A review of the benefits and the hindrances to the sustainable conservation of heritage buildings in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia has an array of Heritage Building’s (HB’s) most of which have been standing for centuries that are exceptionally valued from the point of view of Architecture and History. Valuable as they are, these HB’s are thus assets legally declared to be strictly protected (otherwise termed conservation) according to statutory guidelines. The National Heritage Act among others is a statutory document guiding conservation of HB’s in Malaysia superintended by The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. This study reviewed the benefits and hindrances to the sustainable conservation of HB’s in Malaysia. This study shows that while there are enormous benefits reaped from conservation of HB’s, there also exist hindrances to the conservation process that could be attributed to planning and implementation at a policy, program and project level. These hindrances ultimately poses challenges to conservation of HB’s thereby making conservation of HB’s in Malaysia unsustainable. A way forward lies in the need for immediate action to addressing such challenges through sustainable processes, principles and policies. One that strives to strike a balance between environmental, economic, social cultural benefits for all generations. One that is sustainable. As such, a prompt need for Malaysia to benchmark world’s best practices in the conservation of HB’s that will address notable challenges was recommended. Furthermore, owners of HB’s (public and private) must make continuous implementation of the results on such best practices a core priority thus making the conservation process sustainable.