Properties from a feng shui perspective: Part 94
By David Koh and Joe Choo | Jun 18, 2009
Feng Shui: Selayang-Kepong
This week, let us wrap up our tour of Selayang and its surrounding neighbourhoods. So far, we have looked at areas mostly to the north-east of Jalan Ipoh, and Pusat Bandar Utara. (For Google map reference, please log on to http://maps.google.co.uk/ and search for “Kuala Lumpur”.)
On the south-west side of the road, there are many housing estates that fill the tract of land between Selayang and Kepong, namely Desa Bakti, Taman Wilayah Selayang, Seri Melati, Selayang Indah, Selayang Jaya, Bukit Idaman, Bidara, Selayang Utama and Intan Baiduri.
Nearer Kepong, there are Kampung Melayu Kepong, Taman Kepong Indah, Taman FRIM Kepong, Taman Daya and Taman Ehsan. These areas are situated within an embrace of high land. To the north and west, there is an offshoot from the Main Range which forms the northern arm that embraces the Klang Valley. This valley is the only formation of its kind in Malaysia. It comprises two arms that spread out from Bukit Tinggi and embrace the entire valley up to the Straits of Malacca.
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Overall, the Selayang area is actually quite good because of the embracing high lands.
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Earth energy emanates from high land and flows down to low land. The energy moves in a vortex and shifts patterns based on the ground’s composition. It keeps moving until it reaches a water barrier, such as a river or the sea.
Fast energy
Where the energy is strong and fast-moving, it may even seep under a shallow river and continue its path on the opposite side. Nonetheless, at the surface, the energy is stopped and deflected along the banks. Given the Klang Valley’s shape, earth energy flows in the valley from the Main Range and the arms. It is deflected and reflected by the Straits of Malacca and gathers in a gentle, homogenous pool throughout the valley.
We believe this is one of the factors that led to Kuala Lumpur’s prosperity and how it outshone all other towns and cities in Malaysia to become the nation’s capital and its most prosperous city. Historically, towns such as Malacca, Penang, Ipoh and even Klang were established much earlier. They had every opportunity to grow and develop. Kuala Lumpur was merely a small mining town somewhere upstream from the Klang River.
Note that many historically and economically significant cities are found by the sea to facilitate trade, transport and fishery. Yet Kuala Lumpur is found much deeper inland. The confluence of the Gombak and Klang Rivers at the heart of Kuala Lumpur is another contributory factor. Thus, being situated within the valley is a key factor to any town’s success, in our opinion. Just over the other side of the ridge, there is the town of Rawang. Many years ago, there were efforts to develop land there and create more housing options for Klang Valley inhabitants.
There were Bukit Beruntung, Sungai Buaya and Bandar Country Homes, for example. Speculation was also rife at one time that the new international airport would be build north of Kuala Lumpur, in this area. It prompted a buying frenzy among speculators before the selection of Sepang put that to rest.
Property bust
Now, many years later, we find these developments lagging behind in terms of demand and desirability. Could it be the properties here were poorly developed and the workmanship too shoddy? Could it be the commute is too far for KL-ites and therefore, there were no takers?
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The confluence of the Gombak and Klang Rivers at the heart of Kuala Lumpur is a contributory factor to the city's prosperity.
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Property developers, agents, town planners and practically everyone else will have an opinion or theory on this. But could environology be another factor, too? Over the course of our series, we have been asked to share our views on locales outside the Klang Valley to which we must gently but firmly decline. The scope of our tour is the Klang Valley. We examine various parts of it to see if environology principles presented over 3,000 years ago are still applicable.
We are not passing judgement on whether a certain place is good or bad, nor are we soliciting for clients. There is no such thing as “bad location”. The problem lies with the inappropriate use of the land and the less-than-ideal orientation of properties vis-a-vis the landform.
We merely point out factors that make certain properties conducive for success and impediments that prevent other properties from prospering. It is up to you, dear readers, to evaluate and see if what we write about is true.
If our observations are compelling enough, perhaps we can be more mindful and careful in selecting or designing our towns, homes, offices, shops or factories.
Selayang
Coming back to Selayang, the overall area is actually quite good because of the embracing high lands. There are also several small streams that flow from them. The best facing direction for properties is one where the back is high and the front slopes downhill. The back shelters the property from fast-moving earth energy. It is even better if there is an embracing river or a confluence of rivers in front of the property.
Another alternative is for the property to face downstream, parallel to the river. This is generally the same direction as the downhill slope so it complements the high-back-low-front principle.
In Bukit Idaman here, there are several condominiums located off Jalan Taman Bidara, the main road of, yes, Taman Bidara. The condos are likely to do well if their main entrances slope downhill. This is generally south-east. However, there is a condo here that sits on the outer elbow of the road. This is not very conducive as outer elbows or convexes, be they rivers or roads, tend to disperse energy.
Due to the orientation of the roads in Taman Bidara, many of the houses here face either south-east or north-west. However, the land slopes perpendicular to that angle. Thus, the land on one side of the house is higher than the other side. Depending on which sector is highest, it would benefit a member of the family.
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One of Kepong’s renowned landmarks is the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM).
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Land and river
Similarly, houses in Taman Selayang Utama are also built on land sloping down one side. Again, one member of the family will benefit from this landform.However, when we consider the rivers and streams running down from the hills here, we find that some of these houses face the river (good) while their opposite neighbours have their backs against the river (not-so-good). This means, we would find that properties on one side of the road would seem to have occupants that do well while their opposite neighbours seem to have a tougher time.
To complicate matters, Taman Selayang Utama sits on the convex of the Selayang Kepong Highway. There is no pool of gentle, homogenous energy for it to tap into. On the other hand, the Selayang General Hospital sits on the concave or embrace of the highway, which is considered good. On the opposite side of the highway, there is Selayang Pandang and Taman Sri Melati. Based on the layout of the roads, properties here face either south-east or north-west.
Generally speaking, the former is ideal while the latter is not. Furthermore, south-east facing properties also face a lake formed by a disused mining pond.
Despite all that, the township sits on the convex of the highway which is not ideal or conducive for success. Therefore, it would be like a sleepy hollow and is not likely to develop very much.
More development
On the other hand, Taman Selayang Bahagia, Taman Selayang Jaya and Taman Industri Selayang Utama are found in the embrace of the highway. Not surprisingly, these areas tend to be better developed. Selayang Mall is located here.
The houses in these areas are generally terraced. They either face high land (bad) or low land (good).
As we reach Kepong, let us briefly cover some of the sections that we left out in our previous articles on Kepong. One of Kepong’s renowned landmarks is the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). This is like Malaysia’s answer to Kew Gardens, from a research and preservation standpoint. On FRIM’s grounds is a vast collection of plants and trees, some dating back to pre-Independence days. FRIM once submitted a paper on pine research in the production of turpentine. Over 40,000 hectares of land were planted with pine trees to tap into this.
After the British left, the use of turpentine also declined. As a result, many of these pine trees were chopped down for timber and the land reassigned for development. Not many are preserved, which is a great loss as scientists are beginning to discover plenty of medicinal value in pine, such as pygnogenol (a powerful anti-oxidant) made from pine bark extract.
Botanical resources
Due to sheer ignorance, the pine tree resources are being thrown away despite them taking many years to grow. We can still find some pines in FRIM. If FRIM is ever relocated, then many of these remaining trees could be chopped down or burnt. That would be a great pity.
FRIM is like a living botanical museum, capturing and cultivating within itself all kinds of plant life. It is located just off the Kepong Selayang Highway.
Nearby, there is Taman Kapur. The land here slopes down southwards. Some of the houses here are fortunate enough to have this direction as it also parallels Keruh River which runs along its west boundary. The Keruh River flows south-west, then south and then south-east as it traverses Kepong. During its early south-west stage, the Keruh River cuts across Taman Daya and parts of Taman Ehsan. Properties here would do well if they faced south-east. In a small section, there is even a confluence of rivers or streams. That means south is also very good in that area.
The rest of Taman Ehsan can be found in a tiny pocket within the north-east claw of the Klang Valley. Since the land slopes down in a south-east direction, the ideal direction to face would be south-east. The roads here follow the contour of the land. That means, one side of the road will face south-east (good) while the opposite side will face north-west (not good!)
*This series on feng shui and real estate properties appear courtesy of the Malaysia Institute of Geomancy Sciences (MINGS). You can send in your queries on feng shui and properties via our feedback link at the bottom of the page. David Koh is the founder of MINGS and has been a feng shui master and teacher for the past 35 years.
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