Heritage activists and local residents have expressed grave concern over a Singapore property firm which has purchased many heritage buildings in George Town.

The areas concerned are in Lorong Bertam and Lebuh Noordin which are located at the edge of the George Town World Heritage site.

Twenty-six residents have been slapped with eviction notices since Aug 24, and told to vacate their premises on Sept 30.

Hock Seong Choon coffeeshop owner Wang Teng Kok (left in top photo) appealed for more time so that he could look for an alternative site to run his business.

"At least give us about six months to plan our lives, we were only given a month or so to leave our shops, " Wang, 65, said when met along Penang Road, where his shop is located.

"I feel very sad to leave as this shop has been such a strategic location for locals and tourists, we are also well known because we have one of the best Hainan chicken rice stalls," he said.

"With this eviction, I forsee financial losses of RM5,000 a month for myself while the nine workers working here will lose their job as well," he added

George Town Heritage spokesperson Mark Lay (right in top photo) said regardless of foreign or local residents, such firms were "uprooting many families and gutting a great number of heritage buildings".

"We are deeply concerned over the loss of diversity both in the built and intangible cultural heritage of George Town," Lay said at a press conference in Wang's coffeeshop.

Lay said that a Singaporean company – World Class Land – has purchased 20 shop houses in a predominantly residential and cottage industry street on Jalan Bertam.

He added that the same firm has bought six shop houses with commercial trades along Penang Road.

"These 26 units were bought by World Class Land under two companies.

"The firm's model and strategy is to buy, evict tenants, renovate, build and drastically increase rentals which local Penangites are mostly unable to afford," Lay said.

He said the company has also acquired 37 units – which are currently empty – along Lebuh Noordin and Jalan Gudwara.

He claimed most of the tenants there had been evicted, while the developer planned to erect a 46- storey condominium in the area.

The plan, which has yet to obtain the approval of the Penang Island City Council, allegedly involves the demolition of 11 heritage houses, Lay claimed.

Meanwhile, World Class Land has purchased 128 heritage properties along Chit Tiau Lor, also known as 7 Streets Precint.

Lay cited the Penang Island Ciry Council guidelines and 2008 Dossier to Unesco which both detailed the need of this heritage precint.

"The possible solution to stop or slow down World Class Land's bulk purchases of heritage property is to limit change of use for heritage buildings," Lay said.

"Zone out certain activities, for example, high-end businesses which do not benefit the local community," he added.

Buffer zone

Lay urged the authorities to use provisions in the 2011 Penang Heritage Enactment and the 2016 Penang Heritage Regulations – which are enforced today – to protect the area.

He asked the authorities to involve the National Heritage Department in seeking the extension of the 7 Precint buffer zone.

The group plans to be in touch with the Unesco World Heritage Centre which will most likely visit Penang to excess the impact of the Transpot Master Plan on Sia Boey, an iconic site along the old Pragin Canal.

Unesco's purported visit comes after Penang Forum member-cum-Penang Island City Councillor Lim Mah Hui wrote the world body a letter asking it to access the impact of the TMP.

"Why not come also to access the property plans of World Class Land in George Town? "Lay tells Unesco, which awarded the city the World Heritage Status in July 2008.

The status brought about a hike in rentals and property prices, which local folks claim were beyond their financial means.

Lay said Penang Heritage commissioner Mokhtar Mohd Jait can declare any area in George Town the state's heritage site to protect the area from being gutted by ambitious developers.

"Why build near the heritage site? There is a lot of land in Bayan Lepas, Batu Maung or Sungai Ara (at the Island's southern post) where developers can build, and there are no issues there because it is not a heritage site," Lay said.