Properties from a feng shui perspective: Part 122
By David Koh and Joe Choo | Jan 1, 2010
Ups and Downs of Damansara
IN the early days of Petaling Jaya, Jalan Damansara was a narrow winding road north of the fledgling township that linked Kuala Lumpur and Bangsar to Sungai Buloh. This hinterland was barely inhabited and was hardly considered a desirable place to live.
Thus, Universiti Malaya was given a huge plot of land for its main campus. Several terraced houses were constructed for government servants and sold to them at a cheap price.
Today, Damansara Heights or Bukit Damansara is prime real estate.
Among the earliest developments here were houses and shops close to Jalan Damansara, part of which is now the Sprint Highway. Jalan Setiapuspa and Jalan Kasah, for example, remain much the same over the years. There are two rows of shops here. This is where the first Victoria Station steakhouse started.
Nearby across the highway, there is a river flowing from Bangsar, in a south-west direction.
Jalan Setiapuspa runs uphill and branches out into Lorong Setiapuspa 1 through 4. These side lanes follow the contour of the road and all of them are dead-end streets. Jalan Beluntas also branch off from Jalan Setiapuspa. This road climbs uphill and splits off into smaller dead-end streets that follow the hill’s contour.
In such a situation, the ideal orientation is to face downhill. That would roughly be towards an easterly and south-east direction.
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The lush greenery of Medan Damansara has attracted the attention of property developers of late.
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Poor circulation
In the “lorong” or lanes here, due to the contoured road layout, only properties on one side will face downhill and enjoy “benefits.” Their opposite neighbours would be facing uphill— not an ideal orientation and would inexplicably, not fare well. Some houses may look new and renovated, but they are possibly the work of new occupants who bought the properties from hapless ex-owners!
The effects are further exacerbated by the nature of these roads—they are all dead-end streets. Such a design does not allow cars and people to move freely within the neighbourhood and circulate “living energy.” Circulation is poor.
Properties in dead-end roads or cul-de-sacs generally do not get a “fresh supply” of human energy. Over time, whatever energy that was accumulated here will simply drain away, leaving the property empty and rundown. Houses located at the terminal of the road are likely to suffer the most, while properties at the beginning of such roads will fare much better, as there is still circulation and movement coming from the main road.
This would be the environology perspective on the state of houses here. Of course, one could offer other “real” explanations such as the civil service nature of the original owners – they do not have a high salary to begin with, and those who bought the houses are pensioners by now. Perhaps, the prudent owners have money and are doing well but choose to live a simple life and spend the money on their children instead.
There are likely to be many more explanations and all of them are valid. Could environology factors have helped create such situations or perhaps mitigate their impact?
Interestingly, Victoria Station and some of the other restaurants that face the highway are more successful than their backdoor neighbours. It is strange that business on one side is booming while the other seems to be struggling.
The food in all these places is not too bad, yet the downhill-facing establishments continue to outshine their uphill-facing neighbours. Victoria Station has expanded to several other locations but the original office remains here, which may explain why as a whole, the chain is doing well.
Some restaurants did well here and then relocated to other venues. As some of the new places are not environologically conducive, these companies fell on hard times and some are no longer in business today.
Jalan Kasah runs parallel with the Sprint Highway and follows the hill’s contour, so much so that for the most part, houses can only be built on one side of the road. Unfortunately, such houses are oriented to face uphill, and thus are not conducive for the success of the occupants.
Further along, as the road comes to Jalan Setiajasa, the gradient eases and this enables houses to be built on both sides. Houses on the downhillfacing side are considered to be conducive for success—relationships, wealth, health and advancement.
Behind these houses, there is another row of houses—uphill-facing —serviced by Lorong Setiajasa 1. This small lane has houses on both sides. Again, those facing downhill will do better than their opposite neighbours. However, this is a dead-end road and therefore, those at the end of the road are likely to fare less well, regardless of their orientation.
The same goes for the lanes that branch off Jalan Setiajasa. They are all dead-end roads, a typical trait of hill developments.
Air of exclusivity
Damansara Heights has an undulating terrain with lots of small hills dotting the area. A cluster of hills is ringed by Jalan Beringin. This circular road surrounds the sections comprising Batai, Setiabakti, Setiamurni, Setiabudi, Setiajaya and Setiaraya. Obviously, “loyalty” and “faithfulness” are very important traits for government servants, the early inhabitants of this township!
In the middle of the Jalan Beringin loop is another ring, encircling Plaza Damansara, a small commercial area. Despite its size, this section is usually abuzz with people and activity. There are a number of restaurants here and three banks, to boot.
It is also frequented by expatriates, which could explain the upmarket feel of the area. What is it about expatriates— especially Caucasians—that lift the image of an area? There could be several reasons. First, they tend to earn a lot more money, plus “hardship allowance.” That means they have more money to spend. Second, they appreciate higher quality goods and services, and are willing to pay more for that. Third, they like to congregate in places that offer food and entertainment they are accustomed to.
Some Malaysians like to be seen in their company or enjoy the same taste, and thus frequent such places too. Perhaps they used to live abroad and acquired such taste.
For whatever reasons, these places become associated with an upmarket clientele and attain a certain reputation for exclusivity. That is how, nearby Bangsar also shares a similar image.
We will explore the landform secrets behind Plaza Damansara’s popularity next.
■ You can e-mail any question on feng shui and properties to Prof David Koh via johnni@thestar.com. my. This series appear courtesy of the Malaysia Institute of Geomancy Sciences (MINGS).
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