Architecture, Planning And Surveying

This paper discuss the effects of globalization in the ownership of the land, especially that involves the Malay communities in Peninsular Malaysia. The impact of globalization has contributed towards the practice of the Torrens system that forms the basis of the land ownership system in Malaysia ever since the British colonial era. The application of this system gives effects more towards the individualistic and the materialistic value among the individual owners which own the land. This study uses the qualitative approach, where through this approach, observation and discussions are made based on the previous studies and papers. This studies and papers specifically discuss the weaknesses of the implementation of the system in the administration of land in Malaysia. Addition to this, the disadvantages of the system is that, it give a very significant implication towards the ownership of land among the malay community. Due to this system, this will sponteneously expose the malay communities towards the probibility of losing their land. Therefore, the discussions of this paper is important in identifying disadvantages of the system thus proposing a more appropriate academically solutions.

This paper discusses the journey of Malay Reserve Lands (MRL) since it was gazetted on 1913 and implemented on 1 January 1913. The paper covers emergence of MRL, early statutes, development of MRL, trend and current size of MRL from author perspectives. The findings of study based on both qualitative and quantitative secondary data collected through previous studies. According to analysis, MRL faced the highest reduction compared to original size during early independence. Besides that, the current percentage of MRL size not achieved up to 50% of the total size of land in the Peninsular Malaysia as stated in the Wasiat Raja-Raja Melayu. Based on the study which was carried-out by the author, the current size is around 11.99%. The author also identified problems and issues such difficulties to develop, reduction, limited activities, multiple ownership and idle land.

Keywords : Malay Reserve Lands (MRL), The Malays, Land Development and Ownership.

Although several studies have been performed on floral and geometry woodcarving in Malaysia, far too little attention has been paid to calligraphy ornamentations. Further knowledge on calligraphy ornamentation in mosques is needed due to the variation of their writing styles (Jawi, Thuluth and Kūfi). This paper presents a discussion on calligraphy woodcarving decoration in terms of contents and writing styles. The Sultan Alauddin Mosque’s ornamentations in Jugra, Klang were analysed descriptively as the case study. The results showed that out of ten different sentences used in the interior decoration, three sentences indicated Prophet Muhammad’s statements (Hadith) and seven sentences showed Quranic verses.

Woodcarving ornamentation is considered as, a national heritage and can be found in many Malaysian mosques. Woodcarvings are mostly displayed in three different motifs, namely floral, geometry and calligraphy. The application of floral and geometry motifs is to convey an abstract meaning of Islamic teachings to the viewers. However, the calligraphic decorations directly express the messages of Allah almighty or the sayings of the prophets to the congregations. Muslims are the main users of mosques as these are places for prayers as well as other religious and community activities. Therefore, the assessment of users' opinion about this type of decoration needs to be investigated. This paper aims to evaluate the perception of two groups of mosque users on the calligraphic woodcarving ornamentations from two regions, namely the East Coast and Southwest of Peninsula Malaysia. As Arabic is not the primary language in Malaysia, it would be interesting to find out how much of the calligraphic ornamentation is recognised and understood by the mosque users. The quantitative approach and questionnaire survey were adopted to fulfil the objectives of the study through convenient sampling where 420 questionnaire surveys were distributed at eight selected mosques. A total of 408 respondents amongst users completed and returned the survey forms. The mosques were chosen based on the abundance and diversity of calligraphy woodcarving elements found in the prayer hall. The Mann-Whitney U-test was conducted to find out the differences between the two groups of respondents. Ability of reading and understanding the Arabic scripts, the aesthetic values, the function, appropriate location and finally the desirability of scripts were assessed and compared between the participants of North East and Southwest of Peninsula Malaysia. The results showed that respondents of two areas in Malaysia had different opinions about this traditional sacred ornamentation in mosques. However, there were also similar ideas regarding to the items of variables between two evaluated groups of the study.

Kuala Kangsar is the Royal Town of Negeri Perak. It was established in the 1720s. The name Kuala Kangsar is believed to be derived from the kangsar plant (Hibiscus flocussus) that grows in abundance along the banks of the Sungai Kangsar. Another strong suggestion claims that the name was handed down by explorers and settlers who had established a settlement at the mouth of the river. They called their new home Kuala Kurang Sa, a short form for Kuala Kurang Seratus because there were 99 tributaries that flowed into the Sungai Perak around the area. Kuala Kangsar became famous and remarkable not only because of its title as a royal town but also for its heritage and historical factors. There are a lot of heritage assets in this area. Because of these reasons, Kuala Kangsar
has become popular and appealing to attract more tourists. This paper will identify and classify the heritage assets in Kuala Kangsar. The identifications and classifications will be based on some methods which consist of site familiarization, unstructured interviews, visual observation and literature reviews. After heritage assets identification is done, this paper will develop the Cultural Mapping for Kuala Kangsar where Cultural Mapping is a tool to illustrate all the heritage assets’ location and position in mapping and graphics. Finally, this paper will introduce the Heritage Trail to link all these heritage assets in Kuala Kangsar.

This paper focuses on how the conservation of abandoned towns in the former tin mining town in Malaysia which could contribute to safekeeping Malaysian cultural heritage entity in order to regenerate cultural heritage entity. Pekan Papan, Perak has been chosen as a case study due to its distinctive characteristics as an early tin mining towns and its historical significance of Malaysia's economy activities and its attribution to mix culture heritage. The qualitative method based on Case study research will explore, identify and evaluate the tangible elements in the selective former tin mining old towns as a cultural heritage resource by reviewing the definitions and concept of physical characters and cultural value in attributes to the identity of a place. The recognition of people towards the presence of distinctive elements, from the understanding of the built forms and its activities will enhance the unique characteristic which could be identifiable, recognized and remembered by people an as essence of heritage, worth to conserve and to regenerate the cultural heritage value.

The purpose of the influencing elements contributing to the spatial arrangement of national folk settlements in Shaanxi province of China. One hundred thirteen national folk settlements in the Shaanxi province of China were picked as the research objects in the paper. The spatial distribution characteristics for the selected national folk settlements located in the Shaanxi province of China were carried out to reveal the interconnection between the placement of folk settlements and the natural environment, social economy, history and culture, river distribution, and so forth by using the image registration technology of arcgis. The study found: There are apparent regional variances in the geographic arrangement of national folk settlements in Shaanxi, and two sizeable high-density agglomeration areas have been formed. There are differences in the preservation and protection of national folk settlements in different altitudes, and there are more national folk settlements in low-altitude areas. The existing national folk settlements are primarily distributed along the riverbanks or in the developed water system areas, closely related to production and life. Regional economic development and the protection of national folk settlements are not contradictory in theory, and localities should find suitable paths to protect national folk settlements.

This paper reports the initial study on physical alterations made by homeowners. It was hypothesized that alterations of houses do not necessarily mean dissatisfaction on the part of the occupants. Rather it shows how people would want to make their home unique. The study employs "systematic observation" whereby a random sample of existing terraced houses was systematically analysed. Some of the findings suggest that people tend to make the appearance of their homes different. This challenges the validity of the present system of housing delivery process which seems to be ignorant of the personal expression of the individual buyer.

Historic buildings are an essential component of historical and cultural heritage. To develop more scientifically-based protection strategies and provide a foundation for guiding the implementation of preservation work, this study introduces use value and economic value in addition to the traditional three-value system of historical, artistic, and scientific value, specifically tailored to the characteristics of residential historic buildings. The value assessment of residential historic buildings is conducted from five dimensions. A multi-level factor analysis method was used to analyze the data from the initially selected evaluation system indicators. The research results show that the historical value of the typical case of Wei's Manor is 0.3542, cultural and artistic value is 0.2736, scientific value is 0.1844, practical utility is 0.0867, and economic value is 0.1011. The overall evaluation data indicates that Wei's Manor possesses high historical and cultural value, with scientific and economic values at a moderate level, while practical utility is relatively low. The establishment of a scientific evaluation system more efficiently and accurately supports the value assessment of residential historic buildings.

Heritage Building Maintenance: Stakeholder's Perception Towards Maintenance Practice for Masjid Lama Nilai is a study conducted on the responsibilities of stakeholders towards the maintenance practice for maintaining Masjid Lama Nilai to always be in a good condition. This study is to know and obtain findings on the responsibilities of stakeholders and their limitation on maintaining Masjid Lama Nilai. The study intends to classify on the maintenance practice that are implemented but the stakeholders as an effort of preserving the heritage mosque. This study is conducted using mixed method where it has 3 phases and each phase provide an outcome for the objectives and research questions. Masjid Lama Nilai was chosen as the case study because the mosque shows a possibility to be listed as a heritage building and protected under the National Heritage Act, but the maintenance and the stakeholder's perception towards the importance of maintenance practice is questionable. Hence, the study was conducted at the Masjid Lama Nilai. The qualitative aspect of the research is further enhanced by conducting interviews with the stakeholders, while the quantitative aspect of the research is done by conducting questionnaire survey. The output of this is to see the readiness of stakeholder of Masjid Nilai in accepting more proper and clear maintenance plan and schedule to be implemented at Masjid Lama Nilai.