Prasarana WORSE than piranhas - eat everything, leave nothing. Suckers!

With the MRT, it is the end of the line for historic Jalan Sultan

By Yow Hong Chieh

August 23, 2011

The Petaling Street end which opens up to Jalan Tun Cheng Lock. — Picture by Jack Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Khong Kim Lyew’s father used to make suits for British High Commissioners Sir Edward Gent, Sir Henry Gurney and Sir Gerald Templer during the British Military Administration, when Malaya was already deep in the throes of an independence struggle.

The intrepid Taishanese, who honed his bespoke tailoring skills at Robinsons on Jawa Street (now Jalan Tun Perak) after picking up the trade from his own father, had originally wanted to join the civil service but was unable to secure a place after Malaya was hit by the Great Depression of the 1920s.

After Merdeka in 1957, Khong himself hand-stitched suits for Umno founder Datuk Onn Jaafar, Malaysia’s second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, his deputy Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman and even the fourth King, Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah of Terengganu.

Khong Kim Lyew hand-stitched the suit Tun Abdul Razak Hussein wore to seal ties with China. — Picture by Jack Ooi

“Everybody who was somebody came to the shop to have their clothes made,” he said.

“The suit [Abdul Razak] was wearing when he shook hands with Chairman Mao, which was used in the election manifesto for the 1974 election, was also made by me.”

Khong still provides custom-made suits to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah of Kedah, including the one the latter wore when he called on Queen Elizabeth II of Britain in 1974 as the fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, all well as ceremonial gowns for judges, among others.

He remains committed to his craft and says he will carry on the trade for as long as he is physically able, even though he admits he will likely be the last in his line.

But Kwong Fook Hing Tailor on Jalan Sultan, where three generations of his family have plied their trade since 1915, will soon be torn down along 15 other shophouses to make way for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT), Malaysia’s most ambitious construction project to date.

Outgoing project owner Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) has said it needs to acquire the land above the KVMRT tunnel that will run along Jalan Sultan and demolish existing buildings in the interest of public safety.

Richard Han says SPNB should not profit by building commercial developments on land acquired for public use. — Picture by Jack Ooi

“The buildings in Jalan Sultan are very old so it is not safe for the public,” SPNB project development director Zulkifli Mohd Yusof said yesterday.

“Moreover, the area consists of limestone and (tunnel) construction in an area like that can cause sinkholes.”

Khong, however, remains unconvinced of the argument.

While stressing that he did not object to development, the 63-year-old said he did not see why SPNB had to demolish the buildings above the tunnel that will link the Pasar Seni and Merdeka stations when similar subsurface work carried out in Hong Kong and Singapore had left street-level buildings intact.

“They’re worse than piranhas. Piranhas only eat the flesh, they leave the bones behind. These guys seem to want to take everything,” the Victoria Institution alumnus said.
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