BY: LEANNE K

When the Malaysian government decided to build the administrative city of Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur began to lose a lot of its shine and today pales in comparison with the new city that has state of the art facilities.

Ever since the gleamingly new city of Putrajaya sprung up, Kuala Lumpur which was founded over a century ago at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers, took on a dismal appearance, especially old Kuala Lumpur.

This is why conservationists are lobbying for the historical and olden parts of Kuala Lumpur to be restored and renewed to keep it on par in interest with the growing number of skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur.

While DBKL has done some restoration by cleaning the Gombak and Klang rivers and beautifying it, much more needs to be done on Medan Pasar, the old clock tower, the Sultan Abdul Samad buildings that used to be the centre of justice and Chinatown.

There is also a need to clean up the old parts of Kuala Lumpur, restore buildings while retaining their historic architecture and monitoring the growth of businesses operated by migrant workers, especially Bangladeshis.

The significance, grandeur and magnificence of Dataran Merdeka, the Selangor Club and older, colonial buildings built by the British colonialists must be retained so that the generations that follow can savour and appreciate the history of Kuala Lumpur.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher