On a hot day in December 2012 I was sitting on the walkway of the Melaka River with Mr. Christopher and Mr. Nicholas. Of all the people I have met, these two Melakans were among those who were the most fond of heritage and history. On the other side of the river, the leaning church of St. Francis Xavier was towering above Padang Nyiru where, some months earlier, excavations had led to the discovery of the ruins of Bastion Victoria, part of the old fort. A couple of metres away, the logo of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stood beside a big sign on an old wall: ‘Welcome to Melaka World Heritage City’. Early that year the construction of a multistorey car park on that piece of land was announced, but the Malaysian Department of National Heritage was able to persuade Melaka's authorities to stop the construction project to preserve the ruins. For months there were no clear plans, except for a couple of informative banners showing the logo of the Department of National Heritage. Rainwater was filling in parts of the excavation site.

Mr. Christopher and Mr. Nicholas were discussing the future of the bastion: Was the government going to rebuild it like Bastion Middleburg? For how long would the ruins be left in that state of neglect? Where was UNESCO? Was the car park going to be built there anyway?