KL KrashPad - Chow Kit Kita (Part 3)

From Jalan Sri Amar, we move along to Jalan Raja Laut.

The children at the overhead bridge, waiting to cross the road.  They are in for lesson number 2.

Question: Who was Raja Laut?
     YTM Raja Laut ibni al-Marhum Sultan Muhammad Shah, born in Kuala Selangor in 1850.  Penghulu and Magistrate Kuala Lumpur, member of the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board, Chairman of the Kampung Bahru Agricultural Settlement.
     Appointed Raja Muda in 1899 but superseded in 1903.  However, allowed to keep the title until his death in 1913. (Source: royalark.net)
     When Sultan Muhammad died in 1857 without appointing an heir, Raja Laut, while being competent, was not able to succeed his father as he was the son of a concubine (Raja Asiah). (Source: http://yapahloy.

tripod.com/the_death_of_sultan_muhammad.htm)

Prominent residents of Kuala Lumpur, 1884

(from: MALAYSIA a pictorial history 1400-2004 by Wendy Khadijah Moore)

Raja Laut (cropped and enlarged)

The Chow Kit area is also home to vagrants and homeless people.

A number of NGOs do operate food kitchens and other social services in the area.  I think that this is becoming a vicious cycle - more people - more help, more help -  more people....... but  to paraphrase the words of the late Mother Theresa, 'do it anyway.'

Passing the Thakardas building.  The National Library used to be located here before moving to its own premises at Jalan Tun Razak.

I never noticed it before, but there is a Gurdwara (Sikh prayer house) located in this building.

We now arrive at Tiong Nam Settlement.

     In all my years of growing up here, I never once wondered about the origins of the name.  I just assumed that it was the name of the developer or something.  It is one of the earliest Chinese housing settlements in KL but it is now considered a slum according to this article.

     According to the same article also the Chinese community refer to this as Tiong Nam Ku meaning the Middle South Area.

     According to an interview with Mr. Ong Yoong Nyock, founder of Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Bhd (I don't think there is a link between the company and the settlement, I was just looking for the meaning or origins of Tiong Nam) published in www.frost.com, he said that the name carries the meaning of East (Tiong) and South (Nam) in Hokkien.

     Middle South or East South, either way it baffles me as the area would have been North or North West of KL Town Centre not the South East.

I only remember one Chinese Temple at Jalan Tiong Nam 5.  Over the years, a number of residential houses have been converted into Temples.

Posing for group photos in-front of the Temples.  For most of the children, this was their first time visiting Chinese temples.  Unfortunately, however, these were closed.

Selamat Hari Merdeka

Wishing all my fellow Malaysians a Very Happy Hari Merdeka.

For those who wanted to watch 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka, here are the links to all 4 parts.

KL KrashPad - Chow Kit Kita (Part 2)

This is a replica of the map used for the walk-about session.

After Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, we turned into Jalan Sri Amar.

I have not been able to determine after whom this road is named.

Most probably this street is named after Datuk Sri Amar DiRaja Abdul Rahman bin Haji Andak, but I'm only guessing here.  Read about him here.

On one side to this road is the EON Bank building, formerly Wisma Cycle Carrie.

Cycle & Carriage, the distributors of Mercedes Benz vehicles in Malaysia, used to have their show-room fronting Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman with their workshop at the rear, stretching all the way to Jalan Raja Laut.

The children passing the Eon Bank Building. 

On the other side is what is known as the Jalan/Lorong Haji Taib area. While this is known to be the haunt of transvestites, prostitutes, pimps, addicts, pushers and other 'bad hats', this is also where local petty traders source their supplies from the many wholesalers operating here.  A bakers' supplies store is located here and with the Hari Raya (Eid) festival just around the corner, that place is packed with shoppers.

Who was Haji Taib?
     I couldn't get much information on-line, then I remembered a friend who left a comment in one of my earlier posts saying that he was a decedent of Haji Taib.  So I emailed him for information.
      Haji Mohamed Taib bin Haji Abdul Samad (1858 - 1925) was a descendant of Raja Mas and Sultan Baginda of Bukit Tinggi in Sumatera Barat, Indonesia.
     Haji Taib arrived in KL at the turn of the century (1900s) having eloped with his Dutch bride and having been disinherited for doing so.  They arrived with only the clothes on their backs.
     His first occupation in KL was that of a street lighter - going out at dusk, adding water to carbide and then lighting the acetylene gas lamps that lined the streets of KL at that time.  Later he ended up as a Chief Clerk in the Land Office where he got to know about the best deals and bought them for himself.
     His son, Orang Kaya Haji Abdullah, built on this wealth and in the 1920's owned the whole of Malay Street and Rodger Street, a large portion of the Central Market area and loads in Chow Kit and Kg. Baru.