Pekeliling Flats Explained

Pekeliling Flats
(Tunku Abdul Rahman Flats)
Location:Jalan Pekeliling,
(now Jalan Tun Razak),
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Architectural Style:Modernism
Floor Count:17
Start Date:1964
Est Completion:1967
Building Type:High-rise apartment building

Pekeliling Flats, better known as Tunku Abdul Rahman Flats was the third high-rise apartment building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia built after Razak Mansion and Suleiman Courts.

History

The Pekeliling Flats were built between 1964 and 1967 to accommodate the lower income group and squatter people in the city. They were seven blocks of the flats (Block A, Block B (both demolished in 2006), Block C, Block D, Block E, Block F, Block G) and four-storey shop houses located on Jalan Pekeliling (now Jalan Tun Razak) and Jalan Pahang, built at cost of RM20.5 million which was launched by the Kuala Lumpur Federal Capital Commissions (Suruhanjaya Ibu Kota).

Current state

Blocks A and B were the first to be demolished in mid-2006 to make way for a proposed luxury apartment development project. However almost a decade had passed and the apartment was never built; the plot of land where Block A & B once stood remained empty and has turned into a 'mini jungle'.[1]

The remaining blocks (Blocks C - G) on the other side of the road was earmarked to be demolished later. The last family was evacuated to Setapak in 2008. However, for some time after that the blocks continues to stand, appearing as a sore thumb in the Kuala Lumpur skyline.[2]

Demolition

After standing empty for almost six years, demolition work finally began in January 2014 and completed over a span of almost two years, finishing by November 2015. The site became the Titiwangsa MRT station on the Putrajaya line.

[3] [4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Before the blocks tumbling down.
  2. Web site: Final Warning For Remaining 152 Families At Pekeliling Flats. Bernama. 15 June 2008.
  3. Web site: Pekeliling Flats comes down six years after last tenants move out. The Star. 22 January 2014.
  4. Web site: End of the road for iconic Pekeliling flats. New Straits Times. 22 January 2014.