This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 18, 2021 - January 24, 2021

Many streets in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) bear the name “Rahim Kajai”, including Jalan Rahim Kajai and Lorong Rahim Kajai 1 to Lorong Rahim Kajai 14. There is also a Padang Rahim Kajai.

This part of TTDI is situated on the northwestern side of the township. Located next to the Aminuddin Baki area, it consists of mostly landed houses, with some shoplots on Lorong Rahim Kajai 13 and Lorong Rahim Kajai 14.

“Rahim Kajai” refers to the late, renowned journalist and writer Abdul Rahim Haji Salim (1894 to 1943), who used the pen name Abdul Rahim Kajai when he started writing for the Idaran Zaman weekly in 1925. Kajai is the village in West Sumatra, Indonesia, where his parents came from.

He worked as a reporter for several newspapers in Malaya and Singapore, including Majlis, and has been called the “Father of Malay Journalism”.

A landmark in the area is Maybank, which occupies a corner shoplot on Lorong Rahim Kajai 14. There are numerous restaurants there, including Meatology by Chef Yenni Law, 42EAST Restaurant and Bar and Aroma de Nata. One of the country’s longest-running full-time comedy clubs, Crackhouse Comedy Club, is also found there.

The neighbourhood is popular with coffee lovers, as it is home to a few well-known coffee shops such as Artisan Roast Coffee, 43 Coffee and Craft Origin. Other service operators include a car workshop, salon, mini grocery store and pet shop.

Even though traffic conditions are better than before the Movement Control Order, during City & Country’s recent visit, one could hardly find any street parking there. There are more parking bays at the junction of Lorong Rahim Kajai 13 and Jalan 3/71b — which is away from the main hub of activities.

Fronting the residential area, Lorong Rahim Kajai 13 is quieter than Lorong Rahim Kajai 14 and the adjoining Jalan Aminuddin Baki, which are closer to the main road of Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi.

Metro Homes Realty Bhd executive director See Kok Loong tells City & Country that, similar to the shophouses built since the late 1970s, the upper floors of the shoplots on Lorong Rahim Kajai 13 and Lorong Rahim Kajai 14 were initially used as residential units and the lower floors for business.

The situation has since changed and the upper floors of these shoplots have been converted into offices, as the residents moved to housing estates.

He notes, however, that compared with the shoplots with Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi frontage, those on Lorong Rahim Kajai 13 and Lorong Rahim Kajai 14 are not as popular as they are located off the main road.

As there has been no transaction record there for the past five years, See believes many units are either occupied by the owners or tenanted. The rental price has also been stable during this period.

He foresees no major price movement or development landscape changes, as there is little land left for future developments.

“The type of tenants sought after are locals, such as corporate offices for SMEs [small and medium enterprises]. Some restaurants have been there for many years. The good thing about the shoplots on Lorong Rahim Kajai 13 and Lorong Rahim Kajai 14 is that the bigger lot sizes are 25ft by 75ft, compared with the typical lot sizes of 22ft [wide],” See says.

“Some units there were transacted in 2014 and 2015 at RM2.5 million to RM3.5 million. Since then, we have seen no transactions. Monthly rents are RM7,000 to RM8,000 for a ground-floor unit of 1,872 sq ft, and RM2,500 and RM2,000 for first- and second-floor units.”

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