KL’s early low-cost flats now high-rise slums
The Star 6/5/2004 By CHIN MUI YOON

Modern public housing developments in Kuala Lumpur are enjoying a bigger space of 65 square metres per unit with 30% of built-up area kept for facilities. But the old low-cost flats in the heart of the city are in an appalling state. Intensive action to house relocated squatters over the years to meet the 2005 Zero-Squatter deadline has seen these old flats being neglected. StarMetro takes a glimpse behind the concrete walls of these high-rise slums. 

Taxi driver Tan spending some quiet time with his youngest won when his other children have gone to school. His family of five live together in the 350sq ft single-room unit in the Pekeliling Flats.

It has been 20 years but Annie Anthony still remembers the dying man’s horrible screams as he leapt off the 16th floor of the Pekeliling Flats blindfolded. 

“His screams were unearthly because he was afraid to die,” recalled Annie, 40.  

“For three days after the man’s death, we couldn’t sleep and we could hear strange screams similar to his dying shrieks, echoing around the block.” 

The incident was among more than 10 such suicides Annie witnessed over the decade when she lived in Block B of the Pekeliling Flats from the age of seven to 16.  

Her family was among a batch of fire victims from a squatter settlement in Sentul who were relocated to the flats in 1971.  

“All the girls squeezed into the single bedroom, while my brothers would just sleep on mattresses laid out on the living room floor every night. We had a hard time, especially when it involved changing clothes or using the single toilet in the unit. 

“My mother forbade us from playing outside after dark. We were fearful all the time, as so many people had committed suicide here.” 

Conditions at the flats, which is one of Kuala Lumpur’s oldest low-cost government flats, have improved vastly since then. But the Pekeliling Flats’s seven blocks are still considered inhospitable by many. 

Pekeliling isn’t the only public housing in the heart of KL where lift breakdowns, water leakages, water supply disruptions and poor maintenance are common occurrences.  

The Kenanga (Ho Ching Yuen) and Hang Tuah Flats are examples of the sad state of the city’s early low-cost flats.  

These flats are often characterised by colourful clothing hung outside the matchbox-sized units.  

Many of the exterior walls have not been painted for years resulting in ugly watermarks streaking down the walls.  

The central courtyards of these flats are usually dark and badly ventilated, forcing residents to dry their laundry at their small balconies instead.  

Pekeliling Flats is one of KL's oldest and most run-down low-cost flats.

While newer PPR or Public Housing Projects such as the one in Desa Tun Razak enjoy City Hall public programmes like IT education and childcare centres, no such services are given to residents of the older flats. 

The twin blocks of the Hang Tuah Flats, built in 1967, were given a fresh coat of paint before the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in 2003. But inside, the conditions are identical to the other flats. 

“My family moved here in May 1968 after a flood destroyed our squatter settlement in Klang,” said Madam T.H. Lim, 75, who lives on the 16th floor. 

“The surroundings are cleaner now compared with the earlier days. We only wish that the lifts are kept in good condition.  

“All three units sometimes break down at the same time. Then we have to walk down the stairs to go out, or be cooped indoors until the repairmen come.” 

Another resident, S. Chelvi, 40, said many women including herself, were afraid of using the lifts alone, as some of them had been stuck in a lift for up to four hours.  

One tenant, taxi driver A. H. Tan, 43, said he did not like his tiny one-room flat in Pekeliling when he moved in eight years ago. 

“It was so filthy and noisy, and I felt I was living in a box,” he said. “My three children who are seven, 12 and 14 are growing up now, and I wish they can have their own rooms and privacy.” 

Tan is paying a monthly rental of RM94 for his unit similar to Annie’s. The larger, two-bedroom units cost RM124.  

Tan said there was constant water leakage in his unit, like many others on the top floors. 

These leakages have caused paint to crack and formed large, fungi-infested patches. Some are so ugly they conjure images from the Japanese horror movie Dark Water!  

Over the years many residents have vacated the flats.  

These empty units with rundown doors that are easily broken pose a different hazard. Drug addicts wander around in the early mornings to spend the night here. Packets of kretek and bundles of wooden sticks are often found strewn across the floors of empty flats.  

With the high density of people living in these quarters, the lack of facilities is appalling.  

There is no provision for the physically disabled. An underpass linking Jalan Tun Razak to the Pekeliling Flats is a frightfully dark tunnel at night as only five out of its 18 lights are working. 

At the Hang Tuah Flats, not a single patch of grass can be found. Children play football on a vacant plot of land paved with interlocking tiles in front of Jalan Hang Tuah. A set of swings and playhouse with slides add the only touch of colour to the drab surroundings.  

Despite the dingy environment, a lot of flat dwellers say they share a good relationship with one another. 

“It is true that noise such as babies crying, the blaring of TV sets, mahjong games or fights do disturb us easily, but rarely have we argued over petty matters,” said salesman Sunny Woo, 31, who has lived at Pekeliling since he was a little boy. 

“My neighbours helped me carry new furniture and discard bags of garbage when I moved into my own unit, despite having to use the stairs. We have lived here for so long, that even the ugly parts of our home can be viewed as beautiful!” Wee said. 

City Hall, which manages the flats, has acknowledged in its Draft Structure Plan that these old low-cost flats are in a dilapidated condition. The local authority has pledged to implement measures to improve the quality of such housing.