The curious case of Carcosa

COME August, boutique hotel Carcosa, a building that Malaysia had "struggled" to get back from the British, turns 113.

It was returned to Malaysia in 1987 and started operating as a hotel.

In late 2009, plans for its rejuvenation, as well as for neighbour Seri Negara and its surroundings, were announced. The plans were aborted shortly thereafter. Nineteen months have gone by since the announcement, but its future seems to be shrouded in secrecy.

Carcosa was once home to Frank Swettenham, the highest ranked British representative to the Malay States. The first prime minister of Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman gifted "Carcosa" to the British government as a token of goodwill.

"Inevitably, that such a prominent and resonant property should remain in British hands sparked resentment, and the 'Carcosa issue' was taken up by young radical politicians, in particular one Anwar Ibrahim," according to the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur's website said.

In fact, Malaysia's Department of National Heritage states that Carcosa and Seri Negara are the most prestigious properties in the country's national history as the site where the properties are located was prominent in the struggle to get back Malaysia's assets from the British government.

In 1987, in return for giving up "Carcosa", the British government was given a plot of land near the corner of Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Ampang, where the British High Commission building now sits. Interestingly, the High Commission plans to sell this land and it may fetch close to RM200 million.

While business seems to be as usual at the hotel, it is only at Seri Negara. A drive up to the hotel will reveal that the road leading to Carcosa, and Carcosa itself, have been closed since December 31 2009.

Now, I am no conservation or restoration expert, but somehow it feels that more should be done to maintain the century-old building.

The Property and Land Management Division of the Prime Minister's Department, which made a request for proposal (RFP) and later called it off, has not returned any calls.

Although a new RFP was to come, to date, no new RFP has been heard of. A RFP, which is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, is an invitation for providers of a product or service to bid on the right to supply that product or service to the entity that has issued the RFP.

Peremba Sejagat Sdn Bhd, a unit of Saujana Hotels and Resorts, was told to manage the property for six months until July 2010, pending a decision on the winner of the bid. Calls to the hotel revealed that it is taking bookings for at least another year.

Is it not time for some indication on the status of the redevelopment? After all, some nine bidders had to toil and hurriedly put in a proposal as the tender's closing date was set within two weeks, which fortunately later extended by another two weeks.

Although designated as a heritage site by the Department of National Heritage, there has been no responses to questions posed to the Heritage Commissioner and deputy director-general on the status of Carcosa.

Numerous calls to the secretary general of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Kamaruddin Siaraf were unanswered.

After all the fights to get back the property, one would think that it would only be right to take care of it.

For a start, it would be good to know what the status of the building is, or at the very least, if someone could say which ministry is actually responsible for the building.

Issues in Islamic tourism

KUALA LUMPUR: The hosting of World Islamic Tourism Forum here this week has evoked questions on the definition of "Islamic Tourism".

Does it relate to gender segregation in the use of facilities? Is it halal food? Is the focus on ornate Islamic architecture or beautiful mosques? When the New Straits Times asked around, many seemed to associate the term with religious visits to Islam's holy places and historical sites and also visits and tours to Muslim-majority countries.

A civil servant, Fatima Zahra, 28, responded to NST's query on Facebook about the topic by asking a reporter if the term meant that the tour would be syariah compliant such as providing halal meals and observing the time for prayers or did it just simply mean visiting historical Islamic places.

While many regard this as symbolic of Islam, there are many other aspects that make up Islamic tourism. This was the subject dwelt upon and discussed at length by participants of the World Islamic Tourism Forum this year for two days at the Seri Pacific Hotel here.

Themed "Enhancing the Spirit of Global Understanding Through Islamic Tourism", the forum also discussed and addressed issues surrounding the misconception of Islam and the Muslim community worldwide due to the negative publicity given by the Western media.

Organised by the Global Islamic Tourism Organisation Malaysia and the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies and also supported by Tourism Malaysia, about 200 people attended the forum where issues ranging from Islamic tourism, the halal industry and Islamic hospitality were discussed.

In his opening address at the forum on Tuesday, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi acknowledged that Islamic tourism was still in its initial stage.

"Islamic tourism is a new brand in the contemporary world of tourism. It is a brand that will have to deal with the same issues of any conventional tourist agency. However, in the case of Islamic tourism, there are additional requirements that have to be fulfilled in accordance with the teachings of Islam.

"For example, observance of the halal requirement would be a major part of being syariah compliant. Muslims generally can only accept tourism as Islamic if this fundamental requirement is observed. Therefore, non-Muslims who want to participate in Islamic tourism would need to have sufficient understanding of the halal requirement," he said.

It was learnt that many tour operators who operate Muslim tour packages or Islamic tour packages still do not fully comprehend or understand the halal requirement.

On a trip to Singapore recently, 28-year-old technology writer Afiq Hanif was asked by the organisers whether he would mind if the restaurant they were going to had no halal certification by the authorities but did not serve pork or alcohol.

"This is a classic example of how the term halal is not really understood. Halal is not about an establishment just not serving pork or alcohol, it is about how the food is prepared. The meat needs to be slaughtered or prepared in the manner that is prescribed by Islamic law," he said.

In a discussion about the proper definition of the term, Insaniah University College Rector Prof Datuk Dr Jamil Othman said cross-case studies and academic exchanges of views among Islamic and non-Muslim hospitality practitioners were needed to enrich the knowledge base and to set guidelines for Islamic hospitality and travel.

"Terminology like Islamic hospitality, Islamic tourism, Muslim hospitality, syariah compliant hotels, Islamic hotels and halal friendly hotels have created much confusion as to which is to be used.

"Sometimes because of the lack of understanding it scares foreign visitors. This may be one of the factors that explains why major hotels are reluctant to attach the term to their brand".

By Liyana Mokhtar
news@nst.com.my
2011/07/16

Importance of heritage

Importance of heritage