20 January, KUALA LUMPUR – In a proclamation ceremony held here yesterday, the urban settlement located just south of Bangsar was declared to return to its old name – Kampung Kerinchi. Officiated by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the event was also attended by Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil and Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Kampung Kerinchi originally came about in the 1870s when descendants of Indonesian migrants begun settling in the area and it was named after this population’s ethnic group.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi said he was in talks with the Kuala Lumpur City Mayor’s office, to gazette on the full name of Kampung Kerinchi. It was reported in the media that the act of changing Bangsar South back to its original name, Kampung Kerinchi was actually one of MP Fahmi’s pledges when he was first elected as Lembah Pantai’s new MP during the May 2018 elections.
“The current name used in the postcode is Kerinchi, but I want to emphasise the full name ‘Kampung Kerinchi’ must be maintained. Not to be embarrassed, but we want to keep the historical origin even though this area has been developed with many commercial offices such as in Bangsar South, which is actually in the area of Kampung Kerinchi,” he said.