Standing at 56 storeys, the five towers of the M Vertica flats in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, are colloquially known as “ Hong Kong”, alluding to the dense high-rise housing that is conjured up in the mind of the Malaysian public when they think of the East Asian city.
In the shadow of this housing complex, however, stood a different one that drew parallels to another infamous feature of Hong Kong: coffin houses.
Located in nearby Maluri, a dense neighbourhood criss-crossed by several major train stations, 78 coffin-sized “rooms” were packed inside a two-storey shop lot and advertised as “capsules” and “mini rooms”, suitable for “backpackers, interns, or short and long-term renters” looking for air-conditioned “budget rooms”.
The rooms came in single and queen-sized bed configurations, with the latter being around a claustrophobic 30 square feet. They were being rented out for 290 ringgit (US$62) and 330 ringgit per month, respectively, in a city where monthly room rental prices rarely fall below 1,000 ringgit.
Speaking in parliament on November 30, Minister of Local Government Development Nga Kor Ming said he had personally raided that building in October and reported that the offending structures had been dismantled.
“It is indeed inhumane and unreasonable that some parties – in order to make a profit – make renovations so that one shop building has 78 rooms,” Nga said. “The tight space fits the definition of a grave pit for a coffin where, if we enter or leave the room, we have to crawl.”
Adding that it was a fire hazard, the minister also said there were between 40 and 50 tenants occupying the rooms.
Source: South China Morning Post