Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On 8 May it was reported that 120,000 people, many clad in black, showed up at a sta-
dium just outside the city limits to protest the election results. However a 'Malaysian
Spring' was not in the offing. With racially divisive rhetoric in the air (Najib had referred
to a 'Chinese tsunami' of voters as being responsible for the coalition's losses) people
from all sides called for community harmony and the need to double down on the object-
ives of the 1Malaysia policy.
Improving Public Transport
If one thing unites all KLites, it's their frustration with public transport. Squashed into a
monorail or train carriage at rush hour, or stuck in a highway traffic jam, it's easy to share
their pain. To address the problem the government is upgrading and integrating the Mass
Rapid Transit (MRT) system with the addition of three new lines, including a circular one
that will span the KL-Klang Valley conurbation. The first new line - a link between Sun-
gai Buloh and Kajang, 9.5km of which will be underground - is planned to be operational
by 2016 when it will serve 400,000 passengers daily.
In the meantime, the MRT's construction is causing even more traffic congestion in KL
as underground stations are dug in central areas such as Bukit Bintang and Chinatown. It's
also controversial because of opposition to the compulsory acquisition of land, in particu-
lar along Jln Sultan. Businesses such as Hotel Lok Ann, a
kopitiam
and hotel that has oc-
cupied a prominent corner of Jln Sultan since 1938, have been forced to close; the owners
are taking their case against the compulsory acquisition of their land to the High Court.
The Gospel Hall (dating to 1939) on Jln Hang Jebat could also be in danger, if the tunnel-
ling damages its foundations.
KL's Controversial Tower
Groups such as Rakan KL and the Preservation of Jalan Sultan have been campaigning
against the destruction of heritage buildings in Chinatown and the old Merdeka Park, loc-
ation of the planned 118-storey Warisan Merdeka - Malaysia's tallest building - that will
rise next to Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara by 2017.
The estimated cost of the tower, slated to be the new headquarters of PNB (Malaysia's
largest fund management company and a key instrument in the government's pro-Malay
affirmative action policies) is RM5 billion. 'This project is not a waste. We want a build-
ing that will become a symbol of a modern, developed country', said Prime Minister
Najib, going on to remind critics that past costly construction projects, such as the Penang
Bridge and the Petronas Towers, were initially greeted with antipathy.
