The estuaries of Gombak River (left) and Klang River (right) in an old section of Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur. KUALA LUMPUR - One of the oldest mosques in Malaysia’s capital city and the river banks around it have undergone a radical makeover in recent years to beautify the heritage heart of Kuala Lumpur’s old downtown. In the evenings, the riverbanks around Masjid Jamek are often covered in theatrical mist – hissing out from rows of pipes – and the river water is lit in a stunning shade of blue.
The riverbanks beside another prominent landmark nearby, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building that used to house the offices of the British colonial administration, have also been rejuvenated. The mosque sits at the meeting point of two major rivers, Gombak and Klang, and the area is reputedly where Kuala Lumpur – a ‘muddy estuary’ in Malay – was born. The rivers are among eight in the federal territory and Selangor that form the core of the ambitious River of Life (RoL) project that was initiated in 2011 to revitalise the waterways, with the aim of matching the success of Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon’s stream restoration project.
But while visible – and impressive – improvements could be seen, such as around the Masjid Jamek area, other areas along the riverbanks appear untouched though the project was launched 13 years ago. “It’s not like in Melaka, where the river is a tourist spot. The River of Life project has been delayed for so long,” said a shopkee.