This preceded years of legal tussles between its tenants and the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) on the latter’s acquisition of the land on which the mall sits, to make way for an MRT extension line.

The mall was officially closed on Dec 31, after a court ruling quashed the tenants’ application for judicial review against the land acquisition, leaving them with no choice but to leave Ampang Park mall for good, after years of calling it home.

Demolition work on the mall started this year, but after close to nine months since the mall was closed to the public, some of its former tenants have yet to come to terms with it and their future.

“Some of the tenants found places nearby, like at Ampang Point or Berjaya Times Square, but the problem is that it’s quite impossible finding a place with such low rental fees,” explained Joyce Soo Wai-Xin, a filmmaker who documented the issue.

The digital film production student told FMT in a recent interview that another issue faced by former Ampang Park tenants now that they had moved out, some as far as Sungai Long, was retaining their old customer base and attracting new shoppers.

“It’s difficult for them to get customers. These are businesses like arts and crafts, things which do not really attract all types of customers,” she said, adding some shops had hands-on sessions, which only attracted a certain type of crowd.

Most of these tenants opened shop in the early 80s and 90s, long before the internet and social media became a bandwagon for businesses and traders to monetise and connect with the more tech-savvy generation.

One shopkeeper had plans to move her business online, Joyce said, but found it difficult.

“She sells sewing stuff, and she wouldn’t make big profits unless people buy their products in large quantities, but not everyone would buy things like this in bulk online,” Joyce, 22, explained.

She added the issue of Ampang Park, documented in her film, “Borrowed Time”, could have been dealt with in a more transparent manner, claiming that tenants were not aware that the mall would be demolished.

“That was not fair. You had the power and knew what was going to happen,” she said, referring to MRT Corp’s promise in 2015 of sparing Ampang Park after having reviewed the location of its new MRT station, but then going back on its word.

The future Ampang Park MRT station has long been considered an important one for it will be the only station for commuters to transfer from the MRT2 line to the Ampang Park Light-Rail Transit (LRT) station.

Ampang Park was considered a strategic location for this.

According to the film’s producer Fahmi Sani, the process of gentrification had failed here. He said there were other ways to prevent such a historic loss to the city centre, such as simply renovating and improving the complex.

“One of the reasons why you demolish buildings is because it doesn’t bring economic revenue to the city. But Ampang Park was not such a case. Building preservation should have been on the agenda. It was a waste to demolish it.

“It’s clear gentrification can only work in certain parts of the city, and not in cases like this where the building as a whole was a worthwhile contribution,” the 25-year-old said.

The Ampang Park tenants had made it “one hell of a fight”, with protests and demonstrations, and taking MRT Corp all the way to court even. But they lost the drive to fight after they lost their case last year.

“The tenants eventually lost focus after they lost their case, and the general feeling was more towards being reluctant to go.

“The minority just accepted their fate and moved on. Many are still upset, some are angry, and all want their compensation from the government,” Fahmi, a classmate of Joyce, explained.

Located on Jalan Ampang, near the junction with Jalan Tun Razak, Ampang Park mall opened with much fanfare in 1973.

It was especially popular with the affluent and families of diplomats and other foreigners living in Ampang and along Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Ampang.

The success of Ampang Park also paved the way for other malls, including Pertama Complex on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in 1976 and Sungei Wang Plaza at the junction of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Bukit Bintang in 1977.

On Jan 8, 2016, 39 of the strata owners and tenants of Ampang Park filed a legal challenge against its acquisition by the government and MRT Corp, a ministry of finance incorporated body.

The application was dismissed by the High Court later that year.

In 2017, the Court of Appeal rejected the application for a judicial review submitted by the strata title owners, allowing for the land acquisition by MRT Corp to take place.

Demolishing work for Ampang Park mall started this May.

The Sunway University students’ documentary is being featured in this year’s FreedomFilmFest (FFF), an international human rights documentary film festival held yearly in the region, which runs from Sept 29 to Oct 6 this year.

“Borrowed Time” will debut on Oct 2 in Selangor at the PJ Live Arts, Jaya One, with tickets available on the FFF website.