Paper Title
Excellence Commodification Of Malay Cultural Heritage In Melaka

Abstract
Commodification constitutes a tantamount issue with heritage. It has always been a topic of dialogue among the researchers. In this era of globalization, commodification plays an important role to meet the needs of tourists. On account of the existing heritage which correspond to the tourism products such as historic buildings, traditional food and crafts. However, the modifiers that are made to meet the demands of the tourists have changed their authenticity elements contained in the heritage product. But, with the modification, it has helped in reviving the precious heritage elements. Therefore, this paper discusses the excellence commodification in the context of the Malay cultural heritage in Melaka, Malaysia. The main focus of this study is to identify the forms of commodification that has increased the prestige of the Malay cultural heritage. Head-on interview sessions have been conducted with 34 individuals who are actively involved representing the 21 elements of the Malay cultural heritage. Interview results showed that only 7 elements undergo the process of commodification in terms of output, such as patterns, designs, colours and flavours. These commodification have been successfully introduced the Malay cultural heritage in the society. These forms of commodification do not leave the authenticity value of the heritage. In fact, it has managed to elevate the status of the Malay cultural heritage based on the success of the practitioners who are still actively working on the Malay cultural heritage. Index Terms- commodification, Malay cultural heritage, Melaka, tourism product.