KUALA LUMPUR
Kuala Lumpur is at a crossroads. For the longest time, the Malaysian capital has prided itself as an antithesis of her neighbour Singapore – laidback and oozing with old world charm.
For one, the rambunctious roadside food stalls of Bukit Bintang and the congested night market at Petaling Street would make any Singaporean lament about the good old days.
Sadly, KL is looking a lot more like Singapore these days. The ominous sign is of course the demolition of the grand old dame of Bukit Bintang – the crumbing centenarian Pedu Jail that exuded more character than its surrounding swanky shopping malls was finally disposed of, to make way for a road tunnel.
And while the city’s former Central Market was spared from suffering a similar fate and is now conserved as a handicraft centre, the phasing out of its junk shops and the invasion of chain cafés does seem to set the city’s conservation efforts two steps back.
In safer hands is the city’s Stadium Merdeka, where Malaysia’s independence was declared on 31 August 1957, having secured a UNESCO heritage award some time ago. All is not lost but some loss simply cannot be reclaimed.
05 NATIONAL MONUMENT __ For a monument that salutes the heroic individuals sacrificed during the Malayan Communist Emergency period of the 1950s, its atmosphere is disconcertingly celebratory.
It probably has to do with the pretty but tacky Arabian Nights-inspired onion-shaped domes, fountains and artificial water lilies. And it definitely has to do with the countless tourists flashing wide grins in front of the 16m-tall bronze sculpture of fallen fighters amidst the triumphant hoisting of the Malaysian flag.
Still, this Felix Weihs de Weldon masterpiece is not without any redeeming quality – there is actually an ironic and intriguing story beneath its shiny surface. Erected in 1966, the monument was the target of the banned Communist Party members who planted a bomb under it in 1975, apparently blowing the sculpture into smithereens. Strangely, the most glaring of morning suns fails to illuminate the purported reconstructive work.
04 DAYABUMI COMPLEX __ When the city is home to one of the world’s tallest buildings (need we spell it out?) and the fourth tallest telecommunications tower (the Menara KL, for the uninitiated), other lesser skyscrapers just blend into the skyline.
A rarity is the Dayabumi Complex. What it lacks in the height department, it over-compensates with class, artistry and beauty. Designed by local architect Datuk Nik Mohamed, the building’s winning feature is a latticed marble façade of symmetrical diamond motifs covering almost all of its 35 storeys of governmental offices and shops.
Besides beating the Petronas Twin Towers and the Menara KL hands-down in the design department, the Dayabumi Complex has also reserved a place in the architectural annals for pioneering the Malaysian brand of Islamic modern architecture.
03 THE OLD RAILWAY STATION __ If trains conjure up the old world romance once associated with travel, you could not ask for a more fitting disembarkation point than the Old Railway Station. Unfortunately, these days, train commuters arriving in KL (from Singapore) alight at the contemporary but common-looking Sentral Station.
The good news is, the city’s former main railway station has been converted into a heritage hotel and trains still run through its colonial-era, wrought-iron belly en route to Sentral. The rickety trains and fading signage may even mislead you into thinking that it is still the 1970s. For an idea of the railway station’s exact age, step outside to marvel at its white-washed Moorish-inspired tower, designed by AB Hubbock in 1910.
Hubbock was also the brain behind the splendid Malaya Railway Administration Building across the road, which may just inspire you to embark on a passage to India.
02 DEER PARK __ For some unknown reason, every attraction inside the bewilderingly expansive Lake Gardens is listed on the numerous signposts, with the exception of the Deer Park. Perhaps, it is a secret that the locals prefer to keep to themselves and rightly so.
The humble and slightly unkempt home to a bevy of spotted deer – imported from Holland – and the local mouse deer turns out to be a joyful discovery, making the knee-jerking climb to the enclosure worth every bead of sweat.
Once these gentle creatures detect your hush-hush presence, they will stop grazing on the parched grass patches and gallop towards you – a sign that these beauties are seemingly starved of company and affection.
01 RUMAH PENGHULU ABU SEMAN __ The Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman brings to mind the Jim Thompson’s House in Bangkok, Thailand – a collection of traditional houses uprooted from Chiangmai and Ayutthaya and rebuilt in the Thai capital. Originally the residence of a local village headman in Kedah, the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman was constructed in stages during the mid-1920s and early 1930s.
Like most Malay houses, the wooden building of intricate carvings sits on stilts but it also consists of a balai or administrative office used by the headman for meetings and even as a temporary “lock-up” for offenders. Neglected by time and posterity, the house became dilapidated and was eventually dismantled in the 1990s to be restored and reassembled in the grounds of the Heritage Centre of the Badan Warisan Malaysia.
The Heritage Centre itself is housed in a black-and-white colonial bungalow once occupied by British officers. Within its cosy confines are galleries exhibiting paintings by local artists and a modest gift shop selling books and bric-a-brac.
Still, the highlight is the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman, which is lavishly furbished to showcase the culture of the local Malay community. Interestingly, even the slightest movement on the wooden floor can cause an alarming tremor, as evident in the clinking of cutleries kept in old cupboards. Maybe it is the house’s way of hinting that when a city loses its roots, it is standing on shaky grounds.
And unlike the Jim Thompson’s House, the Heritage Centre and the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman do not reek of commercialism and could do with more visitors contributing to the cause of heritage conservation.Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman | The house is located at 2 Jalan Stonor. Keep a lookout for a mock-Tudor colonial building located off Jalan Conloy.
Deer Park | The nearest attractions are the Orchid Garden and the Hibiscus Garden. Your best bet is to ask the security guards for clear directions.
The Old Railway Station | Located at Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, it is near the Pasar Seni Light Rail Station.
Dayabumi Complex | The skyscraper is linked to the popular Central Market via a canal bridge.
National Monument | Situated at the northern tip of the Lake Gardens, it is best reached by taxi.