Building a Petaling Street memory palace

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 -- Tucked away upstairs in one of the shophouses at the corner of Jalan Sultan is the Petaling Street Art House, a community initiative started by local Chinese DJ Chong Keat Aun.

Memorabilia such as old records from the 1950s to 1970s, Chinese opera costumes, furniture from the now-closed Hotel Lok Ann, knick-knacks from the many Petaling Street businesses that have shut for good are all here. It is a treasure trove for those who love heritage, culture and history.

“All of the items here are donated by the people of Petaling Street. We don’t run a business here,” said Chong who is also a cross cultural performance artiste.

He spent the past two years collecting antiques from the locals who were more than happy to contribute to the Petaling Street Art House. Chong is active in similar community-based initiatives such as the Petaling Street Art Community project.

“I want to create an avenue where people can come and appreciate the history of Petaling Street through this art house. Here, we also organise performances by local artistes at night. Sometimes we have traditional Chinese opera and at times, we would have contemporary music,” said Chong.

Marbles made of glass (in small bowl) and cement (in larger bowl) (left), These vinyl records from the 1940s to 1970s era are priceless now (right)

Chong has a passion for dialects and he also conducts performances using different dialects. As a performer himself, he is fluent in all seven of the Chinese dialects, often promoting them through another initiative called Chinese Accent.

He was nominated for the “Ten Outstanding Young Malaysia Awards 2011” in the cultural achievement category for his contribution to restoring and reviving the heritage of Chinese dialects.

Memories of Petaling Street captured in black and white film

Petaling Street Art House also organises guided heritage walks around Jalan Sultan and Petaling Street area to familiarise locals and tourists with the popular area. Currently, most of the programmes at Petaling Street Art

House are in Chinese but there are plans to make it multilingual so that anyone can join in.
Open from 1pm to 7pm daily with performances some nights, the Petaling Street Art House was launched November 3, 2013. Most of the performances are free to the public but some shows charge a small fee.

Kopitiam coffee cups, left behind by old coffee shops that have been closed down

Currently, Chong manages the place on his own with volunteers and friends helping out. The space is co-shared with a brand new cafe, Cafe Amo, owned by Chong’s friend.

“Initially, the owners of this space wanted to build a motel here but I felt that it would be ideal if we could turn it into a place where visitors can get to know Petaling Street better,” said Chong.

Residents and business owners of Petaling Street were more than willing to donate their treasures to PSAH (right). Vintage mug repurposed as a lamp holder(left)

One of the interesting things Chong showed me was some records made by Hong Kong artistes who used familiar Malay tunes and turned them into Chinese opera music. It was an experience hearing Rasa Sayang in Cantonese!

You can also find old BBC programme books from Malayan times in mint condition at Petaling Street Art House.

Some of these antiques are older than you and me!

Chong tells me that there were only English, Chinese and Malay radio stations at that time and listeners would get these BBC programme books to find out what was playing on the radio.

To preserve the records and music he has collected, Chong digitalised them. Whenever you pay a visit to Petaling Street Art House during the day, you will be welcomed by Chinese opera music of the 1940s to 1970s.

Traditional Chinese opera music is one of the highlights of the nightly performances at PSAH

At times, there would be stories told by Petaling Street locals who grew up here. Chong has some of them on recordings and when he can, he gets them to tell their stories “live” in front of an audience.

“This place holds a lot of memories for the locals here. One day I found the auntie from Hotel Lok Ann sitting here looking at the antiques and reminiscing about the past,” said Chong.

The crowd enjoying one of the night performances at Petaling Street Art House (PSAH)

Some of the rare treasures in Petaling Street Art House include an opium pipe with an intricate dragon design on it, an old safe, furniture and things left behind by former business owners of Petaling Street.

“In years to come, Petaling Street won’t be the same so I hope that this will be a place to cherish the memories,” said the Kedah-born Chong.

This is the key holder that was given to PSAH by Hotel Lok Ann

Petaling Street Art House
54, Jalan Sultan,
Kuala Lumpur

This story was first published in Crave in the print edition of The Malay Mail on December 6, 2013