1) The document discusses the history and evolution of architecture in Kuala Lumpur from its origins as a mining town to the present day. Early structures were timber and thatch but these were replaced by brick and tile shophouses as the town grew. 2) Styles included colonial, Art Deco, and International influences. Important civic buildings like the Merdeka Stadium were constructed to mark independence. 3) The RakanKL movement advocates for heritage conservation in Kuala Lumpur to preserve historic structures and neighborhoods as the city modernizes. They are concerned about development threats and the lack of protection for important places like the old Chinatown area of Jalan Sultan.

1. where
we
cAme
fromHeritage conservation
shows forward thinking,
a way to capture the
essence of our past, for
the betterment of the
future. Will Malaysia
be left bereft of this
inheritance, regressing
even as we progress?
1
livingculture
text & photos ee-leng yeoh
2

2. Q
A
1 183 Jalan Tun HS Lee intersection
with Jalan Sultan - one of the few
10’ wide prewar shophouses in the
area and still retaining plain interior
finishes. 2 Starlight hotel - period
patterned mosaic interior of the
hotel lobby. 3 Kwong Fook Wing
tailor - interior - the high ceiling
heights allows for mezzanine to be
inserted for additional workspace;
and vertical glass louvres that can
be closed off for privacy. 4 No 78
Jalan Sultan - interior stair; polished
concrete stair with rounded nosing
detail, moulded timber handrail
andwrought iron balusters.
5 Original furniture of the period.
6 Pak Tai photo studio on upper
floor of 2 storey shophouse is
accessed by a narrow concrete stair.
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3. 132
1 Several shophouses were
demolished at the bend in the
middle of Jalan Sultan; the empty
properties are currently used as
parking. 2 Period patterned mosaic
on exterior ground floor wall of
stair light hotel. 3 End wall of No
183 Jalan Tun HS Lee. 4 The small
raised segment of roof above the
main roof is known as a jack roof;
it aids in natural ventilation by
conducting warm air out of the
building and allows light to enter
the upper floors. 5 Old street
signage at No 53 Jalan Sultan.
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132

4. K
uala Lumpur is a young city, even by
Malaysian standards. Yet her memories,
from when the first mining prospectors
arrived in the mid-19th century till today, are
of historic significance in the life of this nation.
For encased in the urban fabric that defined the
former frontier town at the confluence of Klang
and Gombak Rivers, are surely the heart and
character of KL, the metropolis.
Ravaged by fire and floods, the earliest timber
and atap structures of the tin miners to the east
of the river no longer stand, but in their place
brick and tiled roofed shophouses were erected,
and along the west bank grand administrative
buildings for by then KL had become the seat
of British rule in this region. The architecture
represented was a hybrid of local and imported
vernaculars, of colonial and high styles of the
period, with climate responsive features such as
five-foot-ways and deep loggias.
Leading up to the pre-war years, plaster was
used extensively to create ornate neo-classical
inspired facades, and later on, geometric
embellishments favoured by the Art Deco
movement, either left beige to simulate stone or
painted in pastel hues. Steel framed glass windows
replaced wooden shutters at this juncture, but
buildings were still designed for sun and heat with
deep canopies and high ceilings.
Post World War II saw the construction of
reinforced concrete edifices alongside the older
brick structures in various expressions of the
International style, together with an increase in
building heights with the advent of lift technology.
Subsequently, when Malaya gained Independence
from the British and when Malaysia was formed,
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5. Thedeliberate
actof
maintaining
aheritage
siteforfuture
generations
isknownas
conservation.
it was fitting that the Merdeka and Negara
Stadiums were commissioned and built within
the historic city limits to commemorate and
celebrate the respective landmark events.
Completing the trifecta on Petaling Hill
is Chin Woo Stadium and between them,
Merdeka Park, a public green-space.
Heritage is usually defined as physical
legacies and intangible attributes inherited
from the past generation, while the deliberate
act of maintaining a heritage site for future
generations is known as conservation. Of
late there seems to be a discernible growing
appreciation for our built heritage and a
corresponding conservation movement
spurred on perhaps by a varierty of reasons
- travel, the success of heritage conservation
in other Malaysian cities, the loss of iconic
structures in recent times such as Bok House
and Bukit Bintang Girls’ School, and the
impending insertion of mega projects within
the historic district.
It was the approval of these projects:
the construction of a 118 storey tower on
gazetted parkland, formerly Merdeka Park,
and the underground excavation of MRT
lines along Jalan Sultan, without prior public
consultation, and proceeding without properly
addressing the long-term impact concerns
raised by stakeholders, which were impetus
for the gathering of RakanKL, a people’s
movement for heritage conservation.
According to Victor Chin, a RakanKL
founding member, Jalan Sultan is one of the
oldest streets of Chinatown, preceding the
more well-known Petaling Street. As an artist
and long-time heritage conservation advocate,
Victor has been documenting old KL through
artwork and photography for years. He spoke
of the evolving character of Jalan Sultan during
our conversation, as one does an old friend.
And friends he is, with many of the residents
who stayed on despite rustic conditions and
the lifting of the rent control act that led to
an exodus to the suburbs. His watercolours
of demolished shophouses and photographs
of Jalan Sultan through different eras paint a
picture of a deteriorating heritage site at risk
of disappearing unless more stringent heritage
policies are introduced.
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6. 4 6
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1 Federation Building, an early post
war building with circular porthole
windows and curved façade. 2
Central Market was first established
as an open air wet market in 1888;
the current art deco façade seen
here was built c.1930s. 3 Interior of
the Federation Building with more
curved lines. 4 Starlight hotel, one
of the first custom built hotels in
kuala lumpur with a lift. 5 The Lee
Rubber building c.1930s in art deco
style 6 Lok Ann Hotel 7 Interior
renovations included the addition
of light timber screens to allow
natural light and ventilation.
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7. 1
2
34
1Sultan Abdul Samad building
c.1897 - multifoil arched colonnade.
2 sultan abdul samad building
c.1897 showcases british raj style
that was developed in colonial
india, combining european gothic
revival style with mogul inspired
elements to create impressive
stately buildings; cool airy interiors
are achieved with the deep loggias
on both lower and upper levels
. 3 Wrought iron gate. 4 Temple
chair. 5 St Mary’s cathedral (by
dataran merdeka) - gothic revival.
6 No 163 Jalan Tun HS Lee - Sri
Mahamariamman. 7 14 Lebuh Pudu
- Sze Ya temple - rear entrance.

8. Heritage sites are places of cultural
significance, because they provide insights
to our collective identity and connect us to
the past in a tangible way that neither words
nor images can. Furthermore, as architecture
transcends time, buildings also evolve with
the continuous layering of history within its
walls and around it. So although preservation
is prescribed to maintain cultural significance,
adaptive re-use is an acceptable alternative
for buildings to stay relevant, as in the case
of the Lee Rubber Building on Jalan Tun
H.S. Lee, built c.1930s to house the Lee
Foundation. During the Japanese occupation
it was used as secret service headquarters
and thereafter fell into disrepair until 2002,
when it was rehabilitated for commercial use.
Kuala Lumpur does not have a large
stock of pre-war buildings today, yet many
of these are still vulnerable to development
pressures, being without legislated heritage
protection. Landmark buildings of the British
Administration are generally recognised as
built heritage and a few have been restored
in part, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building
is an example. Pre-war shophouses on
the other hand are no less historically or
culturally significant despite their lack of
architectural pedigree. However, there has
been little political will to accord them similar
heritage status or protection even though
they are as old as the streets they define. Yet
if it is accepted that an essential feature of
a landmark is not its design but the place it
holds in a city’s memory, then Jalan Sultan as
an original Chinatown street, should also be
earmarked for heritage conservation.
Reasons for heritage conservation abound
and range from economics to educational,
but the principal rationale is this; that a
building or place of cultural significance is a
repository of society’s collective memory and
once demolished, is lost forever and all the
memories along with it. And, as Victor often
quotes, “… a city without old buildings is like
a man without a memory.”
RakanKL is a heritage conservation movement
by concerned citizens that seeks to give voice
to civil society through informed dialogue with
local authorities and relevant experts to propose
improvements to urban planning and heritage
policies to make KL a more liveable and holistic city.
In addition to public forums, RakanKL organises
cultural and arts events to raise awareness of critical
issues impacting heritage in KL, and to celebrate
the vanishing sights, sounds and culture of this
rapidly-changing city.
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