GEORGE TOWN DISCOVERY WALK 2022
SPEECH BY YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
GEORGE TOWN DISCOVERY WALK 2022
7 JULY 2022
It gives me great pleasure to be here today at the George Town Discovery Walk. To begin, I want to congratulate the organisers, the George Town Heritage Celebrations (GTHC) and George Town Festival (GTF), for successfully gathering 2,000 participants from 20 countries for the event. It is truly a remarkable achievement and I am delighted to see such a big turnout. To the participants, thank you for being here with me today.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Penang's capital, George Town, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. According to UNESCO, the city represents an exceptional example of a multicultural trading town in Southeast Asia, forged from the mercantile and civilisation exchanges of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European influences. All of these are represented in the city's traditional architecture and a multitude of heritage trades and arts.
Since then, the heritage city has been widely regarded as a city of arts, culture and heritage. Its unique blend of old and new attracts millions of visitors a year, becoming one of the world's most-visited tourist destinations. This is where locals and tourists can still take a ride on a trishaw to discover grand colonial architecture, Peranakan mansions, clan houses and even a traditional floating village. This is also where traditional trades and customs are still being practised and celebrated and where modern culture is injected by gorgeous street art and trendy cafes.
Every year, we commemorate the UNESCO listing with the George Town Heritage Celebrations, a celebration that offers visitors the opportunity to experience first-hand George Town’s living traditions through an array of interactive and educational programmes in the streets of the heritage enclave. This year, as we mark the 14th year of the UNESCO listing with the George Town Discovery Walk, I want to thank the organisers for making Penang 2030 vision, "A Family-Focused Green And Smart State That Inspires The Nation", a reality. Through this walk, family members, friends and the community have a shared space to build relationships with one another and discover for themselves the effort the state government has put into conserving our heritage for future generations. This, in turn, will inspire participants to cherish and conserve our prized heritage.
As we all continue to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, we must continue to unite and inspire goodwill among us by helping one another in this beloved state. We, the people of Penang will continue to make a strong comeback together and show our love to our state – LovePenang! The littlest of effort could go a long way to showcase our love for Penang. You could start learning and loving Penang more through events like this. Enjoy yourself, take photos, videos or just simply enjoy the sights. Come and join me, let’s continue to LovePenang!
In closing, I hope that all of you are looking forward to experiencing the early history of George Town as you walk down some of the earliest streets in Penang and discover some of the oldest buildings, sites, places of worship, and more. Hopefully, you’ll bring home new found appreciation for our shared heritage after spending much-needed quality time with your family, friends and other participants from all walks of life.
Thank you.