About 1,000 people today surrounded Klang Bus Station and Plaza Warisan in downtown Kuala Lumpur in a last ditch attempt to save the buildings from being demolished.

save jalan sultan protest 060512 The two buildings are on the western-most end of Jalan Sultan, where numerous historic buildings are scheduled for demolition due to the MRT project which will run underneath.

Demolition works on the Klang Bus Station has already begun since last Thursday, while Plaza Warisan, which was built in 1918 and is considered a gateway to Jalan Sultan.

"We surround the buildings today to preserve it... We want the government to listen to us and stop the demolition," said Save Jalan Sultan Committee co-chairperson Stanley Yeong.

Protective talismans

The rally, which started at 12pm, was also attended by politicians like Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu.

Displaying banners that read among others "MRT Snubs PM's Instruction", "Rasa Sayang Jln Sultan", "Save Jalan Sultan", the crowd held up black balloons and Chinese ling fu (talismans) that signify granting protection to the buildings.

"Save Jalan Sultan, listen to the people," chanted the protestors in a carnival-like atmosphere.

Some moments later, members of grassroots movement Occupy Dataran led by activist Fahmi Reza, arrived at the scene equipped with percussion instruments, to the rousing welcome of the protesters.

A pocket of the crowd began to move their bodies to the beats, and soon the whole group broke into renditions of 'Rasa Sayang' and 'Negaraku' together.

Actress and activist Mislina Mustaffar, who joined the protest, said that the town planners must be changed to prevent the reoccurrence of Jalan Sultan incident.

"I believe we don't need the MRT at all. Even if we do, it should not be built at the expense of heritage buildings.

"What it's a nation without its history?" she said.

Elderly Ishak Surin, who is part of the Gombak Muafakat group against development in his village, said he was in full solidarity with the Save Jalan Sultan members. "This is a people's struggle," he said.

Fung, in his speech earlier, urged the government to respect the desire of the people and halt the demolition of the 90-year-old heritage buildings.

He also reiterated that the MRT Corp has failed to conduct public hearings on the proposed Jalan Sultan MRT.

This, he said, denied the people the right to make their objections known.