Preserving the characteristics of urban heritage: an insight into the concept of Malaysian royal towns

Abstract

Royal towns in Malaysia are the finest examples of traditional Malay towns, which are strongly associated with the long history of Malay Sultanates in Malaysia. This study aims to identify the significant characteristics that perhaps homogenously shared by the Malaysian Royal Towns to be inferred as the symbol and identity of the place. The study begins with thorough literature reviews of historical Malay manuscripts for some insights into how the traditional Malay towns were during the early 14th to the 19th century. From this, the study managed to identify three prominent characteristics that shaped the whole physical images of Malaysian Royal Towns. These characteristics are known as the king’s palace, traditional Malay settlements known as kampongs and lastly, traditional Malay fortification system. Nevertheless, these characteristics are being threatened due to improper planning and modernisation of the Royal Towns. A conventional conservation approach, however, seems insufficient to address the whole idea of a Malaysian Royal Town. These identified characteristics, in this case, are interrelated and thus required in-depth study of each Royal Town to investigate the traditional knowledge lies within the culture and a new comprehensive in-depth method of conservation and preservation in order to sustain the image of the place as a cradle of the Malay civilisation.