Mechanisms for protecting the identity of small towns in Malaysia

Abstract

Built heritage constitute the very individuality of places hence to its identity. However, the built heritage in a small-scale town is nowadays subject to the triple threat of dilapidation, exhaustion and disappearance. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine the building regulations, guidelines and policies with regard to sustaining the unique features and identity of small towns through extensive review of literature. A semi structured interview was conducted amongst a purposive sample of nine stakeholders from different organizations involved in heritage matters in Malaysia; to investigate existing heritage protection measures impacting development of small towns. Using the qualitative software package NVivo 8.0, the study demonstrates that the towns are not only protected by legislative measures but also through community initiative activities and active collaboration between stakeholder groups. The paper concludes that a relatively strong policy and administrative framework are presently in place for protection and enhancement of built heritage despite some weaknesses in the existing mechanisms.