Do You Remember Len Seng?

A Len Seng Omnibus bus (sourced from wikipedia)

Back in the 70s, 80s and 90s, before private bus companies were forced to consolidate their services and merge, as well as concede to the current Intrakota, plying the roads of Jalan Pahang, Genting Kelang, Hulu Kelang, Air Panas and Gombak was a fleet of red and white buses known simply as Len Seng.

You can still see remnants of this company, now operating under Metrobus, and its headquarters is still at Jalan Genting Kelang, just next door to the Jalan Genting Kelang Pizza Hut. The bus yard is still there and the road on which it sits leads to Air Panas, or rather more specifically, as known in the past, Kampung Pasir Air Panas.

The buses from Gombak (Nos 168, 169, 169A), Zoo Negara (170), Wardieburn Camp (166) and Air Panas (165) would ply their daily rounds from these area to the city centre, stopping at Malacca Street and Lebuh Ampang.


The HQ of Len Seng at Genting Kelang.

It faced fierce competition with the minibus in the 80s before revamp of the KL public transportation wiped out minibuses and gave birth to a handful of operators, one of which is the current Intrakota buses.

Courts Mammoth Premises - Story Behind It

For those who remember it well, the spot where the current premises of Courts Mammoth in Jalan Genting Kelang used to be the premises of Rich's supermarket. It was the first supermarket in the area and came into being somewhere in the late 80s.

Just like any good supermarket, Rich's sold anything from groceries to household appliances. It was pretty popular and during promotional periods, scores of shoppers from Gombak, Setapak and even as far as Ulu Kelang and Sentul make a beeline for the place.

However, for some unknown reason, it lasted only a couple of years. Some say it was bad location, others say it was bad management. The complex died and the three-storey building remained empty for a while before Courts Mammoth rose in its shadow.

Today, all memories of Rich's have been erased. However, its reputation remained as the first shopping complex (okay, supermarket) to arrive in the Setapak, Genting Kelang and Gombak suburb.

Bas Mini - Masuk Belakang Sikit, Mari, Mari!

This one's lucky to end up at the museum as part of history. Others got converted into Bas Sekolah.

One remembers fondly the days of the crazy minibus drivers. The tiny streets of Gombak and Jalan Pahang were their F1 circuit and they were certainly kind of the road, not giving a damn to other road users. If Mat Rempits were present then, many would have kissed dirt with the 'bus mini' drivers around. If the former was lucky, he would not end up minced meat. Otherwise...

It was the 'gangster-like' attitude of these minibus drivers and their conductors that killed the business. Their arrogance on the road unleashed the wrath of the authorities and their extinction today was brought about by that silliness.

But one must admit, these buses were efficient. You could get from point A to point B between 6am to 11am easily.

Fare started from 50 sen but went up later. Unlike today's buses, you can be sure to catch a minibus to town in less than 10 minute's wait.

Of course, most of the time the buses were packed like moving sardine cans. But heck, to the time-constrained traveller, what's a little squeeze-in?

Masuk, masuk. Blakang sikit. Masuk lagi. Masuk lagi.

Klompor. Batu Kib. Gombak. Ayer Panas. Mari mari!

Ah ... those memories. Remember No 14, No 34? Oh, those pink monsters on wheels!