Mystery of the vanishing (Malaysia’s oldest) market
Two buildings
comprising the Taiping Market – built in 1884 and 1885 – which were being
restored are missing and heritage lovers are demanding answers from the
authorities.
A debate
has erupted among architects, town planners and heritage lovers over the
country’s oldest wet market which vanished mysteriously during renovation and
restoration work. Only a small section of one of the two buildings making up
the Taiping Market stands.Conservators and heritage lovers are puzzled and
angry that, except for the small section known as Siang-Malam to locals,
nothing remains to be seen of the original market buildings.
They are wondering if the two buildings, sans Siang-Malam, collapsed while restoration work was proceeding or if it was dismantled by those tasked with restoring it. Some are asking if the 139-year-old superstructure collapsed because of the restoration work. Adding to the questions is the fact that the ground on which the market stood is empty except for some debris. Metal hoarding covers the entire area.
They seek
answers as to why even the pillars were brought down when the mandate given to
the authorities, especially the Taiping Municipal Council, was to restore the
two buildings by retaining as many original parts as possible because the
historic market is a tourist attraction.
This is especially so because only
in January local government development minister Nga Kor Ming said the
authorities would not “simply tear it
down and rebuild” because of its historic nature. The missing market would
have gone unnoticed by heritage lovers and architects outside Taiping if not
for several people who posted and shared the news on their social media
accounts, causing a cascade of comments from architects, conservators and
ordinary people.
Many
participating in the debate, both online and in coffee shops, fear that any
replacement – without at least the earlier superstructure or major parts of it
remaining intact – would not enable the new buildings to qualify for Unesco
recognition as world heritage buildings.
One of them, TCK, wrote on
Facebook: “I am devastated to witness the destruction of an old and cherished market
in Taiping. It breaks my heart to see the valuable and historical components of
the market being treated as rubbish.” Among those who commented on TCK’s thread
was Hajeedar Abdul Majid, one of the foremost architects in the country, who
simply said: “Idiotic decision”, with a sad-faced symbol attached.
A former
resident, JA, wrote on his Facebook account: “What is this? There goes your
world heritage nomination. Let’s hope it has been dismantled to be
reconstructed.”
One heritage lover told me: “We need
answers. This is a national heritage and the public, especially the Taiping
public, has a right to know. The authorities, such as the Taiping Municipal
Council, should inform the public about what’s happening.”
He said the authorities were
supposed to renovate and restore the two blocks, one built in 1884 and the
other in 1885, and that the Taiping Market was listed as a national heritage
building under the Antiquities Act.
A Taiping resident, aged 82, said:
“I heard that the buildings collapsed while they were restoring it but I’m not
certain. It’s puzzling because we saw restoration work being done with the
superstructure intact. Now, suddenly, the whole thing is gone. What went wrong?
We need an explanation.”
The project to renovate and restore
the two buildings goes back some years. In 2015, it was reported that the
Taiping Market would be renovated and that market traders would be moved to a
temporary site in Tupai, 2km away from the existing market.
“The new market will be built
within two or three years,” the then council president Abd Rahim Md Ariff was
quoted as saying by the media. He also said the project had actually been
approved in 2008. On April 19, 2019, the then housing and local government
minister Zuraida Kamarudin said the government had allocated RM9 million to
renovate the Taiping Market which housed 212 business lots on a total area of
0.4 hectares.
She said
work on the two blocks of the market – each 60m long and 18m wide – would begin
in 2020 and that it would be completed within two or three years. On Jan 14
this year, Nga said renovation work was proceeding well, adding: “It is the
pride of Perak and works are expected to be fully completed next year.”
“Taiping Market will be known as the first
national heritage market in the country,” he told the media.
Nga said renovation work, which
began in January 2021 at a cost of about RM9 million was taking time because
the government wanted to maintain its unique features.
“It took some time to design the
market. We cannot simply tear it down and rebuild,” he said.
Unfortunately, that seems to be
what has happened – except for the Siang-Malam section, so called because in
earlier years it operated 24 hours serving food to residents and traders
stopping by at Taiping or bringing market produce. Before restoration work too
food and beverages were sold at that section but stall operators closed around
midnight.
According to a write-up by the town
and country planning department: “The market buildings are made out of wooden
pillars, a concrete slab, and zinc roofing. The market has a very high ceiling
with a central truss that creates a two-level effect to the building’s sloping
roof by forming a clerestory. This design creates a draft that carries hot air
from the ground level up to the roofs, where it then dissipates through the
louvres built into the ‘second-level’ of the roof. The markets are perfect
examples of large 19th-century wooden buildings, and at the time were most
probably the largest non-indigenous wooden buildings in the country.”
The Taiping Market, built using
cast iron and cengal wood, was constructed and paid for by a wealthy Chinese
mining towkay named Cheah Boon Hean. The design, however, was done by the
public works department. It consisted of two buildings.
The older block, built in 1884,
stretched from Main Road (now Jalan Taming Sari) to Kota Road (Jalan Kota). It
housed stalls selling fish, fruits, vegetables and pork. The second building,
built a year later, comprised a hawker centre, the Siang-Malam, and sections
where beef, mutton and chicken were sold. It stretched from Kota Road to
Theatre Road (Jalan Panggung Wayang).
Many Taiping residents and those
who lived here but have since moved elsewhere look upon the market with
nostalgia. And they take pride in the many historic buildings in their town,
including the Taiping Market.
In the absence of any information
from the authorities, rumours abound about substandard work, changes in
contractors, incompetency and poor supervision.
The authorities have a duty to keep
the people – especially Taiping residents – informed about why the building
collapsed or was brought down, what they intend to do and whether this will
affect any bid for Unesco heritage status.
The writer can be contacted at kathirasen@yahoo.com
Other news: https://twentytwo13.my/news/nga-kor-ming-to-visit-taiping-expected-to-clear-the-air-over-demolition-of-century-old-taiping-market/
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