LORONG Haji Taib in the Chow Kit area in Kuala Lumpur has long been known for unsavoury activities.

So it surprised many city folk when a building was named after the infamous street.

However, the building in question – Plaza Haji Taib – is far from being a place for illicit activities.

In fact, standing tall amid the old buildings in Lorong Haji Taib 5, the complex is set to transform the wholesale and distribution market in the area into a modern one.

StarMetro spoke to the complex management and found out about the significance of the name of the plaza.

A shopper looking at the wide variety of bags sold at one of the shops in Plaza Haji Taib in Lorong Haji Taib, Chow Kit. — Photos: LOW BON TAT /The Star

Complex manager William Chee said the plaza was actually named after the street which most of the traders, businessmen and shoppers are already familiar with.

“A plaza named after the street will facilitate easy identification of the location as everyone already know about this area, which has been around for more than 50 years,” he said.

According to records, the road was named after Haji Mohamed Taib Abdul Samad (1858-1925) who migrated to Kuala Lumpur in 1876 and worked his way to become one of the wealthiest Malays in his time.

The Minangkabau tradesman was an important person in the early development of Kampung Baru and he owned tin mines, plantation land and large number of houses and shops mostly in Malay Street (Jalan Melayu).

Chee was quick to add that illicit activities had slowly declined over the years, thanks to frequent enforcement by the authorities.

“Plaza Haji Taib is a new building that stands out offering a business experience in a more modern and comfortable environment.

“Hopefully with the new building, we can shed the negative image of the area and attract a different crowd,” he added.

Plaza Haji Taib, a commercial building developed by Binastra Group, caters mainly for wholesale purpose, offering a wide range of goods such as watches, toys, perfume, sandals, shoes, stockings, towels, mobile phone accessories, vape, women’s accessories, cosmetics, handbags wallet and sunglasses.

With 129 units, the 10-storey building completed in March included seven levels of retail lots and two levels of SoHo units with public amenities such as toilets and surau.

“Within several months, it obtained about 50% occupancy rate.

Shoplots along Lorong Haji Taib 4.

“We have rental space of all sizes with units ranging from 9sq m to 62.6sq m and by offering smaller shop units, we can lower the rental for wholesalers due to the competitiveness of the wholesale market.

“Besides, we are also giving both wholesaler and customer a comfortable and air-conditioned environment to do business in,” he said.

Chee added that Plaza Haji Taib was equipped with modern facilities such as a fully-automated mechanical carpark where visitors just need to drive into an automated carpark lift.

“After parking their car in the carpark lift, the car will be auto-parked.

“This saves time for visitors from looking for an available parking bay and increases safety, especially if they are alone in the carpark,” said Chee, adding that there were also automated roller shutters for the shops.

With a courier counter at Plaza Haji Taib, Chee hoped to help wholesalers capture a larger market through online.

“In this era, service is equally vital as providing quality products.

“So, this courier counter is an added value for the wholesalers to boost online sales,” he said.