Mahkota Parade 20th Anniversary

Hmm, how time flies ! Today is the 20th Anniversary of Mahkota Parade.

Clearly, I cannot forget the piece of image that urged my mind to ponder the thought of a drastic change from a quiet 1.2 million square feet of flat sand land to a modern shopping parade. The complex is a huge and wide brownish-red structure that has several levels and is met at one end by the Hatten Hotel and the other by Pahlawan Walk.

It was then in 1988 that I had been admiring the sunset over the 1.2 million square feet of glittering twinkling light space whenever the sorting of packages began after office hour. It was at Lot 308, the same row of shop-houses where the second home of the Malacca Club stood, where I indulged in the beauty of the dancing twinkling light pairing with the greenery of the Banda Hilir field which is now renamed as the Padang Pahlawan after it has been elevated.

More than 20 years back, not many people of today know that the old folks were very excited with the first shopping building in Melaka on Bunga Raya Road. When the late Tan Sri Tan Cheng Swee officially opened the Emporium Melaka, he believed that it is time that Melaka would no longer remained as a "sleepy hollow". Not many people of today know that "emporium" is a big word for shoppers of the past. Shortly after that, other emporiums opened their doors to the increasing number of shoppers. They were the Lian Fatt Emporium, the Great Wall Emporium, and the Fajar Emporium. Before these emporiums opened their doors to the old folks, the locals would buy ready-made apparels on Bunga Raya Road or select clothing material from a display of rolls in shops on Kampong Pantei Road.

Two years after 1988, I was selected to head the national operation of a transportation company, and demand for good services kept me completely isolated from taking note of the modernization of Melaka. Mahkota Parade is the first shopping complex to introduce modern shopping to Melaka, housing a food court, cinema, bowling alley, amusement arcades, assorted cafes, various restaurants for people with different tastes, souvenirs and handicrafts stalls and a large supermarket.

Mahkota Parade is the first to introduce spacious shopping feel to shoppers and the first to provide shopping comfort not only for the locals but also for people from the neighboring States near and afar. Soon, foreign tourists also prefer to dine and shop within the parade. Unlike the emporiums, the concept of shopping within the Mahkota Parade keep up with times.

This morning, the Mahkota Parade held a Fashion Walk as one of the events to celebrate its 20th Anniversary. The Fashion Walk is flagged off by Datuk Lim Chow Beng and the General Manager of Mahkota Parade.

People from all parts of Malaysia continue to pamper themselves at the Mahkota Parade whenever they travel to Melaka and the same apply to me.

Happy 20th Anniversary. Mahkota Parade.

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