By NAENTI KAUR
Title: Changing times, eroding values
Rooted in heritage
Yesterday’s then is today’s now
Now is tomorrow’s future.
In the continuum of time
Change is its heartbeat
Change is the only certainty.
But change is not destruction, not obliteration.
Change is wholly growth
Sacred
Rooted in heritage. – Chin San Sooi, 2011
Playwright Chin San Sooi’s poem about the destruction of Jalan Sultan had a simple message: progress is possible without sacrificing the past.
“It sums up how many feel about wanting to preserve Jalan Sultan despite the planned MRT project,”said Ho Choy Meng, who painted the the poem on his behalf.
She was just one among 60 artists who turned up at the wall of a building in Chinatown to voice their support for preserving the area. The effort was part of Malaysian media group Star Publications ‘Preserve Our Heritage’ campaign.
It was launched after an announcement of the planned acquisition of several pre-war buildings in Chinatown for an MRT project sent shockwaves through the community here. Even though some of the buildings have already been destroyed and most are in an extremely dilapidated state, many still stand – a visible reminder of the history of Chinese settlement in Kuala Lumpur.
The wall was spruced up with a fresh coat of yellow paint a few days before the event on Oct 15 courtesy of Dulux. Each artist was then given a 24x24 inch space to paint their vision. Among the images were of the founder of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy as well as Sultan Abdul Samad, the ruler of the state of Selangor in which Kuala Lumpur was located and who the road is named after. The man who brought them all together for the effort was fellow artist Phillip Wong.
While the artists were busy painting their mini masterpieces, a group of us were taken on a guided tour by tour guide and entrepreneur Stevisie YS Chan who grew up in Chinatown and now runs a travel and tour agency as well as several backpacker inns.
“My father was a barber and my mother a laundry lady and they met while working here,” he said, explaining his close ties to the area.
Among the many hidden gems Chan pointed out were the former Grocery Shops Association which has been turned into a hotel. The year on top, 1931, was the 20th anniversary of the founding of Kuomintang. The building, with the original facade preserved, has been converted into a budget hotel.
Another notable landmark which provided entertainment before TV and radio was the Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association. It staged many colourful presentations for the benefit oft those living and working in Chinatown.
Kwong Fook Wing Tailor was founded in 1915 and is still a family business run by the third generation now.
Chan said the Rent Control Act spelt the death knell of Chinatown. The Act, that was in place since 1948, was repealed only in 1997 but it its effect is still being felt now in the dilapidated and unkempt state of the area. With a rental ceiling fixed, shopowners did not see the value in the properties. Many of the shops were rented to middlemen at a low price who then sublet it to third parties.
Chan said Jalan Sultan should be preserved as a living museum. “The cultural activities of its inhabitants are just as important as the buildings they live and trade in,’’ he said.
Although the government has announced it will not demolish the shophouses along Jalan Sultan, adding they had historical value, the fact remains that they have not been gazetted as heritage buildings.
Untitled from naentii kaur on Vimeo.
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