Kuala Lampur, July 30 -- As vice-president of the Penang Heritage Trust and committee member of Penang Forum, I would like to respond to recent allegations made about Penang Forum over the Sia Boey Rejuvenation project.

Dating from 1804, Prangin Canal was the man-made boundary of early George Town, canalising a river, or rather a creek.

"Sungai Prangin," spelt in different ways, appears in many George Town maps and early records. The Malay toponym "Ujong Pasir" surely preceded "Siaboey," the Hokkien name for this area.

Those of us who grew up in George Town remember how food was available around the clock at the wholesale Siaboey Market, and how the busses were lined up along the big smelly drain called the Prangin Canal.

The Siaboey ...