Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
J. Jusoh & N.F.A. Hamid
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to highlight the preliminary evaluation of Malay cultural heritage
that is located within the Melaka state. The history of Melaka began with the Malay Sultanate Empire
thousands years ago. As such, this legacy has left many cultural heritages that belong to the Malay com-
munity. Nevertheless, only a few attractions of Malay cultural heritages were exposed to the tourists.
Hence, this research has been carried out under the Exploratory Research Grant Scheme (ERGS) to
explore the hidden Malay cultural heritages that are still being preserved and practiced in Melaka. A
qualitative method through observation and interview were used as a medium to evaluate the prospect of
Malay cultural heritage in Melaka. The preliminary observation is made to identify the existing scenario
of Malay cultural heritage in Melaka either still being practiced or otherwise. Besides, the interview ses-
sions were conducted with the National Heritage Department and a group of Malay cultural heritage
product practitioners. The findings were extracted by using SWOT analysis. The findings indicate that the
Malay cultural heritage product in Melaka represents the identity of the Malay community in Malaysia.
However, this product is lacking in documentation system to conserve and safeguard the cultural herit-
age. However, the Malay cultural heritage product has an opportunity to become new tourist attraction
in Melaka if the aspect of marketing is being taken into consideration. In conclusion, the Malay cultural
heritage product will be able to compete if all stakeholders participate and sit together to market this
product globally.
Keywords
:
Malay, tangible heritage, intangible heritage, hidden attraction, Melaka
1 INTRODUCTION
buildings such as the mosque and temple, food,
attire and festival (National Heritage Department,
2013). This paper is focusing on the Malay cultural
heritage in Melaka.
1.1
The cultural heritage
The cultural and heritage presents the local iden-
tity of a place. It is about the way of life, the beliefs
and the achievement of a nation and its citizens
(Abd Aziz & Abdullah, 2011). It is a combination
of tangible and intangible heritage that are being
inherited from one generation to another. The
tangible heritage is defined as cultural properties
including monuments, groups of buildings and site
(UNESCO, 1999). On the other hand, the intan-
gible heritage is tradition or living expression that
is inherited from our ancestors and passed on to
our descendants. It includes oral traditions, per-
forming arts, social practices, rituals, festive events,
knowledge and practices concerning nature and
the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce
traditional crafts (UNESCO, 1999). In Malaysia,
the cultural heritage is varied according to the eth-
nics. There are three major ethnics that are living
in harmony in Malaysia. They are Malay, Chinese
and Indian. The cultural heritage from these eth-
nic groups can be identified through the religious
1.2
The cultural heritage tourism
Department of Tourism, Republic of South Africa
(2010) stated that cultural and heritage tourism
is one of the oldest types of tourism. Tourism is
one of the sectors that brings cultural heritage to
the world. Through the conservation of tangible
heritage such as buildings and monuments and
by safeguarding the intangible heritage, millions
of tourists were able to re-capture the moment
of the earliest times. According to Robinson and
Picard (2006), the difference among the cultures
will strongly motivate the tourists to visit the her-
itage tourism destination. The influence of cul-
tural heritage tourism development can be seen
through the world heritage sites that are inscribed
by UNESCO. The Coliseum in Rome, pyramid
in Egypt, Taj Mahal in India and Porte De San-
tiago in Malaysia is tangible heritage that is still
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