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Sentul: Then & Now

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Sentul: Then & Now

A collective of Sentul residents & fans gathering & sharing stories about Sentul & its community.

Sentul Then And Now (STAN) is a community page dedicated to preserving Sentul’s unique heritage, sharing its captivating stories, and fostering a greater appreciation for this vibrant community. Started in May 2023, the vision is to embark on a journey through time, uncovering the hidden gems and untold tales that define this unique neighbourhood, both past and present. Join us as we delve into th

e heart of Sentul, where history comes alive. Do you have any interesting stories about Sentul that you’d like to share? Dive into nostalgia and reminisce about your cherished memories of this vibrant neighbourhood! Whether it’s the bustling streets, cozy corners, timeless landmarks, or your favorite food, we want to hear it all.

21/03/2026

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 🌙✨

From Sentul Then & Now, wishing you a joyous celebration filled with peace, forgiveness, and togetherness.

Photo taken at Masjid Amru Ibni Al’as.
Bandar Baru Sentul.

19/02/2026

Who was Haji Salleh?

This was a mystery to us for the longest time. Sentul’s one-time ‘High Street’ (the main street of a town, especially in the UK and Commonwealth countries) was named after this person but we could not find much information on him.

The closest we got was from the book Kuala Lumpur Street Names by Mariana Isa and Maganjeet Kaur: This name was suggested by the Malayan Railway Administration in 1949. The personality, Haji Salleh, is believed to have been associated with the Railway Department.

The trail ended there.

The mystery remained until recently when we got to know Adriana Nordin Manan, who helped us solve the puzzle by speaking to her aunt and uncle, Datin Azmi Abd Aziz, 77, and Azman Abd Aziz, 79. They in turn, roped in their former neighbour, Dato’ Shamsuddin Mohd Dubi, 80. Together, they helped us piece everything together.

This is what oral history unearthed.

They shared that when they were growing up at the railway quarters in Sentul in the 1950s and 1960s, during Ramadan, the mosque nearby (Masjid Jamek Pekan Sentul, or what the locals referred to as the Pakistani mosque) would offer the congregants nasi minyak and bread, the latter baked in an adjacent ‘kilang roti’ (bakery). As children, they would go to the mosque in a group, younger siblings in tow, to collect the goodies after terawih prayers and feast on them together at home.

Another fond memory was the sound of the railway siren that signalled the time for the breaking of fast, a practical solution that folded religious observance into the everyday soundscape of a railway township. “We would peek out at the guardhouse, waiting for them to turn on the siren,” Datin Azmi recollects.

To attract more Malay congregants, the mosque leaned on Haji Salleh, a pious gentleman and village elder from Kampung Chubadak, a settlement for the Minangs who came to Sentul from West Sumatera. He was a gentleman known as an alim, well-versed in matters of religion and somebody who could help deepen relationships with the local Malay community. Chubadak is the Minang word for buah nangka or jackfruit.

So now we know who Haji Salleh was, thanks to Datin Azmi, Encik Azman and Dato’ Shamsuddin. Our elders hold a wealth of stories about our past. What interesting stories have you heard from the elders in your family and community?

16/02/2026

From the heritage of Sentul to today’s vibrant community, we welcome the Lunar New Year with hope, abundance and gratitude.

Gong Xi Fa Cai and Happy Chinese New Year from Sentul Then And Now.

02/02/2026

Entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s was very different from what it is today, for both children and adults alike. Today, we are spoilt for choice with the sheer variety of entertainment available to us.

Rupert (70) and his elder sister, Nancy De Silva (78), grew up in a plank house rented out to the De Silvas by P.H. Hendry, located where the Petron station now stands at Jalan Sentul, off Jalan Haji Salleh.

They recalled that adjacent to their home were a provision shop, a tailor, a bicycle repair shop, and an ice-making shop.
The bicycle repair shop was run by Raju (see our 3rd September 2025 post), who used to screen Tamil movies over weekends and school holidays on the neighbourhood open space, with variety of fruit trees.

Television did not come to Malaya/Malaysia until December 1963, and the only cinema in town at the time was the Mido. Going to the cinema as a family could be an expensive affair. Ironically, the projector and films were loaned by Mido to Raju for these open-air screenings. A white cloth was tied between two fruit trees to serve as a screen, and children and adults from the neighbourhood would bring their own rattan chairs or stools. When those ran out, some even turned empty biscuit tins upside down to use as seats.

Nancy also recalled that her mother would make ginger tea and biscuits to offer relatives who joined them for the movie nights. Different households brought their own snacks and drinks, turning the screenings into a shared community experience.

Movies in those days were black and white with no subtitles, and that was how Rupert learnt his Tamil.

Although Raju’s movie screenings were meant for family entertainment, in a close-knit community, everything was shared as part of everyday communal living.

Do you have any recollections of similar community moments or memorable entertainment from your childhood?

What are some entertainment memories from your younger days that still stay with you?

Did your neighbourhood have its own version of shared entertainment like this?

Would love to hear your own memories of growing up in such close-knit communities.

01/02/2026

Thaipusam has always been part of Sentul’s soul - yesterday, today, and beyond.

Happy Thaipusam from Sentul Then & Now.

29/01/2026

Sentul Low-Rise Flats

Are you familiar with the Sentul low-rise flats along Jalan Cempedak? These types of government or municipal era low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur were often built around the 1970s–1980s as part of urban housing efforts.

We managed to speak to someone named Yeat, who grew up in these flats and has kept a copy of the original sales brochure to this day. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the brochure images were hand-drawn, with multiple folds containing all the information from artist impressions to unit layouts. It was market as a high class residence if you look closely at the first slide. We’re fortunate that Yeat shared this brochure with us. This is a piece of Sentul history.

Do you have any memories of these flats, or anywhere in Sentul? Share them in the comments below.

27/01/2026

Today, we took a group of highly engaged Malaysians and expatriates from The Malaysian Culture Group on a neighbourhood walk around Sentul.

Once known for its rough reputation, Sentul revealed itself to be warm and welcoming. They were pleasantly surprised as young and adult residents alike stopped to strike up friendly conversations along the way.

They also discovered that Sentul is far more than just KLPAC, and were amazed by how the old and the new intertwine to shape the character of this township.

We hope the insights shared today will inspire them to return and continue exploring Sentul and its neighbourhoods more deeply.

16/01/2026

Following our last post on lifelong Sentulian, Uncle Shanmuganathan Ponnampalam’s school days, we continue our Sentul stories with a spotlight on Uncle Shan’s family life.

His father first came to Malaya from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1918. Mr. Ponnampalam worked with the Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) as a Chief Storekeeper, and the family lived comfortably in the railway quarters along Jalan Haji Salleh, near Masjid Jamek Pekan Sentul and Sungai Untut. Their residence was a spacious bungalow, a comfort they would later lose in WWII.

During the Japanese occupation, his father resigned from his railway job and moved the family to a much smaller house—with no electricity and water—in Sentul Pasar Dalam. Eleven family members were squeezed into a single cramped space, a stark contrast to their earlier living conditions. They later moved to a house on Chettiar-owned land along Jalan Ipoh.

Food was strictly rationed. With three breadwinners in the household, the family was allocated a total of nine gantangs of rice per month (one gantang is approximately 3.6kg). The rice was of poor quality, as the better grades were shipped back to Imperial Japan. To prevent insects from infesting the rice, lime (kapur) was mixed with the grains. The family planted tapioca in their garden to supplement their limited rations. They also survived on ragi (finger millet).

Another of Uncle Shan’s memories of the war was the Allied forces air raid on 19th February 1945. Around 50 American B-29 bombers in groups of four aircrafts flying from bases in West Bengal, India attacked the Central Railroad Repair Shops in Sentul, some bombing from as low as 1,000ft (305m). The sound was deafening and terrifying. Sixty-seven percent of the buildings were destroyed, along with railway tracks and rolling stock. There was another attack on 10th March. *

Uncle Shan was just ten years old. He saw the planes coming over the horizon. The bomb explosions uprooted coconut trees and hurled them through the air. There were air raid shelters, but they could hold no more than ten people, leaving many residents exposed with nowhere to hide. The bomb craters left behind later filled with rainwater, becoming breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The Japanese occupation of Malaya finally ended in August 1945, closing a dark and difficult chapter, not only in Uncle Shan’s childhood, but also many others who lived through the war.

Do you have any stories of the past to share with us? Tell us your stories in the comment section or send us a DM.

* Additional resources:
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/true-or-not/2024/11/04/quickcheck-did-the-americans-bomb-kuala-lumpur-during-ww2
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Bombing_of_Kuala_Lumpur_(1945)

02/01/2026

A few decades ago, Sentul Pasar Dalam was a neighbourhood defined by rows of wooden bungalow houses built like railway quarters. These homes were replicas of staff housing provided by the railways, forming a close-knit community. Today, however, only one such house remains, a lone single-storey wooden home belonging to Uncle Shan and family, standing quietly amid modern double- and triple-storey brick houses.

The railway quarters once reflected a clear hierarchy. Different grades of houses were allocated to employees, ranging from senior managers to railway labourers. The bungalows were reserved for managerial and administrative staff, symbolising both status and responsibility within the railway system.

According to Uncle Shan, the house design resembles the one he lived in during his childhood. His father, who hailed from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), served as the Chief Storekeeper with the Federated Malay States Railways before the war. The house is believed to have been built in the pre-World War II period, sometime in the 1930s. In 1960, Uncle Shan’s brother acquired the house from Tan Sri Chan Weng Choong, the renowned architect and developer best known for Sungai Wang Plaza. (Information shared by Uncle Ramalingam, an old boy of MBS Sentul and former railwayman)

Constructed using durable chengal wood, the house reflects traditional Malay kampung architecture. The main structure is raised on stilts and comprises a living room and three bedrooms. At the back, on ground-level houses the kitchen and dining area, along with two smaller bedrooms.

Life in the house was once simple and self-sufficient. Water was drawn from a well, and before a modern flushing system was installed, an outpost bucket system was used. The compound was lush with non-seasonal fruit trees like banana and papaya, as well as seasonal rambutan and even durian.

Today, Uncle Shan’s house stands not just as a residence, but as a rare and living testament of Sentul’s railway heritage and a way of life that has completely disappeared.

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us at Sentul Then And Now.

21/12/2025

When the Japanese army invaded Malaya on 8 December 1941, Uncle Shanmuganathan Ponnampalam was only six years old. He had just started schooling at Convent Sentul, which was opened the year before. Memories of the occupation years remain vivid, marked by hardship and resilience.

Despite the war, Uncle Shan’s education went uninterrupted. He first went to the Tamil Sri Dhandayuthapani primary school, then a small wooden structure located beside the temple at Batu 2 ½ Jalan Ipoh. The school has since closed after the COVID19 pandemic.

Later, Uncle Shan’s father enrolled him in Convent Sentul to study English. Uncle Shan was part of the first batch of five boys admitted into Primary One. The Convent was a co-ed school then.

He attended the school’s 85th anniversary celebration at the HGH Convention Centre Sentul on 14th June this year with his sister Navam, as well as two daughters, two nieces, and a granddaughter—all former students of the school too. He was also joined by his wife, Lim Gaik Choo, and his seven-year-old grandson.

Ms Navam joined the Convent Sentul secondary school as a teacher in 1960. She taught there for 24 years until 1984, when she was transferred to the primary school to serve as Senior Assistant until her retirement.

Uncle Shan stood out as the only man among the roses at the all-girls school event. One of his classmates, whom he kept in touch until his passing was the late Joe Soosay, the football centreback for the national team in the Merdeka Tournament, an international friendly football tournament to celebrate Malaya’s independence day in 1957.

As the war intensified, Convent Sentul was forced to close. Uncle Shan continued his education at the Methodist Boys’ School Sentul (MBS). The curriculum included learning Japanese alongside practical lessons such as gardening, which came in handy as people in wartime Malaya had to grow food to feed themselves. After the war ended, he resumed his studies at MBS, where he graduated with a Senior Cambridge qualification.

In our next post, we will write about Uncle Shan’s family life and how they survived the Japanese occupation of Malaya. Stay tuned!

13/12/2025

Our Sentul Heritage Walk pocket guide caught the attention of lifestyle journalist Hanis Maketab, and we’re grateful for the thoughtful feature in today’s paper.

The article, “Take a walk down memory lane with the new Sentul Heritage Walk pocket guide,” appears on page 9 (Star Lifestlye) and is also available online.

A heartfelt thank you to all STAN supporters: long-time followers and new friends who continue to share stories, memories, and encouragement. This project grows because of you.

https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/culture/2025/12/13/take-a-walk-down-memory-lane-with-the-new-sentul-heritage-walk-pocket-guide

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