theSun Property June 2015

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ON FRIDAY JUNE 26, 2015
BY DATUK STEWART LABROOY
CONTINUING from last week’s
articlewherewe covered the
history of this amazing town
alongwith the big breaks it is
receiving, wemove deeper into this
treasure chest, which seems to be
slowly but surely filling upwith
sparkling gems. For many years, I have
been tellingmy friends in the real
estate industry that Klang is the next
big thing. Before you askwhy, here are
some reasons that support my claim.
BOOSTEDDNA
A] The following highways start in
Klang/Port Klang:
i) North Klang Valley Expressway
(NKVE);
ii) KonsortiumExpressway Shah
AlamSelangor (Kesas, which
connects to the Elite highway
that takes you to KLIA);
iii) Federal Highway; and
iv) South Klang Valley Expressway
(SKVE).
B] Soon, theWest Coast Highwaywill
cut through Klang, with about four to
five interchanges.
C]We have a rail connection that
takes us to KL Sentral, with seven
stations in the town itself.
D] Klang is situated next toMalaysia’s
major ports –North Port and
Westport and is located just 40
minutes away fromKLIA.
E] LRT 3 is coming through Klang,
with stations at Bandar Parklands,
Bandar Botanic, AEONKlang, Tesco
Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Sri Andalas,
Taman Selatan, Klang Railway
station, JalanMeru, Bukit Raja and
I-City.
All these (andmore) makes Klang
themost connected town in the
Klang Valley (outside of KL city), if
not the country.
ATTRACTIVE RESIDENTIAL
PRICES
What is amazing is that Klang is a
townwith themost affordable
housing in the Klang Valley.
Browsing through the houses for
sale, we can get an idea of how
inexpensive homes inKlang
are. Considering themajor LRT
stops that are coming up, a
check on the current house
prices near themmake an
interesting read:
Bandar Parklands –
RM307 psf
Bandar Botanic – RM360 psf
(gated and guarded)
Bukit Tinggi 1 – RM253 psf
Taman Sri Andalas –
RM191 psf
Southern Park – RM246 psf
Klang Town – RM466
(high-end bungalow)
Bandar Bukit Raja – RM335 -
RM468 psf
PUBLICMISCONCEPTION
What is stopping people from
setting up homes inKlang?
Well, it ismainly due to the bad
name Klang has been unfairly
getting over the years, not to
mention the fact that people
STILL think it is on the other
side of theworld. Some
common perceptions or
misconceptions include:
• It is a gangster townwith high
crime rate (which in actual
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fact, is lower thanKL’s);
• very limited food choices
(only known for its BakKut
Teh – youwill have to come to
Klang to see the amount and
variety of food);
• dead bodies in the river (it is
really quite clean these days);
• only Indians live there (there
is an incredibly balanced
population); and
• poor schools (Klang has some
of the finest Chinese schools
inMalaysia and very good
mission schools).
For the real estate investor,
please remember the time
whenKepong (nowDesa Park
City) andKampung Kerinchi
(nowBangsar South) were
completely off the radar and
are nowhighly sought. One
should not discount the fact that
Klang is a communitywith a
long and proud history and is
the forgotten gemwaiting to
shine. It will reward the early
investor. A second look is
definitelywarranted.
[LaBrooy is the CEO and
executive director of Axis
REITManagers Berhad.]
Klang Valley Integrated Rail System
Email your feedback and queries to: propertyqs@ X
>Adetailed look at Klang…
more than a gem Property hot spotsPART4