Photos by LOW BOON TAT/The Star.
IT WOULD take at least four to five months to demolish Kuala Lumpur’s oldest neighborhood mall in Taman Overseas Union Garden, or popularly known as Taman OUG.
According to contractors working at the site, the decades-old Plaza OUG demolition exercise started on July 31 and the contractors were hoping to complete the demolition exercise in four months.
So far, demolition works have begun on the frontage of the building. This final act confirmed talk that had been circulating for years that the mall was earmarked for a major redevelopment project.
Those familiar with Plaza OUG would know that it used to be known as Kimisawa in the 1970s and later as Yaohan.
“There were tears in my eyes when I saw workers remove the letters OUG from the building,’’ said nearby resident Mary Wong, 62.
“This was where my boyfriend, who is now my husband, and I used to come when we were dating back in the 1980s,’’ said the retired teacher.
Old photos taken in 1987 by Star photographer.
For P. Nathan, 50, from Cheras, he used to hang out at the mall when he was a teenager.
“It was the most happening mall in KL back then,’’ Nathan said.
“I live only five minutes away, but it was never about convenience. Plaza OUG was like my second home,’’ said OUG resident CS Tan.
“Even when the bigger malls came, like Mid Valley, I kept coming back to Plaza OUG because it was so comforting,’’ the 62-year-old engineer said.
The mall was built in the 1970s and was originally known as Plaza Kimisawa.
In the 1980s, it changed management and was taken over by Yaohan and later Aktif Lifestyle store.
In 2003, Parkson Corporation Sdn Bhd opened its store in Plaza OUG after acquiring Aktif Lifestyle.
The department store occupied 241,657 sq ft of space at Plaza OUG spread over four floors.
The same year, a food and beverage section of the mall called Citrus Park was opened offering a variety of food all under one roof.
In 2019, many of the mall's tenants started to move out following the end of their tenancy agreements as well as talk of the mall closing down beginning to circulate.
Parkson closed its store last year and up until a few months ago, the last remaining tenants, Esquire Kitchen, Guardian and McDonalds were still operating.
When contacted, a DBKL officer from the planning department said that the area has been earmarked for a mixed development comprising a shopping mall, hotel, and serviced apartments.
Plaza OUG is owned by Overseas Union Garden Sdn Bhd
