{"id":80713,"date":"2026-08-30T11:54:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T03:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80713"},"modified":"2026-08-30T11:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T03:54:03","slug":"reviving-kuala-lumpur-can-malaysia-modernise-without-pricing-out-its-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80713","title":{"rendered":"Reviving Kuala Lumpur: can Malaysia modernise without pricing out its past?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">A yellowing receipt, framed behind glass near the entrance of Abdul Razak Gold House, records an address that no longer officially exists: \u201c63 Ampang Street, Kuala Lumpur (Malaya)\u201d.<\/p>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">The shop\u2019s modern glass frontage, polished counters and gleaming bullion cases give little away about its history. But step inside and that simple receipt serves as a small window onto pre-independence <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">Malaysia<\/span>.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">For six decades, this family business has reinvented itself in step with the city around it. What began as a modest goldsmith\u2019s counter beneath a row of old shophouses is now a brightly lit jewellery and bullion store.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-lkx4h6 e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"An old receipt from S.M. Abdul Rajak Jewellery shows the business at 63 Ampang Street, Kuala Lumpur, before the street became known as Lebuh Ampang. Photo: Handout\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/08\/28\/f5873c1e-d9eb-4d44-a944-b6b1a88028f8_27969dc3.jpg\" title=\"An old receipt from S.M. Abdul Rajak Jewellery shows the business at 63 Ampang Street, Kuala Lumpur, before the street became known as Lebuh Ampang. Photo: Handout\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">An old receipt from S.M. Abdul Rajak Jewellery shows the business at 63 Ampang Street, Kuala Lumpur, before the street became known as Lebuh Ampang. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Today, skyscrapers and overhead train tracks loom over the capital\u2019s commercial core, and many of the businesses along Lebuh Ampang \u2013 the modern name for Ampang Street \u2013 that the shop\u2019s proprietor remembers from his childhood have long since vanished.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Mohd Razalie Abdul Rasul, 37, is the newest custodian of Abdul Razak Gold House. He has expanded the business into bullion trading, bought the property next door and is, ultimately, preparing for a handover to the next generation.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cMy dad is still a mentor, but the way he thinks and I think is totally different,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to think very modern. We have to stay one step ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Their family drama is a microcosm of the soul-searching currently sweeping Kuala Lumpur: how do you hold on to the past while still moving forward?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/week-asia\/lifestyle-culture\/article\/3365625\/reviving-kuala-lumpur-can-malaysia-modernise-without-pricing-out-its-past?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A yellowing receipt, framed behind glass near the entrance of Abdul Razak Gold House, records an address that no longer officially exists: \u201c63 Ampang Street,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4840],"tags":[6567,6568,4349,29163,890,5318],"class_list":["post-80713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-globetrotting","tag-kuala","tag-lumpur","tag-malaysia","tag-modernise","tag-pricing","tag-reviving","wpcat-4840-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}