OCTOBER 1 — The government, through Minister for Federal Territories Khalid Samad, has made an offer to buy Kampung Baru land from its residents at a price of RM850 per square feet (psf).
The offer was met with derision by many residents, who pointed out that the true value of the land should be higher, given its location in the middle of KL and its proximity to KLCC.
I grew up in Kampung Baru, in the house that my grandfather lived in, and the one that my father still lives in.
Though I am no longer resident, I have very strong ties to the area and retain a lot of love and affection for this part of KL.
The question of what to do with Kampung Baru has been around for as long as I can remember.
There has always been talk of the government buying the land for development. Kampung Baru is an eyesore; it’s an affront to the Malays; it shows kemunduran Melayu; it’s full of immigrants … for the detractors, there are a million and one reasons why Kampung Baru in its present form must be torn down for the sake of development.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that the area is in sore need of development, but not the kind that is currently being proposed.
The current proposed plan includes a heritage park and mall, with Malay centres of culture surrounded by gleaming “residences” as well as the obligatory tower to be called Menara Mercu Tanda (a Malaysian development without a tower aiming to be among the 10 tallest in the world is like eating nasi lemak without sambal; although YB Khalid Samad has since claimed that the tower will be “scrapped” if there is no demand for it).
To me, the plan risks turning Kampung Baru into a Disney-fied Malay “village”; a pretty, artificial space that is a poor mimic of what was once there.
It echoes the development ideas of yesteryears — the taller the better; the old is not worth preserving.
It does not appear to take into consideration today’s concerns about the environment or population density, never mind residents’ concerns.
What remains unsaid as well, is this: the proposed plan will completely destroy everything that is unique about Kampung Baru.
I look at the proposed plan, and what I see is more Setia Sky condos. I see a “community” area where kenduris can be held, which reminds me of how Singaporeans can hold their gatherings and kenduris in designated areas of their HDB flats.
I see a pale imitation of existing pasar malams.
Try as I might, I just can’t see a place in the plan for the makcik who has a stall open outside her house every morning selling nasi lemak and kuih muih (and everything is all sold by mid-morning).
Or the abang who has a Ramly burger stall open from 10pm onwards at night. There are schools too in Kampung Baru. Where do they fit in the plan?
There will be a Taman Warisan Melayu, which will include a Kampung Warisan. YB Khalid Samad claims these will make Kampung Baru known to the world. They will be built, no doubt, from the ashes of existing houses.
So, let me tell you this: even in its current state it is already becoming a tourist destination, all through word of mouth and with no help from any official channels as far as I can tell.
Today’s tourists seek a more authentic experience. International tourists are already visiting Kampung Baru. They do not come to Kampung Baru to see gleaming towers and pristine “culture centres.”
The pull of the area, simply put, is the people and their way of life: the food, architecture and culture, and how these intersect with the residents.
They come to have a wander around the kampung and look at exquisite Malay houses.
They come to sample kuih muih sold at roadside stalls. They come to see how the locals live. Tear down Kampung Baru, and all this will be lost forever.
YB Khalid, during the recent “townhall” session with Kampung Baru residents, listed a number of problems with the area: old, dilapidated houses; traffic problems; flash floods; complex land ownership involving multiple owners; unmanageable rubbish and the influx of pendatang tanpa izin (illegal immigrants).
These are indeed problems that beset Kampung Baru, but with all due respect, these are problems that can be tackled without any need for the sale of the land.
What is the point of having a body like DBKL if they can’t tackle traffic or flooding problems, or rubbish strewn around the area? What is the point of having an immigration department and the police, if they can’t tackle the problem of pendatang tanpa izin?
Dilapidated houses, yes, I agree, this is an issue. One that may require the purchasing of the properly and land.
However, to purchase the entirety of Kampung Baru to solve the problem of dilapidated housing feels like using a sledgehammer to crack open a nut.
Wouldn’t it be better to contact the owners of such houses and understand their intentions? Perhaps the state of their property is due to complex rules of ownership.
Or maybe they wish to continue living in their homes, but don’t have any money to repair their property (yes, these people exist in Kampung Baru; it houses plenty of the urban poor).
It’s all very well rejecting the government’s proposals, you say. What alternative is there, if we agree that Kampung Baru needs development?
A few actually, if only the government would move away from its obsession with high-rise towers.
Two years ago, a team from Harvard won a student award in the Residential Design Category from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ALSA) for their work titled “Micro-Infrastructure as Community Preservation: Kampung Baru”.
Their proposal aimed to keep the area’s “low-rise language” as well as “approaches the area on a parcel level, creating new public spaces from vacant lots and bringing the community into the development process as a way of maintaining Kampung Baru’s distinctive neighbourhood identities.”
Imagine that! A group of students — foreign, no less — took on board Kampung Baru’s distinctive identity, and envisaged spaces that were mindful of the residents and existing area, with no tower or “residences” in sight.
The design included public spaces for each of Kampung Baru’s seven villages which could be turned into “bespoke and unique anchors of the community.”
If a group of foreign students can appreciate Kampung Baru, what does this say about the government and their current proposals?
Alternatively, the government could simply choose to make good what is there already. No need to sort out complex ownership issues, or find a fund for RM10 billion to finance the land purchase (where is the money for this fund coming from, I wonder?).
Simply, this: increase the number of times rubbish is collected, and impose fines on litterbugs or those who flout the rules.
Impose traffic restrictions if needed. Declare houses that meet certain criteria as heritage houses, and make sure these are protected.
Set up a fund which would help property owners who wish to maintain their houses. Come up with local laws so that the kuih-selling makciks and small-scale businesses can continue doing so easily while respecting the residents’ peace and comfort.
Tun Mahathir described stepping into Kampung Baru recently as thus: masa seolah-olah terhenti (as though time has stood still).
The way KL is developing currently, I wonder if this is such a bad thing. So much of the old KL is gone already.
Kampung Baru is over 100 years old. Must it be destroyed too, in the name of progress?
I strongly feel that the focus on land acquisition is wrong. And so, to the government I say: you are there to serve the people.
Not all of the people of Kampung Baru want, or need, to sell their land. They do not need more towers, or high-rise “residences.”
What they need is the government to help them take care of what they have, not bully them into selling.
Kampung Baru needs some TLC. When will the government realise this?
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
