STS : Fears that KL's heritage houses may soon be history
Yap Yok Foo
30 September 2002
Fears that KL's heritage houses may soon be history
Loke Mansion, a house belonging to one of the city's pioneers, is now
up for sale, sparking calls to protect old buildings
By Leslie Lau
IN KUALA LUMPUR
WHILE Kuala Lumpur pioneer Loke Yew helped lay the foundations for the
city as a tin magnate and industrialist in the 1800s, his memory has
been confined for years to history books.
But the name of one of the city's most illustrious pioneers has been
dredged up in recent weeks as a rallying cry for conservationists who
seek to protect the country's heritage and prevent the destruction of
historical buildings.
Loke Mansion, one of three city pioneer-owned houses still standing,
was put up for sale recently and this has sparked calls for national
legislation to protect the country's heritage.
'Buildings like the Loke Mansion have very little protection from the
law and that is a major worry,' conservation group Badan Warisan
executive director Elizabeth Cardosa told The Straits Times.
She said that while conservationists and historians have no objection
to the construction of modern skyscrapers, 'the evidence of the city's
past should not be obliterated'.
Mr Loke Yew was one of the city's earliest pioneers and had business
interests in Singapore and Hongkong.
He lived in Loke Mansion from the late 1800s until his death in 1917.
The mansion, located less than 2 km from where the Petronas Twin
Towers now stand, was then one of the most imposing structures in the
fledgling settlement of Kuala Lumpur.
It was surrounded by 4.4 ha of rubber estate which Mr Loke also owned.
The Loke Mansion, which now houses an art school, is believed to be
owned by the Loke family and has been put up for sale at an estimated
cost of RM10.5 million (S$5 million).
'This building has tremendous historical significance for the city and
the authorities should raise the money to buy it and maybe turn it
into a museum,' conservation architect Lim Take Bane told The Straits
Times.
He said the mansion also had architectural value because of its blend
of European renaissance features of columns and arches and Chinese
doorways.
The government has responded to the conservation movement by drafting
new legislation to protect the country's heritage.
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the new legislation
that will ensure proper management of designated heritage buildings,
will be tabled in Parliament by the end of the year.
But the new laws may be too late for buildings such as Loke Mansion
and other historically significant structures in the city such as Bok
House, the mansion built by Chua Cheng Bok, the first chairman of
Cycle and Carriage, in the early 1900s.
Bok House, on busy Ampang Road, had once been pointed to as an example
of how a historically significant building could be preserved.
A quaint French restaurant, the Le Coq D'Or, that became a city
landmark, operated from the house until a few years ago when the
mansion was emptied and vacated.
It is now in a state of disrepair and is believed to be the subject of
legal disputes.
The third pioneer house is Loke Hall, owned by late businessman Loke
Chow Kit.
'There are too many loopholes in local government legislation now and
this has offered no protection to buildings,' said Miss Cardosa.
The authorities say little can be done about buildings such as Bok
House but the Museum and Antiquities Department has listed Loke
Mansion for preservation.
But as the property is privately owned, the government cannot stop the
sale of the building.
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