Ipoh Is on the Cusp of Development, but Its Direction Isn't Clear

THE Ipoh is on the cusp of TOWN development, but its direction isn’t clear. Conversations with stakeholders reveal a sense of commitment to retaining the identity of a town that made its fortune and reputation in tin mining, but without a unified THAT vision for the city, how will Ipoh cope with modernisation? Who benefits and who doesn’t? And will the city retain its unique heritage in the face of increasing change? WAS WORDS BY SHERMIAN LIM PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEVIN TEH THAT IS 94 ESQUIRE DECEMBER 2014 ESQUIRE DECEMBER 2014 95 BRILLIANT IDEAS have been conceptualised over Previous spread Any news of development plans that could benefit a better. Critics have voiced frustration over the lack commercial activity there; but without a collective ef- Aerial view of Ipoh in many a pint of lager, and Ian Anderson’s quest to pre- the late ’60s. town is always a welcoming and heartening thing—or of action by the Ipoh City Council to address the fort, unchecked decay has set into parts of the lane. serve Ipoh’s rich historical significance began just is it? issue of buildings that have fallen down, or fol- Meanwhile, private developers continue to Top left like that. The British Royal Navy veteran from Glas- Panglima Lane low through with a well-defined town develop- build high-rise properties on the back of a recent circa 1948: wealthy gow recalls being pictured in a local newspaper 10 tin-mining towkays ment plan that nurtures a local economy. Years housing boom in Ipoh. These properties are tar- years ago, grumbling about the lack of concern over visited their BETWEEN A ROCK AND A TIN PLACE of wasted opportunities, critics claim, have de- geted mainly at overseas investors and have cre- mistresses who Ipoh’s heritage, while having a mug of beer. “So, peo- lived on this tiny The Ipoh that we have come to be familiar with in the prived Ipoh of an economic revival that would ated a demand for land, including those occupied ple came to me and said, ‘Why don’t you do something street, earning past 30 years is quite different from the Ipoh that was also resurrect the liveliness of the city. Thomas by low-income residents. Kulasegaran represents it the nickname about it?’” he recalls. “Concubine Lane”. once the heart of a thriving economy, driven by a very Su, the MP for Ipoh Timur, credits the government a group of 60 Indian families living in Kampung Tai And he did. Anderson, who is now 75 and has long It was also a hub of lucrative tin-mining industry in 1800s Kinta Valley. Af- for creating a programme to turn Perak into an educa- Lee, an area that was one of the first Indian settle- business activity. called Ipoh home, began collecting items related to the ter tin resources ran out around the ’70s, Ipoh transi- tion hub, but says it has yet to take off in Ipoh. Perak Top left ments in the country. Now that it’s considered prime, city’s history. They were placed under the care of Ipoh Top right tioned into a state of small-town tranquillity, marked towns like Kampar and Teronoh, according to Su, have New Town Police inner-city land, “rubbish has become gold”. The owner Ipoh’s railway station Station in the World, a non-profit organisation he founded that is in the ’70s: often by a mass exit of residents and businesses into the sur- reaped the benefits of having major universities, UTAR ’70s: its traditional wants it back, and set litigation in motion to evict the currently supported by Tenby Schools, a private edu- nicknamed the “Taj rounding suburbs, or out of Perak entirely; but an old- and Petronas respectively, in their backyards. “But we kampung façade has families years ago. The livelihood of these families, Mahal of Ipoh”, it been replaced with a cation institution based in Ipoh. The collection, which was designed by world charm remained. Locals don’t hesitate to return could see more of this,” Su says. “Once you bring in an modern design. Kulasegaran says, is “centred in and around Ipoh”. Arthur Benison has grown to more than 7,300 items, includes a vast ar- Hubback, who also a smile and help visitors find their way around with education centre, it will spur the local economy.” Top right Most of them walk or motorcycle to work, and they are ray of documents, contracts, city plans, artefacts from designed KL’s old genuine patience. The spirit of community still exists, Even immediate and viable opportunities for Ip- Han Chin Pet Soo the third or fourth generation of their respective fami- railway station. clubhouse, 1959: the city’s tin mining glory days, private collections of as evidenced by bus drivers greeting passengers on a oh’s revitalisation have not been capitalised upon. founded in 1893, the lies, living in an ancestral home that is more than 100 photographs sent by individuals, and even childhood Above right first-name basis. The food scene here is dominated by M Kulasegaran, the MP for Ipoh Barat, recalls a devel- club was exclusively years old, with artefacts as proof of how people lived in Majestic Theatre in for Hakka tin miners. stories that have been compiled into a book. the ’50s: a developer hawkers peddling local favourites—most notably tau opment plan conceived in 2004 for Sungai Kinta, the that village back then. Although he admits it will be a Ipoh World’s most recent major exhibition was who bought the land foo fah, tauge ayam and Ipoh’s most high-profile ex- river that runs through Ipoh. The riverfront was to be Above tough sell, Kulasegaran is trying to push through a bill has demolished it, Ian Anderson held in May last year at Falim House—a beautifully despite protests and port, white coffee—in traditional kopitiams, despite the developed into a commercial and entertainment centre of Ipoh World. in Parliament to ratify Kampung Tai Lee with herit- a stop-work order restored, sprawling ’20s-era home that once belonged from the Ipoh City emergence of modern cafés around the Old Town area. in three stages, bringing foot traffic via rail transit to age status, a move that will benefit a group of people to a prominent tin-mining towkay—and ended that Council. Along Yau Tet Shin Street, the only street abuzz with shops, a park, kayaking and other water activities. “It caught in the crossfire of modern development. August, just months before the Ipoh City Council re- evening activity, rows of fat, bright green pomelos—a was a very welcome idea,” Kulasegaran says. “In fact, I Kampung Tai Lee highlights a key issue Ipoh faces vealed ambitious plans for the city. Under the Ipoh beloved Ipoh citrus fruit that resembles a giant, unripe even went for briefings and all that.” Since then, nothing in riding these discussions on development: whom does Special Area Draft Plan, Perak state’s local government orange—hang from raffia string or on the shelves of bis- has happened and the riverfront remains untouched, it really benefit? “There’s hardly any big investment that pledged to carry out “Entry Point Projects” that target cuit shops. Many rows of colonial shophouses, out of except for multi-coloured plastic tree lights lining the would be good for people that is worth talking about,” various improvements, including the conservation of which businesses operate, have withstood decades of riverbank in front of Kinta Riverfront Hotel, paid for Su says. “But we have a lot of natural resources, caves heritage sites, the redevelopment of idle land, the up- dirt and grime on their weather-beaten walls, even as by the hotel management themselves. Plans to spruce and food—these are the things we can use to grow. We grading of the city’s infrastructure, and the creation of others have fallen into disrepair, abandoned or ignored up Panglima Lane, an important tourist jaunt on Ipoh’s should be concentrating more on tourism, that is our green spaces. The plan appears to be timely, encour- by disinterested owners. Any Malaysian taking a walk heritage trail, also met the same fate. Funding had been niche, and it can be promoted better.” But Haji Ibrahim aged by the economic success of UNESCO heritage- through the Old Town would agree that the city’s vibe allocated years ago, but the local council has yet to Seddiqi bin Talib, State Director of Tourism Malaysia stamped Penang and Malacca, and coinciding with the feels like a late-’80s predominantly Chinese town. spend the money on proposed streetlights and walkway Perak, believes that the board is doing what it can to vision of Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Yet, long-term Ipoh-ites will tell you that their city improvements. Renovation efforts are currently being promote tourism in Ipoh. Contrary to public percep- Kadir, to create a developed state by 2020. has changed dramatically, and not necessarily for the carried out by individual landowners to encourage new tion, Seddiqi says the state has been actively carrying 96 ESQUIRE DECEMBER 2014 ADDITIONAL arcHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM IAN ANderson/Ipoh WORLD. ESQUIRE DECEMBER 2014 97 out promotional activities and preservation efforts, in- Top left The ability to generate something thriving, inter- thereof. “They’re not doing any preservation to those Top left are located, illegally asking for fees when they “help” Panglima Lane Traditional kopitiams cluding the controversial industrialisation of natural today. Apart from esting and unique to Ipoh is more important to Ng, buildings that are only just usable,” says Ian Ander- still dominate Ipoh’s usher unsuspecting drivers into conveniently located limestone hills in Ipoh’s vicinity.

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