Old Market Square as a Container of Diasporic Meaning in Chinese Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

Urban growth in the twentieth century engulfed many cultural enclaves and led to threatened histories, communities and cultural practices of places. One such spatial context within the urban space of cities is the diasporic space of the Chinese, often named Chinatown. Petaling Street has been commonly perceived as the microcosm of the Chinese diaspora in Kuala Lumpur with Yap Ah Loy the figure who catalyzed its urban growth that resulted in the fabrication of a sense of belonging and a sense of home for the Chinese diaspora. This paper argues that while discourses on the Chinese diaspora have been centred on the street as a diasporic space it is Market Square (Medan Pasar), the foci of Chinese diasporic development during the historical period of Yap Ah Loy, that offers a more critical perspective. It first examines how the Chinese diaspora constructed the street and the square in Old Kuala Lumpur, and looks at the question, ‘In what sense do they still own them?’ By focusing the discourse on the context of the square in more detail, through historical narrative and spatial analysis, it then highlights the fact that the discourse extends beyond the street. It contends that urban patterns such as the square act as a critical text for unfolding the varying issues of diasporic space within enclaves that are not only contested but record the erosion of culture.