* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This week, we come to the last segment of Petaling Jaya’s Section 19. As we observed these past few weeks, Section 19 tracks along the Penchala River from the Sprint Highway until the river reaches Section 14. The river passes through housing estates, condominium towers, a shopping mall and shops. (For Google map reference, log on to http://maps.google.co.uk/ and search for “Kuala Lumpur”.)
This leaves us with a small long stretch of land that lies on both sides of Jalan 19/1, plus another section bordered by Jalan 19/1B and 20/1. The buildings here are predominantly industrial lots. In recent years, some of them have been converted into office blocks, and a commercial centre called 3 Two Square.
Jalan 19/1 is often congested, thanks to haphazard parking along its sides and the presence of food stalls. These stalls provide a cheap source of food for factory workers and more often than not, a brief respite from the workplace in the form of “teh tarik”. The traffic situation is compounded by the large number of lorries and trucks transporting containers making their way in and out of the industrial lots. The loading bays are limited and these lorries often have to wait along the main road for their turn.
Yes I do agree. In fact, the authorities had commented that prior to the development of 3 Two Square, there were not much congestion as the roads were quite narrow. After the development of 3 Two Square - and the widening of the road by the Developer, lorries/trailers started to park along that section - causing unnecessary congestion.
In the evaluation of landform, we must first look for the mountains (or high land) and rivers. According to Environology principles, earth energy originates from the top of mountains and flows downhill until it reaches a valley. This is typically where rivers can be found – they are the natural gathering points for rainwater.
Steep gradient
A steep gradient would generate fast and powerful energy flow. It is not recommended to construct any property that faces this energy head-on: it can overwhelm the occupants and cause harm. Properties should be constructed to face downhill where a river is normally found. According to the sage Guo Pu, earth energy is stopped and deflected when it encounters a medium of different rigidity, such as water. Therefore, the energy can be conserved within the embracing curve of a river and dispersed by the “elbow” or convex of the river.
In ancient China, most of the population centres were located to the north of the Yangtze River. Hence, it was natural for houses to face south – they received the most sunlight and faced the river. Ancient sages knew this but the general populace typically took it at face value, believing that houses facing south have the best “Feng Shui”! Throughout our series of articles, we emphasised this point and used only the mountains and rivers as reference points. We presented case study after case study to verify this hypothesis and the evidence has so far been compelling.
The same can also be seen in our current location of interest. This segment of Section 19 has been around for a long time and the Environological effects of the landform can be seen very clearly.
Both sides of the river
On both sides of the Penchala River, there are rows of industrial or factory buildings. Some face Jalan Semangat to the north-east and the others face Jalan 19/1 to the south-west. None, to our knowledge, faces the river. This is not surprising as the river does not look attractive at all and is more like a giant monsoon drain to which effluents can be channelled. Caring for the environment was not a big thing then.
Given the landform, the best directions would be to either face the river or follow its flow direction. For buildings along Jalan Semangat, that would be south-west and south-east, respectively; for those along Jalan 19/1, it’s north-east and south-east.
Perhaps, from the feng shui point of view. But facing the river/drain - there would be no frontage to the main roads, isnt it?
But most of the buildings here do not have that orientation and are likely to suffer dire consequences over the long term. Indeed, many of the buildings here appear to be feeling its effects. With the exception of the new Quill 9 building, they look rundown. The most telling is the closure of the Handi-Mart outlet at the junction of Jalan Semangat and 14/29. When it first opened, there was a lot of fanfare and interest. Do-it-yourself classes and demonstrations were held and it was the handyman’s dream come true. Quill 9 is a new building and enjoys a fresh infusion of energy. Care must be taken though, to ensure that its orientation is correct and that the building is re-energised every six or nine years.
Majority of the buildings, except Quill 9 are pretty old already. And most of them are actually industries, or industrial-related buildings.
The situation with the other buildings along Jalan Semangat is can be improved. That is the good thing about factories – they are standalone buildings and the entrances can be shifted to any side, with some renovation. However, we hasten to add that the specific location of the entrances and personnel must be chosen carefully with the help of a qualified Environology consultant. It has to suit the businessman and the industry.
Same effect
On the opposite side of the river, the factories are likely to suffer the same situation for the same reasons. They need to face the river or follow its flow. This could explain why some of these companies appear to be struggling to gain (or regain) market share in their respective industries. UMW Toyota recently constructed a new showroom here, and it will likely do well if the main entrance is configured to face Jalan Dato Abdul Aziz.
As it is, UMW Toyota is already doing very well, with over 150 cars servicing there everyday. Having an entrance at Jalan Dato Abdul Aziz - bearing in mind its 'shorter' frontage might actually affect the business as a foreseeable congestion would be a high likelihood.
Buildings on the other side of Jalan 19/1, such as the Summit Company, Wisma Academy and a futsal centre have it better. They face the river. At the end of this road, we come to 3 Two Square, a new office, commercial and retail development.
Agree that Summit Company, Wisma Academy and the futsal centre are doing well. However, dont dismiss the performances of the Perodua, British American Tobacco as well as Vitagen - too!
This was built on a plot of land previously occupied by Cold Storage. The name is derived from the land plot number and is a homophone for “business” in Cantonese (sang yee). Shoplots and offices here are oriented in four directions of which three have high visibility from the road, a sellable proposition for real estate agents.
Yet, according to Environology principles, only those facing Jalan 19/1 and Dato Abdul Aziz are likely to do well because they face the river or parallel its flow, respectively. Shops along Jalan 20/7 have their backs to the river while the tower block faces high ground.
In my opinion, I would agree with it - but from the economics as well as from the marketing point of view. Most of the traffic, or outside traffic comes from Jalan Semangat - and ideally, the first shop they would see is Starbucks 3 Two Square - and whether they turn in or go straight, they would see the shops facing Jalan 19/1 or Jalan Dato Abdul Aziz first. =)
The units facings Jalan 20/7 may seem to be not doing that well. However, let me reiterate once again. 3 Two Square, when it was launched and sold back then, there were easily 30-40% of 'cash buyers' - whom I would rather say, were more geared towards capital appreciation, instead of yields or rentals. There are plenty of them who chose not to sell (unless at the prices they wanted), or even rent out.
If we were to track Jalan 19/1 from the “Rothmans Roundabout”, we will find the road curving south-east after passing the Penchala River. This creates an elbow against Wisma KT, Bangunan Takaful Ikhlas, Gapsoft, the Otomotif College and Forum.
Elbowed out
These buildings have excellent orientations relative to the highland and river. Their backs are high and they face the river’s flow. However, these positives are counteracted by the elbow of the road, which scatters the earth energy. Therefore, businesses here will experience a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
On the opposite side, the buildings enjoy the embrace of the road but have two negative factors – they face high land and go against the river’s flow. Hence, they will also endure ups and downs but generally are likely to fare worse. Jalan 19/1B services a few buildings including Wisma Kemajuan and a luxury car showroom. The terrain here tapers downhill from north-west to south-east. Therefore, properties on the north-west side of the road that face downhill are likely to do better than those on the opposite side.
