Hotel Projects a Threat to Malacca River.

The Malaccan authority is creating a property boom particularly in the hotel industry by leveraging on the River Beautification Project.

The ground breaking of the RM85 million Casa del Rio Hotel in February 2009 at a former godown site near the Malacca River marks the beginning of an ambitious but a foolhardy plan by the state to build similar riverfront accommodations.

Recently, the chief minister unfurled the scale of things to come when he announced that Plaza Inn Hotel, abandoned over the last decade, will take a new shape by Sept. 09 (NST Apr 3, 2009).

The state will spend some RM18 million to buy and renovate the 4-star white elephant near the demolished Central Market. According to the CM, Plaza Inn is one of the four new hotels in the pipeline to cater to visitors in the state but at what cost to Malacca River.

The beautification project completed in 2007 seems to have an upper hand in eradicating some of the earlier concerns about river pollution but the verdict is still far from over.

In my view the federal funded project has many flaws and struck a final nail to the coffin to link the river to Malacca's hey day as a powerful maritime state.

Instead of preserving the unique river barter trade, the authority deems it fit to stop Sumateran schooners and purple colored fishing trawlers from berthing at its banks. Unfortunately, at a stroke of pen, the soul of the river is forever lost.

If the state can have its way, parts of the river inside the historical enclave would soon be home to multi-level concrete structures. Needless to say, the hotels would pose serious threat to the authenticity of the Chinatown and the reason why millions come to see Malacca.

The Rio Hotel, with its Iberian façade and other misnomer hotels are not just an eye sore but a mismatch attributes to preserve the historical enclave. The overall scheme also has a sickening similarity with the mistakes made in the colonial parts of Singapore River.

Soon, the hotels will open their doors, but their guests will see nothing of River’s vibrant past. Instead, what they will find is a mundane canal waterway with unimpressive sights of river life.