KL’s ‘friends’ fight for its cultural landscape

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Aug 18, 2013

(The Malay Mail) – We all know that protest can come in many shapes and forms; petitions, street marches, barricades, but guided heritage walks?

Well, RakanKL, a gathering of concerned citizens and civil society advocates, has been conducting guided heritage walks not just to raise awareness of heritage conservation but to defend heritage areas from the heavy construction currently underway to build the new MRT line and the soon-to-be started 118-storey Menara Warisan.

Little wonder that there is a sense of urgency about their walks.

RakanKL volunteer Hue Sin Yee believes that the public can get involved, even if they aren’t policymakers, lawyers or heritage conservationists. “It is important for all Malaysians – regardless of whether they are residents of KL, the Greater Klang Valley, or Selangor – to make their voices heard with regards to city planning, development, and heritage preservation.

RakanKL has been conducting guided heritage walks not just to raise awareness of heritage conservation but to defend heritage areas from the heavy construction currently underway. – Picture by Choo Choy May“The heritage that we are trying to defend – including Stadium Merdeka, Stadium Negara and the now-demolished Merdeka Park (Tunku Park) – belongs to all of us Malaysians, and it is important that people across the country come together to voice their opinions.”

Sharon WH Ling, Core Volunteer for Rakan KL, said, “Since we started in August 2012, we have organised many heritage walks, art and photography exhibitions, forums, and community discussions to raise awareness on the issue of heritage conservation.”

Besides last year’s Merdeka Festival: Goodbye KL event, RakanKL’s heritage walks which are held several times a month are very well received.

Adrian Yeo is one of the volunteer guides for Rakan KL’s heritage walks. – Picture by Choo Choy MayFor the entire month of August, RakanKL will be conducting #KLMerdekaWalk in conjunction with the National Day celebrations and to commemorate the month in which Stadium Merdeka was completed.

“The heritage walks have been very, very popular with both Malaysians and tourists. We often get numerous calls and emails from people of all walks of life asking when the next walk will be,” said Adrian Yeo, a #KLMerdekaWalk guide.

He added, “It is very encouraging that a whole new generation of young people are fascinated by the lost histories of old KL and, more importantly, feel inspired to help save and preserve what we have left.”