KUALA LUMPUR: The name Bangsar South was changed back to Kampung Kerinchi in order to return the area’s original identity, which it had lost.
It was also because long-time residents of the area were unhappy with the name change, even though newer residents seemed to be pleased due to the somewhat “glamorous” name of “Bangsar South”.
Pantai member of parliament Fahmi Fadzil said there also seemed to be some confusion as many believed that several places in the surrounding areas were part of Bangsar South.
He also stressed that the commercial development named Bangsar South had been mistakenly classified as a bigger area than it actually was, so much so that the name Kampung Kerinchi was dropped.
“There are two issues here. The name of the building, Bangsar South, will be retained, while Kampung Kerinchi will refer to the larger area.
“We are not getting rid of the name of the building, just clarifying the boundaries of Kampung Kerinchi. The public have misunderstood, thinking that we are getting rid of the name of the building. The name stays... it is part of Kampung Kerinchi,” he said when contacted.
Fahmi said the issue cropped up when residents saw a signboard for upgrading work for SMK Sri Pantai stating that the address of the school was listed as “Bangsar South”.
“That school has been in existence since 1967 and the Bangsar South building came up next to it. Therefore, it is part of Kampung Kerinchi. When the address changed to Bangsar South, people became angry.
“Therefore, in our efforts to preserve a certain area, we have to look not just at one building, but also have to take into account the local community. I want this incident to become an example, that we should protect the identity of local communities and at the same time allow the area to become a base for global companies,” he said.