Malaysia Boleh

Malaysia Boleh | Məˈleɪzɪə Bo-lay

         1. An patriotic expression meaning ‘Malaysia Can do It’

         2. The kind of term a mat salleh will use to try and sound like a local. 

So I’m a mat salleh in Malaysia. A white fella. Apparently it’s the term loosely derived from an expression meaning mad sailor and sometimes it feels like an apt way to describe life in South East Asia. Though the idea that I’m shipwrecked- marooned in a foreign land- is far from accurate. In fact having lived in Malaysia for over a year, I feel more like a local than a sailor passing through.

I can tell you where to get the best nasi kandar… outside of Penang,.. Or where to grab the tastiest banana-leaf in town.

Nirwana. Ofcourse

I’ve been to Cherating, Ipoh, Kuala Selangor, and Malacca. Had sneaky getaways to Langkawi and spent time on the Klan Jetties in Penang. I’ve seen the turtles in Terengganu and have explored the Klang Valley inside out.

I can even do a decent job of directing you around KLCC.

Just go down Jalan Ampang and take a kanan at Jalan Sultan Ismail- if you hit Dang Wangi, you’ve gone too far mate.

Also, I feel like I’ve got a better understanding of the built environment of KL- and there’s more to it than the architectural monoculture that slaps you in the face when you first arrive.

Yes- I know I’ve previously touched on the poor architecture of Malaysia’s capital- but that probably won’t stop me doing it again.

KL’s architecture is built on a wave of uncontrolled development- green lit in an effort to establish Kuala Lumpur as one of South East Asia’s most contemporary cities- but has seen much of the historic building stock knocked down to be replaced with hermetically sealed boxes. Glass towers lacking any connection to the fine grain of the city or urban environment. A cynic might suggest it’s a result of unregulated developers making hay while the sun shines- with no consideration of the city.

Not that I would ever think that...

Fortunately there are exceptions to this at all scales. You might look to the PJ Trade Centre to see how a commercial building can be designed in the tropics.  

A building which at first glance may seem like a grey monolith of unarticulated breezeblocks and brickwork, is on closer inspection one which is designed with the architectural principles in mind.

Keeping the sun off the façade is a good thing, right? Allowing a building to purge the heat isn’t that naft, is it? Opening a building to the prevailing breezes and creating a ground plane which isn’t a heat sink would generally be thought of as common sense - wouldn’t it?

Well then why does the glazed monoculture of commercial shit continue to be built?

Kevin Low’s PJTC can be seen as an exemplar of designing commercial buildings in the tropics. Of course all the boring realities of commercial buildings need to be addressed- GFA’s and car park numbers – PWD access and fire stair distances all need to be met. But KL architecture could learn a thing or two from buildings like this. We don’t need 30-storey glazed boxes to define ourselves as global contemporaries.

Sometimes all that shimmers is shit.

If you hitch yourself a ride north-west of KL you’ll find yourself in Georgetown, Penang. A former British colonial trading hub; now a UNESCO World Heritage Site made up of Chinese shophouse architecture and the best hawker food to be found in Malaysia.

Oh man. The char koay teow. The nasi kandar. The wanton mee. The roti Canai. We’re not even scratching the surface either. Malaysians will all agree- Penang is synonymous with good eats. But if you can drag your fat arse away from the hawker stands (which is a challenge), you’ll find yourself immersed in the old jalans of Georgetown and eager to explore every corner of the grafitti-art streets.

Shophouse architecture is simple. It’s given away in the name, really. Take a shop- about 5 meters wide by 25 meters deep- and put it on the ground floor. Take a house of equal dimensions and slap it on top. Guess what you gots yourself?

*Gasps*

Clever. Huh.

However when you rinse and repeat this process over and over you have yourself a dense network of this compact building type, which creates an efficient urban fabric of commercial and residential architecture.

This building stock has aged with a thick patina of wear-n-tear which elevates and accentuates the heritage value of the streetscape – complimented by installations of street-art which have become a tourist attraction for the city. 

By respecting and retaining its existing built environment, Penang has capitalised on its character. Defined itself through it. It makes Penang unique and memorable. It’s almost a form of critical regionalism-A local vernacular. KL could learn another lesson from this- that there’s a lot of value in its existing building stock. That creating a skyline of homogenous skyscrapers is not necessarily the way to establish yourself as unique and contemporary city. In fact- you could argue it does the opposite.

What this all boils down to is that it’s not too late for Malaysia to continue defining(or redefining) itself as a leading S.E Asian country- a global player- while at the same time resisting the urge to sell-out its heritage and culture.

It’s tricky when you’re a met salleh. You want to see the country you’ve grown to love continue to uniquely define itself and grow- while not seeming like a mad sailor who’s fresh off the boat. 

All I know is that the cultural ingredients required to make something special are already here- and if we can capitalise on it- Malaysia can redefine itself as a greater a leader on South East Asia.

You know, cause Malaysia Boleh!