UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT PRACTICE OF CONSERVING HERITAGE BUILDING IN MALACCA (International Journal of Creative Future and Heritage (TENIAT), 2015)
AbstrakPemuliharaan bangunan warisan boleh menjadi sesuatu yang mencabar. Kajian ini bertujuan untukmemahami amalan-amalan semasa pemuliharaan bangunan warisan di bandaraya bersejarah Melaka.Lapan siri temuramah pakar telah dijalankan di peringkat strategik, taktikal, dan operasi di Melaka,Bandaraya Warisan Dunia. Peringkat strategik merupakan fasa yang melibatkan matlamat jangka panjangdan arah fungsi organisasi kerja pemuliharaan di Malaysia. Kedua, tahap taktikal atau pengurusan,proses menyampaikan keseluruhan fungsi kerja-kerja pemuliharaan di Malaysia. Ketiga, pada peringkatoperasi merupakan tahap pengoperasian kerja-kerja penyelenggaraan berkala dan pemuliharaanbangunan-bangunan warisan. Responden-responden berpendapat bahawa semua Nilai-nilai Budayaseperti sosial, sejarah, estetik, saintifik, dan ekologi telah digunakan sebagai amalan-amalan semasapemuliharaan bangunan warisan di Malaysia. Mereka juga menyatakan bahawa Nilai-nilai Budaya initelah digunakan sejajar dengan empat dokumen penting untuk proses pemuliharaan iaitu “Akta WarisanKebangsaan Malaysia”, “Outstanding Universal Values atau Nilai-nilai Universal yang Cemerlang olehUNESCO”, “Garis Panduan bagi Pemuliharaan Bangunan-bangunan Warisan “serta “Pelan PengurusanPemuliharaan Bandaraya Melaka” dalam kerja-kerja pemuliharaan di Malaysia. Oleh itu, memahamigambaran keseluruhan amalan-amalan semasa pemuliharaan boleh membawa kepada pembentukansuatu model pemuliharaan bangunan Warisan yang teguh di Malaysia.AbstractConserving a heritage building can be daunting. This developing study seeks to understand the currentpractice of conserving a heritage building in the historic city of Malacca. A series of eight sessions ofinterviews withexperts were conducted at three levels of conservation practitioners at the strategic,tactical, and operational levels in Malacca, the World Heritage City. At strategic level, which is the firstlevel, is known to associate with the long-range aims and direction of the organisation’s functions ofconservation work in Malaysia. Secondly, the tactical or managerial level, which is concerned withdelivering the totality of functions of the conservation work in Malaysia. Thirdly, at the operational level,which is responsible for the periodic and conservation maintenance work operations. The respondentsperceived that all Cultural Values which are social, historic, aesthetic, scientific, and ecological have beenused as the current practice in conserving heritage buildings in Malaysia. Thence, these conservationpractitioners have stated that they have been applying Cultural Values which are in accordance withfour vital documents which are “The National Heritage Act of Malaysia”, “Outstanding Universal Valuesby UNESCO”, and “The Guidelines for Conservation of Heritage Building” and “The ConservationManagement Plan of Malacca” in conservation works in Malaysia. Hence, understanding the overviewof current practice of conservation practitioners can draw the development characteristics that led to therobust model of conservation in Malaysia.
Keywords: Conservation, Expert Interviews, Heritage Building, Malaysia