Facelift for Alor Star's Pekan Rabu complex

ALOR STAR: The Pekan Rabu Complex at Jalan Sultan Ibrahim here is among the must visit for visitors in Kedah.
A project, costing RM56 million, was carried out in 2014 to upgrade and rebuilt the complex, hence giving it a modern design now.
Chairman of the Koperasi Pekan Rabu Alor Star Berhad, Mohamed Jalaludin Mohd Noor, said although upgrading of the complex involved building a four storey-building with a modern architecture, the original concept of Pekan Rabu, which made it unique, was maintained, including its traditional Islamic architecture.
"Before there were two separate buildings, now they are merged together under one roof, making it into one building, making it easy for visitors to do their shopping.
"Before there was no car park, but now we have vehicle parking facility at the basement for 203 vehicles and also 118 lots for motorcycles," he told Bernama here.
Mohamed Jalaludin said there were 355 business lots, as wells as 48 kiosks and 24 food stalls in the complex, as well as facilities such as lifts, surau, toilets, ATM machines and an exhibition area on the ground floor.
He said to attract more people to the complex, especially the young people, the cooperative planned to have fast-food outlets and provide WiFi facility in the area.
"We are also planning various activities to make the place lively so that the complex will not 'die'. When the building is fully completed and all the traders have started their operation, it will turn Pekan Rabu Complex into a tourist destination.
"Indirectly, we are helping the Kedah government to attract tourists to the state, so all quarters should cooperate," he said.
One of the original traders at Pekan Rabu, Rosli Salleh, 57, or known as S. Atan among traders there and his regular customers, said the new building was more comfortable and had more facilities.
Rosli, who has set up business at Pekan Rabu for 20 years, hoped that the new Pekan Rabu Complex would attract more visitors and make the place lively like it was in previous years.
Another trader, Zuraida Razak, 34, who moved to the new building since a week ago, said the new building was more spacious.
"Come Ramadan or the festive season, people will be able to shop with ease," she said.
A visitor, Kalsom Osman, 56, said the arrangement of the stalls at the new building was more systematic.
Pekan Rabu, which only opened on Wednesday, was founded by the late Tunku Yaacob Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1920, with its original site along Sungai Kedah near Tanjong Chali, but in 1932, it was shifted to Jalan Tunku Ibrahim, where the businesses opened everyday.
The business stalls at the complex are leased by Koperasi Pekan Rabu Alor Star Berhad for its members.
Pending full completion of the upgrading work, traders operating at Pekan Rabu are placed at Uki Mall, about two kilometres from the Pekan Rabu site. — Bernama