preliminary evaluation of problem

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THEMALAYSIANSURVEYOR |Vol.46 | No.1 | 2011

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As more new buildings are being built, the chances of old valuable buildings to be demolishedand abandoned are high. Furthermore, it will create future generations who neglect and ignore

the value of heritage buildings. Some of the many issues related to maintaining heritagebuildings involve the feeble and vague legislations towards preserving these buildings, poorawareness and knowledge among parties involved and the lack of availability in obtaining

materials for maintaining heritage buildings. The objectives of this research include identifyingthe problems involved in maintaining heritage buildings and identifying the significance ofmaintaining these buildings. The case studies include buildings that fall under Category 1

buildings within primary zone as stated by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall 2008 Development Plan.This case study revealed that the lack of detailed and specific guidelines seem to be the major

problems in maintaining heritage buildings followed by the lack of availability in obtainingsimilar building materials, the lack of awareness among parties involved in maintaining heritage

buildings and insufficient amount of in-house maintenance staff. This research offers strongreference and base for future research by highlighting the issues that need to be emphasised

in maintaining heritage buildings.

PRELIMINARY

EVALUATION OFPROBLEMSINVOLVED INMaintaining Heritage

Buildings in MalaysiaDr Sr Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman1

Building Surveying Department, Faculty of Built Environment,

University of Malaya

Dr Emma Ahmad Zawawi2 & Aiman Omar

Department of Building, Faculty of Architecture, Planning &

Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Mara

1 [email protected] [email protected]


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heritage conservation is important forhistorical evidence, architectural values,

education, local pride and tourism.

The Professional Journal of The Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia

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Introduction

It is no surprise that heritage

buildings around the worldincluding Malaysia play animportant role in the history of

nations. Furthermore, historicalbuildings are valuable because they areimportant to the economy in terms oftourism revenue. Therefore, the urge foradequate maintenance andpreservation of historical buildings is

essential not only for culturaldevelopment but also for economicdemands.

According to Ahmad ((a)2009),heritage conservation is important forhistorical evidence, architectural values,education, local pride and tourism. Hesaid tourism is the second mostimportant sector in Malaysias economy,with 22.5 million foreign tourists visitingMalaysia in 2008, bringing in RM49.1billion (USD16.2 billion) in revenue.

Some of the influences of Malaysiasheritage structures came through thecolonial British and Portugueseinfluences. Other than introducing neweconomic patterns, they haveeventually left their marks and impacton Malaysia by constructing buildingsthat reflect their architectural value, forinstance in cities such as Kuching,Sarawak; George Town, Penang;Malacca etc.

In Malaysia, historic buildings can be

found in most urban areas and some inrural areas. The historic buildings canbe categorised into several types suchas traditional architecture (thetraditional timber Malay houses), shophouses of inimitable architectural styles(the Early Permanent Style, StraitsEclectic Style or the Art Deco), colonialinfluence (railway stations, oldgovernment buildings, mansions andcourthouses); and religious buildings(traditional and Moorish-influencemosques, churches and temples)

(Ahmad,1998).

Today, some of these buildings stillremain undamaged and maintained

their inventive characters even as othershave been repainted for several timesor have new accessories to thebuildings. Sadly, a few have been leftredundant or demolished to give wayto modern development (Ahmad,1998).

Current Scenario ofHeritage Buildings inMalaysia

Recently in Malaysia, UNESCO hasdeclared George Town, Penang andMalacca as UNESCO Heritage Sitesthereby making historical buildingmaintenance more important. Thisstatus has brought the country involvedin what would be the biggestconservation project known (Khor,2009). Today, the Federal Governmentis doing a lot more to help conserveheritage buildings in Malaysia.

Efforts are now underway to restorehistorical buildings in Perak. Accordingto the Archaeologist Division PrincipleAssistant Director, Mat Nasir Baba in theStar Online, Perak heritage buildings arebeing restored. The efforts to restoreold buildings in the state will not onlypreserve the countrys heritage but alsomake them a tourist attraction(Bernama, 2009). He further explainedthat the department is now activelycarrying out research on several morehistorical sites in Perak that can beincluded in the restroration programme

(Bernama, 2009).(a) Lack of Funds

It is not possible for a heritagebuilding to be free from decay anddeterioration. Maintenance workdoes not only involve time andinspection but it also engages most importantly money. Most ofthe tenants of shop houses inKuala Lumpur are of low incomestatus. Therefore, they facemaintenance issues with their

decayed buildings. Moreover,certain tenants do not take anyaction or initiative to remedy it andsome move out of the old buildings


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to live in modern buildings resulting in theincrease of abandoned historical shophouses.

According to Fels (2002), most historicalbuildings are demolished due to theperception of high maintenance cost. As a

result of this, owners of these shop housesallow the Government or Local Authority tobring down these buildings because theycould not bare and/or afford themaintenance of the buildings.

Due to lack of funds, these tenants willeventually hire unskilled technicians orlabours to do the maintenance work whichsometimes do not comply with therequirements and regulations of the LocalAuthority.

Lacking in fund could be one of the

reasons why many of the old shop housesare left in dilapidated state, particularlyunoccupied lots (Shamsuddin, 2005).

According to Choong (2006), there is nosustainable value in heritage and manyheritage programmes were being run at aloss. He said he once renovated hishistorical building and spent RM50,000 butat the end his return was 5% less than thecost of the renovation. Compared toGovernment buildings, it is easier tomaintain old buildings because there are

enough financial sources prepared by theGovernment and Local Authority.

(b) Inadequate Acts and Unclear

Guidelines

According to Idid (1996), Malaysia still doesnot have any Acts which specifically relateto the concept of maintaining andconserving heritage buildings. There arevery few Acts that containconnection/linkage with heritageconservation, some of them are:

Antiquities Act 1976 (Akta 168)(abolished in Dec 2005)

Town Planning Act 1976 (AktaPerancang Bandar 1976) (Akta 172)

Local Authority Act 1976 (Akta KerajaanTempatan 1976) (Akta 171)

Rent Control Act 1976 (Akta KawalanSewa) is actually an act to helpmaintain affordable and similar rentsthat has existed before World War II

National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645)

Ever since the Rent Control Act 1976ceased in 2000, the problem was greatlyfelt when sub-tenants had no choice but toleave their property due increased rental

cost resulting in most heritage buildingsunoccupied. When these buildings wereleft inhabited, real estate developers orbuilding owners will use the opportunity todevelop new buildings by demolishing theexisting structure in the intention of making

more profit. When there is no occupant inthe building, tenants will not have theinitiative and money to do themaintenance work, therefore demolishingor giving ways for new development wastheir best solution. In other cases, therepealing of the Rent and Control Act haslead to many losses to landlords becausethe tenants were making more profit bysub-letting the building to sub-tenants withhigher rent rate compared to their pre-warrent to the landlords. So, these landlordsrefused to execute maintenance work for

the building leaving it to deteriorate as timegoes by.

The repeal of Antiquities Act 1976 withNational Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645) hasclearly creates a huge impact towardsconservation practice in Malaysia.

(c) Lack of Specialist in Heritage

Building Maintenance

Lack of awareness among the locals inmaintaining heritage buildings createdsetbacks for the Government and

authorities to make plans for thedevelopment of a city may it be both fornew development and heritage sites. It isthrough participatory processes that a citydevelops visions and plans, monitors the

implementation of its plans and adjusts tochanging circumstances(Oberlander,2009). Each and every parties involve shallplay their parts in accomplishing their citysgoal towards maintaining historicalbuildings and sites. Developers, propertyowners, clan associations, religiousorganisations, heritage conservationists,

academics, architects, the heritagecommission, urban planners, municipalauthorities, and also international bodieslike UNESCO and the International Council

One of the sources of income toMalaysia is from the tourism sector.The percentage of tourists coming toMalaysia has increased each year. But

what has changed in the demand ofthese tourists has to be taken intoconsideration.


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on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) mustplay their part (Eng, 2009).

There also seems to be somemisunderstanding and misconception fortenants with the requirements and provisionsstipulated by the Local Authority and

conservation bodies such as NGOs, NationalHeritage Act etc. This can be express throughissues like plans and legislation provided byLocal Authorities or Government are not fullyunderstood by the public or there are littlecommunication between the authorities andthe public.

Not many people are aware of theimportance of protecting historical structurestherefore when there are new plans orlegislation set up by the Government or NGOsproblems will occur.

Below shows some of the problems whichusually arise when new plans regardingconservation and maintenance regulationsare set out (Hamid, 2008):

The public often does not reallyunderstand what a local plan is about.

Members of focus groups are given toolittle time in advance to study the plans.

Public responses are often automaticallytreated as complaints, creating achallenging environment.

There is little subsequent communicationback to the public.

Communication back to the public oftenonly occurs after a decision has beenmade.

Data GatheringThe site location for the case study is selectedbased on the KL 2008 Development Control Planfor historical buildings prepared by Kuala Lumpur

City Hall. The buildings fall under Category 1 inthe primary zone. Figure 1 below shows the mapof primary heritage zone with heritage buildingsCategory 1 coloured in red.

Figure 1: Kuala Lumpur 2008 Development Control Plan Primary Heritage Zone Map Source (KLCH, 2009)


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The method used to gain data is through interviews. Theinterviews were conducted through structured questionsin relation to the researchs objectives. The questionswere divided into two sections: the first question relatesto problems in maintaining heritage buildings and thesecond, on the significance of maintaining heritagebuildings. The other questions consist of issues regarding

the guidelines in maintaining heritage buildings, theavailability of resources (manpower and materials), themethods and procedures ofmaintenance work applied,the cost involved formaintenance work and theinterviewees personalopinion regarding factorsthat play a key role towardsthe importance ofmaintaining heritagebuildings.

Other than interviews, otherdata recorded such aspictures and drawings werealso obtained from theinterviewees. It took twoand a half months to complete these interviews and datacollection. The measurements of the findings are basedon the agreement, clarity and amount.

Case StudiesCase studies help to classify and obtain concreteinformation regarding maintenance work of heritagebuildings based on the current work executed by actual

maintenance management. It also providestheoretical/conceptual information on how an old

Figure 2: Six Different Types of Building Function for the Case Studies

Building A Building B Building C

Building D Building E Building F

building is maintained. For this study, a total of sixheritage buildings under Category 1 were selected as thecase study. These buildings are located in the primaryzone consisting of different types of building functions. Asstated by KLCH (2009) in the Draft Kuala Lumpur CityPlan 2020, buildings that fall under Category 1 arebuildings that were previously gazetted under National

Heritage Act 2005 and fall under the jurisdiction of theCommissioner for Heritage. Meanwhile, buildings located

in the primary zone indicatethat buildings of heritagecharacteristics anddevelopment are strictlycontrolled to maintain itsexisting environment and toprevent alteration works ofnon-gazetted buildings fromaffecting the heritagebuildings.

As shown in Figure 2, thesebuildings are all BritishColonial buildings withMogul architectural style(also known as Moorish or

Indian Muslim style), Tudor, Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothicinfluence. In order to retain the individual buildinganonymity, they are designated as Building A, Building B,Building C, Building D, Building E and Building F.

Interpretation of ResultsThe interview was carried out on six different types ofbuilding functions as shown in Figure 2. The respondents

for these case studies consist of supervisors, techniciancoordinators, mechanical engineers, building manager

tourism is the second mostimportant sector in Malaysias

economy, with 22.5 millionforeign tourists visiting

Malaysia in 2008, bringing in

RM49.1 billion (USD16.2billion) in revenue.


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and directors which include the Local Authority,Government Departments and a private sector.There were several obstacles and problemsexperienced during data collection andinterviews. These problems have limited theextensive effort in presenting a comprehensive

study. Thus, results presented below are the keyoutcomes which are deemed complete andrelevant for the study.

(a) Clarity of Guidelines

Figure 3: Respondents Feedback on the Clarity of Guideline Available on

Conservation

Table 1: Types of Maintenance Work

Clear &detail

17%

Clear butdifficult to follow

17%

Not Specific &Not detail

66%

UnplannedMaintenance

Building A

PlannedCorrective

Maintenance


Building B

PlannedPreventive

Maintenance

PlannedCorrective

Maintenance


Building C

PlannedCorrective

Maintenance


Building D

PlannedCorrective

Maintenance


Building E & F

PlannedCorrective

Maintenance


Building G

1 5 6TOTAL

The respondents were asked if there is sufficient in-house maintenance staff to execute maintenancework. As per Figure 4, 43% of the respondentsdisagree that there is enough in-house maintenancestaff to execute maintenance work themselves. 43%of the respondents neither agree nor disagree with

the question and only 14% of the respondents totallyagree that there is enough in-house maintenancestaff to perform maintenance work in the building.This clearly indicates that the current manpower forthe maintenance works is still an issue in theirorganisations.

(c) Types of Maintenance Works

In Table 1 below, it can be defined that most of thebuildings perform unplanned maintenance andplanned corrective maintenance with the exceptionof Building A, which only performs UnplannedMaintenance and Building B, which performs all

three types of maintenance. The best way to achieveexcellent maintenance is to have good maintenancemanagement that match as closely as possible to theexpected requirements of the user (Pintelon, 1999).

In Figure 3 above, the total percentage of66% of interviewees who agreed that the

current guidelines on maintaining heritagebuildings are not clear and are very general,is the highest percentage. The result wasfollowed by a total of 17% of respondentswho agreed that the guidelines availableare clear and detailed. A further 17% clearlymentioned that the guidelines are clear butsomehow it is difficult to follow.

(b) Availability of Resources

Disagree

43%

Totally agree

14%

Neither agreenor disagree

43%

Figure 4: Respondents Feedback on Sufficient In-House Maintenance Staffs

to do the Maintenance Work

There are also certainparties concerned thatif the Governmentfocuses to much onthe cost of maintainngheritage buildings, itmay lead to losses tothe nation because itwill eventually delaythe countrys futuredevelopment.


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(d) Annual Cost for Maintenance Works

In Figure 5 below, four out of six buildingsindicate that the annual expenditure ofmaintenance work is above RM500, 000(USD165,125) followed by Building C andBuilding G with annual expenditurebetween RM100,000 - RM200,000(USD33,025 - USD66,050) and betweenRM300,000 - RM400,000 (USD99,075 -USD132,100). It is understood thatmaintenance cost constitute to a hugeamount of the total building cost. Thevarious net lettable area per sqm are seento be the influential factor in thedetermination of maintenance cost thebuildings.


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historical buildings are valuablebecause they are important to the

economy in terms of tourism andleisure. the urge for adequate

maintenance and preservation ofhistorical buildings is essential not

only for cultural development but also

for economic demands.

(e) Factors that Play the Key Role Towards

the Importance of Maintaining

Heritage Building

All of the respondents have the same opinionon the main factors towards maintaining

heritage buildings, which is to maintain thecultural identity. Conservation andmaintenance of old buildings is on a currentagenda relating to the built environment inMalaysia. These buildings have importantimplications with the nations chronologicaldevelopment (Kayan & Zuraini, 2003).Furthermore, historical buildings are valuablebecause they are important to the economy interms of tourism and leisure. Therefore, theurge for adequate maintenance andpreservation of historical buildings is essentialnot only for cultural development but also for

economic demands.

(f) Building Defects are Mostly Caused

by Humans Due to Vandalism

Figure 6 below shows half of the totalrespondents agree that building defects areusually caused by humans. This is followed by33% of the respondents who disagree withthe statement and only 17% of the totalrespondents who neither disagree nor agreewith the statement.

Figure 5: Annual Expenditure for Maintenance Work

Figure 6: Respondents Feedback on Building Defects Caused Vandalism

Disagree

33%

Agree

50%

Neither agreenor disagree

17%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

RMi

nthousand

Building A Building B Building C Building D Building E&F Building G

Discussion of FindingsConservation and maintenance of heritagebuildings is on a current agenda relating to thebuilt environment in Malaysia. It is realised thatthese buildings have important implications with

the nations chronological development (Kayan &Zuraini, 2003). Most of these buildings face thesame problems such as the lack of maintenanceplanning and adequate By-Laws regulations


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regarding historical building conservations,which at the end of the day creates bigger crisisin the future. This kind of problem is evenharder to solve especially when most of thesebuildings have been gazetted.

There are also certain parties concerned that ifthe Government focuses to much on the cost ofmaintainng heritage buildings, it may lead tolosses to the nation because it will eventuallydelay the countrys future development. Ashighlighted by Surin & Hamid (2007) in the SunOnline, it is the responsibility of the decisionmakers in protecting these historical buildingseven though there are no proper guidelines andappropriate systems in the current situation inMalaysia.

Parties like Kuala Lumpur City Hall UrbanDesign and Heritage Unit whose duty is to

ensure unlisted buildings under the heritageunit are well maintained and preserved. Butproblems still arise for instance, expansivemaintenance cost and lack of incentives givento owners of heritage buildings to undertakethe neccesary maintenance steps.

We need to have fiscal incentives to spur andencourage owners and developers of heritage

buildings and conservation areas to undertakeconservation and revitalisation programmes,and to stimulate conservation and restorationactivities(Surin & Hamid, 2007).

One of the sources of income to Malaysia isfrom the tourism sector. The percentage oftourists coming to Malaysia has increased eachyear. But what has changed in the demand ofthese tourists has to be taken intoconsideration. Nowadays, tourists from all overthe world travel not only for holiday and leisure,but also for educational purposes. Therefore, itis necessary to maintain our existing historicalbuildings because not only does it helpmotivate the nation to be proud of ourhistorical buildings, it is also a source of incometo the country. However, the problem here is

the cost to constantly maintaining thesebuildings for certain parties.

Another issue relating to the maintainingheritage buildings in Malaysia, particularly inKuala Lumpur, is that the existing guidelinescan be a little bit misleading, complicated andnot easily understood by people. This leads toproblems such as the demolition of the BokHouse in 2008.

There are also other problems that do notcomply with the guidelines or laws regardingold building maintemance. It involves the

mentality and openness of public towardsmaintaining heritage buildings. This can be adifficult task for the Government and activists toencourage and create awareness in the public,

especially the younger generations on theimportance of maintaining heritage buildingsand sites where they have not been exposed tothe uniqueness of the architectural andstructural value of these buildings. They lack thespirit of nationality because they have never

gone through war and have not been exposedto the historical technology in constructing oldstructures. Malaysia is a multi-racial country thatconsists of many different races, religious andethnic groups. Each and every of these raceshave their own unique identity andcharacteristics for instance, their festivals andlifestyles. As time goes by, people tend tochange their way of life. This has affected thementality of the public, especially the youngergenerations in maintaining and appreciatingheritage buildings. People are likely to live in amodern lifestyle like apartments and newly

constructed houses using latest technology.

ConclusionAfter undergoing several interviews and findingsfor this research, in can be concluded that themaintenance and conservation of heritagebuildings in Malaysia is still in its developingstages compared to developed countries likethe United Kingdom, where they are moreadvanced and are very vocal when comes topreserving their buildings historical value. Thisresearch is carried out with the aim to identifyalternative methods or solutions in maintainingheritage buildings. This aim was achievedthrough the attempt of doing several interviewswith different parties. These aims can beattained through the recommendationssuggested earlier, especially therecommendation suggested by the Departmentof Heritage Malaysia. The understanding andrealisation of the objectives and aims has madethis research a success. This research offersinformation on the common managementproblems faced by maintenance managementin maintaining heritage buildings and has

highlighted several issues mainly on guidelinesinvolved, availability of resources, cost and theimportance of maintaining heritage buildings.Moreover, the research offers a helpful base forfuture research on maintaining heritagebuildings.


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