Back in the 70s, the piece of land you now recognised as Danau Kota is but a vast expanse of disused mining land. There is a huge lake where tomans and terubuk (a species of carp) live amidst the hyacinths bordering the lake.
Where the Langkawi Apartments
(picture above) now sit, near the Indian temple, is a cow-shed. The animals could be seen being herded into their corral by an Indian cowherd and in the mornings, they could be seen sending fresh milk on both bicycle and motorcycle.
Further out, near Jalan Genting Kelang, where the golf firing range is, if I recall correctly, is a old house handling a cottage industry of some kind, soya sauce factory perhaps. The access from this end is a small footpath created by anglers and lakeside residents.
Teratai Mewah apartments came in much later in the 80s.The only access into the lake side from Jalan Genting Kelang is the road where the developer office is now located. On a bike, you could take a shortcut from Genting Kelang and out to Setapak Garden through some tricky laterite paths.
Now, the lake, which is now shrunken to half its size, was a sight to behold in the mornings and evenings. The watere was crystal clear and a few houses were located amid the lush greenery circling the lake. These were owned by Malay families, accessible through tiny footpaths on the adventurous know.
Several times a year, the terubuk population would explode and the fish would make their way to a small stream that runs on the western side of the lake, after being chased by hungry tomans during the annual feast. The twice annual mating season of the terubuk meant free meals for the tomans and lakeside villagers as they congregate at the stream's neck by the lake to catch fish with their bare hands while the tomans stood guard in the deeper end.
If memory serves me right, Taman Ibu Kota and Setapak Garden were the only developed housing estates at the time, until the 80s, when Langkawi flats became the tallest buildings there. Of course, it was outdone by the current multi-storey flats in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Long time Langkawi flats owners would remember the trembling caused by the earth trucks moving to fill up the lake where the new neighbouring flats are built.
Many had a first hand experiences of mini-earthquake tremors wondered if the land on which the high rises flats were being built was actually save and would not sink. For in the 70s and 80s, no one would want to buy a mining land property for obvious fear of the house or building toppling over, or even sinking.
But I guess all these have been forgotten. In the name of development, Danau Kota lost a beautiful lake and a wonderful ecosystem. The concrete jungle is slowly replacing Danau Kota's original secondary forests. That's the price we pay for development.
