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.