MALAYSIA CONFIDENT OF WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE SEAT

LONDON, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has expressed confidence of a seat in
the World Heritage Committee (WHC) after a meeting with its members in the
Belgian capital of Brussels Monday.

Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Dr Rais Yatim, who led
the Malaysian delegation, said the outgoing committee now had a better
understanding on why Malaysia should be given leeway in their bid to join the
committee.

"We are blessed with rich natural and cultural heritage uniquely to us.
Having to join the committee will enable Malaysia to help develop a more
balanced evaluation system of the recognition of heritage sites," he told
Bernama here.

"There have been many sites in Europe that have been recognised. We also
want to see more of such sites in Asia identified and being given due
recognition," he said.

Malaysia is the only candidate from the Asia-Pacific region and Asean.

Rais said Malaysia was now promoting to the WHC, which comes under
Unesco, the Bujang Valley in the northern sate of Kedah as well as Lenggong
Valley in Perak state as early sites of civilisation in Malaysia and Asia.

The decision will be announced by WHC in November.

Malaysia's intention to vie for a WHC seat was first mooted by Deputy Prime
Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at a gathering he hosted in Paris last May in
conjunction with a meeting of the executive board of Unesco.

In 2008, Unesco recognised Melaka state and Georgetown, the capital of the
northern Penang state, as world heritage sites in the city category.

Earlier, in 2000, it declared the Kinabalu Park in Sabah state and the Mulu
National Park in Sarawak state as world heritage sites in the nature category.