The iconic Vivekananda Ashram — one of the most recognisable buildings in the heart of Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur — has finally been marked as a national heritage.
According to a report by The Star Online’s Bavani M, the 112-year-old building has officially been given heritage status by the National Heritage Department, nearly two years after activists began work on saving the historic building from redevelopment plans.
The news site said it obtained preservation status on June 16, and the gazette was published in the Attorney-General’s Chambers website.
Mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz told The Star that this listing would protect the building from any development plans.
“This was what the people wanted, they fought for it and they got it. Now, my friendly advice to the trustees is to work together with the community to make Vivekananda Ashram one of the popular places in Kuala Lumpur for foreign visitors,” he was quoted as saying.
READ: Outside its locked gates, daily assemblies to save Vivekananda Ashram
In February, the High Court today upheld the designation of the Vivekananda Ashram as a national heritage site, when it dismissed an application by the building’s board of trustees to review its designation by the National Heritage Department.
Last year, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz told Parliament that the building would become a national heritage.
The Vivekananda Ashram has been the focus of public debate since 2014, when the building’s board of trustees announced that a 23-storey luxury residential tower would be built over and around the ashram.
