The murder of a 28-year-old reveller on Friday at Bangsar’s entertainment strip of Jalan Telawi has underlined the delicate state of public order in the area.
You can’t call it a swanky enclave any more. It’s a hell hole, where people not in control of their own mind roll in.
It is going down the tube when club owners couldn’t care less about doing anything correctly.
Welcome to wild, booze hub Bangsar.
On Friday, Jalan Telawi was an ugly spot on the map of Kuala Lumpur as merrymakers and certain club owners displayed their version of civilisation by creating a free-for-all atmosphere that wrecked Covid-19 rules.
Traffic was insane from as early as 7pm, bars were packed, drinkers were bunched together and music blared. People obviously considered the mayhem as fun.
They must have felt absolutely entitled to go on a spree to do whatever they wanted.
Incredulous as it was, would anyone have suggested they pass up such an opportunity?
Did someone say pubs were closed? Here was a case of the nightlife economy not sputtering but disturbingly lively at a time when collective effort is needed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
As the revelry grew into the night, crowds gathered and appeared to show no regard for physical distancing. Can we now agree that people can become uninhibited with too much alcohol?
Then it happened. A partygoer was slashed with a knife and stabbed with a broken beer bottle in a violent midnight brawl at a back lane on Jalan Telawi 2.
He died in hospital. His friend, aged 30, suffered injuries to his face. Both men were attacked as they left a pub after drinks with friends.
As a manhunt gets under way for five suspects who are believed to have sought revenge on the victim, nearby residents have raised fears about the malfunctioning security system in the entertainment zone.
Clearly, the rot started long ago but the deterioration is accelerating because of all-round disregard for the need to behave responsibly.
When there is no moral fibre in a slack neighbourhood, all that is wrong will happen.
Many swore they would never set foot in the “Jalan Telawi dump” again. These same people will be back there soon enough.
Business owners say talk of a “complete breakdown of civilised behaviour” in their area is an undeserved tag that is hurting businesses.
Here’s the thing: madness will only reign in your area if you allow them.
It’s time that the owners re-evaluate the kind of business they are getting and the type of patrons they are attracting.
The responsibility is equally on the customers who should check their drinking and refrain from engaging in fights over the slightest things, such as someone bumping into someone’s girlfriend.
Abhorrent behaviour is toxic and it is sickening to see so many selfish, self-absorbed morons at the bottom of the social heap – creating, in effect, a class apart.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.