This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 22, 2023 - May 28, 2023

On the Friday afternoon when City & Country visited Jalan Tun H S Lee, the chiming of the bells at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, located at the foothills of Bukit Nanas, could be heard.

It was 1pm and office workers as well as tourists were seen frequenting the businesses on this historical street in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

The smartly dressed office employees were walking hurriedly towards the restaurants while the tourists were taking their time, strolling along the five-foot ways.

The pre-war shophouses on this street date back to the 1880s. Some have been repainted, some given a new façade while others look like they have been left untouched.

“One of the earliest addresses in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Tun H S Lee was originally known as High Street, which became a significant commercial hub back then. High Street [then] became Jalan Bandar and was subsequently renamed, after the country’s first finance minister, Colonel Tun Sir Henry Lee Hau Shik,” says Metro Homes Realty Bhd executive director See Kok Loong.

Jalan Tun H S Lee runs from the intersection with Jalan Syed Putra to the intersection with Jalan Gereja.  This article will focus on the 150m stretch between the intersections with Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Gereja.

According to See, there have been no transactions in this area in the past 10 years. The latest transaction was made in 2012 at RM1.8 million. Meanwhile, the average rental rate for the ground floor is RM5.50 to RM6 psf per month.

“The properties are mainly family-owned, through inheritance. The new buyers are investment holding companies or groups of buyers focused on the Kuala Lumpur city area [with the intention of] converting the old pre-war shops into hotels, for example,” he explains.

Along this stretch, there are many cafés and kopitiams offering a wide array of food, ranging from local delights to Western cuisine.

The businesses in the area include Nam Chew Coffee Shop; Hong Ngek Restaurant; Koh Chuan Huat Tea Merchant, established in 1931; a rubber stamp shop; car parts shops; a traditional Chinese biscuit shop; several sundry stores; Mingle Highstreet Hostel; and cafés such as Kafe Kleptokrat, Timothy and LOKL Coffee Co, which are very popular with the younger crowd.

Prior to the pandemic, a backpacker hostel named BackHome KL was located here. It has since been repurposed into a community space called High Street Studios and houses Think City Kuala Lumpur (a strategic urban policy adviser, venture builder and project delivery partner), Riwayat Bookstore and Rumah Gambus, among others.

Riwayat Bookstore co-founder Roestam Alias, who is the son of a prominent local poet — the late T Alias Taib — sells local fiction and non-fiction titles at the store, which opened almost a year ago. It also hosts various events like book launches, documentary screenings and talks every month.

Roestam believes this is a good location for the bookstore as it is close to The Godown Arts Centre and Central Market, which hold many community and arts events.

As Jalan Tun H S Lee has a very long history, See notes: “The street has seen redevelopment efforts through the years ... It went through several rounds of transformation during the 1970s and 1980s.”

In recent times, there have been efforts to revitalise the street as part of Think City’s rejuvenation programme. For example, in 2018, Kwong Hing Group applied for a grant from Think City to restore the façade of its shophouse on Jalan Tun H S Lee.

See, who worked in this area in the 1990s, has witnessed tremendous changes as well.

“The area now is much cleaner, with a proper pedestrian street in front of the shops as compared to the 1990s when many hawkers occupied the area … If I remember correctly, the traffic flow has also changed from 30 years ago.”

He recalls that the street was occupied mainly by traders and motorbike repair shops. This often led to traffic congestion, as patrons would double park in front of these shops.

See says the property outlook for the area is highly dependent on the robustness of the tourism industry as well as the ongoing rejuvenation efforts in downtown Kuala Lumpur as a whole.

“The outlook of the street is stable and the catalysts are dependent on the tourism industry. Our country needs to draw in different types of tourists to enable the area to become relevant,” he adds. 

“Currently, those visiting the area are low-budget tourists such as backpackers as well as foreign workers who come during the weekends and public holidays.”

He points out that the area does not draw local families. “Locals, especially families, seldom visit the area due to the lack of parking facilities. Most of them are attracted to [nearby] shopping malls such as Pavilion Bukit Bintang, KLCC and Berjaya Times Square.”

See says an increase in footfall and vibrancy in the area will hinge on the overall town planning of downtown Kuala Lumpur.

In addition, the one-way traffic system and the lack of parking bays are not good for tourism, he says.

“My suggestion would be to close up the entire area, like Jonker Street in Melaka, so that only bicycles or pedestrians are allowed in. This would turn the area into a heritage and tourism spot.”

Access to the area is fairly easy via public transport. It is an 11-minute walk from the Pasar Seni LRT/MRT station, and a four-minute walk from the Masjid Jamek LRT station.

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