Rose by Any Other Name

Really. Would a rose smell as sweet with any other name?

The news of a name change for an infamous street in the city hit the headlines as far north as Beijing - well at least online! Our own famous food haunt Jalan Alor being renamed as Jalan Kejora? Supposedly the City Road Naming Committee ( we have a road naming committee!? ) concluded that the name of Jalan Alor should be changed to Jalan Kejora to match the other roads in the vicinity named after the stars.

For those who need a sociocultural touchstone, it's like arbitrarily changing the name of Carnaby Street or Oxford Street. Or perhaps Fifth Avenue. To something perfectly innocuous but generic such as Road A or B. Isn't that reason enough to have the cityfolk up in arms?


Looks like I have the right dive but why is it called Kejora?
Look I'm not a great fan of the place myself. Always have this sinking feeling that a muscled tattooed brawler would stomp by, pick me on impulse and toss me into an unmarked cesspool drain close by. Just for fun. Or perhaps an impromptu rival gang war would start with guns ablazing - just as I'm about to start munching on some beef balls.

But that certainly doesn't mean it isn't the seedy place to find cheap, good eats at the ungodly hours of morning. Especially after a drunken all-nighter with the bros and the hos in the bars round the corner.

Keep the name. Whether good or bad, it already has made a reputation for itself. A brand of its own, you could say.

But then conservation certainly isn't our strong point. Ever eager to stamp their indelible mark on the city during their brief tenure, overzealous city officials run amuck changing road signs, building hideous monuments and demolishing old shophouses. No doubt trying to erase anything even vaguely colonial ( supposedly unMalaysian! ) in a sadly desperate bid to find their own national identity.

Foolish. If these pen-pushing bureaucrats could only look beyond their small-minded prejudices to acknowledge the good colonialism has done for the country. It wasn't all bad.

Coming back from an ancient capital that's fervently trying to cherish its glorious past by refurbishing the old quarters of the city, it is sad to return only to see that we haven't actually learnt our lesson on conservation. No doubt if our city officials had been in charge of Beijing, there wouldn't be a Forbidden Palace left since it would have been demolished for a parking lot.

And renamed Tiananmen.