マレーシアイポーにおける歴史的建造物に対する自国民の印象評価

Malacca on the Malay Peninsula was in an important position in trading. Since the early 16th century, Malaya has been colonized by Portugal, the Dutch, the British, and the Japanese. Although the foundation of colonialism should not be celebrated, it is undeniable that colonialism has contributed to shaping our cross-cultural world, and cultural diversity is one of Malaysian's richest assets today. Shophouses take an essential role in representing the identity of Malaysia's culture. 
 
A shophouse is a vernacular architectural buildings type that is commonly seen in Southeast Asia. The stylistic of shophouses have hybrid characteristics incorporating architectural vocabulary from the West, Chinese, and Malay. Shophouses form defined as a 2 or 3 story row house which usually has a shop on the ground floor and living quarters above. Six main styles have been defined by Wagner A. (2006), each of them referring to a change of external appearance and height of the shophouse, especially in the facades.
 
In the old days, Kinta Valley progressed rapidly and was the wealthiest district in the Malay Peninsula due to tin mining activities. It made Ipoh more famous than the towns in other states due mainly to its dominance being rich with tin ore production. The tin-mining activity influenced the trading activity and the architectural development of Ipoh, which is now referred to as the heritage area of Ipoh.
 
In Japan, heritage protection has been carried out, mainly by the national government, for more than 150 years. The responsibility still largely rests with the national government, but local governments and residents have been increasingly involved in heritage protection. Development regarded as a threat to heritage protection in the past is now profoundly incorporated into the heritage protection system. 
 
On the other hand, Malaysia had initiated the effort of conserving heritage buildings just approximately 30 to 40 years ago. The awareness is slowly increasing, though it is relatively slow. Extra efforts on conserving these buildings can bring immense benefits to the country, especially for future generations. However, whether those buildings are important to be conserved is always a question asked by many. Is Malaysian aware of the withstanding of those buildings at present, and is it important to them? 
 
This study reviews Malaysian residents' perception of historic architecture in Malaysia, especially shophouses. In this study, photo-based methods were used in an online questionnaire. This method is considered the best method to enhance the status and acceptability of the broader research community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research findings show that shophouses in Ipoh possess many historically significant features, which enables the local communities to recognize shophouses as Malaysian historical buildings. The research also shows Malaysian's will to protect shophouses that have a nostalgic atmosphere, and those shophouses are important to towns and cities in Malaysia. Furthermore, a comparative analysis was conducted based on 120 respondents representing both Malaysian and Japanese residents to explore the similarities and differences in their residents' perception of historic architecture in Ipoh.