Published October 22, 2009

Pudu Jail makes way for road tunnel

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysian authorities have started tearing down parts of historic Pudu Jail in the capital here, famous for its murals done by prisoners, to make way for a five-lane tunnel to ease congestion.

Work began earlier this month to demolish one side of the 114-year-old Pudu Jail in the centre of Malaysia's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail said late on Tuesday.

The prison's east wall - decorated with murals painted by prisoners depicting scenes of nature - will come down to make way for the RM83 million (S$34.4 million) tunnel, he said.

The tunnel is to be completed by the middle of 2011 to bypass a busy intersection nearby.

Mr Ahmad Fuad said the fate of the rest of the structure, including cell blocks and a big entrance gate to the north, is up to UDA Holdings Bhd, a listed property developer that bought the land from the federal government.

'This land belongs to UDA,' Mr Ahmad Fuad said. 'We leave it to them.'

A spokeswoman for UDA said plans for the land would be released only next year, declining to comment further. She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.

The jail housed World War II prisoners during the Japanese invasion and later saw executions of criminals.

In 1986, two Australians convicted of drug trafficking were hanged there, becoming the first Westerners executed under Malaysia's tough anti-drug laws.

The jail - with a capacity for some 2,000 prisoners - was shut down in 1996, when a more modern prison opened on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

It was briefly turned into a museum, but in recent years it has served as a temporary holding place for detainees until they are brought to court.

Conservationists have expressed dismay at the plan, saying the jail could be turned into a tourist attraction to preserve its 'important memories' of the past.

'The building as an institution has a chilling history, one of brutality and crime. Yet, it represents a part of the social history of KL,' Elizabeth Cardosa, executive director of the Heritage of Malaysia Trust, said in a statement to AP.

Conservationists have frequently accused authorities of letting the country's heritage fall victim to commerce.

In 2006, activists mourned the demolition of a stately downtown Kuala Lumpur mansion, known as Bok House, built in 1929 with a mix of Chinese, Malay and Western architectural forms. -- AP