The curse of Abdullah Hukum

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
May 25, 2016

SOME weeks ago, this column took notice of an oasis of knowledge at a premier university. That is to say how the university is trying to restore the balance of what is left of nature and the desire to modernise its surrounding.

Much of the balance starts in the mind within the framework of sustainable development. This is where the metaphor of an oasis of knowledge emerges as a fountainhead feeding into the surrounding areas to be nourished at the same time; in terms of knowledge and also its translation into sustainable programmes and projects without upsetting the delicate balance.

The lake at the University of Malaya (UM) is the iconic symbol for this, almost like the heart of it all, pumping the perpetual message of harmony with nature.

But this was literally washed away last week when the vicinity and entrance to the university was clogged by a flash flood like never before. Ironically, the lake was faulted instead as being "muddy" and unable to cope with the rainfall thus "largely responsible for the flood" as alluded to by a minister.

That the area is situated within a "lembah" contour seems immaterial to many despite the massive construction on the more elevated areas with almost no regard to the balance between that of the hills and the valleys they encircle. Hence, even with a normal downpour the consequences can be devastating.

How much worse it can be was displayed last week, to be read in tandem with the massive development (as far as Jalan Duta according to the minister) which is fast reshaping areas creating the worst effect given the surrounding building sites.

The area used to be called Kampung Kerinchi and Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum not so long ago with not much flooding to worry about. But now they are reduced to mere dots on the city's LRT map as much of the village vanished by 2007 thanks to a major development comprising condominiums, office blocks, shopping complex and even a transit hub to be squeezed in a small area as we see it today. All these are reminiscent of what Kampung Baru in the heart of Kuala Lumpur is inundated with.

It is not just the loss of these kampungs that is troubling but more so the loss of the balanced mindset held by a set of ethical-cultural values that the nearby university is trying hard to inculcate as it nurtures the generation of the future. Including how to respect nature and re-frame what development is all about when today's culprits are long gone leaving behind legacies of problems, some of which will remain intractable.

By then no one will remember, or care about the wisdom of Haji Abdullah Hukum, and the settlement he created as one of Kuala Lumpur's early Malay settlements, with a 200-year-old history. Or how it later became an urban kampung opening its doors to be a multiracial village that is rarely seen today.

It is apparent enough that this is not important any more because upon the ashes of the first urban kampung, yet another development project comprising prime commercial offices, high-end retail outlets, serviced residences and luxury residential towers is being unashamedly supplanted.

In this sense, the flash flood is a wake-up call not just from the tangible (physical-economic) aspects, but more so the imbalance vis-à-vis the intangible (cultural-ethical) aspects that allows the floodgate to environmental disasters to be opened as though this is indeed the curse of Haji Abdullah Hukum in response to the insensitive and brazen ways we desecrate our natural milieu.