This letter
to the editor seems like a new twist to the MRT saga in Petaling
Street. The writer is an ex-trader in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and he
mentioned the media report that said 29 privately owned buildings
will be demolished to make way for the construction of the MRT
stations if the alignment goes under Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. He
also mentioned that as fas as he can tell only three buildings which
are owned by the Government will be demolished to build the
underground station in Jalan Sultan and the tunnelling works will not
even affect the private shop lots above ground.
Both streets are in the
old part of Kuala Lumpur and have a right to maintain their unique
characteristic. As it is today, the Chinatown feel is a bit different
from the era when it was first built with the many non-Chinese
non-Malaysian workers manning the stalls. The presence of our guest
workers who congregate around the vicinity during weekends and public
holidays has also seen the growth of outlets catering to their
needs. In that sense, that part of the heritage has changed and most
probably there will be a different mixture of colour, smell and
texture that will assault us when we visit the area in future.
How many shops are still
in existence at the moment in the area that still carry on with their
traditional trade? Chinese medicinal halls, tailors and funeral
parlours are boxed in between the usual shops selling t-shirts,
watches and other consumer goods. Do we want to retain the
traditional make-up of the area and gentrify it in line with the MRT.
That might be the lesser of two evils, retaining the physical
structure of the area and ensuring that the area retains some
semblance of its glory days.
Image from vacationinmalaysia
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