PENANG’S E&O HOTEL AN HISTORIC HOLDOUT ON MODERNIZING ISLAND
By Julia Yeow
Raw Story, MA
Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday September 19, 2006
By Julia Yeow, Penang, Malaysia- Set in the backdrop of increasingly
modern surroundings, the white-washed walls of one of South-East
Asia’s oldest hotels still oozes with the grandeur of old-world
charm and the hint of its rich colonial past. The majestic Eastern &
Oriental Hotel, or known as the E&O, is hard to miss in Malaysia’s
northern bustling state of Penang with its multi-paneled glass doors,
Moorish minarets and a large, domed lobby.
Favoured as a weekend hangout for both locals and foreigners at its
pub, the hotel, which comes with a built-in opulent 400-seater grand
ballroom and majestic sea-front lawn, is in itself a part of the
colourful colonial history of the island state.
Built in 1885 by four Armenian brothers, the E&O is one of the oldest,
thriving hotels in the region where guests are greeted by bell-boys
dressed in khaki-coloured shorts and cone-shaped hard hats.
The Sarkies brothers, known back then for their taste for high society
living, were also responsible for later establishing neighbouring
Singapore’s Raffles Hotel, The Strand in Rangoon (now Yangon) and
the Mandarin Oriental Majapahit in Indonesia.
"It’s like staying in a part of history itself," said Amanda Wells,
34, a hotel guest from Australia.
Pain-staking efforts to maintain and preserve the original structure
of the E&O has been made by all of its owners, with the last major
refurbishment in 1996 taking five years and more than 100 million
ringgit (27 million dollars) in renovations costs.
"Every effort has been made to keep the authenticity of the hotel,
even to the detail of original designs of light switches," said
Elizabeth Dass, who heads the E&O’s communication department.
"Our guests will feel that time just stands still, and one can actually
feel the grandeur and magnificence of the hotel’s wondrous days of
the later 1890s," said Dass.
But old-world charm doesn’t come cheap.
Guests can choose from any one of the hotel’s 99 suites, which also
come equipped with modern comforts of life such as wireless broadband
internet service, but must be willing to fork out anything from 203
dollars a night, to a whopping 3,244 dollars.
"The hotel caters to the demands of the more affluent traveler,
as it did even when it first opened," said a hotel staff.
But while the high price tag has failed to deter guests, new government
development policies are threatening to phase out the popularity and
even existence of old-world attractions like the E&O.
Eager to capitalize on a booming population and economy, the government
has been aggressively developing new residential and commercial areas
around the island, sometimes at the expense of old and historical
buildings.
Critics have slammed the massive development as being "too fast-too
soon" and say that tourists have already begun to turn away.
"The deteriorating physical environment and the destruction of some of
Penang’s heritage sites has become more apparent in recent years," said
Ronald Ng, a local resident involved in non-governmental organizations
lobbying for the preservation of historical sites.
"Throw in the poor public transport system, worsening traffic
congestion, flash floods and air pollution, and it’s easy to see why
we’re losing tourists," Ng told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"Penang has always been an attraction to tourists because of our rich
colonial heritage. We’re slowly losing that because there hasn’t been
much effort to retain the old," said a local tour agent.
According to official statistics, the occupancy rate at Penang’s
famous beach hotels as well as city hotels have been plunging in the
past five years.
Visitor arrivals fell from 3.8 million in 2000, to just under 3.0
million in 2003, while the amount of foreign tourists dipped from 62
per cent from the total to a mere 38 per cent.
Last year, tourist arrivals went up just slightly to 3.06 million –
40 per cent of whom were foreigners – as a result of a Heritage Trail
campaign promoting several historical sites in the state including
centuries-old temples and buildings like the E&O.
The small progress has sparked hope among local tourism agencies and
raised awareness of the need to conduct balanced development in the
state, said Ng.
"Places like the E&O are a reminder of our rich history.
"We will be losing more than just tourists if we leave these priceless
parts of our heritage unprotected," he said.