Previously, Malaysians were upset over the lack of maintenance for historical buildings in Kuala Lumpur, claiming that the government prioritises constructing new landmarks rather than preserving the existing ones. Prior to this, many have also complained to the Department of National Heritage as well as the Federal Department of Town and Country Planning for poor urban planning.
The issue of poor urban planning in KL has been brought up many times before and it’s brought up once again in a viral TikTok post that was posted over the weekend. Content creator Mikhail Hanafi uploaded a video on his channel to discuss the change in landscape in Jalan Jelatek while showcasing what it used to look like about a decade ago.
As seen in the screenshots above, the TikToker lamented over the fact that the road’s once beautiful green scenery had been replaced with a flyover. “This is so sad. The people who designed our cities don’t understand what is important in a city. It’s supposed to be more than just a network of roads, it’s meant to be lived in,” he said.
Mikhail also pointed out that there is no point in building a city if the experience of living in it would just bring misery to the people as it’s not convenient to go anywhere. “Who is the city built for? Is it a city for cars? Or is it a city for people?” he questioned while displaying photos of the complicated flyover interchange roads which the internet personality described as “spaghetti interchange”.
Speaking of poor city planning, Mikhail reposted another video that went viral to support his claims. In a TikTok post originally shared by user @/idlaaann, a group of male students were seen carefully crossing dangerous highways to get to the nearest mosque to perform Friday prayers. The young men were treading and sprinting underneath a flyover before using their hands to signal incoming vehicles to let them cross.
While the incident may be humorous, many recognised the ongoing issue of cities no longer being walkable for pedestrians. As seen in the comments on both videos, netizens complained about the city becoming more car-centric and no longer convenient for people to go to certain (nearby) destinations on foot rather than vehicles. There was once a foreigner who praised KL for being pedestrian-friendly but sadly that’s not the case for every area. What do you think?
Watch the viral videos below:
@mikhailhanafi when the city planning makes the actual quality of life worse…. we need to fire the city planners…… #tiktokmalaysia #queertok #shouldbeme
@idlaaann salam jumaat tunaikan tanggungjawab anda ye kaum adam sekalian
