A follower on Instagram Aina Liyana (@pfrsch) commented about remembering one of my blog posts mentioning how the escalators at Imbi Plaza always break down.
I replied saying I am happy she remembered as it was probably written in the 80s and 90s. Also I was dismayed they are working today. That shattered memories that were so characteristic of the now forsaken mall.
I once described it as the world’s only static escalators. They are always in a state of disrepair and the area was dark. Still is.
You may attribute it to Malaysia’s famous lack of maintenance culture, lousy escalator technology or callous disregard for customers when one is ahead or successful. Probably it was also because it wasn’t built or designed with big crowds in mind.
As you can see, Imbi Plaza’s famous escalators are also as narrow as the narrowband dial-up Internet connections available then. It was surreal and painful to see at the time, large and endless crowds stomping up and down nosily.
Because only one direction can be accommodated at any one time, there was a silent unwritten rule about waiting for the break and change of flow. Not the happiest thing, if you are hugging a heavy CRT monitor in a box.
All these happened in the decade or two before Low Yat Plaza (LYP) opened in 1999.
Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 800, f4 1/60 sec.
#imbiplaza #mall #itmall #escalator #history #malaysia #kualalumpur