GEORGE TOWN, Feb 13 — Rows of pre-war shophouses interspersed with tall modern commercial buildings line certain sections of the road.
Traditional trades such as florists, cloth merchants, clothing stores, markets and coffee shops continue can be found in this busy bustling party of Kuala Lumpur.
This part of the district, better known as the old town, is also the traditional core of the city where Kuala Lumpur was founded at the fork of the Klang and Gombak River.
This district is where the former colonial administrative centre is located and right in its heart, is the Dataran Merdeka where the nation’s independence was declared in 1957.
As the birthplace of the nation’s capital, the area is also easily identifiable by its distinct air of a rich past through its built heritage and traditional trades.
There is a small Chinatown along with a small Little India along its narrow streets where businesses continue to thrive.
Though not exactly derelict, the heart of Kuala Lumpur has long become a section of the city that many have “forgotten” except for tourists hunting for a good bargain or budget lodgings.
It is in need of a new breath of life, to add more fun and exciting events to it and perhaps to give it a facelift.
Urban Renewal in KL
What it needs are placemaking programmes that stakeholders, or even interested outsiders, can take up to turn the district around and make it theirs, said Think City’s chief executive officer Hamdan Abdul Majeed.
Think City is Khazanah Nasional’s wholly owned subsidiary that has proven its expertise in urban renewal through its various programmes, including a grant programme, to revive George Town in Penang within a four-year period.
Striking out from the heritage city, Think City has spread its wings to Butterworth and KL simultaneously along with a newly allocated grant programme to kick-start its projects for the two districts.
Last December, Think City signed a memorandum with the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) that kick-started its three-year rejuvenation programme for the district.
Hamdan said some of Think City’s activities have already started late last year first by supporting the Art in The Park festival at the Perdana Botanical Garden, the launch of KUL Stories and also a placemaking workshop.
Perhaps what drew the most attention of the start of Think City’s presence in KL was the pop-up garden that appeared in between two DBKL buildings last month.
Hamdan said the pop-up garden was a joint effort with DBKL as a demonstrative space project with the message that any public space can be transformed.
KUL Stories is a series of talks where invited guests will talk about local icons from KL, the people, the culture, the historical importance of the district and the places to note.
It is similar to the Penang Stories series of talks in George Town and in Butterworth, there is also Butterworth Stories.
Think City has already launched its baseline study of the whole district under the programme, which is a 1km radius from the Masjid Jamek.
“We chose this 1km radius because it is the very heart of the old town which is a very fitting spot to start and this is the part we want to revive first before we look elsewhere,” Hamdan said.
After the baseline study is completed, real work in terms of concrete programmes and events can be planned out.
Programme director Lee Jia Ping said the whole project currently is still in its infancy even as Think City weighs the applications for its RM1 million grant set aside for the project.
Khazanah Nasional, through its foundation Yayasan Hasanah, had allocated RM30 million to Think City to rejuvenate Butterworth and Kuala Lumpur.
The allocation is for the next three years and as a start a RM1 million grant is open for application by those wishing to become a part of Think City’s plans to restore and revive KL.
The application for the grant closed on January 31 and Think City will reveal the list of successful applicants by April.
“We have received quite a few enquiries for the grant and applications but what we are really looking for are stakeholders interested in community building, restoration, cultural mapping and whatever projects that could improve the city,” Lee said.
DBKL will also come in to improve public spaces and together with Think City, look into issues in the district such as the urban poor, the upgrading of the parks and programmes to rope the community in.
“Similar to many of our projects and our successful George Town Grants Programme, what we will be doing in the next three years here is to get the community involved, to get them to take charge of their own spaces and to spur a renewal from the community itself,” Hamdan said.
It is still early days so Think City’s presence in the old town is yet to be felt but Hamdan said once the grants are disbursed and projects are underway, possibly after the middle of this year, things will start happening fast.
“What we hope is to be able to show something by the end of a three-year period and after that, we may look at another city to revive,” he said.
