Monday, February 2, 2009

New Heritage Enclave In Klang

2009 will be an awakening year for Klang for a few reasons, and if the Sultan of Selangor has his way, the royal town will have a heritage enclave to call its own in a year or two.

The successful opening of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery in 2008 (pls read my blog article posted on Apr 17, 08) in the old quarters of Klang town has propelled new interest to preserve other similar colonial buildings there.

Numerous royal dignitaries and visitors have made a beeline to view the royal gallery including Sultan of Kedah and royalties from Negeri Sembilan.

However, the best PR success of the gallery, in my view, lies with its growing popularity with locals.

Based on my earlier visit, the gallery opts for a visitor friendly policy to encourage the general public to discover the gallery for themselves. Despite some of the valuable exhibits inside, visitors can roam at their will and if there was security barrier, then they have done a splendid job of concealing them. The gallery staff are generally well trained to ensure visitors have an uninterrupted visit.

Klang is moving in this new interesting direction as a heritage center and much of the credit should go to the Selangor Royal family.

They have played a key role by spearheading buyouts (?) of buildings with significant historical value adjacent to the Royal Gallery. These buildings now used as commercial lots will be given a new lease of life by converting them into museums.

They will be the new attractions in town and the exhibits will usher new interest in royal family and its history.

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