Yap Ah Loy, who was the Kapitan China at the time, built a tapioca mill in Petaling Street as an additional source of income for the Chinese community following the closure of the tin mines due to a series of natural disasters.

The mill and most of the enterprises from that era no longer exist but one traditional Chinese medicine shop called Kien Fatt Medical Store, established since 1942, has survived the test of time and is the last traditional Chinese pharmacy still operating in Petaling Street.

Overcoming challenges and the competitive trade, the store has now evolved into Kien Fatt (Midland) Pharmacy Sdn Bhd, embracing the modern necessities while not letting go of its traditional practices.

Here, one can still consult the “sinseh”, get herbal remedies and undergo acupuncture therapy.

The shop’s founder Ng Eu Sang, who came to Malaya during the second wave of the Chinese migration, was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who was selling herbs by the roadside.

After raising enough money, Eu Sang opened a small-store which served as a one-stop centre for the Chinese community when they first arrived here from mainland China.

“The Chinese migrants will stop by the shop, buy what is needed before heading to where they are supposed to go,” Ng Chee Yat, 61, a third generation who now runs the store, told Bernama.

At the beginning of the 19th century until the 1930s, the Chinese immigrants mainly from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, came to Malaya to work at the tin mines and rubber plantations as well as open up new farmlands.

The community mainly settled around the commercial centre of Market Square and established Petaling Street as their area.

Reminiscing about his younger days, Chee Yat, who was born in 1957, the year Malaysia attained independence, recalled stopping by to help at the shop after school together with his cousin, William Ng, now 74.

“After school, my father (Ng Kien Poon) would ask us to help around the store and slowly, we learnt how to manage the store. I took over the store after he died in 2000. My cousin (William), has always been around to help with the daily operations,” said the full-time pharmacist.

Chee Yat said his father also monopolised the traditional medicine market in Kelantan and Terengganu in the 1950s and 1960s.

“Previously, the roads were very bumpy, there were no bridges and some areas had no proper roads. It was tough to travel to the east coast. But, because no one was willing to go there, it was worth it as business was very good,” he said.

However, as time passed and the transportation system and logistics improved, more retailers emerged and wanted a piece of the pie.

“We have ceased operations in the east coast and now focus on our core business here. Besides running the retail business, we are also involved in wholesale business and operate a traditional Chinese clinic.

“Over the years, business operations and customer preference have also evolved,” said Chee Yat.

From retailing herbs in bulk and loose form imported from China and Taiwan, the store has moved with the times and today, it also sells western medicine.

“Not only do we sell traditional medicine in bundles, we also sell them in repacked forms such as capsules and powder to appeal to the younger generation. Besides, we also sell western medicine, as some prefer them, especially tourists,” he said.

Chee Yat is comfortable in both the eastern and western pharmaceutical industries. He is a pharmaceutical chemist and a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain as well as a certified pharmacist for Chinese traditional medicine from the Malaysia Chinese Medical College (now known as Traditional Chinese Medical Institute, Malaysia).

Apart from the usual request for medication for eye pain, stomach ache and fever, his customers also asked for “ma huang” which is used to treat asthma, “ren shen” which is a kind of ginseng to boost energy and “huang qi” which is used to lower blood pressure.

The store seems to be busy with workers moving boxes of goods and supplies in and out of the three-storey building, shop assistants mixing or packaging the concoction while customers head straight to the shelves to identify and select bitter herbs or visit the clinic for treatment or consultation.

Yet, despite being part of Petaling Street’s history, Chee Yat is worried it may not last long.

Chee Yat’s children, who are all in the engineering profession, do not have the passion to continue the business.

“I am not sure if my children or any of our family members would want to take over the business and I am looking forward to retire,” he said.

Petaling Street today is no longer the same, he lamented.

The environment has changed and the Chinese have started moving out from the vicinity.

“You see, a majority of the stalls here are now operated by foreigners, mainly by the Bangladeshis and Myanmars.

“The number of Chinese shops has dwindled over the years. History will not change but the future will be written differently,” he said with a tinge of sadness.