; thus they have to be preserved as close as possible to its original state.

The repairs have to be carried out using authentic traditional ways of building methods and materials.

“It will be more demanding and costly to restore a building to its former glory.

“Take the Supreme Court building (also known as the High Court) for instance.

The Industrial Court building, formerly the Chow Kit & Co Department Store, has weeds growing out of its masonry.

“When it was vacant, it was leased out to a film company several years ago to shoot a foreign movie.

“They (film company) painted the walls pink for the movie and it damaged the historical aspect of the building. You cannot reverse a damage like that.

“Similarly Carcosa Seri Negara, another historical building was used for shooting movies and dramas in the past, a lot of irreversible damage was done to the building,” he said.

“One can look at adaptive reuse, to restore the external part of the building. It would be difficult to do so for the internal part,” he said.

Bottom of the pile

It is common that heritage conservation efforts are often pushed to the bottom of the pile, yet buildings such as Sultan Abdul Samad and FMS Survey office – which are Kuala Lumpur’s oldest structures – are heavily promoted in tourism brochures as city attractions.

Dataran Merdeka is an old section of the city and is an important historical enclave, making it a must-visit for all historical and cultural enthusiasts when visiting Malaysia’s capital.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) conducts heritage walks in the vicinity that takes tourists to 11 historical sites within the zone.

But if the buildings are not repaired soon, there may not be anything left to see.

The roof of the 108-year-old FMS Survey building which was temporarily patched up when the spire of one of its domes came tumbling down late last year.

“It is imperative that conservation work start as soon possible before the damage becomes irreversible,” said Thang.

“Judging from the current state of the buildings, we still have time to save these structures,” he added.

“Money usually is a big issue since most government agencies want to see the return on investment before pumping in funds.

“That will take time, so the next best thing is to seek private funding.

“Getting corporations to step forward and invest in conservation efforts is the way forward.

“But we need a committee to oversee the endeavour.

“This committee ideally should comprise DBKL, Heritage Department, conservation advocates and other partners to create solutions that integrate both the economic and environmental objectives,” he said.

Thang pointing out the signs of deterioration on one of the heritage buildings at Dataran Merdeka.

In March, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told StarMetro that the Ministry was not able to maintain the century-old FMS Survey building in Jalan Tun Perak, which was falling apart due to lack of funds.

Nazri said that he had requested for RM150mil from the Treasury and was waiting for the funds.

The 108-year-old building, designed by prominent British engineer Arthur Denison Hubback, is gazetted a national heritage structure.

Late last year, the spire of one of its domes collapsed.