500 gather in support of Jalan Sultan

Thousands gathered at Dataran Merdeka yesterday to stage a display of unity, in celebration of the nation's progress in its 54 years of independence and 47 years of union with Sabah and Sarawak.

However, as dusk crept on, only a few streets away, a very different group of people gathered; not to celebrate the city's towering skyscrappers, but a humble national heritage in existence long before independence.

The cultural event held in conjunction with the mid-autumn festival, was entitled 'Safeguarding Jalan Petaling' but attention also shifted to Jalan Sultan as the buildings there face the looming danger of acquisition.

The organisers, the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) and art activists believe that Jalan Sultan should be preserved together with Jalan Petaling as integral parts of Chinatown.

"Many people have a sense of belonging to Jalan Petaling because it is the Malaysian Chinese experience and even later on other races also began to reside here... We believe that Jalan Petaling, Jalan Sultan and Kuala Lumpur's heritage buildings must be preserved," said KLSCAH president Tan Yew Sing.

As night fell, supporters streamed into the iconic Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association building that sits at the fork of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Hang Jebat, not only for the opera performances it's staging, but also to have a possibly last look at a heritage that may be lost.

Founded in 1920, the association sits on the first floor and is one the oldest Chinese opera club houses in Kuala Lumpur, but its fate is hanging in the balance together with over 30 similar buildings along alan Sultan, affected by the Klang Valley mass rapid transit (MRT) project.

'Its like losing a limb'

The government has struck a compromise with landowners, promising to acquire their land first and re-alienating the properties on the surface back to them once the tunnelling work is over.

But landowners and supporters remain skeptical, as the government had initially attempted outright acquisition and they fear their land will not be returned as they may be used for commercial centres to offset the MRT construction cost.

"If the government and the private companies are sincere in providing this MRT service, the government should pay for it, not use our private land," said Khong Kim Lyew.

Khong, a tailor who inherited the business from his grandfather, operates his business on the ground floor of the same building. His family have been doing business on Jalan Sultan for three generations.

"We want them (the authorities) to know that we do not want anybody to destroy our culture and history. If you take part of Chinatown, its like a person losing a limb, he loses part of himself. For 150 years since the founding of Kuala Lumpur by Yap Ah Loy the building has been here, we cannot allow them to take away part of our landmark and history, we will fight to the very end."

Despite the drizzle, many appeared to share Khong's emotion as the crowd steadily swelled to over 300 and began to spill out of the building.

Determined supporters stood outside the opera house with umbrellas, raincoats, and even plastic bag over their heads, armed with lanterns.

Among them was Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun whose constituency is also affected by a similar acquisition exercise for the same project.

Organisers who appeared to have anticipated the overwhelming crowd moved their performances to the adjacent building, as the opera singers sang out of the windows to cheers from the crowd.

 Proud of Jalan Sultan

Also present to show support was Judie Tan ( left) , owner of the landmark Lok Ann Hotel which also sits on Jalan Sultan and faces acquisition.

"Jalan Sultan is a stretch of street that we are really proud of. It is one of the first few roads in Kuala Lumpur, we strongly object to the acquisition and we strongly support the fact that Jalan Sultan should be preserved," she said.

Tan, who has been running the family business for three generations brought along two of her teenage children to the event, stressing the need for the younger generation to appreciate their heritage and also to gauge the level of support that they are getting.

Undeterred by the weather, the crowd which had grown to some 500 later stood on vacant land with puddles of water, next to the opera house, treated to a range of opera and dance performances.

Most notable was a sketch in the form of Malay dances, chronicling the coming of different races to Kuala Lumpur and the relationship among them and their colonial masters that paved the way to the modern city centre that Jalan Sultan today.

Supporters stood for some four hours as the event finally concluded with a sing together of "Chuan Deng" which literally means passing on the light.

As participants put out their lanterns, their hope is that the light of Jalan Sultan will be pass on to the generations to follow.