KAMPUNG BARU – MY TOWN VILLAGE IN THE HEART OF KUALA LUMPUR

The famous scenery of Kampung Bharu no

Assalamualaikum Warabmatullahi Wabarakatuh

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. But today I felt compel to pen some important points about my village, the infamous Kampung Baru.

Sprawling over 223 acres, Kampung Baru is a renowned Malay town village in the heart of Malaysia’s Federal capital.

Most Malays who migrated to Kuala Lumpur would have resided in Kampung Baru before they settled down elsewhere in the Klang Valley. They would have called Kampung Baru their home in their quest of starting a new life, finding a job or furthering their study.

Kampung Baru is a very unique town village. I would deem it as a modern settlement yet its inhabitants still practice and adopt the the Malay culture and tradition. Nevertheless, as the basic facilities and infrastructure are in place, it is very convenient should one wishes to move around the Klang Valley.

Although I was born in Malacca (my grandmother's hometown), my village and hometown has revolved around Kampung Baru, As far as I can remember, the two houses in Jalan Raja Uda are the houses where I grew up, got married and started my own family.

My grandfather was a town boy. Originated from a mixed Malay-Chinese marriage family, he was born and bred in Kuala Lumpur.

I was made to understand that my great grandfather whose parents hailed from Sulawesi was one of the earliest occupants of this town village, formerly the home of tin mine workers. My guess is that my great grandfather, Haji Abdul Hamid, who was then a trader, met my great grandmother, Nyonya Khadijah, a well-known individual for those who patronised Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, at Kampung Baru.

Establishment of Kampung Bharu

In 1899, the Selangor British Resident agreed to the establishment of Kampung Baru, starting with 223 acres of land between Sungai Klang and Jalan Batu (Batu Road).

 Sultan Sulaiman Club, favourite venue for UMNO Meeting

In 1900, the Malay State Government and the state of Selangor started to develop Kampung Baru, converting it from a village for tin mine workers to a Malay Agriculture Settlement (MAS).

Sultan Sulaiman Club and The Clan

When one spoke about Kampung Baru, the Sultan Sulaiman Club is an important landmark for the villagers and Malay community. It was built on a land donated by HRH the Sultan of Selangor in 1909 to provide a proper place for community activities, thus replacing the small hut build by the villagers in 1901.

My geat grandmother, Nyonya Khadijah

It is here at the Sultan Sulaiman Club, the Kampung Bharu folks held their community and social activities and also a favourite place for UMNO to hold their meetings.

Sultan Sulaiman Club is not only an important landmark for Kampung Baru but also for our family. This is the place where our great grandmother, Nyonya Khadijah (a Chinese convert who later married our great grandfather), served as the caretaker.

The HMS Clan

My Grandfather, Haji Mohd Salleh . Seated on the rights is
 my grandmother Hajah Salbiah  (on her lab is my father ) and
 on the left is Hajah Hamidah, my grand auntie 

Among Kampung Baru folks, if anyone wants to know which clan we come from, we will just tell them that we are the grandchildren (cucu-cicit) of Nyonya Kelab and chances are people will know the answer. Now, we the fourth generation address our selves as the clan of HMS (Haji Mohd Salleh Abdul Hamid) after my grandfather’s name who is also a well known person among the Kampung Bharu folks and also Mosque members.

Not forgetting my grandmother, Hajah Salbiah bte Mat, she is another respected lady in Kampung Bharu and always sort out by the community if there is a feast or wedding coming up. She was a super cook and has creative hands, both for food carving and also the “hantaran” (engagement/wedding gifts) especially  the “sireh junjung” (the main item in any Malay engagement/wedding ceremony).

My Kampung

As far as I can remember, I grew up in Kampung Baru until I got married and moved to Petaling Jaya in the 1980s. .

Our first house, the wooden bungalow at Jalan Raja Uda .
As far I can remember it was renovated two time.

Our two family houses are still standing tall in Kampung Baru but all my siblings and most of my cousins  – except for my sister  – have moved out of Kampung Baru and reside somewhere else within the Klang Valley.

The first house at No 20 Jalan Raja Uda was a

My parents had their wedding ( Haji Idris Haji Mohd Salleh and
mother, Hajah Maimon Omar) at the house

a huge wooden bungalow with another house attached to it (for rent). Once this house was the place for our ancestors and family to gather especially for feast (kenduri), Hari Raya, weddings and functions. My parents and his siblings all had their wedding at this house. The second house – a modern three-story bungalow – which bears the No 13 address is located just opposite the road.

In this  big wooden bungalow, that I seldom wanted to be left alone should my grandparents or auntie were away. 

From front door entrance right through to the :family private
chamber/areas, just before the kitchen

The house, which traditionally known as "Rumah Abu" (main house for family) was built with unique features. 

You will be amaze to see the architecture of
the "rumah Melaka". The moment you step at the front door, if the other doors to the different chambers/areas are open, one can see right through the whole bungalow until the area for house family, just before the kitchen.

As guests walk in, they would be welcomed 

"Rumah Melaka" guest chamber/area is very  open and airy 

at the welcome area with sofas to sit before being invited into the house.  Than the guests are invited into the guests area, which is a long open space with some sofas at one corner. The other corner is a dining table that can fit in 12 people. The guest area is always open with many small windows around to make the room airy.

A radio and also a gramophone was place in the center of the room. .

Guests who were not family member were confined to this guests area only.

Family Member Area

As we enter to the next area through two big doors, there is a large open space where one can see Chinese antique furniture with tables, chairs and cupboards filled with many traditional silverware. This area serves as a place for family members to gather when they come for a visit. There are no sofas, but only carpets and mats with a low table for our family members to sit around and have their meals when there is a feast or during festival like Hari Raya. The area are ventilated by a few long windows around.

There are three big rooms, including the master bedroom with Chinese antique bed, cupboards and tables.

Stairs to the attic

House Family Area

From there, we enter into another area which is exclusively for the house family members. The space are equally big with a room for the maid, cupboards to keep all kinds  of plates, cutlery, casserole dish, saucers, cups, teapot and glasses which is enough to cater for a small feast. It has an open space with a Chinese antique chair-bed for my grandmother to take a rest  or a nap during the day time and for us to  sit around to chit chat or to do our daily chaos like folding and sorting the daily wash  clothes, ironing or sowing.

From this area one can climb up a wooden stairs to the attic. This is one unique place for the family to store many things. The attic is also a favorite place where I use to play with my siblings and cousins when they come for a visit or for the teenage girls to "hide" from the elders and boys during feast, weddings or functions in the house.

Batu Giling" for Pounding Spice

"Batu Giling" for pounding spices

Next is the kitchen area which is is divided into two – big kitchen and the small kitchen. The big kitchen has a modern stove, food store, cabinet to keep cooked food and a special rack to place our daily use plates,  cups, saucers, cutlery and glasses,  a big water container  (the Malay call it kolah air), washing basin and two big serving areas (pangkin - a big table like made of wood) which is also the place for us to have our daily meals.

Most house family members prefer to eat at the big kitchen.

The small kitchen is solely for traditional cooking, using fire woods and so are the pots and pans are traditional in nature (some are made from clay and also copper). 

It is here that I first learned how to use the batu giling to pound the spices. I love to meddle with my grandmother's batu giling whenever she is at work, until I learn the art of pounding spices. My grandmother is very particular that one must follow the protocol of pounding the spices, what to pound first, from the fresh turmeric, the prawn paste (belacan), salt, onions and chili as it will make the pounding work easier and smoother.  We believe the traditional methods of preparing the spices for cooking made our dishes taste better than using the ready made powder spices. Today the batu giling has become a museum artifact since it has been replace by the modern blenders and with so many ready made spices in the market.

Activity Under the House

Not to forget, the area under house, which serves as another activity area for the family due to the height of the house and it is more airy. 

Our family loves to sit around at this area during the day to have coffee, either with family members,  neighbors and kampung folks. 

My  grandmother use this place to dry the flour, sugar, nuts and spices for her cooking. She also hang dry her sarong here to avoid the direct sun. I also utilise the area to do my homework and group study.

At one corner we keep a big store to place all kinds of cutlery,  casserole dish, plates, saucers, cups, teapot, glasses and big pots and pans enough for a big feast which is for rent to the community.

Our Second House – the First Three-Story Modern Bungalow Like Town-House

The three story bungalow (town house)

This is the first three-story bungalow (resembling a town house) built by my grandfather who was a quantity surveyor. There are four separate houses on the ground floor which were rented out, while the second floor is made up of a two-story house for us to stay. This house attracted many people when it was first built as it resembled the most sophisticated house in Kampung Baru at that time. I’m proud of my grandfather's farsighted vision to have a modern house for his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

There's not much I can say about the features of the bungalow, no different from any ordinary house today with leaving room, dining room, bedroom and kitchen equip with modern furniture. After the demise of my grandfather, I persuaded my grandmother to move to this three story bungalow. I am too excited to stay in this new modern house. Naive at that time, when we moved to the new bungalow,  all the antique furniture and heritage are left in the tradisional "rumah Melaka"

Given the chance again.  I would always choose to stay back in our traditional "rumah Melaka", now that I have learned to appreciated the heritage left by my ancestors. 

All our houses are now in a rundown condition and we have no plan to rebuild them since the government has announced plans to develop Kampung Baru in line with the re-development of Kuala Lumpur. Me, my siblings and cousins are the right owner of the land where the house was built, left by our grandfather. However, we no longer stays there – have long moved out of Kampung Baru to live around the Klang Valley.

The Kampung Bharu Development Plan in progress - the future

Soon the old Kampung Baru will transform into a developed township in line with the development around the golden triangle and the busy central business district (CBD) with the Twin Towers in the backdrop.

I don’t know about others but Kampung Baru will linger on in my memories. I already missed the good old days when I was young. I have no regrets of growing up in Kampung Baru – only memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

However, in moving forward, we are equally excited to see Kampung Baru transforming into a modern township that will make my future generation and I proud.


20.08.2016