The Petaling Street community will be lobbying Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to preserve the heritage of the vicinity when he attends the 1Malaysia Lantern Festival this weekend.

Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders Association president Ang Say Tee, who is among the organisers of the event, said he will personally convey this message to Najib.

“We will convey the message of the local community and the public - that the old buildings here be preserved,” said Ang during a press conference today.

For the fourth year in a row, Najib will be the guest of honour at the event, which will be held at Central Market this Friday evening.

malaysian chinese community people 170807 lantern Thousands of tourists are expected to join the festivities - which includes a parade through Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Jalan Hang Lekir and Jalan Sultan.

Jalan Sultan runs parallel to Petaling Street, thus forming part of the tourist belt colloquially referred to as Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.

However, a large number of buildings along Jalan Sultan are at risk as they might have to be demolished to make way for the MRT project.

Activists claim that the MRT track should be realigned or risk destroying part of Kuala Lumpur’s history.

Ang told reporters that tourists who flock to the Petaling Street area come here to experience its heritage and not just for the shopping.

“They can shop anywhere in the world. If we can’t offer them our heritage, they will go elsewhere,” he said.

He added that his association also plans to appeal to the National Heritage Department to list buildings along Jalan Sultan as heritage buildings.