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| Pemenang president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said this was to ensure the house, which is rich in history, would continue to be protected and preserved. - NSTP/ZUHAINY ZULKIFFLI. |
Audrey Dermawan - NST 18 March 2021
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Malay Association (Pemenang) has called on the government to gazette the former residence of the first prime minister of Malaysia, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj in Pulau Tikus here, as a national heritage.
Pemenang president Tan
Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said this was to ensure the house, which is rich in
history, would continue to be protected and preserved.
Yussof said Pemenang
had written to Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri on
the matter.
"We are
requesting the National Heritage Department, through the commissioner of
heritage, to gazette Tunku Abdul Rahman's house here as a national heritage.
"This house,
which bore witness to many historical events in Tunku Abdul Rahman's lifetime,
is rich in history and should be protected at all cost.
"Pemenang has
also written to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to support our
cause," he told the New Straits Times today.
The former residence
of Tunku Abdul Rahman was recently put on the market for a whopping RM62
million.
The six-bedroom,
double-storey detached residence with an annexed servants' quarters has been
listed for sale on several property portals, including international listings.
The property sits on
0.6 hectare of freehold land fronting Jalan Park and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman,
a road named after the Tunku, who lived there until his demise in 1990.
The house with a
built-up area of 9,867 sq ft and a land size of 64,472 sq ft, is a
well-preserved heritage property, according to the listings.
Real estate experts
had said if the deal goes through at RM62 million, it would be the most
expensive landed residential property sold in the market today.
The current owner of
this historical property is believed to be a private company (a non-developer)
that bought it more than a decade ago.
To date, 173 heritage
items in Malaysia including buildings, objects, intangible cultural heritage,
archaeological sites, and living heritage treasures have been listed as
national heritage under the National Heritage Act.
Elaborating, Yusoff
said Tunku Abdul Rahman had vowed to make Penang his home when he retired in
1970 and the former premier initially bought a single-storey bungalow opposite
Western Garden.
"Later, Tunku
Abdul Rahman's close friend, Tan Kim Yeow, offered him to buy a bungalow -- No
16, Jalan Ayer Rajah (now Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman), which he named 'Takdir' --
the Malay word for fate. At that time, parliament had given him a gratuity (of
RM200,000), in recognition of his role as the prime minister. It was with that
money he bought the bungalow.
"It was in this
very bungalow that many significant events took place. Tunku Abdul Rahman
continued to welcome both local and foreign dignitaries, including the retired
Thailand prime minister then, in this house. He also hosted a dinner here for
the country's second prime minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
"It is also in
this bungalow every year where we throw Tunku Abdul Rahman a birthday party, on
every Feb 8, while at the same time, we organised the Piala Bapa Malaysia. Many
other meetings were held in this house until his health took a toll on him in
1988. I used to go there every now and then.
"Indeed, the
bungalow is rich in history and should be protected and preserved," he
added.
Yusoff said, both the
federal and state governments, should also come together to see how they could
turn the bungalow into the Tunku Abdul Rahman's gallery.
Last Friday, Penang
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow had said that the state government would get more
information on the sale of the bungalow.
"Tunku is a
national legend...(his residence is a) national asset that should be protected.
"We hope the
federal government will also take note, but meanwhile the state government will
get more information and look into it," he was quoted as saying then
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