That Would be NO, NO, NO!

The Redevelopment Plan

At the request of my wise mother, I've decided to put my two cents worth on an issue that is very close to our hearts.

The distressful news appeared on Monday's Street section of NST (one of Malaysian dailies - New Straits Times) highlighting the plans to overhaul the Kampung Baru area into 'a potpourri of residential and city centre commercial area.'

The major revamp on Kampung Baru comes at the heel of the Draft Kuala Lumpur 2020 City Plan which was unveiled last Thursday.

Having called Kampung Baru my Kampung (or village) since I was a wee toddler, I'm vehemently opposed to this purported redevelopment project. It is a travesty to the long line of Malay generations that have established their roots here.

I take umbrage at the insinuation that Kampung Baru is hindering development and progress by refusing to pander to the greedy exploits of businessmen and politicians alike.

Naturally this issue all boils down to dollars and cents. Or in our case, Ringgits and sens.

With an estimated market value of up to US$1.4billion for a 250-acre of land, I bet every conceivable person wants a piece of the action. To me, Kampung Baru is liken to a diamond in the rough in dire need of some honing and polishing by prospective suitors. Unless she is protected and well-informed, this 'fair maiden' might fall into the wrong hands where her reputation (and to a degree, her identity) will forever be tarnished.

What is Kampung Baru without some wooden houses? Do we really need another concrete jungle in the middle of KL? I'd understand if the City Hall wants to raze the squatter houses that have turned up illegally in some parts of KL, but demolishing a piece of our cultural heritage, legal tracts of land owned by fellow Malaysians is simply a cruel, underhanded tactic to cash in some easy money.

In my sincerest opinion, KL would be just like another city if it were not for Kampung Baru. Kampung Baru is famous for its perennial culinary offerings that are sold below the prices of that available in the food courts of shopping malls. And what is Kampung Baru without its annual, boisterous Ramadan Bazaar that never disappoint?

Kampung Baru has also witnessed many a number of watershed moments in Malaysian history such as the formation of UMNO at its equally historical Sultan Sulaiman Club followed by several AGM meetings and of course, the bloody May 13th 1969 incident.

Sultan Sulaiman Club

While it looks noble on the outset, the City Hall's plan to 'form a centre for collection, distribution, marketing and showcasing of the cultural, arts and artifacts' in the area appears to be at best disingenuous and at worst, feels like an afterthought.

We already have Karyaneka and a slew of other cultural and craft centers that would be able to satisfy the curiosity of both foreign and local tourists. These centers, which focus on demonstrating artistic and cultural endeavours, lack the real-life appeal that comes with experiencing another person's culture. Instead, tourists could just walk into (or take the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) to) Kampung Baru and soak in the sight, smell and action that define our old Malay Reserve settlement.

I hope and pray the powers-that-be won't mete out the same fate on Kampung Baru as that which befell the beautiful, colonial-style building that housed the oldest school in KL, Bukit Bintang Girls School (BBGS). In its place is predictably a 'commercial centre' - an ultra-modern yet soulless shopping complex called Pavilion, whose only tribute to BBGS is a minuscule floor space exhibiting photographs of the school and its occupants throughout the decades.

I don't want the pictures of my grandparents to end up on any tribute wall for the wrong, commercially-driven reasons.

To safeguard the interests of these Malay settlers, I implore City Hall to scrap the redevelopment plan and instead use its resources - financial, manpower, and so forth - to improve these people's lives by fortifying the drainage system in response to flooding, fixing the roads to avoid traffic jams and solving the problem of automobile overcrowding by building a multi-tiered parking area. The latter would be strictly for visitors' use and residents having more than one car per household. Hefty fines would be imposed on those who fail to comply with this rule.

In Delft, for instance, parking by the side of the canals is mostly reserved for residents of that particular canal-facing buildings. Out-of-towners who park without a proper 'Resident Sticker' will be fined a heavy fee. There are some parking spaces for visitors - indoors and streetside - but they are limited and a bit on the expensive side. This in turn encourages people to take the efficient public transport like trams and trains.

Short of saying that KL is light-years behind The Netherlands, it has yet to boast an efficient and highly-respectable transportation system but in time we will get there. While I don't have the faintest idea when that time will be, the meddling and squabbling of petty, selfish politicians as well as slow funneling of funds should account for most of the time lost in revitalising Kampung Baru's infrastructure.

Redeveloping Kampung Baru into a 'main residential centre' (read: condos galore) and a 'city centre commercial centre' (read: charging food at premium prices) provides an easy route for City Hall to embark on and profit from, as opposed to bettering the current infrastructure that would enrich the lives of so-called 'village' folks.

Foreigners and out-of-towners visiting Kampung Baru will attest to Kampung Baru's uniqueness as a vibrant and lively Kampong in the middle of the city. If Kampung Baru were to be obliterated from KL's map, KL in my opinion would be like any other cities in the world. Advanced by all means yet lack of originality. How sad is that?

Why oh why do we need to lose yet another part of our heritage in the name of progress? The government must gazette Kampung Baru as a Heritage Site and protect it at all cause. Heck, it can even pass a law to shoo away and punish greedy developers and ruthless capitalists.

Beyond any doubt, the real value of Kampung Baru is truly inestimable.


p.s. As written in the NST article, 'City Hall has urged KLites to give their views on the draft plan and voice their objections, if any, before June 30.' Together, let's record our objections to City Hall on the Kampung Baru project. Believe me, it would do us 'city' folks a lot of good. However, since the term KLites is pretty vague, we must first inquire as to the definition of the term KLites. Is it just for those born in KL or is it inclusive of those residing in KL for XX number of years? While we're at it, can City Hall look into providing KLites with more green lung areas?