Why are our iconic buildings being demolished? Why are they not being taken care of? Why must we say goodbye to our once pride and joy? So many questions, yet so little (and mostly disappointing) answers. Earlier this month, we shared how people are saying goodbye to Plaza OUG that’s being demolished to make room for a new building.
Unfortunately, we may have to say goodbye to another two iconic buildings soon; the Shah Alam Stadium and Malawati Stadium. What? Why? As sad as it may be, the two buildings have past their prime and could be replaced with newer (and smaller) buildings later. Let’s find out more:
Keputusan pembangunan semula Stadium Shah Alam bakal diumumkan dalam masa terdekat. Pembangunan keseluruhan Kompleks Sukan Stadium Shah Alam termasuk Stadium Melawati itu akan dilaksanakan berdasarkan hasil penilaian jawatankuasa khas.https://t.co/iWcCgbAhxo pic.twitter.com/WAT6uxxKAJ
— Amirudin Shari (@AmirudinShari) June 29, 2022
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari tweeted recently sharing plans of rebuilding the two multi-purpose stadiums. In the video link he shared, the dates for the plans have not been confirmed but the politician revealed that they’ve been discussing the matter for 7 months before reaching a decision.
“The rebuilding of the Shah Alam Stadium will be announced soon. The committee have analysed and considered all options from maintenances, to reconstructions, to upgrades and other things. We’ve come to a decision that required us to see the stadium areas as a whole in order to be able to rebuild them,” he said during the “Jelajah Selangor Penyayang” launch event.
However, Amirudin also said the plans for rebuilding the two stadiums is not fully funded by the government and that it’s a private-public partnership. Netizens responded to the news with many not agreeing with the demolition or rebuilding of the iconic stadiums. But there are also those who agreed that new smaller buildings are easier to maintain.
Shah Alam Stadium has suffered from structural defects over the years and is now considered unsafe to host anything there. The Sultan of Selangor, Sharafuddin Idris Shah once gave his comments about the stadium’s possible demolition last year where he said, “I have no objections to the stadium being demolished for it to be better but the name must be maintained”.
Sports fans will always remember Shah Alam Stadium being the venue for many memorable football matches for several decades while Malawati Stadium has been the venue for many exciting concerts by international artists including K-pop girl group BLACKPINK during their “In Your Area World Tour”.
