KOMTAR Tower – Penang, Malaysia

 

        Almost all vacationers to Penang must have visited KOMTAR, one of the prominent landmarks and the tallest building in Penang. KOMTAR that stands for Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak is named after Malaysia’s second prime minister, Tunku Abdul Razak. The 12-sided geometric block building that stands 232 meters above the ground and has 65 storeys is located at the heart of Georgetown. The construction of the structure spent RM 207 million and was completed in 1998 and at that time was the tallest structure in Malaysia. Comprising of retail outlets, shopping mall, Penang central government offices and transportation hub, KOMTAR used to be a multipurpose complex and the shopping paradise for locals and tourists. However, due to poor maintenance of the building, lack of facilities and the emergence of fancier shopping malls in its vicinity like Gurney Plaza, Prangin Mall and Queensbay Mall, its has lost its luster. Many tenants moved out to the new shopping complexes leaving KOMTAR with unoccupied shops that has resulted to the diminishing value of the site. The worn-out exterior also looked unattractive to the tenants and visitors who preferred to have their business run and shop at the new shopping centers. This has caused KOMTAR to be abandoned by the public.

 

 

        Leaving its past glory, the present KOMTAR is beyond my imagination when I visited it. I thought the building would look spectacular that it ever became the shopping and tourist center. Its fame has declined and the area has been replaced with dirty, smelly environment and unmaintained building. The first ground is a shopping mall but the shopping activity there was quite rare. However, despite its current flawed reputation, with the existence of KOMTAR bus terminal, it remains the transportation hub of the island where all bus routes embark from there. If you still see some crowd near the building, most of them are people who visit the government offices or wait for the bus. The building however up to the present time still has the reputation as the sixth tallest building in Malaysia and remains the tallest structure in Penang island.

 

This cylindrical skyscraper looks dull from the outside causing the place to be abandoned by public

 

On the 58th floor there is an observation deck where you can overview the Penang island with a small charge. The observation deck is open from Monday to Friday. However, since the building looks unattractive, we did not go inside. 

 

        Not much can be told about the once glorious KOMTAR besides its current dull and unattractive look in the midst of dirty environment. Everything in the area looks pretty old including the shopping mall and the bus station. Nowadays, KOMTAR only remains a name and tourists who visit it would go home unsatisfied or even more disappointed.

 

 

Sources:

Personal experience and additional information from other online articles