RMO Day 23 - Selangor Mansion Lockdown

Visiting Selangor Mansion - and her sister, Malayan Mansion - was never a walk in the park. An utterly filthy place, but mesmerising at the same time. And once the cases of COVID-19 were isolated there, I knew that it would spell trouble.

The living condition there is deplorable. The majority of the dwellers there were foreign workers at the stores around Masjid India. The original crowd from the 1970s has long moved on.

I still go there occasionally to have the “roti banjir” at the ground floor shop. Something I would indulge every once in a while. And when the calling came - meaning if my friends wanted to go for a makan - Selangor Mansion was always top of the list.

I had the chance to visit it last year in a group lead by Mahen Bala. I got some perspective on how living there was all about. The photos can’t really tell the real living condition there. From reports, more than 3000 people were living in the block, currently being cordoned off. The place has its own ecosystem with shops and services on the lower floors. They even have cafes for those living there. The upper floors were in better shape, and the condition deteriorates as we move downwards ...

The place definitely needed a rethink. The current living condition can’t be left to fester. A thorough clean-up and clear-up are necessary. The owners have to think about leaving the current state as it was or to reduce the density. Either way, changes are afoot ... Selangor Mansion needed to evolve with the time, and things would never be the same after this.