Msians are solving KL’s problems in a Shark Tank-style competition

As much as we love KL with its job opportunities, shopping malls and variety of dining options, it is not without its fair share of problems. Take the city’s traffic congestion problems, for instance. KL is so dense that there’s no way you can drive for more than five minutes without getting stuck in traffic, unless it’s in the middle of the night.

And here’s the weird thing – KL also has a ‘hollowing out’ problem, as in it’s becoming ’emptier’. But how can a city that has so many people be empty?

Well, we sat down with the perfect person to talk about it: Ms. Suryani Senja Alias. She is on the Board of Directors of Think City, an organization that seeks to make Malaysia a more liveable place, among other things, and they’re the ones who coined the term ‘hollowing out’ in the first place.

Basically, what ‘hollowing out’ means is that…

Downtown KL is losing people and losing its cultural identity

According to Ms. Suryani, the (roughly) 1km radius of the Masjid Jamek area is being progressively taken over by businesses and office buildings, and people only commute in from the suburbs or from other states, like Selangor or Negeri Sembilan, to work. Once 9 to 5 is done, they go home, and that’s it. Sure, sure, there are some shops, restaurants and bars open at night, these areas will largely be unoccupied.

But is that really a problem? Apparently, it is.

KL is losing its vibrancy. We’re losing heritage (buildings), we’re losing our identity, we’re losing the things that tighten our social fabric.” – Ms. Suryani Senja Alias to CILISOS in an interview

This phenomenon, explains Ms. Suryani, causes affected areas in KL to suffer from a loss of traditional enterprises, poor conservation of heritage, and negative perceptions of safety. It’s not great for KL’s cultural identity, and it’s not great for tourism.

Think City’s been aware of this for a while, and they’ve been remedying the issue through projects like Kwai Chai Hong in Petaling Street which seem to have garnered positive reviews on Google.

And they’re not done yet…

Think City is encouraging locals to solve KL’s issues through their Urban Challenge

As part of the Kuala Lumpur Creative and Cultural District rejuvenation efforts, the Creative KL Urban Challenge – organized by Think City and DBKL – is a competition where Malaysians pitch their ideas on how to fix some of KL’s problems, Shark Tank-style, complete with judges. The challenge began with 76 entries through an open call, and right now, we’ve got the final 8 participating teams.

One of these entries, Himpun EcoCultural Hub by Moore Authentics, directly addresses the erosion of KL’s cultural identity. It’s a hub (duh) where people can sell their crafts, and food, and it also acts as a venue for cultural performances. There will be dedicated spaces for NGOs as well where they can come in and collaborate on whatever issues at hand.

Another participant, Natalie Loi Yoke Kei, has brained something that aims to encourage people to walk instead of drive – an AI powered system named Mossy that uses moss as a natural air purifier which lowers the temperature in its immediate vicinity at the same time.

Positively brilliant, considering how sweaty people tend to get after walking in the Malaysian sun. Having more green in a city that’s becoming increasingly gray doesn’t hurt, either.

And like we said earlier, there are 8 remaining teams in the Challenge, and there are 6 other cool ideas we couldn’t fit in here, but do check them out here, and vote for the idea you like the most! Your votes will partially determine the top three finalists who will walk away with RM200,000 each to turn their ideas into reality, with the remaining five receiving RM50,000 in consolation funding.

The voting period will run until 20 September 2023, so yeah, share it with your friends and family, cuz who knows, y’all might be part of a project that’ll change KL for the better.