The Town of Chronological Event

Salam 1Malaysia,

Today, I have again visited my beloved hometown, Sg Petani (aka SP).Btw, it is just 45 mins away from where I live. To me, SP has gone through an unconcious gradual changes, physically and spiritually. The most obvious change or transformation of Sg Petani is of course the rapid growth of the shopping complex and the latest landmark is the second TESCO building located near the Bakar Arang Industrial area (south exit of PLUS highway) . SP is also famous for her massive / variety of residential areas or "Taman" which I could hardly count . I was told that one of the the first Taman in Sg Petani is Taman Bunga Raya (sorry if I am wrong) , located next to my ex school , Ibrahim School. I was born in Taman Bunga Raya, house no 17, behind the railway track. Than we moved to Sg Layar, also house no 17 and then to Johor Bahru, Taman Sri Tebrau, ironically, also no 17.

Back in the 70's, I could vividly remember the glowing sign of the neon light displaying the supermarket logo called CITY. My mother used to teach me to spell C.I.T.Y each time we passed by the supermarket through the SP Bridge. (Just like I remember she taught me to spell the famous petrol station in SP , E.S.S.O though I am currently loyal to P.E.T.R.O.N.A.S). The CITY (also known as Sri Kota back in 80's) building was caught on fire several years ago, but the remaining structure still exist , located next to the SP Bus Terminal. It is one of the landmark most Sg Petanian would remember. Shopping spots in SP now are, Parkson ,Giant, Tesco (south highway exit), Central Square (centre of SP as its name appear), Billion (far at the Pekan Baru), SP Plaza (near the clock Tower), Village Mall and Tesco (north highway exit).

Back in the 70's, I remember there was a place called Garden, located at the heart of SP Town. A food stall famous for it's Satay & other delicacies. The place was a bit gothic. (In fact , SP was a Gothic City back in the 70's). But now the place has been turned into a shopping complex- SP Plaza and government office. Now food courts are everywhere. The famous food courts now are the Taman Ria Food Court, The Taman Ria Jaya Food Court, the Taman Sejati Food Court and the Clock Tower Food Court.

My favourite landmark, the SP Clock Tower has always been the logo of my existence as a Sg Petanian. Probably because the weekly Friday Pasar Malam back in the 70's and 80s was located next to the clock tower. The clock is like a monument that stands and observes the changes around her, years after years. There were some modification done a decade ago to her appearance, adding some golden plate to its main structure and peak, but its spirits remains the same. Few months back I took my family to visit the Clock Tower. Truly "lepak" there for an hour. Snap couple of photos. The clock saw me I guess. She possed for me with a photogenic look. The clock hold many secrets of mine. And I believe she has a secret on her own too.

I would have to admit that the people or the community in SP do change a lot. 20 years back you can walk around the SP town and will surely meet with at least one people you know. Today you can spend the whole day in the town from South to North, without finding anyone you know. I guess this kind of evolution applies to the other fast growing towns in Malaysia as well. There are so many outsiders(immigrants I may say), be it from neighbouring states or foreign countries that came to reside in SP. That made SP an international town of its own. Its not just 1Malaysia, but 1small world. And ironically those originally from SP have migrated to other parts of the world or town. I have friends who now live in Egypt, UK, Australia etc. Quite a number settled down in Kuala Lumpur.

Until the next Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Sungai Petani will be a town of its own generation. And I will be dropping by routinely, visiting my parents, relatives and friends. Till we meet again.