A motorcyclist passes by the 100 Quarters in Brickfields. Residents in the area are objecting to plans to build condominiums at the site. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, December 22, 2014.
Residents in Brickfields want the site of the civil servant housing 100 Quarters to be turned into a park or a football field instead of the proposal to build a multi-storey condominium project in the suburb within Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur, where redevelopment have seen many old neighbourhoods turn into glitzy high-end condominium blocks.
A Brickfields Rukun Tetangga (neighbourhood watch) leader said they also did not want heritage status to be given to the century-old government quarters as it would not benefit the residents of one of Kuala Lumpur's pioneer settlement areas.
Central committee member G. Gunasegaran said the site of the 100 Quarters, which had been vacated, should be turned into a green lung for the densely built-up neighbourhood which was once the centre of a brick-making industry that fed the British construction drive in colonial Kuala Lumpur.
Gunasegaran, who is also the Save Vivekananda Ashram Brickfields (SVAB) action committee chairman, said that the people of Brickfields needed an open field for their children to play and not a new condominium that would worsen the already bad traffic congestion in the area.
They have submitted their objections to the proposed condominium project to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) three months ago but at the time, the residents did not offer a specific proposal on turning the site into a green space.
"The basis of our objection then was that the traffic would become worse if more condos come up, but we did not look at it from the heritage aspect.
"To us, there is no point in 100 Quarters being declared a heritage site, because that means we can't really use it for anything," he told The Malaysian Insider.
The quarters were built in 1915 and consist of three rows of houses along Jalan Chan Ah Tong, Lorong Chan Ah Tong and Jalan Rozario in a prime location near the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
They were once the homes of employees of Malayan Railways or Keretapi Tanah Melayu. The KL Sentral integrated transport hub is located where the old railway depot used to be.
Gunasegaran said City Hall had called them for a meeting after receiving their objections, and the residents were told by the officers that they would respond after discussions with other relevant bodies.
"But we have not heard from them and we have also been busy with the Vivekananda Ashram issue.
"Our Rukun Tetangga committee is meeting next week, we will discuss sending DBKL a letter to check on the status of our objection against the redevelopment of 100 Quarters into condos," Gunasegaran said.
Concerns about the redevelopment of the 100 Quarters were raised again recently following a statement by S. Paranjothy, the Gerakan international bureau affairs committee member, who said that Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) had been allowed to redevelop the site, despite the property being owned by the federal government.
MRCB, however, refuted the allegations on Saturday and said the land had yet to be transferred to them. As such, they have yet to receive a development order from City Hall.
Residents had asked MRCB to help secure the 100 Quarters as the vacant units were being used for vice activities. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, December 22, 2014.MRCB's plans for the site, if approved, will feature three blocks of 1,350 serviced apartments in 40-storey towers.
The developer was responding to claims that City Hall had allowed MRCB to develop the site despite the fact that the property was owned by the federal government.
Gunasegaran also told The Malaysian Insider that it was the residents who had enlisted MRCB's help to ensure the security of the area as the vacant units were being used for vice activities, making it unsafe for residents.
"They obliged us and are putting up a hoarding around 100 Quarters to keep looters and drug addicts out," he said.
Gunasegaran added that MRCB was aware of the residents' objections to the proposed condominium project.
"They know we are against the redevelopment of 100 Quarters into condos because this area cannot take any additional traffic.
"In fact they have agreed to do a study on the traffic situation here to be submitted to the authorities," he added.
DAP vice-chairman M. Kula Segaran had also expressed concern in a recent statement that City Hall was not doing enough to protect the 100 Quarters as part of Kuala Lumpur's history.
The Ipoh Barat MP said that the field next to the quarters was the only green area in the crowded Brickfields and ought to be preserved.
Kula Segaran had also noted that the quarters' close proximity to the Vivekananda Ashram meant that the federal government property ought to be preserved as a heritage site, as stated by Culture and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on November 5.
Gunasegaran said the SVAB action committee would be meeting the Heritage Commissioner today on the process of expediting the heritage status for the ashram.
The pressure group had also met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's representative on Indian affairs three weeks ago and told him their concerns for the ashram.
Gunasegaran stressed that they were not objecting to redevelopment "for the sake of objecting", but that their primary fear was the increasing traffic in Brickfields.
They also want any new development to benefit the community, instead of making their quality of life worse.
"We are not objecting to development, we just feel whatever new feature should complement the ashram, for instance, it should be turned into a cultural centre so it does not lose its identity.
"The development of the ashram should be able to benefit the society, so we are hoping the prime minister can intervene in this matter," he said.
According to Gunasegaran, more than 107,000 signatures have been collected in a campaign to save the ashram from redevelopment.
The ashram, located opposite the 100 Quarters, came into the spotlight a few months ago over renewed attempts by the ashram's management committee to redevelop it into a condominium project.
The news prompted public outcry despite the ashram committee's explanation that the move was to provide funds for schools and charity homes under its care and for its future plans.
The ashram's trustees had also defended the project by saying that the building and the statue of Swami Vivekananda outside would be preserved.
Nazri, however, is in favour of granting the ashram heritage status.
- TMI
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