GEORGE TOWN could have looked very different if the Unesco World Heritage Site listing had not been granted in 2008, says a respected urban conservationist and town planner.
Dr Siegfried Enders, the former International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) International Scientific Committee on Shared Built Heritage (ISCSBH) president added, “I personally think the buffer zone should have been made much bigger, at least to Northam Road, but at least a World Heritage Site listing was obtained.
“If Penang had failed to do that, I think there would be a lot more skyscrapers here and George Town would not be like how you see it now,” he told StarMetro on a recent visit to the state — his 12th over the last five decades.
He said the listing provided an extra layer of protection for state and local authorities, allowing them to err on the side of caution when looking at future developments.
“It’s not easy being a civil servant.
“If you don’t have the power to control things by law, it’s very difficult and the interpretation of the law is always subject to outside pressures; there are always exceptions.
“In this respect, World Heritage regulations help the administration much more than local laws.
“It’s more respected because it has international purview and that is a big issue for argumentation,” said Enders.
The 81-year-old German national would know a thing or two about the civil service, as he served at the state conservation office in Wiesbaden for 31 years before retiring in 2010.
It was during his tenure there that he was sent on official duties to Penang three times.
In 1986, he assisted the then Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP), which has since been renamed the Penang Island City Council in 2015 following the reinstatement of George Town’s city status, in setting up the first inventory of historical buildings in the city.
“The first step is finding out what you have.
“So, you have to do an inventory of all the historic buildings, then evaluate them and decide if you want to keep them or let them be destroyed,” explained Enders.
At the time, private architects who were able to undertake extensive conservation projects were scarce, unlike now, he noted.
Citing the Tua Pek Kong Temple in King Street and The Blue Mansion in Leith Street as examples, Enders said high levels of restoration work at international levels could now be seen in several places in George Town.
Enders returned to Penang in 1988 for a one-month stint to conduct a pilot inventory project, which was a collaboration between MPPP and the German Association of Technical Cooperation. The German organisation, which has since been renamed, was a public-benefit enterprise that shared technical expertise with foreign nations.
A year later, he came again for an even longer stay of around four months to assist in the drawing up of a conservation plan for the Armenian Street to Chulia Street area.
“We analysed the streets, the population and other things like the roofscapes.
“We then came up with a proposal on how to maintain and develop this area,” he said.
During his visits to Penang, Enders made lifelong friends whom he periodically came back to visit over the decades.
They include former MPPP town planning officer Lim Hooi Siang, who hosted him during his current visit, and other urban conservationists who were in town for an ISCSBH study tour that focused on several historic sites in George Town.
The tour preceded the 22nd Icomos General Assembly and Scientific Symposium 2026 that was held in Kuching, Sarawak.
It is the first time this general assembly is being hosted in South-East Asia.
