Legendary Malaysian art house continues on

Chong Keat Aun engages in performance art. [Photo by Douglas Ho/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Some of the exhibits were even rescued from the garbage in the old neighborhood," Chong said. In July 2003, when passing through Jalan Panggong, a street near Jalan Petaling, he discovered a 40-year-old vinyl record with portraits of four renowned Malaysian Chinese singers on its water-soaked cover. He gave a call to one of the four artists, the well-known soprano Angela Chock and told her the news.

Chong successfully repaired the old damaged record. The beautiful voices that had been lost for 40 years was eventually back on the air. Angela Chock was also back. She came to Jalan Petaling and held a concert at the art space.

Some were curious about why Chong likes to pick up "garbage" in Jalan Petaling. "I think some people misunderstood me. I was not deliberately going there to pick them up. For heaven's sake we encountered each other. And they are not garbage; they are just discarded," Chong wrote on his Facebook page. In Jalan Petaling, he also encountered two issues of Nanyang Radio Weekly, which included radio program schedules from 1961, and several other memorable cultural items awaiting rescue.

Jalan Petaling is also a historical site bearing witness to the city's construction and prosperity. In November 2013, an exhibition themed "A Century Old Too's Family Photo Album" was held in Petaling Street Art House to display family photos from 90-year-old Dr. Too Chee Cheong.

Dr. Too's grandfather Too Nam used to be a supporter and teacher of Sun Yat-sen, first president and founding father of the Republic of China. Sun once visited Jalan Petaling and gave lectures about revolution at the Mandras Theater.