PROJECT 3 Representing Place - Publication

“Themostcolourfulfruit-sellerI’veeverseen!Thegreenand
purplehuesofhiskaftanshirtmatchedhisgrapessowell.”

Art director: Sia Hong Jie
Project Manager: Wong Carol
Editor: Philia Chua Yi Sian, Ang Wei Yi
Graphic Designer: Tang Ju Yi, Chan Yi Qin
Photographer: Chia Sue Hwa, Brian Hong Sang Won
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or
any infoarmation storage and retrieval
system, without prior permission in
writing from the publisher.
Printed in Malaysia

A Day in Petaling Street
This is a journal of a traveler.
A traveler who seeks to understand
Petaling Street through the minds of the people.
A daytrip to experience, observe, examine, and
investigate. A collection of honest
facts with a personal touch.
3

Preparation
Standard of Living
Public safety culture
Community health standard
Epilogue
Content

Preparation
“Half a metre wide, this narrow strip of ‘wet kitchen’ is
illuminated by bright sunlight penetrating through the
holes in the plastic tarp above...emanating dark poetics.”
7

籌
备
Before embarking on my
journey, I have chosen a specific site
to conduct my personal study. This
allows me to produce more conducive
and focused results!
Preparation

9
The chosen site, Petaling Street
with its rich history shaping
the geographical, demographi-
cal and
architectural aspect of the
place, allows its culture to
conform to its
advancements gradually.
“Glimpses on board the LRT.”

籌
备
Based on my previous experience as a
researcher, I have come up with a few
methods to conduct this simple survey.
“Two curious but interested 15-year-old girls that frequently
visit Petaling Street as they attend a school nearby.”
“A friendly couple from Argentina.”
“The famous Mochi-Aunty of Petaling Street hard at work.”

11
The information we need originates from a wide
range of sources, thus there should be a variety
of techniques used when gathering data from the
community of Petaling Street.
Conducted by direct approach (interviewee
and interviewer) with questions that are
focused and clear which encourage
open-ended responses.
Careful investigation allows data to be
collected qualitatively and quantitatively,
allowing the study of a wide range of a
situations, besides providing additional info.
Short questions with answers presented as
multiple-choice and numeric bar to gather
concise data and to ease analysis afterwards.
Direct observation
Questionnaires
Interviews
Methodology

A simple brainstorm on what
parameters are to be included in
my survey.
Social Economic
Education
Ethnic and language
Employment Rate
Standard of Living
Community Health standard
Public Satefy Culture
“A typical roadside stall selling snacks and cold beverages.”

13
Utilizes cultural knowledge and experience of members of
every level in a community.
Influences a cultural construct that could operate a
mediator of change.
Defines the recognition of safety culture attained from the
people in Petaling Street in terms of the beliefs and practices
that they apply.
Shows references or
experiences from individuals
with different backgrounds to
increase the perceived
relevance of information in
health communication and
health education interventions
in Petaling Street.
Significance of
study
“A quick snap of one of the many aunties of Petaling Street.”

1. Explore the coexistence of different forms of
community
The number of homeless people or beggars roaming
around the street should be observed.
Remain alert to identify hawker stall operators and
pirated goods sellers when entering the street.
Keep eyes open on the number of passing tourists
and record it down.
2.The level of authenticity (food, products, and
cultures) is slowly vanishing from the original.
Identify stalls that employ foreign workers to work.
Identify vendors selling local food that owned by
foreign workers.
Shopping for fake branded items and calculate the
number of countries involved in the global produc-
tion trail of the product.
籌
备
Personal checklist on points to
look-out for:
Standard of Living

15
How does the increasing number
of foreign workers and foreign
tourist in Petaling Street affect
the living
standard of the local
community?
3. Maintenance and up keeping of features and
facilities (Petaling Street was just a night market
before the state government converted it into an
iconic pedestrian street market by installing the
green dragon roof)
Maintenance works executed for the newly built
green dragon roof.

籌
备
1. Road Culture
Double-parked vehicles observed along the street.
Evaluate high-visibility of overhead crosswalk and
pedestrian crosswalk users across the flow of
vehicular traffic.
2. Unlicensed Hawkers
Identify the number of licensed stalls.
Get quality feedback from patrons over the
licensed and unlicensed stalls.
3. Public Transportation
Listen to opinions from patrons regarding
overly-charged taxi charges.
Justify taxis as an unsafe mode of transport from
their feedback.
4. Street Culture (additional survey, will include if
information is obtainable from local authorities)
Record the number of cases involving pickpocket-
ing or theft from stalls from patrons and stall
owners at Petaling Street.
Public Safety Culture

17
How does the negative behaviour of unlicensed
hawkers and sellers, low income foreigners, taxi
drivers in Petaling Street affect the level of
public safety of the local community?

籌
备
What are some
environmental factors
that constantly exist in
Petaling Street that would
treaten the health
standards of the
community?
“These exhaust ducts look exactly like tall mushroom manifestations
growing on the side of a shophouse!”

19
Community Health Standards
1. Lack of Greenery
Speak to the visitors if they have any comments,
suggestions and complaints regarding poor air quality.
Observe and experience the green spaces along the
street.
2. High Noise Level
Get opinions from different types of community (e.g.
foreign tourists, stall owners, and patrons) regarding
high noise level.
3. Low Street Hygiene
Speak to the visitors if they have any comments,
suggestions and complaints regarding hygiene level.
Quantity of rubbish and recycling bins observed based
on a maximum of walking distance point along the
sidewalks.
Investigate the number and routine of cleaners.
Notice the amount and type of litter(e.g. plastic bottles,
can, packets etc.) in the area and take pictures of
them.

活
生
平
水
“This uncle sits in front of his antique shop after lunchtime,
smoking a cigarette.”

People from all walks of life are
gathered in this street, visitors queueing
patiently with hopes to satisfy their
cravings. Its community consists mainly
of hawker stall operators, local visitors
(such as myself), tourists, taxi drivers,
and the homeless.
I pulled out the checklist I made earlier in
the day and started jotting down relevant
data and information.
it was lunch time......
As I tread along the roads of Petaling street,
its bustling ambience engulfs me wholly,
awakening my senses. The sight of its
historical setting, the sound of street vendors hollering,
the smell of local delicacies entwined in the breeze.
It is then I remembered,
19.10.16
生
活
水
平

The standard of living in Petaling Street
is studied by the type of communities
present, the authenticity of the original
community, and the maintenance of
facilities. After calculating the ratio
between the number of hawker stalls
that are operated by locals against
the ones operated by foreigners, the
results are truly shocking!
23
“Ordinary hustle and bustle on Petaling Street.”

More than 70% of stalls at
Petaling Street are being
BANGLASDESH INDONESIA VIETNAM MYANMAR PAKISTAN
Rate the quantity of stalls being managed
by foreign workers along Petaling Street.
B Y S T A L L S
76%
24%
B Y R E S T A U R A N T S
100%
LOCALS
MANAGED BY FOREIGNERS.
F O R E I G N E R S
76%
L O C A L S
24%
S U R V E Y S T A T E M E N T
生
活
水
平

Sadly, the high intake of foreign workers as sellers and
cooks has indirectly diminished the authenticity of the
original community in terms of local food, products, and
most importantly, its culture. Most of the traders are
senior citizens who need help when transporting goods
and lifting heavy objects.
This probably became the main reason for them to hire
foreign helpers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar etc.
with valid working permit to assist them during the setting
up and closing of their stalls.
Other than that, the youth of today rarely possess the drive
to continue in their parents’vendor business, thus discontinuing
its long line of tradition and culture.
19.10.16
Foreign Worker
25

My heart
sank a little
as a foreign worker placed
my plate of noodles in front
of me, but I breathed a sigh
of relief as I peeked into the
kitchen to see a bearded
old Chinese chef braving
the sizzles of the hot stove.
1961
I stopped by a local stall which sells the all-famous
wantan mee, a well known and established business
within Petaling Street that I knew I had to show
support to. Its peeling paint and faded signages
and newpaper clippings hanging on its walls tells
the story of its humble origins, its struggle of the
present, and the uncertainty of its future.
生
活
水
平
“Apam balik! Made in 2 minutes flat by this
authentic-looking uncle here.”

One of the things I am interested to find out
regarding the standard of living in Petaling Street
is how they feel about the amount of homeless
people that are scattered around the area.
I left the stall, in search of approachable
individuals to aid me in my survey. I aimed
for people from different levels and background
of the community so as to get a wider
perspective when tallying the data afterwards.
As I reached into my bag to locate my purse,
the corner of my pink hard-cover file reminded
me that I had a simple set of questionnaires
waiting to be given out. A sudden sense of
excitement ran through me, suppressing my
usual “food coma”. I was dreading to find
out what Petaling Street is like from the
perspective of the people.
27

1/3 think the
along Petaling Street is high.
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
B Y N A T I O N A L I T Y
Rate the quantity of homeless
people/ beggars observed along
Petaling Street.
h i g h
33%
a v e r a g e
67%
number of beggars
生
活
水
平

Homeless people
19.10.16
Personally, I feel that the presence of the homeless
community in Petaling Street impacts the site greatly.
They influence the image of the place as a whole,
subconsciously but evidently lowering its standard
of living.
As I continued my journey along the street, I felt
uncomfortable as a beggar pushed a crummy paper
cup towards me with an outstretched arm, the coins
inside the cup jingling and demanding attention as he
trembled in starvation. I declined his plea with a slight
shake of my head and immediately directed my gaze
to the ground as I walked past him hurriedly. My
mother always told me I lacked the skills to decline
with confidence.
29

31
“The homeless in KL are far from invisible. This man sleeps on the marble slabs on
the stairs of this office tower to keep himself cool on a hot day like this.”

Half are not satisfied with the
along Petaling Street.
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
3. How would you rate the condition and
maintenance level of the public facilities along
Petaling Street?
maintenance level of public facilities
a v e r a g e
50%
l o w
50%
生
活
水
平

It seems the public agrees
with my personal opinion
that the government should
put more effort in maintaining
this cultural jewel. However,
a part of me also feels that,
it is this aging skin of the place
that gives it a
historical,
authentic air......
19.10.16
33
“Traffic at a junction.”

35
“A collage of the sights, scenes and sounds in Petaling Street, framed
through five-foot walkway arches. Blended and mixed, albeit not
smooth. Just like the street itself.”

Upon approaching the crossroad of
Petaling Street, a small-sized, elderly lady
caught my attention immediately.
She was another humble vendor, with a stall
that was visibly smaller than the rest, yet just
right for her size. Small groups of people
were seen lining up at her stall. With squinting
eyes shielded only by the shade of her cap, she
stood by her stand faithfully, as if protecting
and upholding the identity and tradition of
her business that she has spent so long
strengthening.
Upon realizing I checked all the boxes in my checklist
regarding the standard of living in Petaling Street,
I figured it was time to dive into the topic of how
safe the people actually feel as they walk among
these streets.
19.10.16
公
共
安
全

I went closer to her stall and found out
that she was selling the-one-and-only,
must-try mochi of Petaling Street!
What intrigues me even more were the
faded newspaper clippings about her
stall taped at the side of the glass,
with headers
(translated from Chinese to English) saying:
Knowing that she has spent more
than five decades of her life here in
Petaling Street, I knew I had to
interview her.
“Woman Sells Mochi
for over 50 Years,
Says that She Doesn’t
Plan on Retiring
Just Yet.”
39

“Honey, as you can see, I’m a busy woman,
but I can spare you one question I suppose,
what would you like to know?”
“Ha! Well honey, Petaling Street is definitely safe!
That is because behind these main roads, lie dark
alleys where tough men of different gangs and
parties gather. And trust me when I say nobody
would dare to steal anything from any stall here,
unless they are ready to receive a good beating!”
“Hey aunty, are you free to accept a short
interview? Just a few quick questions on how
you feel about Petaling Street.”
(Conversation translated from Chinese to English)
“Over the years, do you think
Petaling Street is a safe place to be?
Have you heard of any crime or fights
happening around the area?”
19.10.16
wednesday
1:00p.m.
公
共
安
全

Half believe
less than 20% disagree.
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
PETALING STREET IS SAFE
How would you rate the safety of Petaling Street?
s a f e
50%
a v e r a g e 33%
u n s a f e
17%
公
共
安
全

In general, I believe that the public safety of
Petaling Street is harmed by its street and
road culture, abundance of unlicensed hawkers
and product sellers, and poor public
transportation culture. Double parking has
definitely become part of the Malaysian culture.
It interferes with the flow of traffic and may
cause accidents. It is observed that most taxi
drivers prefer waiting in their cars to pick
passengers up at the roadside. However,
traffic congestion is not primarily a problem
in Petaling Street, as no vehicles are causing
an obstruction to the road.
19.10.16
43

Half agree the
is overwhelming in Petaling Street.
Rate the amount of vehicles being
double/triple parked along Petaling Street.
h i g h
50%
a v e r a g e 17%
l o w
33%
double parking culture
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
公
共
安
全

Double Parking Culture
19.10.16
Another notable bad road culture that Malaysians
possess (and is clearly seen here in Petaling Street)
is the act of crossing the road illegally without using
proper mediums such as zebra crossings or overhead
bridges. After skimming through this portion of the
questionnaire, I was surprised to find that almost all
the people in Petaling Street seldom or has never
used the pedestrian crossing to cross the roads
of this area.
45

50% have never used the
at Petaling Street.
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
pedestrian crossing
s e l d o m
50%
n e v e r
50%
How often do you use the
pedestrian crossing?
公
共
安
全

To further understand how public transportation
contributes to the overall public road safety of
Petaling Street, I decided to conduct a simple
social experiment.
RM60!
To set a baseline before I started my experiment,
I went online to the currently trending transportation
application known as “Uber” to survey the fares
charged by “Uber” drivers for the same journey.
The result was a fair price of around
It was a fine afternoon with volumes of clouds
dotting the blue sky, and with good weather,
comes good business, especially for the taxi
drivers seen lining the roadsides of Petaling
Street. My aim was to find out if taxi fares
are overpriced, and if they would tend to
set higher fares for foreign tourists compared
to locals. I decided to act as a tourist from
China and inquire the taxi fare charges
from Petaling Street to KLIA.
47

Foreigner
Local
19.10.16
My Chinese accent was a bit rusty at the time but
I guess it will do. I approached the first taxi driver
with a red vehicle and inquired the price, then,
I walked further down the street to inquire the
price of a blue taxi (which tends to be larger
in size and more expensive than the red ones).
The margin of difference of quoted taxi fare
compared to the “Uber” drivers were
alarmingly huge:

49
“A tourist discusses the recent hike in cab fares
amiably with a driver.”

The over 40’s are the only group
thinking
are affordable in Petaling Street.
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
RM1,000
TO KLIA
Would you regard the public transport along
Petaling Street as overpriced?
public transport services
d i s a g r e e
67%
a g r e e
33%
公
共
安
全

Less than 20% think the
at Petaling Street is unsafe.
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
s a f e
50%
a v e r a g e 33%
u n s a f e
17%
How would you rate the
safety of the taxi service?
taxi service
51

Through this simple experiment, it can be concluded
that the public regards taxis as an unsafe mode of
transport due to its
My Teksi Apps
overly-charged fare
& poor attitude !!
of most taxi drivers. When interacting with
the taxi drivers personally, I too did not feel safe and
somehow could not trust them entirely. This is
probably because most taxi drivers here
(and generally in Malaysia) consist of middle to
old age men, who mostly smoke and dressed in
poorly-kept attire. All-in-all, I would say my
mini experiment was a success!
公
共
安
全

Policeman checking on the stalls
To my surprise, the police was actually requesting the foreign stall
owner to provide his license as legal proof. I guess the people here
should change their assumption towards the licensing of hawker
stalls here along Petaling Street, as results from the questionnaire
show that majority of the people feel that the stalls on site are
unlicensed and they also do not trust the cleanliness of the food
served here.
As I turned to walk back into the welcoming embrace of
familiar rows of heart-warming food stalls, a police whizzed
past me in his motorcycle, a peculiar sight as he pulled up
in front of a hawker stall and engaged with its foreign owner.
As I figured this would provide valuable data to my survey,
I inched my way to the stall, which by then has already
started to gather confused glances and murmurs from passersby.
53

Half agree there is a large
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
Do you think there is a high
number of unlicensed stalls
along Petaling Street?
d i s a g r e e
50%
a g r e e
50%
number of unlicensed stalls
公
共
安
全

Only 1 out of 3 think the
is safe to eat.
Do you recognize/trust the quality of
food from the stalls? (Even if they
are unlicensed)
l e v e l o f c o n f i d e n c e
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
food sold at petaling street
h i g h
33%
a v e r a g e 17%
l o w
50%
55

公
共
安
全
”Projected through facades - another freestyle collage.“

康
健
平
水
”There wasn’t a moment they weren’t holding hands.“

健
康
水
平
As the lunch crowds gradually disperses, I was expecting to
see a somber sight where trash and litter will be dotted along
the length of the street. However, that was not the case. The
street overall was free from litter, apart from a few loose
wrappers.
.

61
I stared down at the plastic cup in my hand
from a drink I bought earlier, struggling to
locate a rubbish bin. Throughout the whole
afternoon that I have been on site, sadly only
two rubbish bins were spotted. I let out a sigh
of frustration as I made my way to the location
of where I spotted them.

健
康
水
平
More than 80% agree that
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
How would you rate the level of
hygiene in Petaling Street?
l o w
50%
a v e r a g e 33%
v e r y l o w
17%
petaling street is clean.

Long established stall
It was then when I realized a cleaner walking past me. Wearing
a reflective vest, he set his broom down on an area of litter and
diligently does his job. I stood there for a moment, a sense of
realization swept over me as to how the contribution of these
silent heroes greatly impacts the health standards of a commu-
nity.
As observed, majority of the people feel that the streets are
generally quite clean. But with the scarcity of rubbish bins
provided, I wonder, how on Earth do they achieve such level of
cleanliness?
However, as I made my way to explore the back alleys of the
site, the hygiene conditions there were far worse than I expect-
ed. It was a stark contrast between the two settings. People
come up with countless excuses to litter at the back lanes
since there are no fines charged for littering. I assume only the
cleanliness of the main streets are properly maintained.
63

Only 1 out of 6 was unhappy with
in Petaling Street.
How would you rate the level of noise
in Petaling Street?
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
THE LEVEL OF NOISE
s a f e
50%
a v e r a g e 33%
u n s a f e
17%
健
康
水
平

As I exit the back lane, a loud booming honk was heard from a
lorry that was trying to drive into the main street which was
congested with people. In comparison to other pollutants, the
level of noise pollution is potentially hazardous here due to the
increase in the number of vehicles.
Shouting vendors and high speaker level inputs are also the
main contributors to noise pollution in Petaling Street.
65
”Not uncommon to see these portable
speakers around the stalls here,
doubling as the vendor’s powerful
partner in pitching sales.“

健
康
水
平
As I accidentally breathed
in the fumes of the lorry
that drove by, I let out an
unpleasing cough as I
gasped for fresh air. It was
then when I realized the
scarcity of greenery in the
area. There are several
possible reasons for not
seeing a single tree
growing here, but I do
believe that the main
reason for this is due to
the street being taken-up
entirely by shop-lots and
vendors, with no proper
planning and inclusion of
green pocket spaces.
Citizens voiced out their
complaints about the
serious lack of greenery
”This florist carefully snips of the end of a lily
stalk, half-hidden by rows of ready flowers.“

6 out of 6 agree there should be
<18 18-25
26-40 >40
B Y A G E
MALE
FEMALE
B Y G E N D E R
MALAY CHINESE
INDIAN OTHERS
B Y R a c e
MALAYSIAN
NON-MALAYSIAN
Do you think there should be more
greenery along Petaling Street?
D I S A G R E E
0%
A G R E E
100%
more greenery in Petaling Street.
67

69
”A collage inspired by the strong cultural ties that
bind Petaling Street to its long history.“

epilogue
“Next to a popular tau foo fa stall, an elderly man feeds his
hungry grandson some sweet, warm syrup.”
71

結
諭
This was a journal of a traveler.
A traveler who experienced, ob
Street through the minds of th
A journal that expresses its pr

bserved, examined, and investigated. Who understood Petaling
he people and thoughts of her own.
resent, yet submits to the uncertainty of its future.
73

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