PETALING JAYA (June 8): One of Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil’s election promises was to revert Kuala Lumpur’s Bangsar South to its original name of Kampung Kerinchi.

It will be one of the first pledges that he intends to fulfil. In fact, he plans to do this within his first 100 days in office, and KL City Hall (DBKL), he said, has expressed their readiness to work with him on this, he said in a news report recently.

According to Fahmi, Kampung Kerinchi was formed by KL’s urban pioneers in the 1870s.

“People who are part of the Kerinchi group still speak to one another in the Kerinchi dialect, they still have their sense of identity.

“Who are we without our sense of history? That is why we must not easily change place names,” he said.

It was reported that the name change was approved in 2008 by DBKL and carried out in 2012.  

However, to newer residents and property investors, the redevelopment of Kerinchi into Bangsar South with gleaming new offices and residences has raised its image and property values.