Metro

Tuesday December 1, 2009

Pre-war houses given fresh coat of paint, new roofs and window panels

Story and photos by LIM CHIA YING


THE historical 100 Quarters, straddled over three streets in Brickfields, have been given a facelift.

The government quarters, located in Lorong Chan Ah Tong, Jalan Chan Ah Tong, and Jalan Rozario, have been given a fresh coat of paint, new window panels and roofing.

Rahayu Mohd Yusuf, who moved into her house nine months ago, said before the refurbishment, the walls were peeling and becoming dull from daily wear and tear.

“I’ve been a Brickfields resident since 1979. Before that, I stayed at the Brickfields district police staff quarters.

Bright: The double-storey 100 Quarters in Jalan Chan Ah Tong with its facelifi and upgrading. Inset: What they used to look like.

“However, when the staff quarters there were to be redeveloped, we had to move out and as we needed a home urgently, I applied to come here,” said Rahayu.

“This unit happened to be vacant, so I got my application approved. Staying here is easy for us to get to work and school,” the 35-year-old teacher said.

However, it was not a bed of roses for Rahayu as initially the unit was in a mess and was dirty.

When she called up to complain, she was told that plans were already in the pipeline then to upgrade all 100 units in the area.

Handling the upgrading work was the Federal Territory Public Works Department (JKR), a project initiated by the Prime Minister’s Department (Property Management section).

During StarMetro’s visit to the site, the double-storey (in Jalan Chan Ah Tong and Jalan Rozario) and single-storey (in Lorong Chan Ah Tong) houses are now a uniformed bright orange and red, while wooden windows were replaced with aluminium ones.

Inside her home, the cement flooring has been replaced with tiles.

"They asked us to fill a checklist on things that were worn out and to be replaced. Even our kitchen cabinet top is now new, so we are quite happy" HASLINA MOHAMMAD

“Previously, we had no garage to park our cars, everyone just parked by the roadside of their homes or backlanes.

“But at least we have a proper garage now, an area which was just earth previously,” said Rahayu.

Haslina Mohammad said this was not the first upgrading exercise.

“But it’s probably the first time we see a different colour as previously, the same colour scheme was used,” said Haslina, 47, a housewife. Her husband is a JKR employee, and she has been staying in the quarters for the last 17 years.

The previous roof was already blackened by fungus, and so was her door which had been infested with termites.

“They asked us to fill a checklist on things that were worn out and to be replaced. Even our kitchen cabinet top is now new, so we are quite happy,” she said.

It is learnt that the upgrading project by JKR cost some RM2.5mil, split into stages and completed recently.

According to history, the pre-war Hundred Quarters was named as the units there numbered 100 and were originally built in the 1910s for government servants.

Haslina said while the new roof lends a nice makeover, she now feels hotter as the ceiling has become lower, hence ventilation decreased.

The airwell area in her house has since been converted into a kitchen and dining hall, optimising the use of a section that was previously left vacant.

“In the olden days, airwell was a key feature of the British colonial design and there was no overhead roof shelter.

“The toilet was then located far behind and on nights when it rained, we had to use umbrellas to get there,” she said with a laugh.

“The flooring is slightly uneven, although you may not notice it when walking.

“But throw a marble or pour water on and you’ll see them rolling down, which shows the slightly sloping ground,” she said of the unique, historical homes.

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