Retailers bid their final farewell as sun sets on Ampang Park

With only a few hours left before they will have to say their final farewells, the retailers remaining at Ampang Park today rushed to clear off all that is left of their wares.

From the entrance steps all the way to the top floor, shopkeepers vied for the attention of the flurry of last day visitors, with cries of "Last day sale!" "All must go!" and "Come in and shop!"

Their cries had to compete with the booms and crashes of goods being moved and parts of the building’s structure being removed.

If visitors were unaware that today is indeed the last day for Kuala Lumpur's oldest shopping mall, signs on its doors spelled out "Clearance sale" "Major discounts" and "Finishing stock."

Some tenants are prepared to move into a new location, like Bacarat Silk store owner Muhammad Hafiz, who organised a going away feast for all who passed through his shop on the 44-year-old establishment's ground floor.

"I have been in business here for 10 years. When I started, I also held a small feast.

"I want to enter in a good way and exit in a good way. So today I held a 'farewell Ampang Park' feast," he said.

At close to 6pm, Muhammad (photo) was busy sweeping the floor, while his wife Hajar tended to a steady stream of customers selecting from their large collection of custom made shawls and scarves.

On one rack is a selection of 10 beaded baju kurungs, knocked down from RM1,800 to just RM100 for the store’s last sale before moving to the adjacent Intermark.

He said he had earlier served hundreds of packets of fried noodles and nasi lemak, but even that was "not enough" to feed all the visitors today.

The distinctive smell of durians also attracted more people to queue up outside his store.

"There’s roti jala with curry, Musang King durian curry," he said, adding that some customers came back for extra helpings.

Almost right on cue, a boy walked past and said "This durian is delicious!" as he gave Muhammad the thumbs up sign.

For others, however, the mood was less celebratory, with the demolition of Ampang Park marking the beginning of their end in business.

Love Lane music store owner PM Ong (photo) told Malaysiakini he was ready for retirement after 44 years in business at the same location.

"We are permanently closed to retire. We cannot survive in business anymore because the overhead is too high.

"Anyway, nowadays, everybody downloads their music, so hardly anyone buys CDs anymore," he said.

For the visitors, not only did they come for the final sales, many were also seen taking selfies and photographs of Ampang Park, whether inside the building or from higher vantage points along the nearby pedestrian bridge.

One man even parked his motorcycle on a kerb in the middle of the road just to take his last photograph.

The sun will set on Ampang Park for the last time, with the iconic building being demolished to make way for an underground walkway, as well as the five-storey Ampang Park MRT station that will serve the new MRT2 line.

- Mkini