Taking the high ground: good alternative to Golden Triangle

Damansara Heights is not just touted as a prime location for upmarket homes – though it is a misconception, as there are also many modest-sized and once modestly-priced houses here, too – it is also considered to be an attractive alternative to Kuala Lumpur’s congested Golden Triangle.

Its proximity to the city centre, relatively cheaper rentals and accessibility to various highways, old and new, make it an ideal location. However, available land for development is scarce and thus most of the office buildings are located in a cluster off Jalan Semantan. In our previous articles, we discussed the other commercial enclaves at Jalan Damanlela and Medan Setia.

One of the earliest office buildings in Damansara Heights is Wisma Damansara, built in 1970 by Selangor Properties which held large tracts of land in this area. It was an unmistakable landmark for commuters along Jalan Semantan. (For Google map reference, please log on to http://maps.google.co.uk/ and search for “Kuala Lumpur”.)

This was followed by the Damansara Office Complex on Jalan Dungun. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange was located here at one time, before it became Bursa Malaysia and moved to its own headquarters in the city. This complex also includes Wisma UN, the local office of the United Nations and the Damansara Cooperative Office.

Today, there are many more buildings here, such as Wisma UOA Damansara, Wisma Socfin, Wisma MBSB, Wisma Antah and Clearwater Residence, Wisma Chase Perdana, Wisma KPMG, Bangunan SPPK and Wisma Perintis. Travellers coming from Petaling Jaya will not miss the gigantic advertisements on Wisma PSMB Beringin either. Apparently there are about 25 purpose-built office buildings within the Damansara Heights commercial enclave.

Judging by CIMB’s current growth as a banking power, it would seem that it enjoys good landform energies.

EASY ACCESS
Access to this area is quite easy, if you discount the typical rush hour jams that clog up all major roads anyway. The New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), Sprint and Duke are all within easy reach, not to mention Jalan Duta and Jalan Maarof which lead to the city centre.

The commercial buildings are located mostly along Jalan Dungun and Lorong Dungun, Jalan Gelenggang and Jalan Semantan. Beyond these office buildings, there are also some residential properties. There are several small bungalows here, some dating back to the early days when Damansara Heights was first developed. A number of them are empty and dilapidated. Some are still occupied but poorly maintained.

Perhaps the vacant homes were already sold to property developers for redevelopment. Plans to erect yet another tower could have been thwarted by the refusal of other homeowners to sell their parcels or simply from strong protestations against the construction of yet another office block or condominium – there are already a few here.

Who knows? One even wonders why anyone would want to live so close to these commercial buildings since the traffic is often heavy and the narrow roads here are constantly blocked by parked cars, even illegally parked ones. Then, come night-time, the whole place is dark and deserted like a ghost town, though some enterprising people have set up some restaurants in converted bungalows here.

From a landform perspective, this section of Damansara Heights offers opportunities and challenges. The terrain here is hilly. A small mountain range, from Batu Caves and Segambut, threads through the area and towards Federal Hill and Bangsar. There is a ridge near Wisma UOA as Jalan Semantan crests and then descends to Jalan Duta.

JALAN SEMANTAN VALLEY
The stretch of Jalan Semantan between this crest and Jalan Duta is actually a valley. The land rises on both sides. On the northern side of the road, there are several buildings such as Bangunan CIMB and Wisma Amanah Raya, while on the other side; there are 10 Semantan, Peninsula Residence All-Suite Hotel, Menara TSH, and Damansara Villa Apartment. In fact, there are a lot more high-end housing developments, encroaching into Federal Hill.

Mountainous terrain needs to be handled carefully as the earth energy movement is still strong. They are not ideal places to build offices and buildings for civilian use. Government buildings or centres of authority can be placed on high ground but even then, they should sit at the north-west, relative to the rest of the town or city. We will discuss that in later articles.

Places of worship are also suitable for high land. The air is clean. The scenery is tranquil. And God – whatever name you call him – does not require earth energy to succeed. He made the laws and nature abides by him, not the other way round. Thus in practically all cultures, buildings on mountaintops that seem to stand the test of time are monasteries, temples, mosques and churches.

For humans, though, it is a different proposition. Like all other life forms, we are drawn to pools of conducive energy. These are places where we feel at ease and ready to work and prosper. Some homes have that “feel” that it is warm, welcoming and pleasant. Some homes feel odd. It is the same with offices, shops or any other building, for that matter.

This is what draws us to or repels us from a certain place. There are places we like to revisit often and there are places we just hate going to. It is not just due to the distance of the location, or the quality of service we receive. There is just this innate feeling.

ENERGY FLOWS
We believe it has a lot to do with “chi” (force or energy). Our articles cover the aspect of energy from the earth, and at times we touch on the human energy element as well, as they are all interconnected.

Mountainous terrain has unstable energy, constantly flowing from high land to low – a valley, river, lake or sea. Along the way, it passes through many types of ground, each with its own unique properties. Some will be reshaped by the energy if the latter is stronger, some will divert the path and shape of the energy if the ground is solid enough.

Some energy will collect in little bowl valleys, some will slow down as it meets another wave of energy from the opposite direction. An environologist needs to study this landform and the movement of energy before planning how to best tap into it. Fast moving energy is not conducive, while gentle homogenous pools of it are highly desirable.

This is why we often cannot provide detailed answers to queries from our readers. Looking at a map or even googling it does not give the full picture. A proper on-site audit is strongly recommended here. Do not get us wrong: we are not soliciting for business here. We are more concerned that wrong advice given based on inaccurate information may actually cause more harm than good.

We heard once of a gentleman who attended a talk on feng shui and promptly rearranged his bedroom to suit what he believed was the right sector and directions for him. Apparently he lost his job soon after. Then he restored his furniture to their original positions and not long after, his old company called on him and rehired him!

What are the odds of that happening? A pure coincidence? Who knows, but we dare not risk your well-being, happiness and livelihood. Therefore, we urge all interested readers to please get a proper audit done by a professional feng shui master before doing anything.

FACE DOWN
Back to the commercial buildings in Damansara Heights, the best direction to face is downhill towards a river. They should have a mountain or high ground at their back, and even better if they are surrounded at the back and sides by high land, with a river in front.

With Jalan Dungun, the high land is on the east, so the best direction to face is west, towards Pusat Bandar Damansara. It is also very obvious as one enters this road. Those on the east side (facing west) are busier and have a higher profile, compared to their counterparts opposite the road.

The Damansara Office Complex faces a slope and in some cases, the buildings face higher land, which explains its lower profile. Wisma UN, for example, faces an inclining Jalan Semantan and its back is lower. Could this be a reason why the presence and influence of the United Nations in Malaysia are quite small?

When Malaysia was formed, Tunku Abdul Rahman was very proud of this association of nations and he wanted Malaysia to be a significant player and contributor to the UN. We named a road in Kuala Lumpur after secretary-general U Thant. We sent many peacekeeping troops in the early days. Yet over time, the UN seems to have fallen in our country’s list of priorities.

After crossing the ridge near Wisma UOA, Jalan Semantan sharply descends towards Jalan Duta. Here, it forms part of a valley. Thus, ideal directions for buildings here to face would be towards the main road itself. In this valley, everyone should do well, but relatively speaking, those facing the valley will fare much better.

Here, there are several buildings that fit the bill: Bangunan Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Kuala Lumpur, Wisma CIMB, Wisma Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia and Commerce Square CIMB. Further down the road, there is also Bangunan Amanah Raya. They should do exceedingly well. Judging by CIMB’s current growth as a banking power, both locally and internationally, we would say that it enjoys good landform energies.

Technically speaking, all will not be smooth-sailing as Jalan Semantan is still raised, compared to the somewhat narrow frontage of these buildings. However, the hills behind compensate for this.

Wisma Damansara nearby sits on and faces a slope, rather than the valley. Therefore, it does not get to enjoy the energy pool. A better orientation would be to face east towards the valley.