Yue Pik Kong's Blog: Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya

Where is the best weekend flea market in the vicinity of KL? The answer is Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya. To reach there, drive along the Federal Highway; once you pass the bamboo shoot Telekom tower, the famous gate that delineate federal territory from Selangor and the exit to Bangsar with the Bangsar South LRT station, you will see Amcorp Mall on your left side.

After exiting left from Federal Highway, Amcorp Mall is just on your right side. When you will see a huge A&W restaurant and the Taman Jaya LRT station, turn right.

I was in Amcorp Mall last Sunday morning. By the way, the weekend flea market in Amcorp Mall happens on Sunday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. As it is now CNY season, the building was decorated with red banners and red lanterns everywhere.

There is an aquarium at the entrance of Amcorp Mall.

The weekend flea market occupies the entire Amcorp Mall from basement to level 5. However, antique lovers should not miss the basement as there is a large concentration of antique stores in the basement.

The Baba lacquer ware in the picture above is selling for RM120. Same price for all the baskets in the picture below too.

Antique kain songket.

Heard of the song "Cindai" from Siti Nurhaliza? If you wonder what is "Cindai", it is a kind of cloth like the picture below.

However, controversy arose when speculation began as to the true meaning of Cindai. Cindai is understood as a type of traditional Malay fabric but some claimed that its real meaning was Banshee or vampire [source : wikipedia]. From the lyrics of the song though, it is apparent that the lyricist intended the former definition, particularly noting the first verse's description of the qualities of the fabric. Some Malaysians claimed that whenever they sing this song at night it gives goosebumps and creepy feelings. Others claimed to have seen spirits of banshee while singing the song. This song with beautiful lyric has been translated in Chinese (Mandarin) language and sang by Chien Bai Hui (千百惠) of Taiwan but some of the lyrics remained in Malay Language. Bai Hui claimed that she cannot alter the lyric due to its strong composition and beautiful poetic phrose. Youtube : Cindai, Chinese Version by Qian Bai Hui BTW, Chien Bai Hui (千百惠) is a Taiwainese aborigine, who shares the same Austronesian origin with Filipinos, Malay and Indonesian.

If you look at the lyric of the song, this is really a sad song.

Cindailah mana tidak berkias, Jalinnya lalu rentah beribu [Which cindai fabric does not have something underlying? Once woven, it is wanted by many] Siti Nurhaliza actually mispronounced it as rentah ber-ibu, it should be rentah be-ribu.
Bagailah mana hendak berhias, Cerminku retak seribu (SAD) [How do I groom myself? My mirror has thousands of cracks]

Mendendam unggas liar di hutan, Jalan yang tinggal jangan berliku. [When you hunt for wild birds in the forest, do not leave behind bending trails]
Tilamku emas cadarnya intan, Berbantal lengan tidurku (SAD) [My mattres is gold, the bed sheet is diamond. I sleep on my lonely bed]

Hias cempaka kenangan tepian, Mekarnya kuntum nak idam kumbang [Decorate the cempaka tree of remembrance at the edge, the budding flower stalks are dreaming of beetle.]
Puas ku jaga si bunga impian, Gugurnya sebelum berkembang (VERY SAD) [I have taken the utmost care of my dream flower. Yet, it dropped to the ground before blooming.]

Hendaklah hendak hendak ku rasa, Puncaknya gunung hendak ditawan [I wish to feel, I wish to conquer the peak of the mountain.]
Tidaklah tidak tidak ku daya,Tingginya tidak terlawan [I am not able, I could not overcome its height]

Janganlah jangan jangan ku hiba, Derita hati jangan dikenang [I should not be sad. I should not thinking of the sorrow of my heart.]
Bukanlah bukan bukan ku pinta, Merajuk bukan berpanjangan (SAD) [Not that I want to beg, my sulking is not for long.]

Akar beringin tidak berbatas, Cuma bersilang paut di tepi [The root with will has no limit, its criss cross and tied at the edge.]
Bidukku lilin layarnya kertas, Seberang laut berapi [My ship is made of wax and its sail is made of paper. The other side of the sea is on fire.]

Gurindam lagu bergema takbir, Tiung bernyanyi pohonan jati [The poem in the song is reverberating of the almighty. The singing of tiung bird is earnest call]
Bertanam tebu di pinggir bibir, Rebung berduri di hati [Planting sweet sugar cane in the lips, in the heart however are shrubs full with thorns.]

Laman memutih pawana menerpa, Langit membiru awan bertali [The space is brightening, the sun is appearing. The sky is blue with strings of clouds.]
Bukan dirintih pada siapa, Menunggu sinarkan kembali (A BIT OF HOPE) [Not that I want to moan and lament to anybody. I am just waiting for the rays of light to return.]

My friend Azam seem to be attracted by old typewriter.

The typewriter above was made in 1893.

The Harmond typewriter above has beautiful design but I guess it would be clumsy to use. It is selling for RM3,600. It comes with a wooden cover too.

The store owner, Mr Lim has a lot of old books on typewriter too.

Old camera (above) and old clocks (below)

This is an old kettle made in England. Now I know why they said "Like pot calling kettle black", because in the old days, kettle were made of black cast iron.