Tuesday, June 22, 2010

IN THE NAME OF PROGRESS - GOODBYE PUDU JAIL, KUALA LUMPUR

Another sad day in Malaysia today, it is the end of another iconic building in Kuala Lumpur, The Gaol or better known as Pudu Jail. Yes, it may not have housed important people, in fact it housed criminals, drug users and people who broke the law. Despite calls for it to be conserved, a decision was reached to tear the building down, in the name of progress for what would be the widening of the road as well as a commercial mixed development by UDA.

Goodbye The Gaol - Pudu Jail

It's not like I am against progress, but come on, do we really need to tear it down? Could we not have incorporated bits and pieces of the building into the new design? It could have been made more commercial and as a tourist attraction as well, teaching our youths about the history of Malaysia. But alas, it has been too late, the demolition is now complete. Give us another 10 years, and our youths won't even know about Pudu Jail while sipping coffee at Starbucks built right on top of the foundations of Pudu Jail. Sound's just like BBGS (Bukit Bintang Girls School - Pavillion now stands in it's place) no?

You can view the story from The Star, here.

With the closure of The Heritage Station Hotel due to economic reasons, I begin to wonder if there are any plans to redevelop both the KTM Train Stations in Malaysia, or will it suffer the same fate?

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