PETALING JAYA (Jan 2): New Year’s Eve proved bittersweet for the faithful patrons of Ampang Park Shopping Mall, a grand dame of Kuala Lumpur’s retail scene.

Kuala Lumpur’s oldest mall, which would have turned 50 in 2023, shuttered its doors on Dec 31.

Crowds thronged the mall to grab goods sold at a discount by retailers who are moving out or closing their businesses.

The mall held its own against the newer, glitzier malls nearby such as Suria KLCC, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Shopping Mall, and the Bukit Bintang stretch as it served the middle-income group taken by its potent mix of nostalgia and value-for-money offerings.

Ampang Park Shopping Mall will make way for the construction of the Ampang MRT station and an underground walkway that will link to the nearby Ampang LRT station.