THE HERITAGE PLANT: THE NOSTALGIA FROM THE PAST ENHANCE THE PLACE IDENTITY FOR THE ROYAL TOWN OF KUALA KANGSAR, PERAK, MALAYSIA

The heritage plants explicit the tradition, belief, history of the people as well as present the culture of intangible attributes of a group or society significant with the landscapes. Local people think that the plant character are equally essential to bring back the nostalgia of the traditional village garden. The study aim to identify the heritage plant characteristics to symbolize the townscape elements in establishing the place identity for the Royal Town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia as a case study. The study methodology involved a semi-structured interview with experts in three categories, namely, professionals, policymakers, and skilled practitioners. The results show that there is significance between the royal plants and the cultural heritage plants, which intend to be the townscape element?s identity of the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak. The findings of the study expected to assist the city council in their town planning by proposing the heritage plants? character images in enhancing the identity of the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Besides, it could apply as a guideline for future developments in the Royal Town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak.