KL Kwong Tong cemetery

Having moved back to my old condo, I now have the cemetery inhabitants as my neighbours. Some Malaysians are horrified at the thought of living near a cemetery, and some also hate the greeness and the trees surrounding my condo. But I love it.

I love to walk in the cemetery. And I'm not the only one, as many of the condo residents who own dogs, also walk their dogs there. It's a great place, quiet, with an abundance of birds and small reptiles, lizards, snakes etc. And there is often a pleasant scent when the frangipani are in bloom.

Over the years I think I've covered most of the paths. I find the graves fascinating, even though I can't understand the Chinese inscriptions. However I haven't found Yap Ah Loy's grave. [Since posting this album, I have visited Yap Ah Loy's grave] Unfortunately the heritage park sign is only in Chinese. Parts of the cemetery have been restored, and turned into a heritage park.

There have been a few changes in the area closest to Alice Smith school. There is a new large memorial to Lim Lian Giok. I must admit I hadn't heard of Lim Lian Giok, so had to google him. I didn't find much, but learnt he was a Malaysian education official, basically a Chinese teacher who fought for the right to a Chinese-language education in Malaysia, which he always regarded as a multi-ethnic and multicultural state of which he was a proud citizen. Ironically, it was the fears of so-called “nationalists” that in the end created in this simple teacher a hero and Chinese “cultural ambassador.

In recent years Kuen Cheng School which is on the Federal Highway just near the Istana, has built a 2nd campus on the edge of the cemetery, so this has meant an increase in traffic.

The cemetery actually extends across the Middle Ring road (the road between Pustaka and the Istana) but I've never explored this section.

If I drive to KL I often take the route through the cemetery. However many taxi drivers are not so keen, especially at night! Coming home via the cemetery I have to go through Bukit Petaling & Jalan Bellamy which is another nice area.

view to city

Brickfields on the left

KL Sentral

dead car

entrance to big tomb

don't know who is buried here

the pub!

frangipani with Le Meridien at the back

Lim Lian Giok

4  languages

school

Google Earth view

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The following is taken from wikimapia.org :
KWONG TONG CEMETERY (KTC); THE LARGEST AND OLDEST GRAVES IN THE CITY OF KUALA LUMPUR. THIS CHINESE CEMETERY COVERS 343 ACRES, IN EXISTENCE FOR 112 YEARS AND MAINTAINED IN ITS ORIGINAL HISTORICAL` STATE. IT IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE OF PROMINENT CITY PIONEER; CAPITAN YAP AH LOY, LOKE YEW [no he is not buried here], YAP KWAN SENG ETC. THE MAIN STREETS IN THE CITY NAMED AFTER THESE CITY PIONEER. IN 2007, THE KTC HAS BEEN RENAMED AS “HERITAGE PARK”. SUBSEQUENTLY, EXTENSIVE LANDSCAPING HAS TURNED THIS PARK INTO THE GREEN LUNG OF THE CITY. IN ADDITION, A CULTURAL MUSEUM WAS BUILT AND COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION RELATED TO PROMINENT CHINESE PIONEER. AS WELL AS CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS OF THE CITY DEVELOPMENTS ARE DISPLAYED IN THIS CULTURAL MUSEUM. IT HAS NOW NOT ONLY BECOME A CULTURAL, HERITAGE AND HISTORICAL MASTER PIECE, BUT IT HAS ALSO BECOME A RESEARCH CENTER AND TOURIST DESTINATION OF THE CITY. WALKATHON IS HELD ANNUALLY WITHIN THE HERITAGE PARK. IN 2007, IT ATTRACTED 5,000 PARTICIPANTS OF MULTI-RACIAL AND MULTI-NATIONAL PARTICIPANTS. TO OBTAIN MAP OF HERITAGE PARK AND FURTHER INFORMATION REFER TO WEBSITE: http://ktc.org.my OR EMAIL: info@ktc.org.my

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UPDATE 2015 - see more on Lim Lian Geok at the memorial hall in KL.
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UPDATE 2017 - "Yap Ah Loy’s descendant is sad and disappointed that Yap’s contribution was obliterated" in Malaysian Chinese News 12 May.

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© Liz Price
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