From red walls to white elephants: Is tourist town Melaka a grave for mega projects?

KUALA LUMPUR - Melaka attracts visitors with its unique blend of Peranakan culture and red-walled European buildings. Of late, it has also attracted increased attention - for so-called white elephants.In the run-up to state elections on Nov 14, development projects that have been delayed or abandoned have become fodder for the contesting political parties.These projects, many of which were approved by state authorities and involved tax payer funds, include a now shuttered planetarium, a defunct monorail as well as a maritime hub that failed to set sail.On Nov 2, Sivamalar Genapathy, deputy secretary-general of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR, asked for an update on 55 state development projects mentioned by Melaka chief minister Ab Rauf Yusoh in June 2025.Rauf said then that more than 22% of the state’s RM88 million (S$27.8m) development allocation fund had been spent on 241 state projects, including 86 which were completed, 100 still in progress and 55 not started.The PKR politician said Rauf, who is from UMNO, needed to answer questions on the projects before seeking a fresh mandate as the state’s chief minister.“It’s inaccurate to say that there are 55 problematic projects,” Rauf told reporters on Nov 3, without naming the projects he claimed were either inherited by his administration or federal ones beyond his purview.On Nov 2, Adly Zahari, who is from the Amanah party under Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, said PH would review several abandoned projects in the state if it won control of the state. Melaka has for decades been governed by the Barisan Nasional coalition, which UMNO leads, except for 2018 to 2020, when PH governed the state and Adly was chief minister.Adly, the incumbent state assemblyman for Bukit Katil, cited the RM16.5 million (S$5.2 million) monorail, which ran on a 2.5km loop over three stations, and was meant to offer up to 24 passengers on each ride a panoramic view of Melaka’s historic town.But the service was marred by technical glitches, including one that led to 20 passengers being stranded between stations on its opening day in 2010. The monorail had low ridership and the state government terminated the operator’s contract in 2021, citing breaches of maintenance and safety requirements.Another project cited by Adly was the RM1.2 billion Arab City waterfront commercial development, which has been stalled since 2009 at an estimated 70 per cent completion with hundreds of millions in sunk costs.“The people have the right to know how much money has been spent on each project, where the money went and who is responsible for rehabilitating it,” said Adly, who is also deputy defence minister, at a press conference. “We cannot simply leave abandoned projects untouched for more than 10 years.”According to a BN information sheet circulated on Nov 4, the project by a private developer had been abandoned because of a lack of funds and investors. The circular added that the state government will continue to monitor its progress.Khoo Poay Tiong, MP for Kota Melaka and chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in Melaka, has been vocal in opposing unsustainable megaprojects. He said proper planning and a facility study is required before implementing or launching any project.“A lot of checks and balances are needed. The state PAC must also play a more aggressive role, call out all the responsible persons, get them to explain and take proper action against them,” said Khoo, referring to the Public Accounts Committee which has the authority to ensure public fund accountability as its financial watchdog.Tourism boom puts heritage status at risk?Tourism is important to Melaka: it is a major part of the services sector that accounted for 52.4 per cent of the state’s GDP in 2025.The city’s UNESCO world heritage status, along with its history as a major trading port is what distinguishes it from other Malaysian destinations, said Eyzam Kasim, chairman of the Melaka chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels.A tie-up with Chinese actress Fan Bingbing as state tourism ambassador in 2024 and a Zhang Yimou-helmed cultural theatrical show also helped boost Melaka’s appeal to tourists from China, many of whom are already drawn to Melaka’s links with Ming Dynasty admiral Cheng Ho.The state welcomed 15.93 million visitors for 2025, with foreign tourists mostly from China and then Singapore according to Tourism Melaka, which is an improvement from 2024’s 15.03 million, but some way off the peak of 2019 when it attracted 18.7 million tourists.However, heritage experts warn that an overfocus on tourism may endanger the state’s heritage status.According to the count of French historian Serge Jardin, who made Melaka his adopted home in 1986, there are more than 40 other white elephant projects scattered across the city, which along with Penang’s George Town was inscribed as UNESCO Historic Cities in 2008.“The state government is only interested by tourism, not heritage. More tourists, to multiply the night markets, the sales, the shop,” he told ST. “It doesn’t understand tourism should be the consequence, the reward of a site well managed and protected and not the other way around.”Local residents are being pushed out by the chase for the tourist ringgit, he said. “The resident cannot park his car anymore, the neighbourhood coffeeshop is replaced by a cafe, increasing air and noise pollution.“Religious processions are limited or pushed away from the (town’s) centre to avoid disturbing tourism activities,” he said.Nuramira Razi, a corporate legal adviser and self-professed history buff, felt that Melaka paled in comparison with Penang. “The attractions (in Melaka) feel like they are put up for tourists first to come and see, whereas in Penang, you go there to see a living culture,” said the frequent visitor to Melaka.“I was so disappointed to learn that Dataran Pahlawan (Heroes’ Square), where the date of Merdeka’s (independence) was formally announced, was turned into a mall. Why does it need to be there? For tourism of course.”For Melaka resident Chua Chang Wei, the state’s historic town centre has become a no-go zone, especially on weekends or school holidays, when an estimated three to four hundred thousand people may descend on it.“The streets of Melaka are jam packed with visitors mostly here for the food. I don’t even think of going to Jonker (Street) or near the river,” said the sales executive.Three of Melaka’s white elephantsMelaka Planetarium: Opened in 2009, but closed in 2018 after a wall collapse. The Public Works Department found the building unsafe, and it was officially shut in 2022.Building costs: Around RM20 million Status: Redeveloping into a university’s faculty of artificial intelligence and cybersecurityBemban Mini Sports Complex: Approved and started building in 2021, but two contractors were terminated before its April 2024 expected completion date.Approved budget: RM10.37 millionStatus: Stalled - third tender being prepared as of January 2026Melaka Gateway: Launched as a massive maritime hub in February 2014 by former prime minister Najib Razak, it was terminated in 2020 by the state government for failing to complete according to schedule, drowning associated projects like a Cheng Ho replica ship meant as a floating restaurant.Approved budget: RM43 billion, at least RM700 million spentStatus: Downsized into a cruise terminal that is due by 2028Sign up for our weekly Asian Insider Malaysia Edition newsletter to make sense of the big stories in Malaysia.