The Resurrection of KOMTAR

KOMTAR (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak), once the tallest building in Asia, has now amidst her "take 2".

A building once caught my very intuitive attention, like a giant Buddha statue, inspiring, providing timeless grasp of identity for Penang people, has now reincarnated after a 10 million ringgit rejuvenation by the Penang state government.

After all, I have no faith in any 'take 2'. The notion of reinventing the glorious past in present state is an exercise of self-contradictory and complacentment. Architecture must include the concept of the spirit of time, although the geographical and the physical dimension of KOMTAR are still remained, very much in the heart of its local dwellers. One of my two favourite high rise in Penang, the other is the MBF HQ Tower by the mighty Ken Yeang, KOMTAR has a place in my accumulative memory of architecture since the old days. The picture of KOMTAR in memory is a dim yet crowded mall, plus a cloud-scraping modern stacko with its distinctive satellite dishes on the top floors. KOMTAR is very much a landmark of Georgetown or even of the greater Penang State. Even the rapid growing skyscraper condos, churning out in recent years, may not have that solemn and gratitude KOMTAR has since accomplished and deserves. Not even any of KL's can match. Its geodesic dome, spanning the space for exhibition and sports reminds us of the great Buckminster Fuller. The concrete tower , the plaza, the 4-storey podium and the dome, combined to be one of the great Modern Architecture newborn in Asia then in the 80's. Not just a pinnacle of Modern Architecture in Malaysia, it is like the 'triumphal arch' of Penangites' long hard fight toward better life. It witness the golden economical prosperity of Penang during her heyday until Penang faced relentless discrimination from the central government, part of the gradual planned policy to exclude Penang from the mainstream nation's development. Penang's Free-port status were raid, the entrepot trade declined. Late 90's, early 21th century, see the once economical hub of Georgetown stumbled into a 'haunted' giant mansion, heartbreaking, an eyeshore, a mirror of Penang's economical state of that time, helped by its communicative architecture.

The 10 million bid now includes renovation of the main shopping podium and the construction of a public space (leisure walk) flanked by street side cafes under high steel roof. The plan also include a new shopping mall 1st Avenue on the parking lot next to KOMTAR. Sincerely, I am disappointed by the plan, it is too modest, uninteresting and it is NOT DISTINCTIVE. This is because every new born comes with a BANG, not a lame repetition of something which had been done before or in any other place. Besides, we can't see the Penang spirit. A 'lifestyle leisure walk' means we are nurturing the lazy culture of the west, simply a direct contradict of the culture of Penangites. There can not be any lifestyle leisure concept in urban design in Penang or even in Malaysia. It is a fatal architecture moulding of self-complacency and self-consciousness. Western cafe lifestyle will always be a cannabis for the orthodox diligent of Penang Chinese. The widespread of these 'lifestyle' cafe concept for me, is just another capitalist colonization that has the effect of nullification of our long-erected culture. Someone who has the common senses of Penangites would know it is not the Penang way of progress.

That is why it is always worrying about what kind of new community that the new KOMTAR will bring. Another humiliating Bukit Bintang or Central Market? A new urban weekend gather place of illegal immigrants? A popular truant destination for the lads? We will hope Penang have the ability to withstand this disasterous culture persist in place like Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

The Pearl of the Orient...your future laid in the past...!