The Rise of Malaysian Heritage Non-Governmental Organizations (1969–2005)

Two key Malaysian heritage NGOs were founded in the mid-1980s, Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM) in Kuala Lumpur in 1983 and the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) in 1985. Other NGOs, such as the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP, formed in 1969), Institut Masyarakat (Community Institute, mid-1970s) and Aliran (1977) had previously pursued heritage conservation as part of a broader agenda they termed ‘sustainable development’, opposing a development model used by town councils and state governments, as well as property developers, which replaced heritage buildings with shopping complexes, office towers, and tourist theme parks. This article traces the history of Malaysia’s heritage NGOs and their involvement in decades of ‘heritage battles’ prior to the passing of Malaysia’s National Heritage Act in 2005, reviewing the impact of their ideas of ‘sustainable development’ across several decades.