How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Old pics evoke memories of yore (2)



Original caption: This site used to be Hollywood Park way back in the 1930s. Back then, this part of town was considered the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. It was for precisely this reason that Pudu Prison (popularly called Pudu Jail) was built in 1895.
Hollywood Park was later acquired by movie giants of the day, Shaw Brothers. It was upgraded to BB Park with a carnival-like setting: there were cabarets and dance halls, cinemas, stage shows, restaurants, game stalls and even a boxing ring!
BB Park’s fortunes started to decline with the rising popularity of television and radio. It was closed in the early 1970s and redeveloped into Sungei Wang Plaza.


I was too young to know about BB Park as an entertainment centre, except heard about my eldest brother being an excellent joget dancer, envied even by his Malay friends! Malay women wore sarong kebaya then.

But I can still remember there were two popular restaurants within the complex: Mak Yee and Loke Yuen, venues of many wedding dinners. It was one of the wedding dinners which my father attended that he bought a toy Rocket car (push and release type) for me. Years later, I mentioned it to my wife when I saw one, and she actually bought one from an antique shop!

When my father hosted my second brother's wedding dinner in Mak Yee, too many guests meant some of us had to forgo our seats! 60-table was a big deal then. In 1976, my wedding dinner was also held at Mak Yee, but at their then new premises on Jalan Sultan Ismail, near Shahzan Tower, not far from their original location in BB Park. But with the fast-paced development in KL, Mak Yee made way for redevelopment and even Shahzan Tower was renamed.


Link

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would like to confirm whether Kum Leng Restaurant was also located inside the B.B. Park Premises. I knew one was Mak Yee, opposite the Dance Hall (Ronggeng) and another Chinese Restaurant by the side of the car park, opposite an Aquarium shop and by the side of another cinemas theatre. Is that Kum Leng Restaurant or Loke Yuen??

KoSong Cafe said...

I can confirm that it was Loke Yuen, not Kum Leng. Surprised you remember the locations. Kum Leng, as far as I knew then (newer than the other two), had always been at the corner, on Jalan Pudu, opposite Magnum and Pavilion cinema.

Anonymous said...

Thanks very much for the prompt reply. Mak Yee was on the left opposite the car bumping hall and the dance hall. Further in, was the Chinese opera house. There were a few food stalls after Mak Yee selling tasty chicken porridge, intestines and coagulated blood. the owner was Ah Chan and his home made chilli sauce was out of this world.Loke Yen is located at the other end next to the huge car park. There was also a small aquarium shop at the corner directly opposite Loke Yuen, Just firther odwn along the same row, was where the second theatre was situated. At the end was the roller coaster. In between were game stalls.