A City Reimagining Its Soul

Ann Marie Chandy | 18 April 2025

Kuala Lumpur is more than just Malaysia’s capital – it is a living, evolving story. From a tin mining outpost to a cosmopolitan city, its true heritage lies not only in buildings but in the people, traditions and memories that shape its soul.

“Heritage is what you inherit,” says Dato’ Hamdan Majeed, Managing Director of Think City. “But it’s not just about preserving old buildings. It’s about safeguarding the soul of a city – its identity, stories and sense of place.”

As cities around the world compete to attract talent and investment, Hamdan believes KL’s strength lies in embracing its distinct DNA. “We’re living in an age of factor mobility – people, capital, technology, these things can all move. But ‘place’ stays. So how you make a place work depends on what you already have. The more we celebrate and enhance that, the more we stand out.”

For Hamdan, a native Penangite who has lived in KL for the past three decades, KL’s charm is rooted in its diversity. “Even the way we dress is so varied. Sometimes we take it for granted, but that’s our strength. It’s important to celebrate these things as positives. That’s our collective responsibility.”

Hamdan is enthusiastic about the ongoing efforts to improve the quality of existing assets and strengthen the connections between them. He shares that the Warisan KL initiative, set to launch this week, will focus on preserving some of the city's most iconic landmarks while helping to shape Kuala Lumpur’s future.

He also notes that though relatively young – KL was founded around 1857, making it 167 years old this year – its urban fabric has remained surprisingly intact. “You look at the urban morphology – the footprint of the city – and it’s amazing. There’s energy here. It’s young, dynamic and constantly remaking itself,” he says, adding that anything historical that sparks diversity, design and dialogue has always captured his attention.

He gives as examples some of the most visible community-led revivals, the Zhongshan Building in Kampung Attap and Kwai Chai Hong in Petaling Street. These weren’t top-down initiatives, but platforms grown from within. “We create platforms, gather voices, and let ownership grow from within,” Hamdan says of Think City’s role in supporting communities to reclaim and reinterpret spaces.

That spirit of collective stewardship is echoed across the city – not just in policies or preservation efforts, but in deeply personal ways.

“Perhaps heritage isn’t just about what remains physically, but what lingers in memory and meaning.”

Daryl Goh, editor for arts and culture at The Star.

"Perhaps heritage isn’t just about what remains physically, but what lingers in memory and meaning," says Daryl Goh, editor for arts and culture at The Star. "As KL evolves, perhaps its true essence lies in how we carry its past–with stories, emotions and the way certain places, even if changed, still feel familiar enough to bring a smile.”

For Goh, that familiarity lives in moments – walking up the old cinema steps at REXKL and being transported to his movie-going days in the early 1990s, or recalling hangouts at now-vanished Central Market haunts like Music Magic, Restoran Hameed, River Bank, Network and later, the Annexe. “These places may be gone, but in my memory, they remain alive, shaping my connection to a city that continues to transform around me.”

For others, memory lives in taste. When asked what places or traditions feel like “home,” Zeen Chang, managing partner of Bai Chuan Management – the team behind Kwai Chai Hong – doesn’t hesitate. “Sometimes, just the whiff of a familiar food from an open kitchen in a back alley can bring me that warm fuzzy feeling.”

Chinatown, Jalan Imbi, Jalan Alor – these places, for Chang, are more than destinations; they’re living, sensory memory. “It’s a nostalgic hit of pure joy through my taste buds.”

Chang sees KL’s charm in its coexistence of eras – century-old shoplots standing beside bold new structures. “It’s quite a sight to behold, and that accentuates our appreciation of heritage even more.”

More importantly, she’s heartened by the increasing presence of young people in these spaces. “I’ve witnessed an influx of young Malaysians embracing KL City – loving and respecting the old charm and celebrating the new. Some come here for work, others have started businesses, and many now make KL their regular hangout.”

For Chacko Vadaketh – former lawyer, now actor and conferencier – KL’s heart will always be Dataran Merdeka. It’s where he began his professional life as a chambering student at Shearn Delamore & Co., then housed in a charming colonial building near Masjid Jamek. “It had a cage lift and a circular shaft – it was a lovely building, now sadly gone,” he recalls.

That entire area – once home to the courts, the Royal Selangor Club, and the Old Town Hall – left a deep impression. “I loved walking around there for lunch or heading to the theatre after work. The buildings were so beautifully restored – it was just such a joy.”

He also points out KL’s unique architectural identity, shaped by Mughal and Moorish influences. “The British here went for a style that was really fairy tale-like – grand and elegant. Very different from the Grecian styles you see in Singapore or other towns.”

For him, KL’s beauty lies in its authenticity. “We don’t need coloured lights or theme park fountains. Just restore and let it be – KL is already beautiful.”

Chacko’s ties to KL’s cultural scene run deep, especially through the original Actors Studio beneath Dataran Merdeka. “It was a haven for the theatre community – two theatres, a little café, and a library,” where early talents like Hands Percussion and Rhythm in Bronze emerged. From savouring beef ball noodles and dim sum at city stalls, to theatre festivals at Carcosa Seri Negara, Chacko’s KL is one of memory, movement and meaning.

As Kuala Lumpur reimagines itself through the lens of its heritage, it becomes clear: a city’s soul isn’t just in what stands, but in what continues to live on – in memory, in movement and in the hands of those who cherish it.

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