BEFORE ITS SIX-LANE highways, Batu Kawan had only one pavedroad, wide enough for one car. Before the industrial parks, residential townships and manicured landscapes, Batu Kawan was lined with coconut, rubber and palm oil plantations. Before it became the hotspot for out-of-state office executives and foreign workers, Batu Kawan was home to a tight-knit community of families who lived on the estates and who raised their children together.
Today, Batu Kawan is fast becoming a bustling township, but I had a chance to peek into its peaceful and idyllic past. I spoke to Maran Krishnan and his wife, Karen Morton, who brought me around to get to know this new township I just moved into late last year.
Maran was born in Batu Kawan in 1961, a third-generation estate worker. Karen met Maran when she came to Batu Kawan as a social worker. Together they have witnessed changes descend on their surroundings. As they told their stories, I became their scribe, noting the historical details as they gave me a verbal and visual account unheard and unseen by most.
