PETALING JAYA: The recent destruction of a historic grave in Penang shows little care and respect is given to the island state's heritage, says MCA spokesperson Saw Yee Fung (pic).
Below is her statement in full.
In a horrific turn of events, the 138-year old ancestral grave of Foo Teng Nyong, third wife of Kapitan Chung Keng Quee, has been destroyed by developers.
What’s more distressing, Penang heritage commissioner Rosli Nor appeared to be out of the loop when it happened, while Penang Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Exco Yeoh Soon Hin displayed ultimate lack of urgency by only issuing a statement the next day claiming that the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) had given a stop-work order to the developers.
Any actions taken at this point will unfortunately be in vain, as the grave’s desecration is irreversible. Hence, this incident shows that the Penang heritage commissioner and Penang exco member Yeoh both lack the diligence and care needed in such roles, and should be held responsible.
Penang is a land with abundant history, famous legends, and ancient heritage sites, with every inch of the island marked by the passage of time. Therefore, this tragic incident has forever tarnished Penang’s tribute to history.
According to Rosli, the developer obtained the permit from MBPP through an unknown procedure.
Yeoh meanwhile claimed that the permit from MBPP only allowed the relevant party to exhume the remains from burial grounds, but not to destroy the ancestral grave of Foo Teng Nyong. Hence, how can the developers deliberately destroy this historic grave?
Shouldn’t the state government immediately take action against the developer in question?
Penang has always held George Town as their prided Unesco World Heritage Site, yet they are simultaneously incompetent in dealing with threats to historic sites.
Even before this, Penang’s track record included seven historic buildings from the British colonial era which were destroyed at the same time in 2016 by developers, because (according to then exco member Chow Kon Yeow) they did not know they had protection status.
Six years later, history repeats itself with the demolition of a 138-year tomb, this time not even within the state government’s knowledge.
The state government and MBPP must investigate the entire process thoroughly and implement ways to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future.
Restoring a heritage site is a thousand times more difficult than preserving one. I urge the relevant authorities to learn from their mistakes and ensure that Penang’s heritage sites can still be visited and appreciated for generations to come.
SAW YEE FUNG
MCA spokesperson
