Tanjong Tokong villagers are overjoyed that their efforts to preserve their heritage village has been finally recognised, after years of battle with developer UDA Holdings Berhad.

On Saturday, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said he would be meeting with relevant groups in efforts to preserve and revive Tanjung Tokong, as one of the “oldest Malay villages” in Penang.

Nazri had said that the meeting will involve UDA, the National Heritage Department, the Penang Malay Association (Pemenang), the state government and history experts.  

NONE He has asked former Balik Pulau MP and lawyer Yusmadi Yusuff ( left ), who has been in the forefront of fighting the battle for the villagers and who has been sued by UDA, to discuss the matter with the state.

Nazri had said this after attending the Aidilfitri open house event of his ministry in Penang on Saturday.

Tanjong Tokong Residents Association chairperson Salleh Yahaya said that this was the first time they had heard such a “concrete and firm” statement regarding their village from a federal minister.

“This gives us new hope that the new tourism minister has the right agenda and will to make Tanjong Tokong the first Malay heritage village in Penang,” Salleh, a retired teacher, told Malaysiakini.

“We hope to live to see this dream of ours come true,” he added.

“This move is in line with the existence of George Town and the colonial heritage which had been proudly and sustainably given its rightful place in Penang,” he stressed.

Tanjong Tokong, formerly known as the ‘Cape of the Rocky Islet’, situated along Penang’s northern touristic strip, boasts of preserving historical artifacts, buildings and monuments that show the Malays have inhabited the place some 300 years ago, even before the discovery of the island by British colonialist Francis Light.

The 11 villagers who have yet to accept the compensation package from UDA are now counter-suing the developer for planning to evict them from their village.

Their lawyer Jason Ong also welcomed the news, saying it was the best way to fortify the “muafakat” spirit, especially during the Aidilfitri season.

He urged the state government to immediately hold talks with the relevant parties suggested by Nazri to make the villagers’ hope a reality.

Task force to look into heritage issues proposed

“We also urge the state government to set up a special task force or committee to look into such cultural and heritage issues especially those in Tanjong Tokong and Batu Uban, another Malay village under threat of being seized by development,” said the former Kebun Bunga assemblyperson.

Dr Afif Bahardin Meanwhile, state executive councillor Dr Afif Bahardin ( left ) said that the villagers have long suffered due to land acquisition by UDA.

He added that only with the commitment and political will of the federal and state governments, the village, which houses mostly Muslim Malays, would be preserved in its rightful nature.

“I hope that with the new development (Nazri’s statement), UDA will withdraw their suit against the villagers,” Afif, who is Seberang Jaya assemblyperson, said in a statement.

“The developer must fulfil the condition set by former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein in the early 1970s that Tanjong Tokong can only be developed for heritage purposes,” he added.