Penang Watch

Friday November 30, 2007

Money in old shophouses

TAIPING: Owners of pre-war shophouses here are likely to become millionaires if a buy-over proposal made by the Taiping Municipal Council is accepted by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

“What we fear is that the ministry may not have the necessary funds to buy over such premises,” council president Omor Saad said after chairing the monthly full board meeting here yesterday.

He said buying over such premises was among the options being proposed by the council in its effort to turn Taiping into a heritage town, a move that has received the strong backing of the ministry.

“Once such premises are bought over, the ministry can then proceed with the task of maintaining them,” said Omor.

Another option being proposed was for the setting up of a heritage fund, also with the help of the ministry, he said.

“Those who decline to accept the buy-over can request for the necessary maintenance funds from this fund,” he said.

Omor said based on prevailing market demand, pre-war shophouse here could easily be sold off for more than RM500,000 per unit.

Omor said so far, the council had identified 83 such heritage shophouses.

(Many shophouses here, irrespective whether they are old or new, have been converted to swift hotels, producing quality bird nests which could fetch up to RM6,000 a kilo).

Yeap Thean Eng, who owns the former mansion of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, the first Kapitan of Taiping, which was built in 1890 in Jalan Berek, said he was informed of the council’s buy-over proposal recently.

“I bought the mansion for more than RM700,000 several years ago and I spent a few hundred thousand ringgit to refurbish it but if the offer price is right, I will move out and buy another property elsewhere,” said Yeap who is also the vice-president of the Taiping Heritage Society.

Yeap said two old shophouses nearby, which used to be the horse stable of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, were acquired for over RM1mil before they were demolished recently to make way for a new building.