Tourism driving out old businesses in Lebuh Chulia

Sky Hotel, one of the older budget hotels in Lebuh Chulia, George Town, will get a makeover soon. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, January 17, 2015.In the Unesco World Heritage city of George Town, the state capital of Penang, there is an air of helplessness at a row of old shophouses over plans that will see established trades fall victim to a tourism boom, which some feel will empty the colonial city of its soul. 

By March 1, long-time businesses at these lots on Lebuh Chulia, one of the city's main roads famous for its cheap hawker fare, must vacate after operating there for decades. The owner of these shophouses wants the properties back, and the tenants out, for a new hotel.

Legal notices were served late last year to the tenants, who are proprietors of a variety of businesses dealing in recyclable items, antiques, chemical supplies, machinery repair, spare parts and hardware.

The old Sky Hotel with its ground floor coffee shop that features a famous roast pork stall is also in this row.

"According to the letter sent by the owner's lawyer, we have six months to move out. March 1 is the deadline. If we don't leave, we face legal action," said the coffee shop owner.

The 57-year-old man, who only gave his surname as Teh, was sore about being told "by a piece of paper" to move out from the coffee shop his family had established since the days of his grandfather in 1961.

He felt that given their long history with their landlord, the news should have been broken to them face-to-face.

"If he has new plans for his properties, he just has to tell us. Don't just send us a lawyer's letter. It would have made us feel better about this," he said.

Teh said there is little chance for him to continue his coffee shop business elsewhere, with rental rates in George Town rocketing skyward, complications involved in getting operating licences, and capital needed to renovate a new outlet.

His business selling drinks at a new place may not be the same either, without the popular roast pork stall. The word out is that the roast pork stall operator had an offer to stay on.

"Since we never saw the owner or heard from his lawyer when some of us contacted the firm to ask questions, we are not entirely sure. We heard the owner plans to convert the properties into a boutique hotel... the stall gets to stay if the operator wants.

"I am not hoping to be compensated, but I did hope the owner would at least offer some money out of compassion. At least a token sum that can help me with the moving out, but there is nothing so far.

"So what do you want me to say? What more can I say? The more I think about this, the more upset I feel," he told The Malaysian Insider recently, adding that at his age, it would be difficult to get a job but at least his children were all grown up.

At 91, Ong Liang Ching will have to start over again after being told to move his chemical business out of a row of shophouses in Lebuh Chulia, George Town. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, January 17, 2015.

The coffee shop beneath Sky Hotel, one of the older budget hotels in the heritage city, is one of the few old-world style eateries left in the city.

Coffee shops (or "kopitiam" in the Hokkien dialect) like Teh's are fast being replaced by newer and trendier establishments serving fusion food, Western-style coffee and cakes across George Town.

Tourism is big in George Town, especially in the Unesco World Heritage Zones, and it is obvious that most businesses in the city are banking on the tourism sector these days.

Half of the businesses on Lebuh Chulia are tourism-related. There are a number of hotels, tour agencies, and shops selling knick-knacks as well as bicycle rentals.

Other non-tourism businesses that existed long before are starting to look out of place. Liangtraco, the chemical supplier which has been there for 54 years, is one of them.

At 91, its managing director, Ong Liang Ching, is the oldest among the tenants affected by the order to move out.

"Most of us have been here for more than 50 years. We heard about the hotel plan. This happens all over the world. It can't be helped.

"I will have to move the chemicals in this shop to my store in Bayan Lepas. I have a small office on Jalan Pintal Tali nearby but that shophouse is small and doesn't have much room for the chemicals," he said.

His business supplies chemicals to factories, yachts and also stocks solutions for households needs.

Ong said the change might present some inconvenience to his customers because although they could still find him at his office, the lack of space there would require them to return another day to collect the chemicals they wanted, since he keeps his stock in Bayan Lepas outside the city.

Tenants like him should be compensated, he said, and more time to look for new places to rent. The six-month notice was too short.

"It is not easy to find a new place so quickly these days. That is the price we pay for progress," he said, noting how the new developments in town were more aimed at attracting tourists.

Ong said there were people who thought that George Town would only develop with more tourists going there and spending their money.

"Perhaps if George Town is attractive to tourists, then the tourism business will flourish and benefit the people. We see boutique hotels and new coffee houses mushrooming around town.

"I suppose that is much better than having bars, and we see young entrepreneurs running the coffee houses. In the old days, it was rare to have people starting something on their own," he said, calling it a welcoming change.

Madam Lian, 62, who runs the recycling shop on the row, said high rental rates would spell the end of her business after vacating her current premises.

The going rate for shophou

Madam Lian runs a recycling business and says she can’t afford the rent if she moves out of Lebuh Chulia, George Town. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, January 17, 2015.

ses opposite her row in Lebuh Chulia was RM3,700 and RM4,000 a month, she said. The rent she paid now was only a fraction.

"How can I afford to move? A business like mine doesn't make much profit. It is getting so hard to find affordable places available for rent in the heritage area now.

"The Unesco heritage listing we got in 2008 is good but it has its side effects. It has made properties in town so expensive and those who can't afford to stay have to get out. So, it is not so great for us.”

Lian is worried that her business would never be the same again, even if she manages to find another shop to rent. Getting the council and police licences to operate the business might not be easy at the new place, she said.

"My son told me to give up the business but I think it would be a waste. We have had this shop for more than 20 years and we did some of the repairs ourselves over the years. I hope the owner will consider giving us an extension," she added.

Another senior citizen affected by the move is Lee Beng Guat, 80. Her shop which sells antiques is next door to Ong's. She is luckier than her neighbours as she has found a new shop to rent on Lebuh Armenian.

"This business has been in my family for more than 50 years and the shop on Lebuh Chulia is more than 30 years. It is not an easy business. Not everybody likes antiques.

"I am already old, so how many more years can I run the business? I will just move. The landlord has the right," said the Nyonya lady as she puffed on a cigarette, while attending to an Indonesian customer.

Her friend and customer C.T. Tan, 62, a retired engineer, said it was sad to see old businesses in George Town lose out to tourism.

The old trades gave the colonial city character and were part of the charm that made it interesting. Without them, he said, George Town would be "soulless".

"Some places in the city should be retained. We need to protect and keep the traditional trades and some of the old businesses that give life to the city.

"Tourists don't want to see everything modern. They can see that in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore... and we already have hotels in the city, so why can't they build new ones out of the city, like near the hill or in rural areas where we can boast of Penang's eco-tourism?"

The plans to turn the old shops into a hotel, however, are not set in stone. Though the redevelopment plans have been submitted to the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP), approval has not yet been given, said state local government exco and Padang Kota assemblyman Chow Kon Yeow.

"We got the application (from the owner) but we have not approved it yet.

"The tenants are not refusing to move out but some of them need an extension of one to two months. My office is getting in touch with the owner to see if something can be done about it," he said. – The Malaysian Insider