KUALA LUMPUR: The sounds of horses, cows and an elephant will transport revellers at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday back in time to the early years of Malacca and George Town.

Trishaws still offer tourists the novelty of travelling down memory lane in George Town

Trishaws will also be brought in to recreate an atmosphere redolent of the British era.

The 20 horses, 12 trishaws, four bullock carts and an elephant will be part of the parade at a ceremony to celebrate the joint listing of Malacca and George Town on Unesco's World Heritage List.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah are expected as guests of honour at the event organised by the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his wife, Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, are also expected to be present to mark the occasion.
Malacca and George Town are the first two Malaysian cities to be given cultural heritage site status by Unesco.

In 2000, Mulu National Park and Mount Kinabalu were listed as Unesco's natural heritage sites.

The joint listing indicates that if either Malacca or George Town loses its heritage listing status, the other one will also lose its status automatically.

Datuk Zuraina Majid, the Commissioner of Heritage at the Heritage Department of the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry said in an interview with New Straits Times that both cities should not disturb their outstanding universal values (OUV) to avoid being delisted.

The OUV refer to the two historical cities' architecture, culture and townscape left by traders who came to Malacca from the Malay Archipelago, India, China and Europe more than 500 years ago.

Trishaws, the Stadhuys in Malacca and Baba Nyonya culture are a few examples of the outstanding universal values that the cities possess.

However, the entire two cites do not fall under the heritage cultural site status.

In Malacca, it covers 214.6ha, made up of a core area and a buffer zone.

The core area includes St Paul Hill, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (formerly known as Heeren Street), Jalan Hang Jebat (known as Jonker Street), Jalan Tokong, Tukang Emas, Tukang Besi and Jalan Kampung Pantai.

The buffer zone includes the surrounding area of Jalan Merdeka, Jalan Kota Laksamana, Jalan Ong Kim Wee, Jalan Tan Chay Yan, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kampung Banda Kaba, Jalan Chang Koong Cheng and Bukit China.

Similarly, in Penang, the heritage city area covers 259.42ha.

The core area covers Lorong Love, Pengkalan Weld, Lebuh Pantai, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, Jalan Tun Sheh Barakbah, Lebuh Light, Lebuh Bishop, Lebuh Gereja, Lebuh China, Lebuh Pasar, Lebuh Chulia, Lebuh Armenian and Lebuh Acheh.

The buffer zone includes the surrounding area of Jalan Perangin and Jalan Transfer.

The two state governments will have to prevent their cities from losing the heritage cultural site status by keeping the outstanding universal values intact.

"It means there should be no tearing down of old shops without proper reason and there should not be any air-conditioning system jutting out of old buildings," said Zuraina.

She added that each state would have its own management committee headed by their chief ministers to meet this objective.

The progress of the two state committees will be watched closely by the National Management Committee headed by Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

"With proper management, the heritage listing status will not be in any danger but will be kept alive," she said.