KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia government on Monday announced that the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley (AHLV) in Perak has been named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO. The move makes it the fourth such site in the country. The Straits of Melaka, Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak and Kinabalu Park in Sabah are the other three also listed as heritage sites by UNESCO and protected. UNESCO said in announcing Malaysia's latest addition to their global list of protected heritage sites that it “testifies another dimension of the global recognition of Malaysia as a nation endowed with and committed to the conservation and protection of its world renowned heritage.” Malaysia is a currently a member of the UN's 21-nation World Heritage Committee tasked with deciding on the “inscription, referral or deferral of properties proposed for nomination.” Malaysia will remain on the committee for its four-year term, which ends after 2015. The government had proposed a number of sites in the country for inclusion on UNESCO's list, which will still be under scrutiny as the committee is meeting in St. Petersburg at the moment. The committee added that the “lush Lenggong Valley contained artefactual evidence in the open air and cave sites spanning all the periods of hominid history outside Africa.”
