ASIAN ARCHITECTURE (ARC60403)

HISTORIC STREET: PETALING STREET,

KUALA LUMPUR
TUTOR: Mr. Koh Jing Hao

Muhammad Nazmi bin Kamarulzaman 0322251

Muhammad Faidh 0323712
Adam Mohammed Pandor 0322743
Ravendeer Singh 0322490
Introduction

Petaling Street Key plan (left) and Street Map (right) in Kuala Lumpur. Red street indicates Petaling Street while blue
outline indicates Petaling Street Market.

Petaling Street is a historically important street, in which it plays significant role in terms of the
sociocultural aspect that link with the history of Kuala Lumpur itself. The street, part of
Chinatown, is recognized as a popular tourist destination in contemporary context whereby it is
a shopping district that is mostly known for its selling of counterfeit items and local street
cuisine. Although this shopping district is open during the day, the whole street transform into a
vibrant, multicultural night market which attracts thousands of visitors at any given moment,
local and tourist alike.
 Petaling Street Entrance. The arch entrance are a new addition built in 2003. Wikimedia Commons

However, unlike other historic street in Malaysia such as Jonker Street, Melaka and much of
Georgetown in Penang, Petaling Street face strong pressure of modernization, essentially due
to its located at the heart of a dense metropolitan city. This may pose threats to the original
Chinese heritage, which is what makes Petaling Street unique and significant. Currently,
Petaling Street is the consequence of an amalgamation of different culture, tradition and social
as demonstrated by its mlange of architectural styles, activities and its demographics.

History

Tin Mine in Sungai Besi. An example of mining socioeconomic activity in early Kuala Lumpur. Wikimedia Commons

To explore the origins of Petaling Street is to observe the history of Kuala Lumpur itself, all the
way back in mid-19th century. It is well known that Kuala Lumpur is named after the confluence
of two rivers, mainly the Klang River and Gombak River from which the name is derived from.
Then in 1857, Raja Abdullah, who is the Chief of Klang at the time, invited a party of 87 Chinese
prospectors up along the Klang River until they reached the modern day Ampang, in which a
thriving tin mine is established, at the expense of 69 death (Gullick, 1983). Accordingly, Kuala
Lumpur (the area where the two rivers meet), is the furthest point whereby tin can be
transported conveniently through boats and therefore became a collection and dispersal point of
the extracted tin minerals.

Accordingly, this point grew overtime and became the first major settlement in Kuala Lumpur,
comprising mainly of High Street (Tun H.S. Lee Street) and Petaling Street. The population at
the time were mostly immigrants from China who comes searching for wealth and opportunity
for a better living. These population appoint amongst themselves a Chinese headman, known
as Kapitan Cina. The first Kapitan Cina is Hiu Siew but it was the third Kapitan Cina, Yap Ah
Loy who is the most influential in reforming the social structure of Kuala Lumpur itself. In 1869
with the agreement of Malay rulers he was appointed the title Kapitan Cina whom he built many
new building and institution to accommodate the growing population such as a school, a
hospital, a prison, a market and even a gambling hall.

However, this small town located around Petaling Street suffers many considerable problems,
social and political wise. Different miners form their own gangs and fights between different
gangs had occurred frequently (Gullick, 1955). Selangor Civil War, occurred between 1867 to
1874, had also impacted severely in political terms within the town. For instance, the civil war
intensified the infighting between different gangs as they pick sides between opposing
belligerents, with the aims of controlling the revenues from the tin mines. On the other hand, fire
is also one of the most frequent problem due to usage of flammable materials such as timber
and atap (palm thatching) roofing. This resulted in a destructive period in 1881, after a fire
destroyed the whole town including Petaling Street.

Yap Ah Loy. Founder and Propeller of Kuala Lumpur. Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately, Yap Ah Loy not only managed to overcome these problems and maintain relative
stability, but he also managed to revolutionize the very fabric of the town following ideals of
successful town such as Singapore and Georgetown. To overcome further fire outbreak, he
rebuilt the town using more permanent tiles and bricks made from the newly opened brickyard
area called Brickfields. Furthermore, certain degree of town planning is also employed through
the layout of the streets, construction of roads and organization of mining areas. It is this
decision that define the present day Petaling Street, from its typologies through its
socioeconomic structure. The British Administration also play a role concerning basic uniformity
in building and township such as drainage and street width.

Overtime, the area began to flourish with business and commerce activities increased steadily.
As people became more rich they started built two-storey and three-storey shophouses along
Petaling Street. They also built them according with their preferred style, mainly similar to that of
Penang and Singapore which employs fashionable design elements of neoclassical architecture
while also including traditional elements. The gangs however, had become bigger and more
influential. The early 1900s say them controlling large numbers of brothels, gambling dens and
other businesses which makes Petaling Street and nearby High Street a rough red-light district
(Bristow, Lee, 1994).

Comparison of Petaling Street circa early 1900s and 2017. Unknown author (left)

By the turn of the 21st century, lots of things has developed and changed, influenced by
contemporary politics and rapid modernization of surrounding context. Many of the colonial
influenced architecture had been fall apart and replaced with. The original Chinese dominated
demographics and economy has shifted due to waves of immigrants from South Asian countries
and the socio-economic restructuring due to New Economic Policy of 1971 that gives more
opportunity for Malays and Indians as time goes on. Local government and tourism board has
also been promoting Petaling Street as a tourist haven for cheap mass-produced items,
compared with fine crafts dominated market in the early 20th century. This shows that the
relevant authorities is unwilling to do significant conservation efforts but rather just embrace the
changes. This brings in the question: To what extent should we allow changes to occur before it
becomes too detrimental to the original historical context?
Architectural Context

The architecture of Petaling Street, particularly on the market side can be considered as an
unholy mix of old and new. This undesirable mix stems from several issues such as the non-
consideration of significant historical context of the site. Through simple observation, the street
features several neoclassical shophouses from the early 20th century being in a state of neglect
and abandoned even though the street has very high traffic volume. This doesnt really come as
a surprise though, since the street itself is very old and there are bound to be some outdated
buildings who simply cant be maintained just as well and efficient as the other buildings.
Moreover, many of the original shophouses has also been replaced with a newer style
architecture through modern and brutalist architecture; perhaps following the trend.

Comparison of a neglected and a good condition shophouse facade.

This however, doesnt mean that every old buildings is in such state of disrepair or replaced as
many of these buildings have been refurbished and kept in good conditions while maintaining
the original Baba and Nyonya style shophouse architectural elements such as the five-foot
hallway, casement windows and the iconic Chinese signs in front of the shoplots. One
significant building located at the end of Petaling Street is Chan She Shu Yuen Temple, built in
1906. This temple are originally built as means to provide helps for the newly immigrated
Chinese from China, specifically from the Chan clan. Nowadays it is still well preserved, and its
doors open to any Buddhist worshippers. Even with the stream of modernization, the original
intricate detailing and carvings is still being preserved, contrasting with all the changes around
it. It suggest that even though conservation efforts are minimal, the significant historical
buildings are still being well kept which would hopefully partially preserve soul of the place.
 Chan She Shu Yuen Temple. ABC KualaLumpur

Majority of the building along Petaling Street falls into the modernism category, as with the
majority of the building in Kuala Lumpur itself. These buildings feature minimalist and often
boring design without much, if any, distinctive features. The modernist architecture that are
being introduced felt like it being invasive and forced to fit into the context, although now they
might felt indifferent as so many of them are present. On the bright side, this newer form of
architecture may be necessary to accompany larger traffic that the shophouses could not
provide due to its limitation in spatial organization and size. New building typologies could also
accommodate for functions that didnt exist in the past, such as an electronic shop and large
stores.

The replaced shophouses. A large shop/office building on the left side and a modernist shophouse facade on the
right.

The evolution of socio-economy of the contemporary time also bring changes to the overall
architectural context of Petaling Street. In 2003, Petaling Street underwent a major 11 million
Ringgit face lift in which two large traditional Chinese influenced arches are built at opposite end
of the street that functions as a welcome sign and a wavy green roof covering, symbolizing the
movement of a dragon. This is seen as an attempt to revitalise the original sense of place and it
could also increase the numbers of visitors which is what the local authority tries to achieve.
Socio-cultural Conditions

Petaling Street has comes a long way since its inception. Its social context has changed from
the shanty street in a tin mining town in the 19th century to a street specializing in entertainment
and trade in the early 20th century and since then it has emboldened itself in the family
business and trading services. Back in the early days, Petaling street used to be dominated by
Chinese businessmen from China under supervision of the Malays and British authorities. Many
of them started selling ordinary goods and services such as perishable items, clothing and
jewelry. However some of the Chinese immigrants also brought small and profitable businesses
such as prostitution, gambling and the selling of illegal goods. Prostitution and gambling are
actually legal during the British era and are regulated to a certain degree amongst themselves.

In the current era, the sociocultural context has changed significantly. Although most of the
businesses are still owned by ethnic Chinese, but many of the people who work there are
immigrants, particularly from South Asia such as Nepal and Bangladesh. This changes in the
workforce demographics reflects the economic nature of the country and that employing
immigrants can be much cheaper and thus more profits for the owner. This shift can especially
be damaging to the historical context and the sense of place as it might not feel like an authentic
Chinatown, as Petaling Street is originally known for. Moreover, prostitution and unregistered
gambling den runs rampant in the area, although they are hidden from public view. Even though
they are deemed as illegal under the Malaysian law, it seems that many of them successfully
avoid detection from the local authorities. Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan
even claimed that traders operating at Petaling Street had their own standard operating
procedures to avoid detection of their malpractices by the authorities (Bernama, 2014).

Red lanterns, a heritage symbol are hanged on the roof canopy, but many of the people who work there are non-
Chinese foreigners.
Fortunately, during Chinese New Year, Petaling Street are filled with festivities and celebration,
following the tradition and cultural heritage of the past. As part of the festival period, many of the
shops are closed as their owners and workers celebrate the day. Lion dance and loud
thundering sound of the drums can be heard miles away. Chinese red lanterns can also be seen
hanging in every corner during this period. During this period, the sense of place changed
dramatically compared to any other days whereby heritage is held up high and the street
displays its proud Chinese origin.

Lost in China Town, a heritage gallery in the middle of Petaling Street.

Traditional Trades

Trades and family businesses are the main attractions of Petaling Street which held many
shops and vendors for different things. When the night comes, the place virtually transform into
a dense, vibrant night market selling wide variety of heritage food of not only Chinese origin but
also of Indian and Malay, providing a unique traditional culinary experience. This tradition of
holding a night market date back to the early days whereby people go after work for food and
shopping. During day time, the market sell mostly non-perishable items, mostly imitation cheap
products such as fake handbags, clothings, jewelry and others. One interesting observation is
that the items sold are based on popular trend. An example being a fidget spinner, a small
spinning toy that is sold in extremely large abundance and can be seen in almost every stalls in
the street. This suggested that the trades being done at Petaling Street is based on current
supply and demand rather than specific items or crafts belonging to traditional heritage, as it
were in the early days of Petaling Street.
Imitations product being sold openly (left), an ignored warning sign of prohibiting selling of imitation goods (middle), a
shop selling cheap electronics and fidget spinner (right).

On the other hand, back in the olden days, there were more traders and a bigger variety of
Chinese shops. Unfortunately, many shop owners moved away over the years due to repeal of
the Rent Control Act in 1997 which has been in the lawbook for 30 years prior. This causes the
renting rate to skyrocket based as it isnt as controlled as before. According to one of the
owners of roast duck stall, there used to be more than a dozen of stalls selling roast ducks back
in the days which still had better business than latter when they have lesser roast ducks stalls
and have seen rapid decline in regular customers as people now go there for different reason
(Kamal, 2016). This means that the changes in traditional trades may have direct correlation to
changes in the demographics that visit the place.

Conclusion

Although Petaling Street remains a popular location amongst local and tourist alike, it has
changed and developed significantly over the years in all different aspects. These changes,
although necessary for economic development and stability, indeed disrupt the original historical
context of the site to certain extent. This however, doesnt mean that all is lost, as some original
architecture and socio-cultural heritage are still being kept and shown. This concludes that
Petaling Street is no longer an exclusive ethnic Chinese area as it was during the foundation
years, but a heavy mix of different heritage and culture into a tiny stretch of road in a
metropolitan city of Kuala Lumpur, ever-developing and ever-changing.

Bibliography

Gullick, J. M. (1983). The Story of Kuala Lumpur, 1857-1939. Eastern Universities Press.
Gullick, J. M. (1955). Kuala Lumpur 1880-1895. Journal of The Malayan Branch of Royal Asiatic Society.
24 (4): 12-14.

Lee, E. Bristow, S. (1994) Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur: Tropical Press Sdn. Bhd.

Petaling Street in Chinatown - Bargain Hunter's Paradise. (n.d.). Retrieved July 03, 2017, from
http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/klareas/chinatown_petaling.htm

Sidarta, M. (2015, June 17). Warisan Raja Abdullah yang Terabaikan! Retrieved July 03, 2017, from
http://www.kompasiana.com/mawan.sidarta/warisan-raja-abdullah-yang-
terabaikan_54f482237455137b2b6c8bd3

Chan See Shu Yuen Temple. (n.d.). Retrieved July 03, 2017, from
http://www.visitkl.gov.my/visitklv2/index.php?r=column%2Fcthree&id=110&place_id=1084

Tengku Adnan criticises Petaling Street traders for leasing licence to foreigners. (2014, December 07).
Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/tengku-adnan-
criticises-petaling-street-traders-for-leasing-licence-to-fore

Kamal, S. M. (2016, October 14). For Petaling Street, the continuing tussle between its fading past and
urban revival. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/for-
petaling-street-the-continuing-tussle-between-its-fading-past-and-urban