Sitting alone in this triangular-shaped restaurant, looking out at the junction of Jalan Semarak-Jalan Tun Razak brings back fond memories.
I remember we had to cross the busy road every evening to get to the public field at Jalan Puan for our football sessions. It was our routine for the five years that we stayed at Asrama Dr Latiff or 'ADL', starting in the year when Kuala Lumpur was declared a federal territory in 1974.
The Yayasan Selangor (Selangor Foundation) hostel has since been demolished to make way for a flood mitigation project. The sight of the bulldozer tearing down the four-storey building still haunt my mind as I had passed through the place to the office that particular morning.
But this restaurant -- K.M. Hameed – still remains after all these years.
With high-rise office buildings within its vicinity providing a steady stream of patrons, the restaurant, located in an area we called ‘island’, had been given a new lease of life.
It could expect more business with the soon-to-be completed towering office block, close-by, on the opposite side of the ever-busy Jalan Tun Razak.
Although the restaurant owner, Haji Jamaludin has entrusted the running of the business to his sons -- Restoran K.M.Hameed, named after his father, remains a favourite place for many because of its strategic location.
Jalan Semarak (formerly known as Jalan Gurney) is home to a number of important establishments including the police training centre, Felda headquarters, survey and mapping department, TM training centre and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia KL-city campus. It also leads to the Defence Ministry.
As I threw my view to a distant, I could clearly see the sign of progress with the Ampang Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH) running above a substantial stretch of Jalan Tun Razak.
That same highway cuts across the air, close to where ADL once stood below, providing shelter and hope for selected students from around Selangor to pursue their secondary education in the federal capital.
3 comments:
Well 30 years since, but memory are something that that will not fade.
At least if we talk about ADL it will be 35 years since form one isn't it. Occasionally when I passed AKLEH i thought I saw some people climbing the fence or those who played hockey by that small plot of land.
Are you in contact with those from ADL class of 78, Shaari did arrange for Hari Raya get together, but the las few times the time was not right for me.
Dear Amirul,
Indeed, it's almost 35 years since we were in Form I. 34 years to be exact.
As I sometimes choose to use Persiaran Gurney to get to the office, the memories remain vivid in my mind.
All the best Bro.
Sdr kl@zz
Restoran K.M Hameed is indeed very fortunate to be able to withstand the test of time and rapid development around the area, compared with Balai Datuk Harun that used to stand across the road where Bangunan Selborn now stands. Why must the historic building be torn down bro? Maybe you could write something to tell the younger generations about the significance of the building.
sp
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