The Selangor Mansion
View from the top floor of the mansion with the Twin Towers and KL Tower on show
This on not a trip I would have made alone, without any inside knowledge or inside access. Selangor Mansion is a private building with people living there. It was akin to threading into somebody’s neighbourhood, not to be done alone.
Our host, Mahen explaining the sights and sound of the Mansion
From the outside
Peering down from the top floor
The area appears to be self-contained
Seven floors. When it was built in the 60s, I was sure that this one of the taller building in town. The layout was also modern for its time, with rows of house along an internal corridor bathed in sunlight looking towards an inner opening. You could see the transition from the lower floors, where it was all business and shops. There were restaurants and wholesale vendors. Above the second floor were shops for the local folks, serving those living in the building. Above that, it was all residential. And things got a bit cleaner.
Some of the lower floors looked packed with workers from the surrounding businesses staying in hostels or converted dormitory rooms. The upper floors even had air-conditioning and ASTRO dishes. Quite a contrast. Apparently the cost to rent the units here was almost as much as my condo ...
Yes, that’s a hairdresser …
And that’s a minimarket …
Peering into some of the units told that some of those living there may have been at the unit for decades. It has its charm and it does tell a lot about how KL has evolved as a City over the years. I am sure before long, this building would be torn down to make way for newer development. This might also be the incentive for the current vendors not to let go of the property. I am sure it would cost a bomb to buy out these strata lot!
The upper floors were mainly residential
Heading back down
The place certainly has character
Try to decipher that …
The walls are grafitti-filled. Uncleaned for many moons I am sure. It had a certain kind of smell. Poverty maybe, but those people living there had enough for themselves. They all have jobs, making decent money through graft and hard work. Many from lands afar, reflecting the original identity of KL being this potpourri of travellers trying to make a new life for themselves. In a nutshell, this is Kuala Lumpur ....