In their place will stand two towers with close to 600 units of offices and homes if a Penang government agency’s plans are approved.

The area’s pre-war government quarters, built and designed in the 1920s by the public works department (PWD), housed Penang’s civil servants up to the mid-1990s.

In 1995, the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) created Burmah Square, renting it out to interested businesses. The 1.5ha area is surrounded by Jalan Burmah, Jalan Chow Thye, Jalan Irrawaddy and Jalan Servis.

It has since been home to eateries, businesses and offices. But if PDC’s plans are to be approved by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP), it will be the second heritage government quarters to be cleared after the 2017 Peel Avenue clear-out and sale to a private company for a medical city project in 2017.

A PDC subsidiary plans to demolish 15 homes on Jalan Servis and Jalan Irrawaddy, while on the adjacent Jalan Chow Thye, a row of 19 houses will be “upgraded from two floors to four floors”, with an emphasis on restoration.

Changing the Jalan Burma skyline

According to planning permission documents submitted to MBPP, a 23-storey serviced apartment and 30-storey condominium has been proposed. The project would have 558 office spaces and homes, including 10 floors of retail space upon completion.

Checks by FMT show that the homes on Jalan Chow Thye are in MBPP’s heritage register as Category II heritage buildings, while the properties on Jalan Servis and Jalan Irrawaddy — which are of similar age — are not.

According to a state heritage agency, Category II buildings are buildings, objects, and sites of special interest that warrant every effort being made to preserve them.

The property value in the area is quite high, too, reaching as much as RM1,660 per sq ft.

On Dec 1, PDC issued one-month eviction notices to the occupiers of the 34 homes in the area. However, it has since rescinded the order following a meeting earlier this week.

A leaseholder, who did not want to be identified, said they would have no choice but to move out when the time came.

“They say it is a proposal, pending council approval, but it is PDC. So surely they will get the green light,” an owner of an eatery told FMT earlier this week.

Heritage buildings maintained

PDC CEO Mohd Bazid Mohd Kahar said the redevelopment would carefully consider heritage buildings there.

He said PDC has engaged MBPP’s heritage conservation unit concerning the 19 units of Category II heritage buildings on Jalan Chow Thye.

Bazid added that, ultimately, it would follow what the city council decides on the matter.

“The 19 homes will be maintained and restored as per the proposed redevelopment,” he said in a statement yesterday without saying how the units would be “upgraded to four floors” according to the planning permission request.

Tengku Idaura Ibrahim, PDC’s former deputy general manager is credited with the idea of having the area turned into a business zone in 1995.

She said that these homes built in the 1920s for Penang’s civil servants were largely unoccupied by the early 1990s, and she proposed to the Penang government that they be converted into a commercial zone.

Tengku Idaura said after PDC rented the units out to budding entrepreneurs in 1995, the enclave did very well.

“This area is a crucial part of Penang history, with unique architectural features. It is a vestige of a certain era in the state’s history. To have them cleared out would be a big loss. I’m saddened to hear about this,” she told FMT.

Tengku Idaura asked if a market survey was done, given the state’s current glut in office and residential units.

“What we need is the reorganising of the open spaces to make them more vibrant and attractive again,” she said.

Can Penangites object to the project?

Activist Yan Lee said a public consultation should be first held with Penangites at large, as there would otherwise be no means to object against a state government-backed project.

He said under the present Town and Country Planning Act, those living 20m adjacent to a proposed project can file an objection, but in this case, it was impossible.

Lee said the properties immediately next to the proposed project are also owned by the state government.

“Looks like there is not going to be any objectors. This is something unique. If there is not going to be any objectors, the city council should call for public consultation.”

FMT has contacted Mayor Yew Tung Seang for comment.