A check by FMT found that the developer has applied for planning permission and is awaiting approval. The plan is to tear down the shophouses to make way for a nine-storey, 45-room hotel.

Clement Liang of the Penang Heritage Trust said the shophouses were significant in their architectural style, marking a period when art deco was popular in the state.

They were built using Shanghai plaster, a type of granolithic cement plaster that emerged in Hong Kong in the mid-1920s, and Liang described them as excellent examples of art deco buildings modified to suit the tropical climate.

He said there were not many such buildings left in the country and Penang stood to “lose a part of the wonderful physical record of the state”.

He said it was worth preserving the shophouses as they could be a tourist attraction.

Alternatively, he said, they could be repurposed into offices, hotels or private residences through readaptation designs by architects who understand the importance of preserving the aesthetics and characteristics of the original buildings for marketing appeal.

Liang warned that the continuing demolition of pre-war shophouses and the construction of “incongruous and oppressive modern high-rise buildings” could cause George Town to lose its status as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

“All these old buildings tell a story of our past and shape George Town into an attractive historical city which we are so proud of,” he said.

“We can still have new high-rise development projects in Penang, but we can choose to build them in areas that do not affect these heritage areas and avoid bringing more traffic into town.”

Heritage activist Mark Lay said the vulnerability of the shophouses to demolition highlighted the contrast between what is being said by the state government and the reality on the ground.

He alleged that statements by state officials about their dedication to safeguarding the heritage and cultural traditions of Penang were mere sound bites for the media.

Lay also said many heritage building owners were, in the post-Covid era, “excited” about the prospect of demolishing heritage buildings and putting up high-rise condominiums in their place.

“We are concerned that this will happen at a faster pace unless we nip it in the bud,” he said. “It seems that the city council may have made an empty promise to Unesco.”