MWST 2.0 in Malaysia

Inspired by Ferdinand Magellan, the first person to circumnavigate the globe, the seventh also the last station of The Magallanes World Study Tour 2.0 (MWST 2.0) - UNESCO World Heritage was held successfully and the voyage was completed on 21 November 2022. The virtual tour conducted via Zoom successfully attracted more than 800 participants. The last station focused on the Pearls of Nanyang: The Pride of Malacca Strait— Malaysia.

Invited to share were UTAR Acting Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes, Institute of Chinese Studies Dr Toh Teong Chuan; President of Penang Heritage Trust Lim Gaik Siang and Advisory Committee for Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Inc Josephine Chua Lay Choo.

Dr Toh started the tour by enlightening participants on “A Brief History of Malacca and George Town as a Port-cities on Strait of Malacca”. He shared the history of Malacca, the founding of the Malacca Dynasty, the history of Penang Island and the reason for the British colonisation of Penang Island.

Dr Toh said, “The strategic location of Melaka made it a popular trading centre with merchants and ships arriving from India, Japan, China, South Africa and Arab. While for Penang Island, the island provided great protection and water for sailing vessels travelling the India-China route. It swiftly eclipsed every other commercial port in Western Malaya and drew a diverse population of Chinese, Indians, Sumatran and Burman People.” 

Lim then took over with her sharing titled "Interpretation of George Town World Heritage Site”. She shared the Introduction to Penang Island and George Town; the background of Francis Light; the development of Penang under Francis Light’s efforts; the Street of Harmony; the nomination as United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site; Outstanding Universal Values; Culture Fabric of George Town; The significance of George Town World Heritage Site and many more.

Lim said, “Georgetown is a melting pot of culture. It blends in cultures of Arab and Indian Muslims; cultures of Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese Chinese; cultures of the northern and southern Indians while subsequently creating its own Baba Nyonya culture.”

Lim displaying Penang’s Street of Harmony to the participants

Lim shared, “Georgetown exhibited an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. It experienced a succession of a colourful past from the Malay Sultanate, the Chinese, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and the post-colonial period.” “There are 233 different religious buildings such as mosques, Chinese temples, clan houses, Indian temples, etc in the core and buffer zone of George Town,” she emphasised.

Lim explains how the urban fabric for all the above architectures remains intact

Josephine Chua continued with “Malacca: taking the Mickey out of a heritage site”. According to her, Malacca demonstrates the early stage of history developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage both tangible and intangible.

She then shared the ethnic quarters of Chitty Village, Padri Sa Chang, Villa Sentosa at Kampung Morten; worship and religious festivals in Malacca such as Masi Magam Festival, Portuguese Festival – Festa San Pedru, Semayang Ti Kong (prayers to the jade emperor) and many more.

Josephine showing the photo of harmony in unity for temples and mosques in Malacca

Before ending the tour, UTAR Division of Community and International Networking (DCInterNet) Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn gave a brief introduction about UTAR and the programmes it offered.

Marking the end of the voyage, UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat expressed his gratitude to the six partner universities for making this virtual international study tour possible.

The virtual tour of Magallanes World Study Tour 2.0 ended with a question and answer session along with a virtual group photography session.

Click here to view the video montage for Magallanes World Study Tour 2.0 ending.