Gov't proposes Asian heritage list
Malaysiakini
Oct  11, 2006

Malaysia has criticised Unesco for ignoring Asia's historical sites and will propose establishing an Asian version of the world heritage list.

Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim said Asian nations were under-represented on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) list of top historical sites.

"Unesco is giving too much emphasis to countries in Europe and the United States. This has resulted in not enough heritage and historic sites being given such status in Asia," Rais was quoted in the New Straits Times today.

He said that by creating an Asian version of the list, more deserving sites in the region could be recognised.

"The ministry, through international channels, will propose this to Unesco and hopes it will be considered," Rais said.

Waiting for recognition

If the proposal is rejected, countries like China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia could create their own organisation to determine historic and heritage sites in the region, he said.

"This is not impossible as we have historians and experts in this field and also in the areas of culture. However, we hope that Unesco will be fair to us and there would not be a need for us to take this drastic measure," he said.

Malaysia has applied to Unesco to recognise historic districts in Malacca and on the tourist island of Penang.

"The applications of the two states were submitted to Unesco in 2004 and we sent a reminder twice, the latest being last year. We hope the committee is close to making a decision soon," Rais said.