SEBERANG PERAI, Sept 19 — With a mix of modern and old shophouses on either side, Jalan Telaga Air looks like an ordinary main road passing through the old commercial district of Butterworth.
More than 70 years ago though, the 800-metre road that connects Jalan Bagan Luar to Jalan Raja Uda used to be the main connection to Permatang Pauh and further south to Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur.
Shops on that road were always busy and teeming with customers.
In fact, this is the very road where the first and largest supermarket in Butterworth was located back in the 1970s when malls still did not exist.
“The Butterworth Supermarket was the place where people from all over Butterworth would come to shop,” said Quah Kam Weng, one of the traders on Jalan Telaga Air.
The 70-year-old started his Keong Huat Shoe Store back in 1954 in a shop along a row of seven shophouses.
The Butterworth Supermarket was just across from his shop. Quah remembered clearly how the road was always busy and people would stop by at any of the shops or supermarket throughout the day.
“There were more shops then, a jewellery shop, an electrical shop, a porcelain shop and watch shop at the shophouses here,” he said.
The supermarket closed down sometime in the 1980s and was replaced by sundry shops and hardware stores that remain till today.
A row of shophouses next to it that used to house local traders selling everything from jewellery to sundry goods became vacant and after decades of neglect, the row of buildings fell into disrepair and is nothing but a pile of rubble today.
After highways were built a few decades ago, traffic along Jalan Telaga Air slowed down. Though the road still connects Jalan Bagan Luar to the commercial hub of Jalan Raja Uda, very few vehicles use the road.
“We don’t see as much traffic and customers as during the old days anymore,” Quah said.
A lot of the old businesses have shuttered while some new ones have cropped up. Quah continues to sell shoes and bags at his shop while living upstairs.
“I have been here for so many years, I will probably stay on for a while longer even though business is very slow nowadays,” he said.
Traditional florists
Just a few shops down from Quah’s shop are three florists in a row, most of whom moved into the shops about 10 to 20 years ago.
One of the stalls, MNN Golden Enterprise by B.Manokaran, has been operating at one of the dilapidated shops at the end of the row for over 17 years.
Previously, Manokaran, who goes by the name Ravi, used to have a stall at the corner of Jalan Kampung Benggali and Jalan Telaga Air just a few hundred metres away.
“I was selling flowers there for over 30 years before I had to move when they widened Jalan Kampung Benggali,” he said.
Manokaran and the other florists along the road mostly cater to devotees of the nearby Sree Maha Mariamman Devasthanam Temple at Jeti Lama.
“We cater mostly to Hindu customers and we also custom make floral wreaths for occasions like weddings and other events,” he said.
Noor Mee Sotong
Across the road from the old shophouses, occupying a heritage shophouse built in 1929, is Noor Mee Sotong.
The owner, Noor Mohamed M.A. Dawood, initially started his stall at a smaller shoplot next to the building in 1961.
He started off selling the usual mee goreng using beef slices until he decided to change the recipe.
“I like to experiment with my recipes so I wanted to create something different from others,” he said.
That saw the birth of mee sotong where Noor Mohamed added braised spicy squid to his mee goreng.
He called his new creation mee sotong and it has remained a hit till today.
A plate of his mee sotong comes with prawn fritters, beansprout fritters, crackers and is topped with a generous serving of spiced, braised squid.
Due to the popularity of his mee sotong, Noor Mohamed soon expanded his business by taking over the double-storey heritage shophouse next to his stall and opening a nasi kandar stall in the shophouse.
Urban regeneration
While the top of the road from Jalan Bagan Luar still has rows of old shophouses and traditional trades, further down the road modernisation can be seen creeping in.
One of the newest shops to set up is Aneka Reka run by husband and wife, Mohamad Azahari Maaz and Hasmawati Zainul Abidin.
It’s an ice cream shop, library and barber all rolled into one with large bookshelves acting as a divider.
Over at the ice cream shop, Hasmawati sells the traditional ais potong either as is or in her special style.
There is the ais potong sandwich, ais potong ”hotdog” or artsy ais potong where the ais potong is decorated with colourful syrup, jam and sprinkles.
“We cater mostly to the students from a nearby school so we have a library for them to browse and read while they have some ice cream or cold drinks,” Hasmawati said.
On the other side, Mohamad Azahari provides hair styling services at his Handsome Haircut Barber shop.
The couple were previously working in Kuala Lumpur but decided to move back to their hometown recently and start up the small business near where they grew up.
Masjid Abdul Kadir
Aneka is located just in front of one of the oldest mosques in the area, Masjid Abdul Kadir.
The mosque, which was also known as the Masjid Keling or Masjid Bagan Tuan Kechil, was believed to have been built back in 1814 but it has been renovated and expanded over the years to what it is today.
The mosque was built by Haji Abdul Kadir and its initial construction was fully funded by donations from the Indian Muslim port workers there.
Further down from the mosque, at it nears the bustling Jalan Raja Uda, more modern shoplots can be seen coming up in between a couple schools, existing houses and shophouses, creating an eclectic mix of modern and old businesses.
“Perhaps there is hope yet for us to see this road go back to its heyday of busy traffic... we will see,” Quah said of the slow but steady changes creeping into the neighbourhood.
The road is part of the Butterworth Baharu project undertaken by Think City and Seberang Perai Municipal Council.
The project is an urban regeneration programme to bring life back to the old town of Butterworth.
The project includes improving accessibility through the opening of more public spaces, the creation of Butterworth Art Walk and activities like Butterworth Fringe Festival, to generate more interest and economic activities in the area.
Many small traders and local businesses are still operating in the old town and the programme will benefit the local community and spur more business for these traders and shops.
*Think City is also undertaking urban regeneration programmes for George Town, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Find out more about Think City and its projects at thinkcity.com.my.
