Demolition of Pudu Jail

I am just a little late to post on my views on this issue. Apart from that, I am also in the process of sorting out some other event’s pictures to be in my upcoming blog posts. And if you are wondering where my Hong Kong posts are, I can tell you – it’s coming. The aeriel view of the compound of Pudu Jail And some background history of Pudu Jail: The 114years old Pudu Jail was built in 1891 (completed in 1895) on 10 hectares of land. It was then closed in 1996 where the prison was shifted to Sungai Buloh for operations. As a city KL boy, Pudu Jail has its significance in my life. I grew up seeing the long wall paintings as I heading to and from church. I can’t believe it with my eyes that it is (gonna) be demolished and torn down. My parents or friends that were older than me used to say this. “If you naughty, I send you/bring you to Pudu Jail, ok?”. You constantly hear this phrase, especially if you are misbehaving in the car. Or maybe, everytime you bring a foreigner guest to the city, you would show them with pride the mural art on the wall painted by the prisoners themselves; and tell them about the story and history of the prisoners and what happened at that time. Undeniably, Pudu Jail has much of an impact to all KL citizens. The main entrance to Pudu JailThe inside view of Pudu Jail Many parties in our country (or even in other countries) has criticised the the demolishing of Pudu Jail – due to the obvious reasons (read on). The different voices that has spoke against the project seemed to be unheard; or not responded to. One of the many reasons that the Pudu Jail is being demolished is because of Traffic Congestion.But traffic congestion is not something which those of us who live and work in Kuala Lumpur are unfamiliar with. I mean, it could be good after all – to smoothen the traffic through destroying our own heritage. Is it worth it after all? What got me angered is this quote that I was reading:

Don’t worry; the Pudu Jail is only 114 year old. Just like the Bok House, age is not a contributing factor. As long as it is has nothing to do with the official religion or the native’s culture, demolish it! Rename all the roads and cities!

In the next 10 years, the site will be developed by UDA for the Bukit Bintang Commercial Centre project which includes a transit centre, apartment, offices, recreation centre, hotel and commercial buildings.

“If we are always demolishing, how are we going to build our history? What is going to be build at the Pudu Jail site, apartments? Who will want to buy property where thousands have been hanged?” – Bernama

I have no idea what the next 10 years is gonna be; but I have to say that Pudu will never be the same without Pudu Jail. Remebering those times where Pudu Jail used to be the landmark or “icon” of the city; especially in giving directions. Early of this week, the demolishing of the walls of the jail at 10pm: It is such a sad scene to see this building being torn down; I will definitely miss the wall especially. It may be too late to save Pudu Jail, lets hope that the awareness raised by this will strengthen the public’s resolve to be conscious of how fragile our heritage is and to speak up for its protection, conservation and preservation. – Bernama A last tribute to the ever famous Pudu Jail:

Photo from Google.