Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
It was a proud moments for Penang and Malacca when the Unesco listed both George Town and Malacca as World Heritage Sites. In fact Malacca has been doing a great job in the preservation of the historical sites in the City and turning it into star performer for tourism. For a small state without much resources Malacca is very successful in making the Historical City as a must visit tourist site in Malaysia. Penang is not far off but somehow or rather has lost some of it charms as the Pearl of the Orient. Much have to be done for the state to come back to its old glory as tourist premier destination. It is a good challenge for the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to bring back Penang to its old glory, making use of the listing of George Town as World Heritage site as a prime mover to bring back the charm of the city.
KTM Logistics Lorry operating at the Station
Heritage Hotel still operating in the building
All well and fine for Malacca and Penang but I was so disappointed when I took a stroll to the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. After the new Central Station took over as the main hub for the city railway system the old building was left behind without much maintenance and care. Yes the commuter train and cargo/mail section are still operating there but that old majestic historical building was left without much care, maintenance and preservations. There is a Mini Railway Museum in the building but the layout and presentation of displayed items is not much to be proud about. The section on Artist at Work is also poorly done and very unorganized. I guess the intention is good but the implementation is poor like “ melepaskan batuk ditangga aja”. It is definitely not the way to treat a historical buildings and the KTM has done a poor job to turn this site as one of the tourist attraction in KL.
KTM Old eqipments and models on display
Display items in KTM Mini Museum
Art at Work, few resident artists in the building
Art Work not properly displayed or housed
I am confident that the historical buildings along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin i.e. KL Railway Station, Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad , Royal Selangor Club, Mesjid Jamek, Central Market etc. ..if properly maintained, preserved, documented and publicized will be the star attraction for historical buildings/sites in KL. It should become the next site to be accepted by Unisco as World Heritage Sites.
Lets hope the KTM, KL Mayor, Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage and all relevant authorities will take a concerted effort in the preservation and conservation of historical sites in KL and make sure that KL will be listed as the next World Heritage Sites for Malaysia.
I am confident that the historical buildings along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin i.e. KL Railway Station, Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad , Royal Selangor Club, Mesjid Jamek, Central Market etc. ..if properly maintained, preserved, documented and publicized will be the star attraction for historical buildings/sites in KL. It should become the next site to be accepted by Unisco as World Heritage Sites.
Lets hope the KTM, KL Mayor, Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage and all relevant authorities will take a concerted effort in the preservation and conservation of historical sites in KL and make sure that KL will be listed as the next World Heritage Sites for Malaysia.
Food stall... good cheap food but .....???
Dark front passage way ...... so gloomy
Another food stall ...... just like road side stall
Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad at night
Royal Selangor Club
The famous Mesjid Jamek
12 comments:
Salam Dato',
My apologies, I'm not much into the Heritage proclamation due to several reasons. But believe me, I do believe in the preservation of historical sites. Just that, its got to go hand-in-hand with education and lifestyle, which sadly is going down the drain.
The majority of Indonesians, Fillinos, Thais, Indians, and Chinese, still maintain touch with their roots no matter where they are, or what they do. In fact, they are proud of their living heritage. The same however, cannot be said of Malaysians or Malays.
ps. Oops, I forgot: Nice photos!
Salam Shah,
There is always price to be paid for development and modernization the western style. There will be a group of people so inclined to the new culture and style so much so their own cultures seemed outdated. It happened to the Malays, Chinese and even Indians but its worst for the Malays because we are Muslims. When the new culture contradicts our religious belief it became so obvious and stand up like a sore thumb.
For me those who choose to forget their roots, heritage and religious beliefs are just lost souls who thought that they have made it in this world, forgetting the final destination.
Salam DJ,
Sebenarnya Dato' kita tidak dibudayakan untuk menyayangi atau meminati tempat bersejarah. Tiada apa pun usaha untuk tempat2 begini di beri publisiti yang sewajarnya.
Generasi sekarang hanya disogokkan dengan tempat2 indah, moden dan terkini. Tempat hiburan dan berpeleseran dan sebagai amat gah dipromokan.
Mungkin pada masa akan datang tempat2 bersejarah yang kita preserve ini akan dimusnah oleh generasi sekarang apabila mereka ditampuk pemerintahan untuk memberi laluan kepada pembangunan.
Kita boleh bermula dengan mendidik anak2 sendiri untuk mengappresiasi tampat bersehjarah, bukan hanya di Melak dan Penang.
Semasa muda dulu memang banyak menggunakan kemudahan dari KTM itu. Tambahan pula(semasa dalam ATM) dapat tambang keretapi percuma (waran) untuk perjalanan ke merata tempat semasa bercuti.
Cpt. DJ,
We have places to be proud of, but it seems like not many are. I see it this way; people just don't care. Not many see the importance of the whole idea of who we were and who we are.
I, sorry to say, don't have much of the historical sentiments. But I do hope that such places be preserved, and indeed, I am glad that we have Malacca and George Town enlisted by Unesco as World Heritage Sites.
Anyway, nice pics :)
Have a nice day.
Salam Zabs,
Begitulah nampaknya kita ashik membanggakan yang baru dan terus melupakan dan melupuskan yang lama. Kalau kita lihat diLondon dan Paris bangunan lama/ bersejarah di jaga dengan rapi dan sentiasa menjadi tumpuan ramai.
Stadium Merdeka,Universiti Malaya dan Dataran Merdeka pun hampir pupus jadi mangsa rakus manusia gila wang.
Salam Akmal,
The society that forgets their history, heritage, cultures and roots will finally lost their direction and became nobody.
Like a ship without home port, tramping like a gypsy.
Hope the responsible ministry will do a better job in this department.
Hi Dato,
What a loss to me for not visiting your blog much earlier. Very thought-provoking and the exchange in the comments are very community-orientated.
In your reply to Akmal, cultural roots and the past give us our sense of identity and a point to move forward. We cannot run away from our past, pleasant or otherwise. It's all part of us.
A metropolitan with all its modernistic structures is not alive if without a culture. It must be part work and living.
What gives a city its character is the living cultures which represent the struggles and coming to terms of its humanity. People make the city, all other things are periphery.
Even Hong Kong for all its materialism still maintains certain quarters of its old world. Singapore is also trying to reclaim its former self. This becomes part of their attraction.
These are the things that reaffirm our human values. Without which, the city folk are just a number to the make up. We don't want to be like robots doing things to stay alive but not really living out the values that matter.
Hello Hi & Lo,
Thanks for dropping by and the meaningful comments.
Actually we Malaysian are well known globally for our friendliness and courtesy. This value should be nourish and inculcate to our young right from primary school to university level. KL should be known for modern but high human values community. If we love our past and cultures we shall remains "bangsa yang berbudi bahasa tinggi".
To be honest with you in my past travel around the world, I found that we Malaysian are truly great society with high tolerance level. Hope we will not let the politicians corrupt the society to achieve their wild dreams.
Salam,
i found this blog while blog-hopping and really attracted to this post.
i was born in KL n studying in penang. i seriously haven't satisfied going around this 2 state and WP. and i've been to malacca at least once a year.
thans for posting this nice post.
salam Julia,
Thanks for dropping by and appreciating my posting. Hope you will keep enjoying our beautiful heritage around the country.
All the best in your study and enjoy the Penang relax pace and nasi kandar.
hello there, i happened to come across your post.
i was just wondering, are there any statistics around that shows how many heritage buildings, in particular: the catholics heritage, that were destroyed?
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