Badan Warisan Malaysia is concerned that “Bok House” may be due for demolition and that an application for a Development Order has been made to Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. We have heard informally that the proposed development of the site involves the building of a multi-storey (over 60 storeys) building and includes the demolition of Bok House. If such an act were to be permitted, it would be an ignominy and constitute an act as infamous as the demolitions of the Eastern Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, and the Metropole Hotel in Penang.

2. The Bok House (better known as Le Coq D’Or), is situated on 121, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. It was designed by Swan & Maclaren, built in 1926 and completed in 1929, for Chua Cheng Bok, who is famed as the founder of Cycle and Carriage.

3. There is a beautifully romantic legend attached to its building where Cheng Bok wanted to marry the daughter of a rich man who lived on Ampang Road. As her father did not consider him good enough because of his lowly origins, to impress, or perhaps to spite him, Cheng Bok built an even grander house opposite. One story goes that the father relented, and Cheng Bok got his bride. Others say she married someone else.

4. However, it is clear that Chua Cheng Bok and his family lived in this house. In 1942, during WW2, Bok House was occupied by the Yokohama Specie Bank. After the war it was used for some time as a boarding house. Even after the main house was used as a restaurant, the Chua family continued to occupy the house in the rear quarters (this was actually a modest house on its own), until this was demolished in 1999 to widespread public protest. Till today, the rear section of the lot has yet to be developed.

5. Le Coq D'Or was opened in 1958 and operated for 43 years till it was closed in 2001. In its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, it was the main venue for fine dining in Kuala Lumpur. It continued to be found in all manner of guidebooks to Kuala Lumpur not only for its food and ambiance, but also for its architectural splendour and style; it was a very sad day when the restaurant closed.

6. Bok House is possibly one of the handful remaining grand Chinese mansions left in Kuala Lumpur, and the only one on Jalan Ampang, which retains a high level of authenticity with very significant architectural, cultural, social and historical heritage values.

7. After the closure in 2001 of Le Coq D’Or, Badan Warisan Malaysia has noted that the physical condition of the building has deteriorated badly in the intervening four to five years. We believe many of the fittings and fixtures have been removed and the original floors, windows and doors have been badly vandalized.

8. The architectural and cultural significance of Bok House has been highlighted in architectural books including the Guide to Kuala Lumpur's Notable Buildings[1] with a Foreword by the then Datuk Bandar YBhg Tan Sri Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff, in the Encyclopedia of Malaysia Volume 5, Architecture[2], in Ken Yeang's The Architecture of Malaysia[3], as well as in 100 Years of Kuala Lumpur Architecture 1890-1990[4], and Album 100 Tahun KL Menjadi Penguasa Tempatan[5], both of which were produced by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the centenary celebrations of DBKL as the local authority of Kuala Lumpur.

9. Architecturally, the mansion is unique and "demonstrates the adaptation of Renaissance planning to the climatic demands of the tropical climate through its arrangements of balconies and verandahs."[6]

10. Bok House has been feted in Kuala Lumpur A Sketchbook[7] which has sold thousands of volumes since publication in 1998.

11. John Gullick writes in A History of Kuala Lumpur, "...whose front hall, behind its pillared colonade, was lined with imitation classical statues on rotating pedestals. It was built purely for show - the owner lived in a more modest house at the back."[8]

12. In Malaysian Architectural Heritage Survey: A Handbook – we learn that Chua Cheng Bok commissioned the design of the house “in the style of the civic buildings that he saw on a visit to England... the dominant feature of the residence... the subtle curves on the portico, ornateness of the gate and grand central stairs reflects a Baroque influence. This house is one of the examples of the more purely European-style homes built in the early 1890s in KL. The symmetry of the building, the use of the colossal orders, the particular shaped balusters, the doubling of columns at the corners, and the excessive use of the dentils and the brackets at the architrave reflects Renaissance planning adapted to the tropical climate.... Of particular interest is an eclectic mix of classical orders in the Bok house with Tuscan shafts and Ionic capitals and architraves."[9]

13. As far back as 1982, in the Kuala Lumpur (Draft) Structure Plan, Bok House was acknowledged as a heritage building[10]. It has also been on the list of Grade 1 buildings on the Senarai Bangunan Yang Dicadangkan Untuk Diwartakan Di Wilayah Persekutuan produced by Jabatan Muzium & Antikuiti since the early to mid 1980s. As far as we are aware, it has remained on this list since, even as recently as 2004. Scholars of architectural heritage in Malaysia have continually highlighted this building as a landmark. For example, Dr Ghafar Ahmad in the publication of his thesis, British Colonial Architecture of Malaysia1800 - 1930[11] as well as Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia’s major exhibition and publication, 80 Years of Architecture in Malaysia[12] highlight this building as a major monument.

14. I had earlier written to the Government in April 2001, highlighting at that time the endangered status of the building. This issue was also highlighted in the national press, stressing the importance of this building to the story of Malaysia’s built heritage.

15. The National Heritage Act 2005 which has recently come into force on 1 March 2006, states clearly in Clause 68[13] “Any person may nominate to the Minister in the prescribed form any natural heritage, tangible or intangible cultural heritage… to be declared as a National Heritage.”

16. Badan Warisan Malaysia therefore proposes that Bok House be listed in the National Heritage Register to protect it from further deterioration and imminent destruction. It is clear from the above, that Bok House meets at least five of the criteria for declaration as a National Heritage under Clause 67 (2) (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and (h) of the Act.[14]

17. It is also worth noting that Chua Cheng Bok had a clause in his will that his properties may not be sold for four generations, which extends through to the year 2025.[15]

Cultural Significance Statement

Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid

President

Badan Warisan Malaysia

[1] Guide to Kuala Lumpur’s Notable Buildings, Hisham Albakri (Editor), 1976

[2] The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, Volume 5 Architecture, Chen Voon Fee (Editor), Archipelago Press, 1998

[3] Ken Yeang, The Architecture of Malaysia, Pepin Press, 1992, p. 160

[4] 1890-1990: 100 Years of Kuala Lumpur Architecture, Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia, 1990, p. 44

[5] Khoo Kay Kim, Album 100 Tahun KL Menjadi Penguasa Tempatan, Penerbitan Puteries, 1990,

[6] Guide to Kuala Lumpur’s Notable Buildings, Hisham Albakri (Editor), 1976, p. 51

[7] Chen Voon Fee, Kuala Lumpur A Sketchbook, Archipelago Press, 1998, p.76

[8] JM Gullick, A History of Kuala Lumpur1856-1939, MBRAS Monograph No 29, 2000, p. 171

[9] Malaysian Architectural Heritage Survey: A Handbook, Badan Warisan Malaysia, 1990, p. 86

[10] Kuala Lumpur Draft Structure Plan, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, 1982, p. 167

[11] A Ghafar Ahmad, British Colonial Architecture of Malaysia 1800 – 1930, Museums Association of Malaysia, 1997

[12] 80 Years of Architecture, Eds. Ngiom and Lillian Tay, Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia, 2000

[13] National Heritage Bill 2005, Clause 68, page 46

[14] ibid, Clause 67 (2), p. 45

[15] Lee Kam Hing, Chow Mun Seong, Biographical Dictionary of the Chinese in Malaysia, Pelanduk Publications pp 34-35