WORLD HERITAGE MALAYSIA WORLD HERITAGE MALAYSIA ISBN 978-983-3862-25-2 Published by: DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL HERITAGE, 2013 All rights reserved. This book may not be reprinted, or any part of it reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any other means without written permission from the Department of National Heritage. WORLD HERITAGE MALAYSIA DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL HERITAGE MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURE MALAYSIA Preface Bringing Malaysian heritage to the world through obtaining various UNESCO inscriptions, is among the responsibilities given to the Department of National Heritage. Malaysia has ratified several heritage conventions. The heritage conventions are World Heritage Convention 1972, Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003, Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict with Regulations for the Execution of the Convention, The Haque, 1954 and Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, The Haque, 1954. It is a challenging task for us to see through an inscription as the process is long and difficult. However, since its inception in 2006, the Department of National Heritage has successfully obtained 2 World Heritage inscriptions namely: Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Strait of Malacca 2008 and Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley 2012. In addition, one inscription has been obtained for Memory of the World International Register namely Batu Bersurat Terengganu, 2009. This volume has been put together by Nurwati Abdul Wahab, Wan Noazimah Wan Kamal, Nor Azimah Supa’at and Mohamad Syahrin Abdullah, as a general guide to what Malaysia has achieved in heritage recognition at a global level. Congratulations to the team for this effort. In the pipeline are a number of national heritage inscriptions that we are preparing for nominations. These include items for Intangible Cultural Heritage which we recently ratified. We also hope to send in nominations for a cultural and natural site for World Heritage Listing in 2015, when Malaysia ends its term on the World Heritage Committee. Malaysia is proud, to have been nominated a World Heritage Committee member, 23 years after ratifying the 1972 World Heritage Convention. It is our hope that Malaysia’s heritage will continue to contribute towards enriching world heritage in years to come. Emeritus Professor Datin Paduka Zuraina Majid Commissioner of Heritage Department of National Heritage CONTENTS PREFACE 1 MALAYSIA IN WORLD HERITAGE 1 2 WORLD HERITAGE SITES 7 Kinabalu Park 8 Gunung Mulu National Park 10 Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Strait of Malacca 12 Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley 16 3 MEMORY OF THE WORLD 20 Batu Bersurat Terengganu (Inscribed Stone of Terengganu) 22 Hikayat Hang Tuah 24 Correspondence of the Late Sultan of Kedah (1882-1943) 26 Sejarah Melayu (The Malay Annals) 27 4 INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE 28 Makyung Theatre 5 OTHER SIGNIFICANT SITES IN MALAYSIA 30 Taman Negara National Park 30 Royal Belum Park 32 Endau-Rompin National Park 34 Niah National Park 36 Mansuli Valley 38 Bukit Tengkorak 40 Bujang Valley 42 Danum Valley 44 1. Malaysia In World Heritage Malaysia established its own National Heritage Act in 2005. Following the Act, the Department of National Heritage was formed in 2006. So far, Malaysia, in implementing the Act, has achieved the inscription of several properties in the UNESCO World Heritage List, Memory of the World and Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Malaysia’s own Heritage Register inscribes Tangible, Intangible and Natural Heritage. The heritage history of Malaysia stretches from the Lenggong period where, based on archaeological finds, Malaysia was first inhabited more than 1.8 million years ago. The Lenggong Valley which has been called “an archaeologist’s dream valley” because of a series of important discoveries there, has contributed immensely to our knowledge of the prehistory of Malaysia and Asia, as well as to the “Out of Africa” theory. Research in the Lenggong Valley since 1987, has contributed significantly to Malaysian prehistory, with several findings having a major impact on regional and world archaeology. Subsequently, the Lenggong Archaeological Valley was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2012. Settlements in Malaysia, however, had emerged around 3,000 years ago, as the peninsula became a key transit point on the maritime trade network between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Due to its strategic location on the Straits of Malacca, the Peninsular attracted merchants from China, India and Arabia. Recent archaeological findings have shown the Bujang Valley in Kedah to be important for its iron industry, producing ingots that were exported as far west as Syria, and as far east China. The earliest centre, a site in Sungai Batu currently chronometrically dated to 50 BC, was also a cosmopolitan port, an iron production area and a trading centre, making this Malaysian site the earliest evidence of civilization in Southeast Asia. 1 In the intervening period, Malaysia’s epochal development was marked by the eventual spread of Islam in the 14th century which led to the birth of one of the greatest Malay kingdoms, Melaka, in the Peninsula. Founded by Parameswara, a prince from Palembang, Sumatra, it became a major entrêpot in the region. The Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu or History of the Malays ) which chronicles this part of Malay history, together with Hikayat Hang Tuah, a traditional Malay epic and literary classic have been inscribed in the UNESCO List of Memory of the World. Apart from these events, Malaysia’s history was cast against a background of some of the most stunning natural heritage areas found in the world. It includes having the world’s oldest rainforest, with 15,000 species of flowering plants and 185,000 species of animals. The Malaysian rainforest has the world’s largest flower, the world’s tallest tropical tree, and the world’s smallest mammals. The Kinabalu National Park in Sabah and the Mulu National Park in Sarawak have been inscribed as World Heritage sites. Three other parks in Peninsula Malaysia−the National Park in Pahang, the Endau- Rompin Park on the Pahang-Johor border and the Royal Belum Park in Perak are listed in the National Heritage Register of Malaysia. Traditional performances, dance and song, customs and tradition as well as language and literature–all important aspects of intangible heritage–have also been preserved 4 in Malaysia as they are part of our cultural heritage. The traditional dance-drama, the Makyong, which originates from the state of Kelantan, is an ancient dance-theatre form. It was inscribed as a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and intangible Heritage of Humanity and is currently on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Malaysia’s handicraft heritage is also being preserved. Seven types of traditional handicraft, such as handmade jewellery boxes, masks, and embroided silk cushions have received the UNESCO AHPDA Seal of Excellence. The Malaysian Government is strongly committed to protecting, conserving and preserving the country’s Heritage. Through the National Heritage Act 2005, the Department of National Heritage is able to protect, preserve and promote the widest range of heritage in the country, a record of the past and the present, for future generations. Malaysia’s unique heritage is a rich collection of its diverse racial, cultural and natural experiences through this long and remarkable passage of time. Under the Heritage Act, this enormous array of treasures is being diligently and meticulously conserved and preserved to meet the needs and aspirations of present as well as future generations. 5 2. World Heritage Sites South China Sea Map of World Heritage Sites in Malaysia Kinabalu Park The State of Sabah on the northern end of the island of Borneo, is ensconsed by the majestic Mount Kinabalu (4,095 metres), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. It has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations. It has been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia and is exceptionally rich in species with examples of flora from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malaysia, as well as pan-tropical flora. The site has a diverse biota and high endemism. The altitudinal and climatic gradient from tropical forest to alpine conditions combine with precipitous topography, diverse geology and frequent climate oscillations to provide conditions ideal for the development of new species. The Park contains high biodiversity with representatives from more than half the families of all flowering plants. The majority of Borneo’s mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates (many threatened and vulnerable) can also be found in the Park. Fauna of Kinabalu Park 8 Panorama of Kinabalu Park Gunung Mulu National Park Gunung Mulu National Park, on the island of Borneo in the State of Sarawak is important both for its high biodiversity and for its karst features. It is the most studied tropical karst area in the world. The 52,864 hectares park contains seventeen vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants. Its palm species are exceptionally rich, with 109 species in twenty genera noted. The park is dominated by Gunung Mulu, a 2,377 metres high sandstone pinnacle. At least 295 kilometres of explored caves provide a spectacular sight and are home to millions of cave swiftlets and bats. The Sarawak Chamber, 600 metres by 415 metres and 80 metres high, is the largest known cave chamber in the world and known for its daily migratory pattern of birds and bats flying in and our of the cave. The concentration of caves in Mulu’s Melinau Formation with its geomorphic and structural characteristics is an outstanding feature which allows a greater understanding of Earth’s history.