Effective Preservation of Traditional Malay Houses: A Review of Current Practices and Challenges

Traditional Malay houses are a significant part of Malay cultural heritage. They depict local culture, customs, and philosophy and symbolize national identity. As a tourism-based facility, traditional Malay houses contribute to the growth of the economic and tourism sectors in Malaysia. Over time, Malay houses have deteriorated owing to human and natural factors. Modernization and urbanization also threaten the existence of Malay houses. These factors, along with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, are the main drivers for Malay houses preservation. The aim of this study is to investigate the state of the art in the preservation of traditional Malay houses through a critical review of current practices and challenges. The results show that considerable efforts have been made by different parties to preserve Malay houses. However, the preservation of Malay houses has neither reached a comprehensive status nor achieved the desired goals. For holistic preservation of Malay houses, a multidimensional preservation approach is recommended, in which engineering and technology, socioeconomic, planning, and management dimensions are all addressed simultaneously, consistent with sustainability principles and local objectives. This study identifies key areas where strategic support and improvements are needed to meet the desired outcomes in traditional Malay houses preservation. These include challenges and aspects overlooked in current practices. Therefore, the study findings can be used by policy and decision makers to guide the planning and management of traditional Malay houses preservation. It also contributes to knowledge translation in practice by discussing current preservation practices and recommending a potential preservation approach. This study highlights future research directions.