DAP national vice-chair M Kulasegaran expressed
surprise that so soon after a venerable site in storied Brickfields was
saved from the developer’s bulldozer, an adjoining area of comparable
antiquity is earmarked for demolishment.
“Demolishing ‘100 Quarters’ will destroy a part of Kuala Lumpur’s history,” asserted the MP for Ipoh Barat in remarks to the press today.
Last
month, the DAP leader helped rouse public consciousness over plans to
convert the Swami Vivekananda Ashram which lies cheek by jowl with ‘100
Quarters’ into a residential development.
‘100 Quarters’ comprises three rows of quarters along Jalan Chan Ah Tong, Lorong Chan Ah Tong and Jalan Rosario. An adjoining open space was the small but hallowed recreational grounds of residents.
The houses were built in 1915 to house employees of the Malayan Railways whose offices and shunting yards were located at the northern end of Brickfields, barely a half kilometer from ‘100 Quarters’.
'A rude surprise'
Kulasegaran disclosed that the demolishment of ‘100 Quarters’ was to enable the construction of three residential towers by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) which is partly owned by the country’s largest pension fund, Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
The federal legislator raised questions about the deal that gave MRCB the authority to undertake the development.
Kulasegaran recalled that when Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (left)
visited the Vivekananda Ashram on Nov 6, he openly declared that the
ashram, the adjoining quarters and the open space must be preserved.
“It was a bold statement, but now comes the rude surprise that the quarters and open space have been earmarked for high-end residential development,” he noted.
“This is a time for corporate bodies to be mindful of their corporate social responsibility with respect to local stakeholders’ interests,” said the lawyer-legislator.
“Demolishing ‘100 Quarters’ will destroy a part of Kuala Lumpur’s history,” asserted the MP for Ipoh Barat in remarks to the press today.
Last
month, the DAP leader helped rouse public consciousness over plans to
convert the Swami Vivekananda Ashram which lies cheek by jowl with ‘100
Quarters’ into a residential development.‘100 Quarters’ comprises three rows of quarters along Jalan Chan Ah Tong, Lorong Chan Ah Tong and Jalan Rosario. An adjoining open space was the small but hallowed recreational grounds of residents.
The houses were built in 1915 to house employees of the Malayan Railways whose offices and shunting yards were located at the northern end of Brickfields, barely a half kilometer from ‘100 Quarters’.
'A rude surprise'
Kulasegaran disclosed that the demolishment of ‘100 Quarters’ was to enable the construction of three residential towers by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) which is partly owned by the country’s largest pension fund, Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
The federal legislator raised questions about the deal that gave MRCB the authority to undertake the development.
Kulasegaran recalled that when Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (left)
visited the Vivekananda Ashram on Nov 6, he openly declared that the
ashram, the adjoining quarters and the open space must be preserved.“It was a bold statement, but now comes the rude surprise that the quarters and open space have been earmarked for high-end residential development,” he noted.
“This is a time for corporate bodies to be mindful of their corporate social responsibility with respect to local stakeholders’ interests,” said the lawyer-legislator.
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