Laurence Loh, director of Think City — a Malaysia-based organization known for its urban regeneration programs — broadened the discussion of the cultural connections of the significant Chinese diaspora between the port city of Quanzhou in China's Fujian province, which was the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, and Malaysia's Melaka and George Town, Penang — two historical places along the Strait of Malacca.

Loh, also a former president of Badan Warisan Malaysia (The Heritage of Malaysia Trust), cited the restoration of the Clan Jetties in Malaysia as an example of transnational heritage protection.