Pudu Prison: The Smell Of Death

Have you ever been to Pudu Prison before? Pudu Prison was once opened to the public, however, as attendance from Malaysians are low, they shut the prison down and did not retain the prison as a historical site to pave way for a brand new building. Modernization at it’s best

Pudu Prison was built between 1891-1895 when Malaysia was still under British colonial government. It took 320,000 to build it and they used convicts as the workforce. In 1981, it witnessed the execution of one of Malaysia’s most famous criminals, Botak Chin. Pudu Prison holds lots of history and its very own stories. Some goes untold and some were passed on through word of mouth from one generation to another.

It was opened for public viewing a few years back but due to the low attendance, they decided to shut it down and Malaysian authority announced that it will not be retained as a historical site and that they will tear it down to pave way for development. It received lots of negatives feedback as people think that it should be declared as a historical site even though it’s located at the heart of the city. Something cool and different. It should be given a breath of fresh air and a little renovation should help, but the government refused to do so. Modernizing Malaysia with skyscrapers is a better solution perhaps.

Last year, I had the chance to visit Pudu Prison. I should not say “visit” but it’s more to break in to the area with somebody’s help. It’s a bit creepy being there. The surrounding’s eerie, along with the dim light. The air is tense over there, seriously. You might feel suffocated due to the lack of oxygen and the dust is all over the place. The best part of being there is to witness the cell where a Malaysia filmmaker shot a movie. The movie’s titled Mantra (Spell). The white, front side of the cell is painted with red writings (spell). It’s pretty cool as we did not only see it in the movie but also in front of our very own eyes. :) I still strongly believe that Pudu Prison should be preserved as a historical site but what can I do? They already tore it down and we’ll see another building replacing this site. The building may not be there anymore but it will always live in our hearts. :)

written by analogmonolog on 2012-06-13 #places #history #prison #malaysia #location #old-building #legend #urban-adventures #analogmonolog