A thinning spread for the city’s identity

HAVING lived and travelled to some of the greatest cities in the world, I was delighted when Kuala Lumpur was named the 19th most economically sustainable city in the world by global design and consultancy firm, Arcadis.

However, a recent trip to Kuala Lumpur with some of my foreign friends left me in despair.

It was my first trip back in KL after five years overseas. No doubt, I was amazed by the rapid development everywhere. New modern skyscrapers, brightly lighted LED screens, dedicated walkways and construction projects everywhere.

But as a Malaysian, I’m deeply concerned with the large foreign influence in the city.

Popular tourist attractions like Masjid Jamek are now occupied by foreigners from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and others.

Shops and signage are also in foreign languages. It just doesn’t feel like I’m in KL anymore. The people, shops and signboards left me with an eerie feeling that I was in a third world city.

Rubbish can be seen everywhere and it was definitely embarrassing to see tourists from nearby backpacker hostels closing their noses while walking along Masjid Jamek.

My American friend who was with me asked why KL-ites liked to spit everywhere.

I had to tell him that these people were not even Malaysians.

Over in Bukit Bintang, it was shocking to see prostitutes from China and Vietnam and lady-boys promoting their services. I was pulled by one the ladyboys aggressively although I politely rejected his request.

It’s a shame to see them promoting their services shamelessly before tourist couples or families who were shopping.

Meanwhile at Jalan Alor, the ever popular street food haunt is now full of foreign workers.

Restaurants and shops manned by them are dirty and disgusting.

Some of the foreign workers were tailing tourists and trying to get them to dine at their stalls.

Along Bukit Bintang’s streets, I was expecting clean and organised stalls run by locals selling cendol, ice kacang, goreng pisang or Ramly burgers.

All I saw were fancy bars, a desert shop that sells Turkish ice cream and some other fancy western cafes.

The huge and bright LCD screens in Bukit Bintang do not promote any local content or brands.

There is no harm in having foreign influence or promoting foreign brands but when it overwhelms the local culture, it becomes worrying.

Even Petaling Street is full of foreign workers and this huge presence is now the bigger part of the scene.

DBKL must ensure that our local culture remains intact in KL, especially the popular attractions. Highly developed cities do so. Rows of ramen and sushi shops in colorful Japanese neon signages are widely visible in the streets of Tokyo.

Yellow taxis, street entertainment, bagel shops and hot-dog stands are visible at every corner in New York city. Where is the Malaysian identity in KL?

There are some local elements, especially with the decorations during festive periods but it’s not strong enough to capture the essence of the country.

It is seriously worrying that our rich multicultural heritage is slowly vanishing here.

It was a shame that my foreign friends and myself felt lost and confused with KL’s identity.

A developed city always keeps its local culture and heritage strongly intact and it is time that everyone plays a big role to ensure that KL will not be invaded by unwelcome foreign influences.