A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Heritage Buildings in Malaysia From the Perspective of Facilities Management

Abstract

Heritage buildings are part of human creation, which produces icons for a country, provides local identity, reflects the cultural values and background, represents a source of memory, historical events, and contributes to the tourism industry. The process of conserving a heritage begins even before a building is considered as heritage. It is derived from the individuals, institutions, or communities that decide some historic buildings are worth conserving, as they represent something worth remembering and their past that should be passed to future generations. However, abandoned and ruined heritage buildings are still evident generally, including in Malaysia. These indicate the visible symbols of failing cultural heritage management processes of conservation in retaining the heritage of a human-made architectural legacy. Conflicts occur as value clashes and goal incompatibility among the heritage stakeholders engaging in cultural heritage management emerge. The heritage stakeholders refer to individuals or groups who have vested interests in heritage buildings. These consist of heritage building owners, local communities, historians, conservation specialists, heritage buildings surveyors, government, and Non-Governmental Organisations. This paper aims to explore and review the current cultural heritage management process in developing a conceptual framework for conserving heritage buildings in Malaysia from the perspective of facilities management. Facilities management is chosen because of its familiarity with the building care process. The framework will integrate facilities management perspective with the integration of people, place process and technology in conserving a heritage building. Eight characteristics of heritage buildings, which are social, economic, political, historic, aesthetical, scientific, age, and ecological are identified. The linkages of cultural heritage management and facilities management will be seen as one activity, rather than process that occur at opposite ends of a spectrum. This conceptual framework may help to prevent the deterioration that leads to a magnitude of loss of heritage buildings in Malaysia.Keywords: Cultural Heritage Management; Facilities Management; Heritage BuildingsJEL Classifications: M00