Public Announcement. Do We Want To Preserve The Heritage Of Old Town

The X-site was the location of Sun Cinema previously.

A plan to convert 1) the plot ratio from 1:3.5 to 1:6 and 2) the height limit from 5 storeys to 14 storeys in Old Town where the Sun Cinema once stood.

Note: This plot is located within the heritage Core Zone with a gazetted height limit of 5 storeys in the Rancangan Kawasan Khas (RKK) by MBI. New buildings should correspond and be sensitive to the existing heritage buildings in terms of height, size, and design And preserve and promote Ipoh’s identity as a heritage city built by tin.

Agree or Disagree.

_____________

Dear Old Town residents & friends,

In April 2018, Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (MBI) put up a signage inviting the public to voice their objections of the conversion of the plot ratio and height restrictions of a plot of land in Old Town where the Sun Cinema once stood. The plans are to convert the plot ratio from 1:3.5 to 1:6 and the height limit from 5 storeys to 14 storeys. We welcome MBI’s efforts in involving the public in this process.

The amendment is to enable the developer, PK Lee Sdn. Bhd. to build a 14-storey hotel with an underground floor on the plot. We, together with several concerned parties, attended the hearing, but would also like to further highlight this issue to the public.

This plot is located within the heritage Core Zone with a gazetted height limit of 5 storeys in the Rancangan Kawasan Khas (RKK) by MBI. We are concerned regarding the following matters:

1.Ipoh Old Town is heavily promoted as a heritage and tourism spot, and has attracted tourists from around the globe due to its history. Any development must not change the fabric/landscape of the area, but must take Old Town's heritage into account. New buildings should correspond and be sensitive to the existing heritage buildings in terms of height, size, and design.

2.The plot is bordered by the Kinta River and heritage buildings that are over 100-years-old. Most of the heritage buildings were built without foundations. This amendment will enable the construction of the hotel or any high-rise building which will cause serious damage to the surrounding heritage buildings.

3.If the amendment is approved, it sets a precedent for the construction of more buildings that exceed the 5 storey height limit within the Core Zone in direct contravention to the guidelines set in the RKK. The RKK then becomes a document that bears no weight on any further development in the gazetted areas.

It is our hope that due consideration is given to the abovementioned matters to preserve and promote Ipoh’s identity as a heritage city built by tin.

Wow …Awesome Perak Facts

Perak has 3 of the most significant parks in Peninsula Malaysia 

• Royal Belum with 10 species of Hornbills
• Kinta Nature Park with over 2,000 nesting herons and egrets
• Pulau Sembilan with bioluminescent beach and rare seahorses.

 And then some more 

• Like the prehistoric Perak Man in Lenggong   
• The recently announced Kinta Geopark

Awesome Perak …. We have it all,

Can we preserve it for our future generations?

‘Kopi – O” A TAPIR & Perak Tourism’s New MASCOT

Hi there. I am Kopi-O, a Malaysian Tapir.

This is my creator Wan Sue Khay, 21, from Ipoh Mali and a graphic designer.

Ms Wan designed me cause I am a Malayan Tapir, an endangered species and she wanted to create awareness and get people to appreciate the animal that I am.

She called me Kopi-0 because of my colour and it being synonymous with Ipoh’s famous coffee.

I am also known as a MASCOT and a sort of AMBASSADOR for the state government’s Perak Tourism sector where I will promote the state within and outside the country.

 

Mr Tan, Ms Wan and my portrait on the wall of Gua Tambun

Did you know that I am part of a Pre-historic drawing at Gua Tambun, Gunung Panjang in Tambun dating some thousand years ago …… and the reason I was chosen as a mascot.

Awesome aren’t I … imagine I have been around and actually have a portrait in stone.

I want to thank Ms Wan and Mr Tan for making me FAMOUS.

Kopi-O

Perak Sultan's birthday run ...2018

Kuala Kangsar, Nov 11 — Sultan Nazrin Shah was among 7,000 people who participated in the Sultan of Perak Birthday Run at Dataran Pavillion here today.

The fun run started at 6.45am with 4 four categories -15 km, 10km, 7km and a 2.8km VVIP run for men and women.

Sultan Nazrin was joined by his consort Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim and children Raja Datuk Seri Azlan Muzzaffar Shah and Raja Nazira Safya.

Waller Court Project

The project site was opened in August 1960 named after E. G. Waller, chairman of the Ipoh Town Council from 1959 to 1962. it was completed by the Public Works Department in 19 months, and ceremoniously opened by Mrs Waller in May of 1962, presided over by D. R. Seenivasagam, Ipoh Town Councillor & MP - a champion of the under-privileged.

Laid out on a gentle curve, Waller Court comprises 536 units in seventeen Blocks of four storey flats. Staggered blocks form T-annexes, it sits on a long strip of land over 1500m long and 30m wide. The blocks are linked at all levels by covered walkways and foot bridges. One can leave their flat to go to the shops on the ground level without getting wet, theoretically. On the ground level covered spaces flow into adjacent lawns, a car park or a play area.

The structure is reinforced concrete, with cross walls of 4-1/2” reinforced concrete load-bearing wall throughout. As the first social housing project for Ipoh it deserves its place as an important architectural heritage of the city. It borders the D. R. Seenivasagam Park, the green lung of Ipoh.

HL / 10 Nov 18

Waller Court Flats – Potential For Business Start Ups

Waller Court 

Met with YB Tan Kar Heng recently and was privy to an update on the half century old Waller Court flat.

“We are finalizing the ownership issue of Waller Court with the State Secretary Incorporated. We have informed the new Secretary Zainal Azman and hoped to get his endorsement soon possibly before December”.

Tan added with the endorsement we can then carry out our pilot project which is 3 blocks of *business incubation start-ups with young artists and entrepreneurs.

 

YB Tan (centre) with YB Howard Lee at a recent walkabout at Waller Court

He also let on that he is working with architects and designers mentioning popular landscape architect Ng Sek San.

Google defined “*Business Incubation as a unique and highly flexible combination of business development processes, infrastructure and people, designed to nurture and grow new and small businesses by supporting them through the early stages of development and change”

Waller Court flats was built in 1962. It consists of 500 flats with 36 shop lots housed within 17 blocks and was catered to Ipoh’s inner city residents many of whom were from the lower income group.

 

Waller Court "live-work apartments suited to 'creative-class' of artists and entrepreneurs"

Impressive, 3 blocks to be used as start-ups. Its close proximity to Taman DR  garden and the Kinta riverfront could possibly turn it into an artist colony of sorts and maybe take some traffic away from Old Town eventually. Time will tell.

James Gough

Graphics. Courtesy of Perak Tourism

Daulat Tuanku