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The History of Melaka's Urban Morphology

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Through history, the Straits of Malacca have been a highway for maritime traders and contacts between East and West. Powerful kingdoms and cities have arisen and a typical trait has been immigration and strong influences from far and near, contributing to a multicultural identity. In the late 14th century or early 15th century the city and the kingdom of Melaka was founded. The small fishing village rapidly grew to a large port and emporium, overshadowing the older ports in the area (UNESCO 2008). The wealth of Melaka soon drew attention from the Portuguese, followed by Dutch and British, largely driven by capitalism. The colonial period of Melaka lasted from early 16th to mid-20th century, almost encompassing the entire era of the European colonialism (early 15th to mid-20th century). The city has witnessed the changing fate of various European powers, whose legacies have been intricately woven into its urban form. The layering process of vernacular, Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese and Islamic cultures and its materialization had been going on peacefully since the creation of these cosmopolitan settlement and communities in Melaka. The cosmopolitan culture has been formed through complex layering processes of various cultures, ideologies, economies, and ecosystems sustained over a long extended historical period and clearly manifested in the complexity and hybridity of the production of its settlements’ morphology and architectural typologies. Like other Southeast Asian cities, Melaka’s cultural and geographical boundaries are always blurring, overlapping, or intersecting, and cannot clearly be defined. People in different places, islands or continents have kept moving, communicating, and intermingling from past till present, influencing each other and producing hybrid, fused, diverse architecture and material culture. Therefore the urban morphology of Melaka has to be understood since the inception of the city, through the perspectives of the cosmopolitan communities, the colonial powers as well as the Malaysian government post-independence.
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The History of Melaka’s Urban Morphology
LEE Wen Hao
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………..……...……………………………. 2
2. Pre-colonial era
2.1 Melaka’s Srivijayan heritage………………………………………………………………………………. 3
2.2 Melaka Sultanate……………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
3. Colonial era
3.1 Portuguese Melaka…………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
3.2 Dutch Melaka………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
3.3 Melaka in the Straits Settlements….…….……………………………………………………………… 20
3.4 Japanese Rule………………………………………………….……………………………………………… 26
4 Post-independence Melaka………………………………………………………………………………... 27
5 Conclusion………………………………………..…………………………………………………..……….. 33
6 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34
7690 words excluding captions, footnotes and tables.
1. INTRODUCTION
Through history, the Straits of Malacca have been a highway for maritime traders and contacts between East
and West. Powerful kingdoms and cities have arisen and a typical trait has been immigration and strong
influences from far and near, contributing to a multicultural identity. In the late 14th century or early 15th
century the city and the kingdom of Melaka
1
was founded. The small fishing village rapidly grew to a large
port and emporium, overshadowing the older ports in the area (UNESCO 2008). The wealth of Melaka soon
drew attention from the Portuguese, followed by Dutch and British, largely driven by capitalism (Gallaher et
al. 2009). The colonial period of Melaka lasted from early 16th to mid-20th century, almost encompassing the
entire era of the European colonialism (early 15th to mid-20th century). The city has witnessed the changing
fate of various European powers, whose legacies have been intricately woven into its urban form. The
layering process of vernacular, Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese and Islamic cultures and its materialization had
been going on peacefully since the creation of these cosmopolitan settlement and communities in Melaka.
The cosmopolitan culture has been formed through complex layering processes of various cultures,
ideologies, economies, and ecosystems sustained over a long extended historical period and clearly
manifested in the complexity and hybridity of the production of its settlements’ morphology and
architectural typologies. Like other Southeast Asian cities, Melaka’s cultural and geographical boundaries
are always blurring, overlapping, or intersecting, and cannot clearly be defined. People in different places,
islands or continents have kept moving, communicating, and intermingling from past till present,
influencing each other and producing hybrid, fused, diverse architecture and material culture (Widodo
2009). Therefore the urban morphology of Melaka has to be understood since the inception of the city,
through the perspectives of the cosmopolitan communities, the colonial powers as well as the Malaysian
government post-independence.
Figure 1 Melaka in the wider geographical context of Asian littorals.
(Google 2016)
1
Throughout history, different spellings for Melaka have been adopted. According to Chinese sources, it is known as Moonlaagaa
(滿剌加) or Maalukgaap (馬六甲). During the colonial era, Melaka is known by the Portuguese as Malaca, by the Dutch as Malakka
and by the British as Malacca. Because of its economic significance, the strait was named after Melaka, hence the Straits of
Malacca. Today, the Straits of Malacca is the second busiest commercial shipping lane in the world.
2
2. PRE-COLONIAL ERA
2.1 MELAKA’S SRIVIJAYAN HERITAGE
Melaka was founded by a Palembang prince, Parameswara from the Kingdom of Srivijaya. He attempted to
throw off Javanese suzerainty sometime after 1360, but the Javanese attacked him, whereupon
Parameswara fled to Singapore and eventually Melaka. (Singapore Government 2014) Melaka’s town
foundation is deeply rooted in the Hindu-Buddhist Srivijayan heritage (Hitchcock, King & Parnwell 2010),
hence attempting to understand Melaka’s pre-colonial urban landscape without drawing reference from
Srivijaya is futile.
The early Srivijaya polity (c. 600-1300) is cited in both Middle Eastern and Chinese sources as the classic
Southeast Asian entrepôt, a place to secure a safe port, stopover, food, shelter, and a market in which
seafarers could acquire both local and international products (Soon 2001; So 1998). The Aja'ib al Hind (c.
1000) describes the Srivijaya resident community: Some houses are built on the land, but most float on the
water, kept up by pieces of wood tied together in the form of a raft and last forever.... Whenever they do not
like a particular quarter they can always move. The houses in the bay are arranged in streets, and the water
between the houses is very deep (Tibbetts 1979).
2.2 MELAKA SULTANATE
Ezrin Arbi (1986) theorised that among the factors that may have influenced Parameswara to choose Melaka
to set up the seat of his kingdom was because Melaka possessed various advantages being located at the river
estuary, thus a good location in terms of trade possibilities from the Straits of Malacca aside from having
good potential for centralised residence and defence. To ensure Melaka’s security, Parameswara built his
palace on a hill overlooking the estuary of Bertam River (known today as Melaka River). This made it easier
for the successive rulers to monitor trade activities on the Straits of Malacca (Harun & Jalil 2012). The
choice of location for the built-up area of the settlement is also carefully considered against natural and
supra-natural factors, in order to ensure the harmonious relationships between human, nature, and the
spirits. In rational sense, it is also to ensure the survivability of the community’s existence and its livelihood
for perpetuity (Widodo 2009).
The Malay Annals recounted that the city of Melaka was divided by the Melaka River into two sections
joined by a timber bridge. The river functioned as a ‘major highway’ plied by boats and sampans which, on
the one hand connected the city with the inner areas; and on the other hand with the large ships and vessels
berthed on the sea coast not far from the river estuary (Harun & Jalil 2012). Ma Huan (1433) noted in
Yíngyá shènglǎn (The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores) that the Melaka River flows in front of the
palace before emptying into the sea. The timber bridge is the central marketplace of the city and there are
more than twenty pavilions built on the bridge to accommodate the trade of various goods. The fields are
infertile and the crops poor; the people seldom practise agriculture, relying on fishing instead. Sar Desai
(1969) indicated that while most ports of the time had one Shahbandar (harbourmaster), Melaka had four
2
,
indicative of the enormous volume of trade there. The various communities were represented to the Sultan
by the Shahbandars, who, in practice, exercised administrative authority of a governor in the respective
quarters of the city. But except for a few year-round representatives of the major trading establishments,
Melaka's population in these compounds was seasonal, as Melaka's residency patterns ebbed and flowed
with the monsoons (Hall 2014). However, various records have suggested that the populations in Melaka
have reached 50,000 100,000, making it the largest Southeast Asian city of the period. About 100 junks
supplied the annual rice imports from overseas which would mean an annual import of about 6,000
tonnes or enough to feed about 50,000 people, apart from whatever food came overland or in small prahus.
2
One Shahbandar handled ships coming from the East: China, Ryukyu Islands, Champa, Eastern Borneo and Thailand; another
controlled the shipping from the south, Java, Palembang and the Eastern Indonesian Archipelago; a third looked after the ships
from North Sumatran ports, Bengal, Malabar and Coromandel coasts of India while a fourth supervised exclusively the ships from
Gujarat in Western India, which provided for the largest commercial community in Melaka.
3
Table 1: Estimates of urban population (Reid 1980; Cortesao 2005)
Houses
Fighting Men
Population
Melaka,
c. 1510
10,000
(Araujo,
p. 21)
20,000 (Albuquerque, III, 99)
4,000 (Araujo, p. 21)
100,000 within 4 leagues (Pires, p. 260)
100,000 (Albuquerque, III, 84)
90,000 or 190,000 (Sejarah
Melayu, pp. 156-57)
The various trade records identified that the built form and urban morphology during the Melaka Sultanate
was more coastal type city/port where settlements were centred on port areas and along the river banks
(Harun & Jalil 2012). The vernacular building tradition in Melaka is part of the vernacular building
tradition of Southeast Asia, which is the results of adaptation to local climate by the Austronesians,
innovation in building materials and techniques, and creative integration of belief system. Steep pitch roof,
wide eaves, raised floor, breathing roof, and porous walls are the responses against the equatorial tropical
warm-humid climate, affected by monsoon with plenty of rain, and to ensure comfort for people who lives
within it (Widodo 2009). The indigenous Malay people had a culture from combination of Austronesians
and the Austro-Asiatic native groups who lived in this region prior to Austronesian’s great migration from
Taiwan. They were dependent on the jungle, as well as the sea in order to provide for the living (Lewis 1995).
Figure 2 A collection of Austronesian Vernacular Houses (Waterson 1990)
4
Figure 3 Limits of the Austronesian Language Family (Armani 2014).
Southeast Asians had been learning Indian philosophy and cosmology since the first century, and applying
the formal and spatial ordering principles known as Mandala to their architectural typology and
settlements morphology. This is understood as the tri-partite divisions of the cosmos in macro-, meso-, and
micro- levels. This tri-partite cosmological divisions or hierarchy corresponds to the metaphor of the human
body (the head, the torso, and the feet), and to the metaphor of the universe: the sky where the divine spirits
reign, the ground where the human lives, and the underworld where the evil spirits dwell. It may be seen in
two-dimensional plane, or applied to three-dimensional space and form (Widodo 2009). The application of
the square plan in Islamic architecture in Southeast Asia is also driven from the Mandala or the magic
square. In iconography of the architectural plans, the Mandala refers to a successive series of numbers
within a square form, in which the sum of any row of numbers in any direction is the same (Armani 2014).
Figure 4 Diagram of typical settlement in Bali and the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms in Southeast Asia:
belief system, ordering principles, and the maintenance of the ecosystem (Rigg 1996). Melaka, which is
sandwiched in between Bukit Melaka (St. Paul’s Hill) and the Straits of Malacca, reflects the Indian
Mandala of settlement morphology.
Figure 5 Vastu-Purusha Mandala (Bunce 2002)
(a) (b)
Figure 6 a) Manduka Mandala b) Paramashayila Mandala (Bunce 2002)
Figure 7 Kampung Hulu Mosque, indicating Manduka Mandala and Paramashayika Mandala
(Armani 2014)
Indian dominance is not necessary to be represented by the extirpation of local genius, for it was not in the
nature of the "Indian Great Tradition" to extirpate, even in India; it merely influenced. In a sense, the
phrase "the Indianisation of Southeast Asia" enshrines a confusion of categories, for culturally Southeast
Asia became nearly as "Indian" as parts of India, while politically there was no such thing as India (Mabbert
1977). Due to the strong Austronesian traditions and common regional features in Southeast Asian
buildings, its architecture is distinguishable from Indian architecture found in the Indian subcontinent
(Armani 2014). Islam does not appear to have brought any fundamental change in the traditional structure
and morphology of the Southeast Asian city (Kathirithamby-Wells 1986). Historians argued that Southeast
Asia's Islamic conversions were not primarily spiritually motivated but trade-related, to induce specific
foreign traders to do business in a polity's ports, with resulting increases in local revenue collections by the
local monarchs who were co-religionists (Hall 2014).
6
Islam came to Melaka from North Sumatra when Sultan Muzaffar Shah married a Muslim princess from
Pasai (North Sumatra) and soon after Islam became the state religion of Melaka (Ryan 1971). Thenceforth,
many embraced the new religion that was not accepted by all before and as the port grew to an empire,
Islam managed to penetrate deeply into Melakan culture (Andaya & Andaya 1984). Numerous mosques
were built throughout the Melakan territory in vernacular style, which was formed during the time before
Western colonisation in the area. These mosques represent traditional ideas, based upon the ancient Indian
conception of the structure of the universe. The essential features of this cosmology were a central mountain
called Meru above which was the home of the gods, a surrounding ocean, and an enclosing wall of rock. Due
to the influence of domestic or foreign cultures the architectural features such as dome, iwan and minaret
that are of the most predominant elements of mosque in Islamic Heartland have been altered or completely
removed, while strong Hindu-Buddhist and indigenous Southeast Asian architectural ideas persisted. The
vernacular style may include more sub-styles, which are impacted by five factors: ethnic culture, climatic
condition, colonialism, technology utilization, and political environment. The classification can also be
discussed based on temporal considerations (Armani 2014). Ryan (1971) elucidates that Islam, like the
earlier foreign religions in Southeast Asia, was introduced to the region by Indian Muslim traders and
missionaries rather than Arab Muslims. “This is an important fact to remember when examining the
reasons for the preservation of old traditions in Malay Muslim society; Indian devotees of Islam although
eliminated the material and concrete examples of Hinduism but did not eliminate its most abstract
influence”, which is evidenced in the Hindu-Buddhist inspired architectural typology and settlement
morphology. As a result, Islam was embraced by Southeast Asian people in harmonious and peaceful means
rather than by conquest (Ryan 1971).
When Portuguese conquered Melaka they demolished the city and its unique architecture (Moore 2004).
They destroyed mosques and king’s palace to use the materials for church and new buildings (Zakaria 1994).
Moreover, the Portuguese restricted Islamic practices and caused an irreversible harm to Melaka’s
indigenous architecture. Melaka still possesses a number of vernacular mosques, which were erected
thenceforth the 18th century, inspired by Austronesian, Hindu-Buddhist, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and
British cultural and architectural heritage. Notably, Chinese influence is exceptionally strong on the
vernacular style, distinguishing the Melaka vernacular mosques from other Southeast Asian vernacular
mosques (Armani 2014).
Figure 8 Meru tower at the Hindu temple of Mengwi, Bali. The meru tower or the tower of offering
“comprises a raised box-like altar containing statue and topped by high, multiple-tiered roofs, often
surrounded by pillars placed on a masonry foundation.” (Armani 2014).
Figure 9 Roofs of Melaka vernacular mosques obviously resemble meru tower roof design (Armani 2014).
Figure 10 An artist impression of the Melaka Palace as described in the Malay Annals: “And the size of
that palace was seventeen spaces, for each space the breadth was three fathoms, the columns were as large
around as could be embraced; of seven levels were the pinnacles. In between that were provided windows,
in between those windows were placed roofs at right angles and like suckling elephants, all of them with
wings like those of a kite and carved projecting from under the eaves, in between that projection was carried
out the ‘rectangular grasshopper’, all of it with peaks and fringes all over. Moreover all those windows of the
palace were altogether painted and gilded with liquid gold, its pinnacles were red glass. When it caught the
rays of the sun, its form blazed like jewel; and the wailing of that palace was panelled all over, moreover
inset with Chinese mirrors of large sizes. When it caught the glare of the sun its form blazed in flashes, so
that its image was not clear to peoples’ sight. Moreover the crossbeams of that palace were a cubit broad, a
hand and two fingers thick; as for the upstand it was two cubits in breadth, a cubit in thickness, the frames
of those doors were carved, and forty was the number of those doors, all of them painted and gilded with
liquid gold. Exceedingly beautiful was the execution of that palace; there was no other palace in the whole
world like it. And that palace it was which was named by men, Mahligai, for its roof covering was brass and
tin crested.” (Citrin, Low, Sharmila & Wong 2009; Malacca World Heritage 2011)
3. COLONIAL ERA
3.1 PORTUGUESE MELAKA
Melaka, a typical Malay-style riverine city, where city was not walled, rulers explained that they did not need
such protection because of the prowess of their elephants, except when bamboo stockades were erected for
temporary defence though they proved rather ineffective in defending Melaka against the Portuguese
(Reid 1995; Kathirithamby-Wells 1986). In maritime Southeast Asia, river sites and valleys were preferred
to hilltops when building towns and the whole concept of defence was of a quite different nature. The main
idea is that manpower, not fixed capital, was regarded as the principal asset which had to be protected in the
Southeast Asian cities. The fundamental aim of warfare in Southeast Asia was to increase the available
manpower. For this reason, the common reaction to the approach of a powerful foe was either submission,
which entailed tribute, or flight. In the latter case the forested hinterland usually provided security for the
valuable human resources which were the enemy's objective. If the town was abandoned the enemy could
sack it, burn the houses, and plunder whatever could not be carried away by the fleeing inhabitants, but this
was a small loss in relation to the manpower involved. Since most attacks came by sea, the attacker would
eventually run short of food and sail away, and the town could be quickly rebuilt. When Albuquerque's
Portuguese attacked Melaka the defenders put up a good fight, to be sure, but their ultimate defence was to
abandon the capital (Reid 1980).
Walled cities were introduced to Southeast Asia by the Europeans. The first of these was Melaka in 1512
(Dick & Rimmer 1998). In 1511, after the Portuguese conquered Melaka, Alfonso de Albuquerque, the
Governor and Captain-General of the Seas of India, built a defence fortress known as A Famosa. The
construction of this fortress, which stretches from a location at the foothills down to the river and seaside,
was completed in 1512, making Melaka a walled-coastal city, a city resembling the medieval era walled cities
of Europe (Harun & Jalil 2012). The ideas on fortification of Alfonso de Albuquerque had perhaps been
antiquated, but the principles which had guided the unknown engineer who constructed the main defences
of Melaka in the 1580's were strikingly modern. The angling of the walls and the siting of the bastions
suggest a designer familiar with the theory of the 'bastioned trace,' a system of fortification which first
appeared at Verona in Italy in 1530s. In essence the bastion was a gun platform projecting from the main
curtain wall of a fortress and so designed that it could provide enfilade or flanking fire with no dead space. It
was left open at the top so that the smoke from its guns might quickly blow away. Throughout the
Portuguese rule, numerous improvements have been made on the fort. The alterations they made were not
on so ambitious a scale and the fort's general design changed little. But from the tactical point of view the
overall improvement was considerable. It was not only that certain wooden sections of the walls had been
replaced by stone; the whole enceinte (enclosure) appears to have been greatly strengthened. According to
Joost Schouten, a Dutch commissioner who examined Melaka Fortress just after its capture in 1641, the
rebuilding of the walls was done "after the European fashion," with everything planned and executed
mathematically. With a disregard for Muslim susceptibilities typical of the time, the Christian Portuguese
erected their fortress on the ruins of the Great Mosque of Melaka and constructed it, in part at least, out of
stones taken from a hill where lay the graves of former Malay Sultans (Irwin 1962).The Portuguese conquest
of Melaka marks beginning of European disturbances of the indigenous patterns and continuities of the
Malay World, which in turn signifies the onset of the modern period (Reynolds 1995).
The fundamental motives that fuel European colonialism in this era are referred to as “God, glory, and
gold.Europeans hoped to find precious metals and to expand trade, especially for the spices of the
East. They were eager to break the Venetian spice trade monopoly. The great wealth and luxury available
in this trading had enticed them halfway around the world in their tiny, uncomfortable ships. Thus, when
the Portuguese entered the Indian Ocean in the early 1500s their objective was to seize Melaka, which they
rightfully considered to be the dominant centre of contemporary Asian trade (Hall 2004). The second
motive was religious. Many Europeans believed that it was their duty to convert other peoples to
Christianity. The third motive was a desire for glory and adventure (Villiers 2001). However, Sar Desai
(1969) has noted that to the Portuguese, spices and riches were more important than Christians and souls.
The Portuguese recognised the success and sophistication of the port administration under the sultans. In
their desire to continue Melaka's commercial importance, the former retained the essential features of the
predecessor Muslim administration. What the Portuguese did not understand was that Melaka was no more
than an agreed upon marketplace for the commodities of other centres, and when they seized Melaka the
9
sedentary and migratory merchant communities responded by shifting their trade to other equally
acceptable and mutually inter-changeable regional ports. Sixteenth-century international trade still focused
on Southeast Asia, but again became multi-centred (Hall 2004).
Regarding the urban realm of the citizens in Portuguese Melaka, the Portuguese offered few incentives that
might attract Chinese merchants, but some Chinese ships still came. There was enough of a community for
the Portuguese to appoint a kapitan
3
for the Chinese. This set a pattern for colonial governments in Melaka
and elsewhere to administer the Chinese through kapitans drawn from the most prominent merchants. A
Chinese neighbourhood, known as Kampong China
4
, emerged alongside the Melaka River. In 1678, the
Dutch, who captured Melaka from Portugal in 1641, found 852 Chinese in and around the city, out of a total
city population of around 3,000 (Lockhard 2010). The Javanese community lived in two different quarters:
one on the northwest side of the river at Upeh, while the other on the southern side of Ilher (Hilir). Parsees
and Malays were placed under Regimo da Raja, a Luzon spice trader who was appointed the Temenggong
5
of the Muslims of Melaka. Until 1571, Melaka was under the "Estado da India" (The State of India), which
headquarter was Goa (Villiers 2016). On the summit of Bukit China
6
, the Portuguese constructed church,
monastic quarters, and a surrounding garden, which was described as the “healthiest and most beautiful
spot in all Melaka”. An Acehnese attack on Melaka ruined the complex, but the Portuguese learnt that Bukit
China was a strategic defensive site within one cannon shot of the town (Gibson-Hill 1956). They soon
stationed a garrison on the hill, but the structures and gardens of Bukit China did not survive the Dutch
siege of 1641 (Cartier 1993). Nepotism, bribery and corruption were rife in Melaka in later years of the
Portuguese rule. It is the quality of the Portuguese administration that cost the Portuguese their empire in
Southern and Southeast Asia (Sar Desai 1969).
3
Kapitan is a title given to leaders of racial enclaves in Southeast Asia. The local 15th century rulers of the region, such as Melaka
and Banten, chose to deal with a single individual from each ethnic group under their rule. This administrative method of indirect
rule was later adopted by the Portuguese when they took over Melaka in the 16th century, as well as the Dutch in the Dutch East
Indies, and the English in British Malaya.
4
Kampong China, literally Chinese Village, is the Chinese enclave of Melaka.
5
Temenggong is an ancient Malay title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security.
6
Bukit China, or Chinese Hill, is said to be a gift from Sultan Mansor Shah to Hang Li Poh, a Chinese princess, as the residence of
her and her envoy when she was sent to be married to the Sultan. Bukit China and the adjoining hills today form the world’s largest
Chinese graveyard outside mainland China, with over 12,000 graves covering over 250,000 square metres. Some of the graves
date back to the Late Ming Dynasty (mid-17th century).
Figure 11 A Famosa circa 1588, with the solid line showing the outline of the fortress. The location of the
future bastion of MADRE DE DEUS and of the half-angles of MORA and HOSPITAL REAL is shown by
enclosing their names in brackets. In 1588 they had not yet been built. It shows, for example, a gateway in
the outer wall immediately to the south-west of the bastion of S. DOMINGOS. No other contemporary
source, neither Portuguese nor Dutch, mentions such a gateway. More serious, on Eredia's sketch a small
bastion appears in the curtain wall midway between S. DOMINGOS and MADRE DE DEUS. Not only is no
name given to this bastion by Eredia, but no other written authority anywhere refers to it. It may well be an
'architectural feature' put into the drawing because the illustrator felt that without it his plan lacked balance
Since the accuracy of Eredia's sketch of 1604 is thus suspect, the outline of the Traça Nova given there
cannot be regarded as more than a rough indication of the kind of improvement to the trace of A Famosa
that Joao Batista had in mind. The outline marked ‘Traça Nova’ on the map opposite is likewise the result of
guesswork. The other details on the map may, however, be accepted as accurate, since they are derived from
information common to all sources. Joao Batista's ‘Traça Nova,’ though admirably conceived, was never
built. Perhaps the Portuguese were daunted by the heavy cost of so ambitious a project (Irwin 1962).
Figure 12 A contemporary illustration, dated c. 1630, the 'Fortaleza de Malaca' appears in Manuel de
Faria e Sousa's Asia Portuguesa (Faria e Sousa c. 1674).
Figure 13 Bocarro’s painting of Melaka in 1635 clearly depicts a wooden stockade surrounding the outer
suburbs of Melaka, forming the first line of defence on land (Bocarro 1635).
12
3.2 DUTCH MELAKA
Portuguese Melaka was not so much brought down by Dutch military might or the bravery of soldiers
fighting under the VOC’s
7
command, but rather by forces dubbed the Black Trinitywar, famine and
disease. The physical damage to the city from shelling was considerable. The suburbs to the north and south
of A Famosa were almost completely consumed by fires, as within the walled settlement. The number of
residents in former Portuguese stronghold and city who had survived the Black Trinity was small, as it had
decimated ninety per cent of the population (Boschberg 2010).
Melaka’s role within the VOC’s established commercial networks was not clear from the outset, but was
necessary to quickly reposition its trade relations across the region to fit the commercial networks of the new
Dutch masters. It was not allowed to compete with the nodal centre Batavia. Following Melaka’s fall to the
Dutch, considerable emphasis was placed on aspects of continuity a continuity of policies, tariffs, fee
structures, business practices, etc. Tight commercial regulation challenged the parameters of Melaka’s
cultural scene from the beginning of Dutch rule in 1641 until the close of the 18th century. This sharply
contrasted with cultural policies which were fairly open, providing always they did not threaten Dutch
interests in the region and contributed to the Company’s profits. For example, Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar
Moorthi Temple, which stands on a site given by the Dutch was built in 1780s by the Hindu community of
Melaka, known as Chettie
8
(Sinha 2011). The Company’s priority was to regulate the economic space and to
focus on the generation of profits (Boschberg 2010).
In view of the severely reduced number of Roman Catholics surviving in Melaka after 1641, the majority of
monasteries and churches would be closed and converted to other functions, such as private residences,
school, library, hospital, and a Dutch Reformed Church. Protestant services had already been held at St
Paul’s Church on 3 February 1641. Unsalvageable cathedrals were dismantled and the remainder
transformed into an arsenal. Although Roman Catholicism was to be given space for open and public
worship, the congregation would be restricted inside the walled city to a single church. This place of worship
was presumably situated near the quarter reserved for the surviving Portuguese and Luso-Asian population:
‘The white Portuguese and the mestics [mestizos] could be permitted to reside in the city, provided they live
apart in a special street, quarter or block.’ (Boschberg 2010)
Building regulations were introduced as they were applied in Holland. Because of these regulations the
urban landscape of Melaka became increasingly uniform. Fortress, watchtowers, government buildings,
shophouses, townhouses, country houses and storage depots had the simple design and decoration as in
Holland. The houses had gables, iron-clamps, cross-bar or sash windows, shutters and beams to support the
floors. The walls on the outside and inside were coated with plaster. These two characteristics: regulations
and design made Melaka into a typical Dutch town in South-East Asia. The Dutch settlement in Melaka was
made out of three parts: the Fortress, the town and the Malay Kampong. The fortress was situated around
the hill, on one side of the river the town and kampong was built on the other side. The town had two clear
axes: the river along which all commercial traffic took place and the town which it's aligned street pattern
with the most important streets running northsouth. On the quays along the river were the markets and
the shipyard. In Heerenstraat (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) there was a fish market. The Portuguese names
of the bastions, which were all named after Portuguese saints, were changed to Dutch ones. There were
7
Referred by the British as the Dutch East India Company, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC is also known as the
United East India Company. It was originally established as a chartered company in 1602, when the Dutch government granted it a
21-year monopoly on spice trade. In 1619 the VOC established a capital in the port city of Jayakarta and changed the city name
into Batavia (now Jakarta). Over the next two centuries the Company acquired additional ports as trading bases and safeguarded
their interests by taking over surrounding territory. It remained an important trading concern and paid an 18% annual dividend for
almost 200 years (Ricklefs 1991). Between 1602 and 1796 the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on
4,785 ships, and netted for their efforts more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods. By contrast, the rest of Europe combined
sent only 882,412 people from 1500 to 1795, and the fleet of the English (later British) East India Company, the VOC's nearest
competitor, was a distant second to its total traffic with 2,690 ships and a mere one-fifth the tonnage of goods carried by the VOC.
The VOC enjoyed huge profits from its spice monopoly through most of the 17th century (van Bowen 2002).
8
The Chetties are a distinctive group of Tamils found primarily in Melaka and Singapore, who are also known as the Indian
Peranakans. Like the Straits Chinese (Chinese Peranakans), the Chetties speak a Malay patois, which is mixed with many Tamil
loan words. Many of the Chetties are unable to communicate in Tamil fluently. The simplification of Indian culture and customs can
be seen at the Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple. Distinct from the South Indian temples, which have a complex Dravidian Architecture in
the Pallava style, which displays carved out sculptures of the Hindu gods in many rows, the Chitty temple tend to only have one row,
or a picture of one single god in each of the three rows, as evidenced in the Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple.
13
some bastions added as well. The Rua Diretta or Straight Street which ran from the main square, where the
Portuguese governors house stood, was renamed Heerenstraat. Many Portuguese houses and schools were
restored. In 1645 the town hall "Stadthuys" was built in the main square. Next to it the Dutch Reformed
Church was built in 1753. The Dutch chose to live at the bottom of the hill rather than on its sides as was the
Portuguese custom (Weebers & Ahmad 2007).
Table 2 Dutch elements on Melaka buildings (Weebers, Ahmad & Ali 2010)
Table 3 Various Dutch-style doors (Weebers, Ahmad & Ali 2010)
Table 4 Various Dutch-style windows (Weebers, Ahmad & Ali 2010)
Although the Dutch administration moved the urban structure from the walled section to the north-western
suburb (modern-day Melaka City), the networks of streets remained almost unchanged (Harun & Jalil 2012;
Weebers, Ahmad & Ali 2010). More streets were added as the city continued to grow according to the ideas
of Simon Stevin
9
(1548 -1620). Among those were the Jonkerstraat (Jalan Hang Jabat) where in 1776 the
9
Simon Stevin (1548 1620), also known as Stevinus, was a Flemish Dutch mathematician, physicist and military engineer. He
was active in a great many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical. The planning and construction of
settlements (forts and cities) in the Netherlands was greatly influenced by the architect and mathematician Simon Stevin (1548-
Tax Office was completed, a first, second and third Burgerstraat (Cross Street), a Visstraat (Fish Street) and
a Goudsmidstraat (Goldsmith Street) developed (Weebers & Ahmad 2007). The design of the public
buildings in Melaka has been influenced by the Wide Hall house from the Netherlands. The hall house has
one story as have the public buildings in Melaka. Some houses in Melaka have been highlighted to show the
features of the Dutch architecture overseas. It appears that the 17th century houses have been established
according to the Dutch building traditions. These building traditions were: plastering of the walls, the ridge
turning parallel to the street and the addition of galleries in that period are the main changes. As for the
façade architecture Melaka is located, both geographically and architecturally, in between Batavia, Ceylon,
and South Africa. Dutch architecture in Melaka, in the Public Buildings, shows an exactitude and symmetry
in design. Most of the buildings are rectangular in form which shows a balance in size and measurements.
The side façades of the houses are facing the street. The buildings have bays, doors and windows which are
symmetrically placed. The bays in the façades of the buildings are similar in size and design, the doors are
similar in size and design and the windows are similar in size and design (Weebers, Ahmad & Ali 2010).
Figure 14 The Wide Hall house (Zantkuyl 1975)
Plagued by chronic shortages of skilled labour and personnel, the VOC set out to encourage the settlement of
Chinese craftsmen, artisans, shopkeepers and farmers (Boschberg 2010). Like the Portuguese, the Dutch
appointed kapitans for the Chinese. The city's first Chinese temple was founded in 1645 and Bukit China
was subsequently acquired by the Chinese community as a burial ground. Most of the leading Peranakan
families now lived on several streets adjacent to the river and oceanfront, many in magnificent houses
reflecting Dutch or Chinese architectural styles (Lockhard 2010). The 17th century VOC historian Pieter van
Dam estimated the population of the settlement and its immediate surroundings at between 7,000 and
8,000, still a far cry from the number under the Portuguese or even earlier in its heyday under the Melaka
Sultanate (Boschberg 2010).
The fortress of Melaka was a rectangular pentagon executed in the preferred design of Simon Stevin. Many
outworks were constructed at the fortress to which the same principles of exactitude and symmetry were
applied. A ditch surrounded part of the fortress to protect the northern tip of it, which was later extended to
enclose the fortress completely on the landside. It also had a moat from the river to the sea around the
eastern part of the fortress. The completion of this moat turned the fortress into an island, greatly increasing
its defensive strength. By 1678, Melaka possessed a fortress that had nine strong bastions, mounting
between them no less than eighty-two guns. To attack it from the sea or across the river was virtually
impossible. An army approaching by land had to circumvent, first, the moat, which was itself protected by
an earth bank, then the caltrop-studded fausse-braie and, finally, the formidable main scarp. Throughout
the 18th century Melaka Fortress was generally, and justifiably, regarded as impregnable (Irwin 1962). The
Dutch also realised that the security of Melaka depended on a well-fortified Bukit China. In the first years of
their administration they planned for a substantial fort at the summit but later abandoned the project,
probably for lack of funding. The Dutch regime in Melaka effectively ended at the turn of the 18th century.
1620). In 1594 he published a paper how to build fortresses: De Stercten-bouwing (The building of fortifications). In 1600 his
Onderscheyt van de oirdening der steden’ (the ordering of cities) was published. This tract was only published after his death by
his son Hendrik. In ‘de stercten-bouwing’ the fortresses still had brick walls. In the wet and swampy Dutch landscape this was
unpractical. Walls of earth were easier to build and cheaper. Stevin gave much attention to the use of water as a defensive system.
His ideas have influenced Dutch colonial architecture and town planning the Dutch urban landscape and all over Southeast Asia
(Weebers & Ahmad 2007).
15
Figure 15 Melaka Fortress c. 1660. Legends: (1) Dwellings, (2) Warehouses, (3) Heerenstraat, (4)
Hospital, (5) St. Paul’s Church, (6) Government House and Secretariat, (7) Pay Office, (8) Old Fort
(Misericordia). 1 rod-unit of length = 0.005 km in length. This map is based on 'Malakkas
Grondteijckeningen 1656 en 1663,' which was itself a composite map, constructed by P. A. Leupe from
plans in the Rijksarchief, The Hague. Accordingly, the Governor of Melaka, Jan Thyssen, put forward at the
end of 1656 a plan for reducing the size of the fort. A smaller structure would have two main advantages.
Firstly, if the length of the enclosure were decreased, fewer soldiers would be needed to man the guns and
loopholes. Thyssen estimated that, if his scheme were adopted, Melaka could be defended by no more than
120-130 men. Secondly, a reduction in size would make it possible for the whole structure to be rebuilt in
accordance with the latest principles of fortification. He planned to retain the powerful bastion of PRINS
HENRIK together with the walls on either side of it, but the rest of the fort would be demolished, and three
new bastions, joined by short connecting curtains, would be built to the north, east and south. In November
1662 Governor Jan Thyssen moved to Batavia on promotion, and was replaced at Melaka by Jan van
Riebeeck, founder in 1652 of the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. His predecessor's plan
envisaged a wall which would cut right through the area where VOC's main dwellings and warehouses lay. If
this wall were built, all buildings lying in its path would have to be demolished and re-erected at great
expense elsewhere. In these he retained the concept of a pentagonal trace, but extended it slightly further
towards the north and east. The advantages of his design were that it brought the dwellings and warehouses
excluded by Thyssen within the enclosure and provided a better field of fire over St. Paul's Hill. In the end
neither Thyssen's nor van Riebeeck's plan met with the approval of the Dutch Company, and Melaka
Fortress remained as it was. They feared the effect that even a partial withdrawal of their forces from the fort
might have on neighbouring Malay rulers. Such action, they believed, "could only result in great dishonour
for the Company and would be attended by much expense and endless difficulties." Balthasar Bort's rule
lasted from 1665 to 1678, and it was during his term of office that the fortress assumed its final form. The
structure which he handed over to his successor was in all essentials the structure captured by the British in
1795 (Irwin 1962).
16
Figure 16 View of Melaka from across Melaka River, looking at the city gate (D), and to the left is the
Governor’s House (B) later called the Stadhuys. On top of the hill is St. Paul’s Church (A). Just below the
church is a small fort called Misericordia or Slavenburg (C), because the Portuguese used to keep slaves
there. During the Dutch rule it was an armoury and warehouse. The fortifications to the right, on the seaside,
are Punt Middelbourgh (E), and Frederik Hendrik (F) (Irwin 1962).
Figure 17 Melaka as depicted by Wouter Schouten in his East Indies voyage. In the foreground, VOC
ships with Dutch flags amidst local vessels. (Schouten 1676)
17
Figure 18 Map of the city and fortress of Melaka, with only one bridge connecting both sides of the river.
(Bellin 1764)
Figure 19 Carl Friedrich Reimer 1750-1796 Kaart van Malacca en omgeving [Map of Melaka area]. This
map shows that agricultural land has been developed in the hinterland between the fortress and Bukit China,
and extending along the seashore (Reimer c. 1770)
18
Figure 20 Hoofdplan van de stad en Kasteel Malacca, volgens gedane meeting, ter order van de H.H. Vaillant, Ver-Huell en Graevesteyn, Commissarissen-
Militair enz. [Master Plan of the city and Castle of Melaka, made according to meeting, in the order of H. H. Vaillant, Ver-Huell and Graevesteyn,
Commissioners Military etc.] (Nationaal Archief 2016)
19
3.3 MELAKA IN THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
In 1795 the British captured Dutch Melaka to prevent it from falling into the hands of the French following
the Dutch defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, and agreed to hand it back to the Dutch at the Peace of Amiens in
1802. But before the transfer could be arranged war broke out again and the British remained in possession.
In 1805 the decision to raise Penang to the status of a Presidency removed the few attractions for the British
that Melaka still possessed. They had no need of two settlements on the western Malayan coast. In that year,
therefore, orders were issued for the transfer to Penang of "the trade and capital of Malacca, together with
the most valuable part of the population," and for the razing to the ground of Melaka Fortress, it was
considered by the Supreme Government of India that, since Melaka's defensive capacities could not
profitably be employed by Great Britain, those capacities had better be destroyed lest others use them to
Great Britain's disadvantage (Irwin 1962). The town was returned to the Dutch in 1818 before finally being
relinquished to the British in 1824 an outcome of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. However, by then the river had
silted up and Melaka lost its once preeminent position as a trade entrepôt (Lockhard 2010). Even with the
possession of Melaka, Penang and Singapore
10
(collectively known as the Straits Settlements, or SS) by
1825, the British government was less than enthusiastic about its acquisitions, except that it gained non-
hostile ports of call for its ships moving between the Indian subcontinent and China, through the Straits of
Malacca (Sinha 2011). Another factor of its decline was directly linked to Singapore. The fierce competition
between British and VOC in Southeast Asia for the profit and monopoly of trade routes had compelled
British to establish Singapore as a British colony in 1819. After its foundation, Singapore siphoned off much
of Melaka’s merchant community in the 1820s and its own status as a free port allowed Malay states in the
region to redirect their trade to Singapore for higher profits (Hussin 2012).
Despite numerous efforts by the British to develop Melaka, especially its agricultural base, the region did
not flourish and neither did it attract migrants like the other two settlements. Given the absence of
plantations in Melaka and thus the much smaller numbers of Hindus there in the first half of the 19th
century, its temple-building scene was expectedly different from the intensity of such practices in Penang
and Singapore, both of which had much larger concentrations of diverse, migrant Indian Hindu
communities (Sinha 2011). In Southeast Asia, wherever Chinese populations are large, a predominant type
of house, the so-called “shophouse”, is built. A two-or-more-story building with shops on the ground floor,
built to a standard width originally dictated by the length of the average fir-log lintel used in South China,
and with residential cubicles behind and above, usually constructed in continuous rows and back-to-back
(Ginsburg 1955). Chinese shophouse, an important urban fabric in the SS, have undergone a transition of
architectural style due to British influence. The Early Straits Eclectic Style, which is Dutch-influenced,
absorbs British and other Western architectural elements to create finer Straits Eclectic styles. Eventually,
the shophouses were clustered together to protect residents from intruders. The houses became a series of
rooms with successive courtyards arranged longitudinally. Shophouses in the British era had a covered
walkway as a linkage, and some of it had extended party wall that blocked the passage. With the advantages
of both the shaded five-foot-ways and private atria, the houses were popularly taken as a model of low-rise,
mixed use, high-density living, and was relevant to the urban needs (Ho, Hasan & Noordin 2005).
The five-foot-ways were introduced for the sake of regularity, conformity and weather protection. It proves
that the British have awareness in tropical design which respects the local context since the founding days of
the SS. Originally, William Farquhar who had governed Singapore from 1819 until 1823 had allowed the
colony to flourish under the sheer volume of trade that passed through her port, but had not organised the
colony, and thus it grew haphazardly. Upon his return in October 1822, the colony's founder, Sir Stamford
Raffles, was displeased by the disorderliness, and formed a town Committee led by Lieutenant Jackson to
revise the layout plan of the city. The Jackson Plan was thus formulated; creating a plan for Singapore that
would divide it into ethnic functional subdivisions and lay the colony out in a grid pattern. Ethnic residential
areas were to be segregated into four areas, namely European town, Chinese kampong, Indian kampong and
Muslim kampong. The Jackson Plan of 1822, also known as the "Plan of the Town of Singapore", was
10
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the
territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a Crown colony
on 1 April 1867. The colony was dissolved in 1946 as part of the British reorganisation of its Southeast Asian dependencies
following the end of the WWII. The Straits Settlements consisted of the four individual settlements of Melaka, Dinding,
Penang and Singapore (with Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands).
20
an urban plan drawn up to maintain some order in the urban development of the fledgling but
thriving colony founded just three years earlier (Liu 2007). His plan was soon adopted in Penang and
Melaka, which are also part of the SS, as well as throughout British Malaya.
Figure 21 Landing-place at Melaka from Voyage Autour du Monde par les Mers de l’Inde et de
Chine. The events of the voyage occurred between 1830 and 1832. The ship shown is the La
Favorite captained by French navigator and a drawbridge that connects both sides of Melaka River at the
estuary (Laplace 1832).
Figure 22 Entrance to Melaka River, with the drawbridge and Stadhuys in the background. The fortress
has been destroyed by the British, only parts of the foundation are left (Thomson 1848)
21
Figure 23 A fine example of a late 18th century two-storey Dutch influenced Early Straits Eclectic
shophouse, depicting the most widespread architectural typology of Melaka during the Dutch colonial rule.
They are less lavish, usually one or two storeys with more usage of wood on the façade, with only one
window at the façade of the upper floor, a rectangular window with louvre shutter at the lower-storey façade,
no secondary roof, and rely solely on internal air wells for ventilation (Ho, Hasan & Noordin 2005;
Mastriani 2012).
Figure 24 These shophouses were constructed at the end of Dutch colonial rule or before the
implementation of Jackson Plan 1822 in the first half of 19th century, evidenced by the use of simpler
square-framed Dutch louvre windows and a lack of five-foot-way common to the shophouses built after mid-
19th century (Mastriani 2012).
22
Figure 25 The architectural origin of Straits Eclectic style and its architectural transition since 1840s.
Originating in Melaka, it later spreads to Penang, Singapore and various parts of the Malay Archipelago
(SGshophouse 2014).
Figure 26 The building elements of Straits Eclectic shophouses (Tan 2013).
23
By 1860s the weather sciences were considered vital to British interests in the region. Science went hand in
hand with commercial expansion. In the case of meteorology, an improved understanding of the tropical
climate underpinned efforts for combating tropical disease and improving agricultural output and the
colonial economy. In the SS, medical officers made readings and early observation stations were, mostly,
located in hospitals. Temperature and pressure observations were taken sub-daily, often in conjunction with
data from rain gauges and general remarks about the weather. They were collated and tabulated as monthly
means and sent to the chief medical officer of the Straits, who then submitted them as part of his annual
report to the British government. Officers and staff stationed at the new lighthouses constructed in the
1850s and 1860s along the Straits of Malacca coastline near the ports at Penang and Melaka, as well as at
the Straits of Singapore, were likewise expected to make meteorological observations. The continued
interest in observing the weather also stemmed from the interest taken by foresters and botanists in the
mooted effect of deforestation on localised climates. The situation in the 1880s showed progress in
climatological researches in many ways. There had been a gradual shift from sporadic observation to an
understanding of the value of collating extensive, global data. The making of accurate records had become
gradually embedded in everyday practice across the SS (Williamson 2015). Hence it marks the beginning of
using science to plan for urban expansion.
Regarding Bukit China, although the British did not seek to control the summit of the hill, they did attempt
to limit the amount of land available as burial ground. Only forty-two hectares today, Bukit China was
approximately twice its current size in 1850s. Colonial road building finally halted the expansion of the
burial area and effectively marked the current boundaries of the cemetery. Shortly before 1860 the British
authorities had a section of road cut along the contemporary eastern boundary of Bukit China, which
cinched a belt around the hill by connecting to the existing roadway that encircled most of its western base.
As a result, one kapitan grave lies off the hill at the residential street. After the completion of this road, the
pace of new construction increased in the suburbs east of Bukit China. Many graves were removed, although
prominent grave sites remain undisturbed between developed areas. Road building seems to have served the
preservation of the main part of the cemetery by demarcating what is now Bukit China (Cartier 1993).
Figure 27 Bukit China
11
in Melaka
11
Bukit China challenges Western perceptions of what a cemetery should look like. Thousands of graves seem to be scattered on
the hillsides without any orderly arrangement. But the locations of graves reveal a geographical pattern in Chinese culture that
stems from the belief system of fengshui, the concept that places of human activity should harmonise with the environment, and the
24
When Isabella Bird, a British female travel writer, visited Melaka in 1883, she described Melaka was a port
city in decline. However, “the former greatness of Malacca haunts one at all times. Now, the cathedral
which crowns the hill, roofless and ruinous, is only imposing from a distance, and a part of it is used for the
storage of marine or lighthouse stores under our prosaic and irreverent rule. Notably, she attempted to
compare the Portuguese and Dutch’s administrations with British’s: “If the Portuguese were little better
than buccaneers, the Dutch, who drove them out, were little better than hucksters mean, mercenary
traders, without redeeming qualities; content to suck the blood of their provinces and give nothing in
return. The ruined cathedral of Notre Dame del Monte is a far more interesting object than the dull, bald,
commonplace, flat-faced, prosaic, Dutch meeting-house, albeit the latter is in excellent repair. The Malays
highly appreciate the manner in which law is administered under English rule, and the security they enjoy in
their persons and property, so that they can acquire property without risk, and accumulate and wear the
costliest jewels even in the streets of Malacca without fear of robbery or spoliation (Bird 1883).
Regarding Melaka’s urban form in this period, the main centre large government institutions with awe-
inspiring architectural styles emphasising the ruler’s power as towns were central to the expansion of British
power in Malaya (Lees 2011; Hussin 2012). In early 20th century the British governments’ policies shifted to
a more ethical approach towards their colonies, parallel to the rise of ethics and socialist movements in
Europe. New housing areas were planned and developed inside and around the city, to accommodate the
rapid increase of urban population. Infrastructure and housing improvement programs were implemented
to improve the well-being of all segments of the urban population. Garden cities and hygienic housing
typologies were developed in the capital cities, municipalities and smaller towns. Modern building codes
and regulation were introduced in order to improve sanitation condition and public safety in the inner city.
New building types were invented and old building typologies were improved following the new regulations
to provide pedestrian arcades, open backyard with utility functions, fire escape, etc (Widodo 2009).
To accommodate these ideas, the British built a padang
12
in 1937, completed in 1939 on reclaimed land by
the Straits of Malacca (Sandhu & Wheatley 1983). The planning was created to make provision for the
improvement and expansion of the towns by opening up congested areas, laying out and altering streets,
providing open spaces for purposes of ventilation or recreation and resettlement persons of the poorer and
working classes displaced. This model of planning was following the first model initiated in Madras (now
known as Chennai) which acts as one of the main British port (Home 1990; Hussin 2004). The function of
padang resembles square in Europe, a place for public to socialize in premier and daily events. The padang
is the venue for official events involving crowds such as army parades, government sponsored festivals and
sporting events. A short distance away from the padang is the club house. The club house was used by the
British nobility and officers to rest after taking part in sports events. At the third part of the padang there
will be a chapel and at the fourth part there was a commercial area. The main buildings of this area were
banks and large commercial stores. From the visualisation of the urban morphology during the British rule,
it may be summarised that urban formation happened through building layouts and not through land use
classification (Harun & Jalil 2012). The colonial era urban design was aimed at creating a political power
environment for the ruling colonial masters through colonial administrative rules, building construction
prowess and community social organisation; all of which were amalgamated via urban architectural
presentation (Sandhu & Wheatley 1983).
sites of individual graves represent highly systemised, deliberate spatial selections. In this system, the grave sites often bear a
distinctive omega-shaped pattern that is an idealised symbolic arrangement of principles derived from Chinese cosmology. People
consult a fengshui geomancer to select a grave site and adjust the placement of monument stones and coffins. A geomancer
assess the landscape’s qi, a force whose path is attracted and deflected by certain topographic and built features, watercourses,
and vegetation. In this belief system, Bukit China becomes high-quality sacred space. Five Chinese kapitans are buried on Bukit
China, which creates a symbolism concentrated community political power in this historic landscape. On the Bukit Tempurong plain
on Bukit China are the graves of two Malays of considerable status, probably Acehnese leaders, but whose identities are unknown.
Because of these sacred Muslim graves, Bukit China supporters began to portray the hill as an early, significant symbol of Malay
and Chinese cooperation (Cartier 1993).
12
Padang is a Malay word which means a large field turfed with grass. Wright and Cartwright (1989) described the padang as huge
ground or a grassy plain situated in the heart of a colonial town. It was also regarded as a green nucleus of a town (Anbalagan,
1999). Meanwhile Hoyt (1993) depicted the padang as an expanse of green known as a large closely trimmed lawn alien to pre-
colonial, equatorial Malaya. Padang in Bandar Hilir, Melaka housed army barracks, church and town hall at one time in the late 19th
century. The padang also acted as the civic square for the British administration. It was where official occasions were staged
(Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, 2005). In short, padang was a centre for colonial life and a place to
promenade and place where the British expose their power and dignity through activities held at the padang.
25
3.4 JAPANESE RULE
At the dawn of the Second World War (WWII), the British destroyed many of the bridges and amenities
built earlier. These include Tan Kim Seng Bridge, constructed in mid-19th century to replace the old
drawbridge (Lim 2015). A scorched earth policy was employed to destroy anything that might be useful to
the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. The intension of the British was to slow
the advancing Japanese troops to Singapore through Malaya. During WWII, many buildings were converted
for military use. Meng Seng building, a charity hall was converted into a torture chamber. After the war, the
Japanese became prisoners of war, and were held at the Malacca High School building, which still stands
today, awaiting deportation (Carvalho 2016).
Figure 28 The original arch bridge was destroyed by the British under a scorched earth policy at the dawn
of WWII (Melaka 2012).
Figure 29 The rebuilt Tan Kim Seng Bridge after WWII. Notably, this bridge has connected both sides of
Melaka River since the Melaka Sultanate, although rebuilt countless times (delcampe.net n.d.).
26
4. POST-INDEPENDENCE MELAKA
The Second World War and the invasion of Japanese Imperial army to East Asia and Southeast Asia gave the
final blow to end the colonialism history in this region, and changed the course of urban history and
morphology in Southeast Asia. Almost 450 years of European colonisation history in Melaka had to come to
an end. A new chapter of the Southeast Asian urban history began to emerge, riding the waves of
decolonisation and the spirit of national independence (Widodo 2009). The image of Melaka as the pre-
colonial precursor of the nation thus conveniently combines with its role as the birthplace of modern
nationalism. In 1956, despite strong objections from Kuala Lumpur, Tunku Abdul Rahman chose Melaka as
the place to announce Malaysia’s forthcoming independence, at the padang (Padang Pahlawan) in front of
the British Colonial Club, now home of the Proclamation of Independence Monument. By this historic event
the symbolism of Melaka’s past was used as an identifier with the future of the new nation: Melaka gave
birth to Malaysia (Worden 2010).
For around two to three decades since 1945, the countries in Southeast Asia were struggling to overcome the
past legacies of colonialism such as divisions and poverty and to rebuild the nation politically, socially,
economically, and physically. The International Style and the ideas of Modernism were used to express the
breakaway from the colonial past and the emergence of the new spirit of Nationalism by the leaders of the
newly independent Malaysia. Modernist urban plans and locally developed modern architectural styles were
produced and implemented in Melaka and across the nation. Very often the implementation of this
modernist city plans was partial and haphazard due to limited economic capacity and technical capability of
these newly born nations, causing fragmentation and disintegration of the city. Some of the layers of urban
history and heritages which kept the shared memory of the whole community for many generations were
replaced with a totally new forms alien to the existing contexts, following a certain political agenda or
economic market forces, ignoring the past and speculating for the future (Widodo 2009).
This strong association of Melaka with Malay-ness inevitably meant that a non-Malay heritage was viewed
as being of lesser significance. In this regard the contrast between the symbolism of Melaka as the birthplace
of the nation and contemporary local realities was most acute. By 1970 Malays formed only 15% of the
town’s population, although they predominated in the surrounding rural region. A large majority of Chinese
Malaysians was characteristic of urban settlements throughout Malaysia. However, the promotion of the
bumiputera
13
in Malaysian cultural policy meant that urban Chinese heritage and history was intentionally
down-played, more easily identified with a Malay and a national past. Representations of Chinese and other
ethnicities of local significance were placed firmly in this context. The representation of the Chinese in the
heritage of this overwhelmingly Chinese town is limited to the Peranakan
14
(Worden 2010).
The heritage representations shown in Melaka are thus a product of the cultural policies and historical
constructions of the 1970s and 1980s. They have not found universal acclaim. Melaka was rejected as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) in the late 1980s, on the grounds that too much of the original city
centre had been destroyed, notably the original waterfront. A second attempt in the late 1990s met with
UNESCO criticism that local communities, notably Chinese residents, were being neglected. Local
conservationists in both Penang and Melaka realised that ‘the cities will have to come to terms with the
layered, multi-cultural occupation of their historic urban sites’ and complained that money ‘has been mainly
lavished on ill-researched museums and a sound and light show presenting a glossy version of the city’s
history . . . too little has been spent on restoration itself (Worden 2010).
Modernisation was now seen as the primary concern. In this context, Melaka needed to remould its image. A
1992 publication by the Melaka state government stressed that Melaka was ‘historical in one sense, modern
in another’, and ‘a growing industrial city and thriving holiday resort’ part of what will become a ‘fully
industrialised’ state by 2020. Golf courses, leisure resorts and a ‘Disney type theme complex’ were envisaged,
13
The Bumiputera is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Bhumiputra' (), which gives the meaning 'sons of the soil' or more
accurately ‘aboriginals’. In both Malaysia, the term is used to refer to a member of majority Malay ethnic group despite the facts that
majority of the Malays descended from the Indonesian Archipelago and the indigenous populations of Malay peninsula are the
Austroasiatic Orang Asli (Nicholas 1997; Detik News 2010).
14
Peranakans are made up of people descended from marriages between Chinese or Indian men and local Malay or Indonesian
women from around the Malay Archipelago. A rich hybrid of these ethnic traditions with a touch of Portuguese, Dutch and
Indonesian influences (Your Singapore n.d.).
designed to attract tourists, who would hopefully stay for longer. In all of this, the earlier heritage concerns
were down-played or even ignored. Notably, plans in 1995 to reclaim more of the shoreline for commercial
and leisure development cut off the Medan Portugis from the seafront, thus isolating the Portuguese
Community from ‘the natural element that has become synonymous with their history and heritage. In the
words of Prime Minister Mahathir in 1992, ‘Melaka does not remain a mere historical curiosity…its
potential as a centre for economic growth and investment is tremendous’ (Worden 2010).
More importantly, the present period is associated with an increasing intensification of the economic
activities of government and a corresponding diminution of foreign enterprise. Political and administrative
functions have become increasingly important since the country’s independence. As the main governmental
centres concentrated in the city, the direct influence of the city upon the countryside in which its importance
is likewise increasing. Relations between nationalised city and an increasingly money-oriented countryside
are becoming more intimate, and the formerly clear-cut cultural distinctiveness of city and country is rapidly
becoming blurred (Ginsburg 1955).
The problem was made worse by the failure in appreciating and maintaining the historic open space, carries
cultural significance for public usage. Padang Pahlawan, which used to be the ground for the first
proclamation of independence in 1957 was actively promoted and demolished for commercial development.
The famous padang is now seen as a rooftop garden that become stage for singing contest and concert; a far
cry from its role in the past (Harun & Said 2008). The imperative historic padang, was then has been
transformed radically into another commercial centre and car parks. Another notorious development which
include entertainment centres, cineplexes, exhibitions space, the International Club and area for cultural
and sports events (Harun & Said 2008).
1930s: An open space designated beside St. Paul’s hill. 1970: Padang built by the British on a reclaimed land in 1939.
2008: Padang Pahlawan has been replaced by Dataran Pahlawan Megamall.
Figure 30 Evolution of Padang Pahlawan (Heroes Square) from 1930’s – 2008 (Harun & Said 2008).
Another dramatic case took place in 1984, when the Melaka state government announced an urban
development plan that would transform Bukit China. A private-sector plan emerged to rival the government
proposal, and the development threat escalated: Bukit China seemed destined to become a construction site.
The hill would be graded and the earth removed and transported a short distance to fill Melaka waterfront,
where a reclamation project, already under way, covered the historic anchorage, the source of Melaka’s fame
28
as a trading port. The waterfront was already drowned under tons of fill and awaited the same fate as that
proposed for Bukit China. The development proposals led to a politically inflamed debate in Melaka. Not
only does the Chinese community believes that the quality of fengshui associated with individual grave sites
affect the lives of interreds’ descendants, but also the fengshui of the hill itself will affect the prosperity of
Melaka. The combined activities of Chinese Malaysian political and community groups forced the state
government to cancel the development plans in 1985: Bukit China would remain a cemetery (Cartier 1993).
Figure 31 Melaka River in 1920s (Murthi 2013).
Figure 32 Top Left: Porta de Santiago of A Famosa, the only surviving gate of the oldest fortress in
Southeast Asia; Top right: Dutch buildings around Town Square; Bottom left: Constructed in 1901, Queen
Victoria Fountain is the oldest functioning fountain in Malaysia; Bottom right: The view of the old cemetery
surrounding St Paul’s Hill (De Witt 1966).
29
Figure 33 The aerial view of Melaka town. Notice the shorelines have been extended by the British,
marked by the green expanse of empty spaces near the sea. Padang Pahlawan is clearly visible on the top left
corner of both pictures (De Witt 1966; Sandhu & Wheatley 1983).
Figure 34 Melaka River by the ’80s (Squier 1980).
Figure 35 A tour boat with St. Francis Xavier Church in the background. The river is now flanked by
pedestrian walkways at both sides, complete with street lamps (Ng 2010).
Figure 36 Disney-type theme park has been built near the buffer zone of the city.
(Hotel Equatorial Melaka 2012)
In 2001, a joint nomination of Melaka and George Town was submitted to UNESCO to deal with the
mistakes the state party made in the past, which excluded the layered, multi-cultural occupation of their
historic urban sites. ICOMOS stated that “While Melaka and George Town are the products of 500 years of
trading and cultural contacts between East and West. Immigration and influences from many parts of Asia
and Europe have created a specific multicultural identity, manifested in both tangible and intangible
heritage, such as areas for different ethnic groups and functions, religious pluralism, and streets lined with
typical shophouses and religious buildings. Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history, originating
in the 15th century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in 1511; while George
Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century (UNESCO 2008).
(a) Initial designation of inscribed property’s boundary (b) Amended boundary of the inscribed property
Figure 37 ICOMOS recommended Malaysia to extend the Buffer Zone to encompass Bukit China and the
outlet of the Melaka river estuary. The proposals were accepted by Malaysia. ICOMOS viewed that “In
31
Melaka, the nominated area has a sufficient size and includes the elements necessary to understand the
property’s significance. It consists of the complete area of St Paul’s Hill, which has through history contained
the civic functions, and the larger Historic Residential and Commercial Zone where the built environment
gives a whole and intact impression, with all the needed elements to express the multicultural identity. What
has disappeared is the relation with the sea since the old harbour area has been reclaimed. However, the
Melaka River still gives some contact with the sea. (Government of Malaysia 2008; UNESCO 2008) Notice
that the southern border of the Core Zone was the original shoreline of Melaka, while the southern border of
the Buffer Zone was the shoreline extended by the British.
Subsequently, ICOMOS suggested two substantial modifications of the buffer zone, Bukit China and the
outlet of the Melaka river estuary. They consist of two fully justified extension proposals, the first takes into
account a space with significant cultural value, and the second ensures visual protection when viewed from
the sea, at the entrance to the estuary. . The basis of the request to incorporate Bukit China as part of the
Buffer Zone is premised upon the fact that it is one of the oldest and largest Chinese burial grounds outside
China. The second request was aimed to protect the river mouth from any further reclamation and structures
on the reclaimed land that can obstruct the view towards the WHS from the Straits of Malacca and vice versa
(UNESCO 2008).
Figure 38 Aerial view of the old quarter of Melaka. Its roofscape is known locally as the ‘Vista of Ming
Dynasty’ as it was built according to the principles of fengshui by the Chinese Peranakan community of
Melaka whose ancestry dates back to Ming China in the 15th century. Just when this roofscape which follows
the principles of Chinese cosmology becomes rare after the collapse of Ming Dynasty in China, it can still be
found in Melaka. Because of it multi-layered cultural and historical landscapes, combining many aspects of
East and West, its roofscape is also known as the ‘Vista of a thousand nations’ and becomes synonymous
with the ‘Intersection point of East and West, earning it the sobriquet ‘Istanbul of the Far East.
(Lye 2008; Pindat 2016)
32
5. CONCLUSION
Modernity and nation building has reduced the role of the sea and increased the role of the land and of the
air in economic and social exchange (Lockhard 2010). Once the busiest most cosmopolitan entrepôt in
Southeast Asia, its heydays are now long gone, although the memories of its glory and wealth are deeply
imprinted on its buildings, monuments, urban form and streets. From the Melaka Sultanate which inherits
the Hindu-Buddhist Srivijayan heritage to the colonial days of the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese,
each has left its mark on the urban fabric of Melaka, so rich and intertwined that it is impossible to separate
their influence from one another in this cosmopolitan city. The history of Melaka’s urban morphology is an
interesting chapter in the development of a pluralistic urban environment, made possible by an increasingly
globalised world since the 15th century. Melaka will continue to evolve, as in the past, responding to the
influence brought in by new ideas.
33
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The period from 10th to the 13 the centuries in South East Asia has witnessed the rise and dominance of urbanised civilisations, primarily from mountain ranges and highlands which are known by what historians called the "nagara" urban form. One of the examples of urban centres and foci of civilisations are during the Buddhist era of Asia, evolving in regions surrounded by agricultural wet rice surpluses. These are mainly found further inland and constituted in some cases that become the notion of sacredness and purity in urban centres. In time these urban centres were replaced by emerging maritime centres such as Melaka, Kedah and Acheh. This paper argues that with the rise of Islam, these centres reflect accretion patterns symbolic of the key trading city centre. It is argued that in salient cases, their urban core patterns and city form had still retained essences of the "nagara" form which were primarily transferred through aristocratic ties. They were reflected not only in the site configuration and urban core patterns but also in their architectural language, whether in orientation, alignment or symbolic iconography characteristic of the region. The paper highlights the importance of these roots to retain both the cultural rootedness and sustainable credentials of towns in South East Asia.
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