Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown Preserved as Tourist Attraction: Mahathir

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, August 31, 2003

Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown Preserved as Tourist Attraction: Mahathir

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday that the character of Petaling Street here, better known as main part of Chinatown, should be preserved as a major tourist attraction.

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday that the character of Petaling Street here, better known as main part of Chinatown, should be preserved as a major tourist attraction.

"(Culture, Arts and) Tourism Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir has promised me that he will promote Petaling Streetto the whole world," he said when launching the "Patriotic Malaysians Mammoth Gathering" at Petaling Street here.

The gathering was organized by the Malaysian Garment Wholesalers Association, Kuala Lumpur Hawkers Association and the Federation of Nan Ann Associations of Malaysia. Some 20,000 people turned up for the event.

Mahathir said Petaling Street was much better now compared to the situation 11 years ago when he visited the place to launch the Petaling Street Carnival.

"Previously, the shops and stalls were not very attractive because of lack of funds, but we have made them more orderly now,"he said.

Suggestions had been made to further spruce up Petaling Street to make the area cleaner and more beautiful to attract more tourists and visitors, he said.

Speaking to reporters later, Mahathir said the government was always prepared to help traders and hawkers if they supported efforts like the Petaling Street beautification program.

The two-phase beautification program costing 11.5 million ringgit (3.02 million US dollars) includes the building of a pedestrian mall, new-look stalls and a roof along Petaling Street.

Phase one started in March this year and was completed in June, while phase two is currently in progress.

Asked if he was satisfied with the level of cleanliness in the area, Mahathir said there was still room for improvement.

Petaling Street is one of the oldest street in the capital, where predecessors of the Malaysian Chinese first lived and did business more than a century ago.

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