Highways no more than cosmetic effect
Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today. IF the buildings could talk, they would have plenty to tell. Constructed in the early 1900s when Ampang was thriving with the mining scene, the old buildings along Jalan Besar Ampang in Pekan Lama Ampang still stand strong even till today. The township, located in the east of Kuala Lumpur, has seen rapid development. Jalan Ampang was one of the very few main arteries into the city centre, connecting the very many tin mines to the heart of town. But in recent years, it has been notoriously famous for massive congestion as many used alternative roads including the Ampang-KL Elevated Highway (AKLEH) or even the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2). What used to be rubber estates and thick jungle were slowly cleared to make way for housing development. Jalan Ampang and parts of Ampang Hilir was later called the “Embassy Row” as foreign nations bought plots of land to establish their diplomat...