CHERAS: Decades later, it's still a temporary abode

By Ramlan Said

TEMPORARY, according to the dictionary, means not permanent.

But for residents of the low-cost units and long houses of Taman Ikan Emas in Cheras, this definition may not apply.

The dwellings, constructed in the 1970s for low-income earners, were only intended as temporary homes but more than 30 years later, many are still calling it their abodes.

The scheme's name when literally translated means "goldfish garden" and has certainly outlived its namesake.

The City Hall committee, which proposed that the neighbourhood, located at the 31/2 Mile of Jalan Cheras, be known as such, most probably did so as the name sounded nice and not because of the fact that Carassius auratus, the scientific name of goldfish, has a life span of only 20 years.

It is even shorter -- between six and eight years -- for those kept in the aquarium.

Describing the units as long houses is not an overstatement. Though they do not resemble the long houses in Sarawak, its boxed-like shape has been described as uninspiring and lacking in imagination.

The fact that its construction was given the nod is even more mind-boggling.

Safety did not seem like a priority for the architects as two units face each other and have no back door. The front door is the only access to the unit.

A long-time resident joked: "If you are a wanted person and at home when your pursuer knocks on the door, just surrender as there is no other way out from the unit.

"Once, a repossessor wanted to reclaim a car from a defaulter who asked him to wait at the door as he fetched the keys. Wary that the man might abscond, he followed him inside only to discover that his worries were unfounded."

He said there was a demand for housing in the city in the 1970s which led to desperate measures being taken, including the building of the Taman Ikan Emas units.

The Cheras flats is among the largest public housing schemes in the city. Apart from Taman Ikan Emas and Flat Sri Sabah, the older ones are Flat Sri Pulau Pinang, Flat Sri Melaka and Flat Sri Johor.

The total number of these flats' units run into the thousands.

Parking bays are a premium as almost every resident owns a vehicle, now a necessity instead of a symbol of luxury.

At some of the flats, cars are double-parked but with the handbrake disengaged, an accepted arrangement for those living in flats. This allows one to remove the vehicle with ease.

Previously, the only access route to this area was via Jalan Cheras. Now, it is connected to Bandar Seri Permaisuri and Bandar Tun Razak. There is also a LRT station (the Ampang Line) near Flat Sri Johor.

The Sri Johor blocks were built on a reclaimed tin mine land. Work to fill up the huge pool took a while.

This was when trapped fish, in abundance and of various sizes and types, were scooped up and netted by eager children, residents and passers-by in a fiesta-like atmosphere.

The Sri Sabah units, the newest and tallest among the flats, once housed a primary school, with the lower ground floor of one of the blocks turned into classrooms.

The idea to establish SK Rumah Pangsa in 1987 was unique and revolutionary, hence it made headlines in the media.

For its pupils, especially those staying on the upper floors of the block, going to school was a breeze as they just had to take the lift down from their units.

However, the school shifted to its own building nearby in 2000 and was renamed SK Km5 Jalan Cheras.

There is also a Chinese primary school in the area which is popular among the residents. SRJK (C) Naan Kheung is separated from the flats by Sungai Kerayong and Jalan Loke Yew which overlooks the neighbourhood.

There are two wet markets in the area -- one in Taman Ikan Emas which is smaller than the Cheras market complex near the Sri Melaka flats.

The two-row hawker centre near the Sri Pulau Pinang flats has certainly seen better days, with only a few stalls still in business now.

During its heyday in the '70s, the time when a plate of fried noodle or rice cost less than a ringgit, the place was the meeting point for residents. Its many stalls served delectables, with one makcik dishing out probably the best fried rice in the city.

Those days, many hawkers were master chefs who found happiness in satisfying their customers' craving for good food. Now, hawker food has turned into a money-making venture, with scant regard for quality and satisfaction.

The area's landscape has gradually changed over the years. From a community of flat dwellers, it is now also home to modern and spacious high-rise condominiums and apartments which towered above the four-storey walk-up flats.

Its proximity to the city has turned the area into a gold mine. It was announced in 2011 that the whole area would undergo a massive transformation costing RM2.8 billion.

Work for the project, to be carried out in stages over two years, was scheduled to commence in the second half of this year, but to date, nothing has been done.

Residents are keeping their fingers crossed that the temporary wait for their new units would not stretch into decades.