Dealing With Heritage Legislations : The Untold Story
By Mohamad Muda bin Bahadi Noor Ruzaini binti Adam Muhamamd Uwais bin Abdul Rashid Jabatan Warisan Negara
COVER FEATURE
Malaysia is one of the countries that is very rich in heritage treasures . The country is known for her beauty of architecture , natural surroundings and unique delicacies . The multicultural and ethnicity of the people enhances the uniqueness of the country . and the richness of its heritage . However , all of these significant features will be jeopardised if they are not guarded and protected . The Department of National Heritage or Jabatan Warisan Negara ( JWN ) is the agency under the Ministry of Tourism , Art and Culture ( MOTAC ) responsible for safeguarding the country ’ s heritage . One of the most important aspects in this area is safeguarding the heritage through legislation . The National Heritage Act 2005 ( Act 645 ) or previously known as the Akta Benda Purba 1976 is the Act which should be referred to when dealing with heritage assets and sites . The Act is described as : “ It is an Act to provide for the conservation and preservation of National Heritage , tangible and intangible cultural heritage , underwater cultural heritage , treasure trove and for related matters .” – Act 645
Clash Of The Acts
According to the JWN official website , a heritage site is categorised under four categories ; Archaeological Sites , Natural Sites , Monuments and Buildings . These sites fall under Heritage and National Heritage categories . When talking about heritage buildings , up until November 2020 , there were 188 heritage buildings owned by various owners all around the country . Among these , 66 fall under National Heritage and 122 are under Heritage categories .
YEAR 2015 2016 2017 VISITORS 15,352 43,968 8,540
Table 1 : Number of visitors to Galeri Warisan Kota Melaka , one of the Heritage buildings , January to December for the period 2015- 2017 , before the building went through a major conservation redevelopment commencing in March 2017 .
In general , the laws that govern buildings and their usage include the following , the Uniform Building ByLaws 1984 , Act 133 : Street , Drainage and the Building Act 1974 . However , there are some requirements in these legislations that contradict the needs of maintaining the value and physical characteristics of heritage buildings . This situation has arisen because the buildings categorised as Heritage and National Heritage under Act 645 were built more than 100 years ago , long before any proper bylaws and guidelines were introduced .
This article aims to briefly explain how to maintain heritage values by adhering to Act
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