Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng expressed his gratitude to the previous Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister, NGOs, the previous state government and government officials from the state agencies who had helped George Town achieve the listing. Lim also recorded its appreciation to
UNESCO for listing George Town and Malacca as World Heritage Sites. George Town, he said, has been recognised for its largest concentration of pre-World War II buildings in South East Asia and multi-ethnic living heritage. "Malays, Indians, Chinese, Eurasians, Armenians, Japanese, British, Jewish, Filipinos and other small nationalities have contributed to the development of George Town,” he said.
