The revamp of KL city centre

It's that time of the year again when most Malays will be crowding Jalan Masjid India and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (Jln Tar) for Hari Raya Eid-Il Fitr shopping. Almost all kinds of traditional Malay dresses and cuisines will be available during this holy festive season.

And almost every year I’d expect and be disappointed with the lack of development in that area. How could this area be left behind in terms of development, market value and architectural design as compared to other parts of KL? Location wise, Jln Tar is situated in between Bkt Bintang and entrance of PJ and it’s only 5 mins away from KL golden triangle.

One honest question lingering my mind..Is this because this place only caters local Bumis (particularly Malays who are earning lower income as compared to others in Malaysia)? My honest answer is yes. Just look at Kampung Baru as an example. The next question would be, what can we do with this?

Vision 2020 is only 12 years away. We do have the once tallest office towers in the world and other mega structures in the city, but please look around the city..it’s utterly embarrassing. Most embarrassing is the fact that this area is controlled by Malay/ Indian Muslim. The leaders especially the Malay leaders need to do something about this NOW.

I would suggest either state owned property funds like Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputra Berhad (PHBB) or PNB (under the property investment arm) to acquire the whole block of shophouses at Jln TAR and Jln Masjid and turn it into top commercial areas in KL. Take Heritage Row for an instance, a private owned property investor acquired the whole street and turn it into high end café and clubs..and guess what? the location is nearby Kampung Baru and Jln Tar!!

This is the time to change the image of Kuala Lumpur..This is the time to change the perception that low end area to be associated with Bumis..Let’s make this a National Agenda or something that can be built by any Malay Party..

For the Bumis..this small piece of land is ours..let’s show to the world that we earn the rights to own it and we are capable to turn it into something legendary.