These poor tenants cannot even find lost-cost flats to move to.

"Because of corruption, a lot of low-cost housing schemes were bought up by the rich and middle class as business investments," claimed Rahim Karim, writer and researcher who also runs a textile shop along Campbell Street.

Town planning expert Alex Koenig warned that once the last of the poor are moved out, the developers will move in and the unique cultural and historical heritage of Georgetown will be destroyed.

Koenig first came to Penang as a visiting student at Universiti Sains Malaysia. From 1982 to 1986 he lectured in the university's School of Housing, Building and Planning. The next two years he was consultant for Bangkok's new deepwater port township at Mattaphud.

In 1989 Germany sent him to Penang for a four-week assignment to select project areas for restoration. In 1990 he was employed by the State Municipal Council (MPPP) as consultant on urban planning to facilitate the implementation of cooperation between Georgetown and the German Aid Agency for Technical Cooperation.

Koenig said that all trouble faced by the city today could have been avoided had the state government listened to the advice of the experts (like him) which they hired a decade ago.

Way back in 1986 the German government had finished restoration and rehabilitation of Bhaktapur town in Nepal's Katmandu valley. The project took 12 years and Bhaktapur is today designated a world heritage site. Penang applied through the PM's Economic Planning Unit for German assistance.

Penang was selected in 1987 over many other applicants all over the world. The restoration of old Georgetown could easily come to RM100 million, all financed by Germany as assistance to local cooperation, he said.

Armenian/Acheen Street, Cannon Square, Khoo Kongsi and Syed Alatas house were selected as model restoration; 85 shop and residence houses were to be rehabilitated by appropriate action - dilapidated house replaced, renovated or repaired. The tenants to be dealt with case by case, whatever is suitable. The entire project was earmarked to last a decade.

"In order to ensure long-term sound and balanced housing situation, every city has to get renewed each year about 10 percent of their existing housing stock either by renovation, repair or conservation works. This activity should be encouraged by the government and carried out by the house owners," said Koenig.

"In addition to this, the new housing demand due to expanding use of floor space by inhabitants and immigrants to the city will have to be covered by new housing development at the fringe of the city," added the town planner.

"Rent control is only a measure after a disaster to overcome serious housing situation like after the war, and has to be phased out eventually and let market forces prevail," he said.

If it is applied too long, there need to be active readjustment measures or else social fabric and built-up environment will deteriorate.

Penang has a heavy burden since it was under rent control for decades. No spontaneous housing process was carried out up to now. On the other hand, Penang had only a few urban squatter areas unlike other cities in the world. But houses were in dilapidated state, housing situation poor as a result of rent control. After renovation, residential floor space would be even cheaper than low-cost flats, said Koenig.

There have been tenants who abused the situation by demanding large amount of compensation. Their intention is to prolong rent control for their own interest. He said the federal government planned to have a urban conservation Act enforced before rent control is lifted.

"In 1992 a national heritage inventory was started to identify the heritage and historical buildings but it came to nothing with developers lobbying against it," Koenig lamented sadly.

They had the notion that any building marked in the inventory would not be made profitable anymore.

The new building directives that came into being in 1990 after the change of chief minister were against renovation and conservation. The Armenian Street project was stalled. Even the restoration of Syed Alatas Mansion, which had been financially secured in 1989 by German funds, was only allowed to continue (under French assistance) after the personal intervention of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who visited the site twice.

"In August 1991 I saw the memo from the state exco for local government to the MPPP secretary saying: 'All activities relating to conservation had been strictly forbidden'," said Koenig.

"I was treated like a German government official doing a project (for profit) in Penang instead of facilitating German assistance to their work. They try to shortcut a big issue - land control had lasted a long time - by looking for a wholesale solution,"

But a wholesale solution does not work in Penang, he said.

He explained that German Aid Agency for Technical Cooperation's idea was to compromise and reconcile the three parties - owner, tenant and government. Basically to renovate, restore or renew so that the standard and quality is raised for long-term sustainability.

And by that way rent control will be phased out. The repeal of rent control would be treated as a kind of incentive to the house owners.

It seems everyone has a hidden agenda and nobody is willing to listen to the lonely voice of the experts. Today Georgetown hopes to be listed as a world heritage site.

"They got the chance a decade ago, it's a bit late now with all the damage done and more chaos to follow," said Koenig sadly.


KIM GOOI is a Malaysian freelance writer based in Bangkok. This is the second of a three-part series on Penang 2000: Year of living dangerously. Part 1:[#1]"Growing pains"[/#] appeared yesterday. Tommorow: Living under the shadow of rent control.