The colorful buildings of Batu Road..

Some week ago we were at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It was formerly known a Batu Road. The reason why the British call it Batu Road, we can only guess. Batu in English is Stone, perhaps it is the first road built using stone. Remember those were the days when a path is already big for walking. Then we do not need roads to move from point A to B or to C. We just walk taking the path that had been use before or just create another one through the bushes of the orchard or later on through the Rubber plantation, where the trees grows in rows.

To divert a little, I remember a story of the first white man on entering Malaya from Singapore, saw that the trees were all in neat rows. He thought it is a forest or a jungle of a sort. Well, at that time this country were known for its dense forest of good timber. So he kept wondering why the trees of one kind grows so healthy in rows and rows. So been curious the white man ask his local friend, how come all the trees grows in line. Well, the local jokingly replied that in the tropic new species that was brought from other countries had to first learn to live and that this plant has yet to assimilate with the local species. So to be on the safe side the tree decided to grow side by side for the time being. Rubber tree is not native to this part of the world. It was brought by the British Planters. It grows well in this country and eventually Malaya/Malaysia became the biggest producer of natural rubber. Well, that is one of the stories of the Rubber tree. As we all know too well, Rubber trees do not just grow. It is planted, thus it is in rows. Well there you are, the story goes.

So coming back to the story of Batu Road, the British engineers must have ask the local what is Stone in Malay and the reply is Batu. So I believe they decided to name the first road in Kuala Lumpur Business Centre as Batu Road. I wonder why come Independence, the authority at that time did not kept the old name but instead renamed it after our first Yang di-Pertuan Agong [King], Tuanku Abdul Rahman. I think they choose to name it as Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman because it was the busiest road and also the main road in the heart of bustling Kuala Lumpur at that time in our history. As well as at that time it was the Business Centre of the country. So it was thought proper that the place where Kuala Lumpur grows should be name after the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong [King] of this country. Today it is no longer Batu Road but Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It would have been nice if the history of this road is written on a plaque and placed at a strategic place, to remind the now generation of its history. For Batu Road has its own history during the colonial era. Perhaps City Hall should think of this. It would surely add value to this tourist destination. Well, that is history now. Anyhow with the redevelopment and the face lift of the whole area that is been done by the City Hall, it would soon be back to its former glory.

While I was there that Saturday I saw that City Hall is doing an upgrading of the whole area, a sort of a face lift. The back lane is been paved with colorful brick block. It would be a great place for the weekly hawker's bazaar comes the weekend. Most of the old and historical buildings along the roads are now painted in various colors. To me it look great for it add color to the already colorful part of the city. I took a numbers of snap of the buildings and am sharing it here for all to enjoy. Have a nice day.