Signing for a good cause
Many come forward in support of Save Jln Sultan campaign
MORE than 250 organisations and individuals have lent their signatures to endorse a call to change the alignment of the MY Rapid Transit from Jalan Sultan to Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Jalan Pudu.
At the signature campaign held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Sunday Feb 19, the panel of speakers insisted that the proposed alignment could strike a win-win situation of promoting urban development while preserving heritage.
The Save Jalan Sultan Committee headed by KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing said the signature campaign would continue until end of this month.
He said the committee did not want to set a target for the number of signatures to be collected.
“The number is not the main concern as some of these organisations represent a large number of people,” he said.
With the signatures, the committee would request for a meeting with MRT Corp, the relevant ministry and the Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister has said that he would listen to the views of the Chinese community,” he said.
“The proposed alignment is viable and backed by engineering expertise, MRT Corp needs to convince the public professionally as to why they reject the realignment,” he added.
Engineer Yang Yew Wei, who gave a report on the chronology to save Jalan Sultan since August last year, maintained that the pre-war buildings would not be able to sustain the impact of tunnelling.
He said the six-lane Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock could offer more space for the project compared with the twolane Jalan Sultan, adding that the proposed alignment could also revive the stalled Plaza Rakyat project.
“Even though MRT Corp has said that they will not demolish or acquire the buildings, it seems that the acquisition procedure has not stopped,” he said, adding that they needed to save Plaza Warisan and Klang Bus Station from the bulldozers as they were the gateway to Jalan Sultan.
“Having the alignment along Jalan Sultan will only benefit the 102-storey Warisan Merdeka. It’s a bad decision and Kuala Lumpur does not need another skyscraper to cause more congestion,” he added.
Leaders from the Chinese assembly halls in Negeri Sembilan and Penang also came to show support. They said preserving the heritage in Jalan Sultan was a nationwide concern not just for the Chinese, but all Malaysians.
Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders Association vice-president Datuk Ang Say Tee said the traders in Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling were grateful for the public support and urged more organisations to come forward to push for realignment.
Chong Keat Aun from the Petaling Street Community Art Project announced that a group of singers and artists were working on an album titled Sayang Jalan Sultan.
MRT Corp maintained that it would not acquire or demolish the shoplots in Jalan Sultan. In its earlier statements, MRT Corp requested for the residents to be relocated for a maximum of six months as part of the agreement.
It stressed that with no acquisition nor demolition, the heritage of Chinatown will remain intact, and with the station, the benefits to the area would be tremendous.