The Malaysian Insight

A YEAR ago, a fire broke out, killing 21 pupils along with two wardens at Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, a religious school in Kampung Datuk Keramat. It was not an accident, but an act of revenge. It was the result of a community that got left behind in the race to development and a proper social ecosystem.

Datuk Keramat is less than 4km from Malaysia’s proudest landmark, the KLCC Twin Towers, which is surrounded by high-class society living in luxury along Jalan Ampang. Datuk Keramat, meanwhile, remains a residential area populated by the working class, most migrants who arrived in the city centre to settle down, dreaming of better life. Most though, are stuck in the working-class stratum.

To survive, many of them resort to odd jobs, becoming small traders and enduring hard labour to make ends meet, yet they are the same people who keep the capital city up and running. – September 14, 2018.