AWARENESS OF COMMUNITY ON THE CONSERVATION OF HERITAGE BUILDINGS IN GEORGE TOWN, PENANG

Abstract

Having been gazetted as a World Heritage Site, George Town is known to have many heritage buildings that are more than a hundred years old. However, not all heritage buildings in George Town have appropriately been conserved by the local community, especially the owner and the tenant. This ignorance has caused severe issues of heritage buildings being neglected by the owner and the public. A stud has been carried out on the awareness of the local community in preserving historical buildings within George Town to gain insights into this issue. A quantitative method is used by distributing questionnaires to 387 respondents, which consists of the local community residing in George Town. The level of community awareness is measured to examine the extent of the local community being aware of the heritage buildings around them. Finding reveals that the community level of awareness to be moderate (mean=3.98), which reflects the ignorance of the local community in George Town towards preserving heritage buildings. Thus, the community in George Town is encouraged to be more vigilant in protecting the heritage buildings by joining activities related to heritage conservation held by the local authorities, NGOs, or even the local community. This activeness could ensure all the heritage buildings are protected from the effects of modernisation and be well-maintained for future use.