|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 1 May 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
The tallest building in the world
This commercial office building is in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, on the northern boundary of the Multimedia Super Corridor, which was built as the launching pad to propel Malaysia into the forefront of the information age. The 1483 feet (452 metres) tall, 88-storeyed towers were completed in March 1996, and occupation began in 1997. It was officially opened in 1998. Tower One is currently occupied by the state-owned petroleum corporation, Petronas, while Tower Two is occupied by its associate companies. The remaining space has been leased out to multinational companies. The podium of the building contains the 864-seat Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, which is home to the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and a reference library on energy, petroleum, petrochemical and related industries. The architect of this glass, steel and concrete skyscraper was Cesar Pelli and Associates of the USA, which designed and constructed the high-rise in association with KLCC Architects. The twin towers are built to an Islamic-influenced many-sided design and have been described by architects as symbolising unity, harmony, stability and rationality - important principles of Islam. The entrance to the towers also keeps to this theme, incorporating contemporary Malaysian motifs adapted from traditional handicrafts and timber carvings. The overall character of the building is therefore high-tech and international, but has remained distinctively Malaysian. The total built-up area is 341,760 square metres (3.7 million square feet). The towers are linked by a sky bridge at the 41st and 42nd levels. The 58.4 metre bridge is located 170 metres above street level and links the sky lobbies of the two towers. The building has 32,000 windows. For transportation up the towers, there are many double-deck high speed passenger lifts and escalators. The double-deck system features two passenger cabs, one above the other, with each having the capacity for 26 persons. This system results in better utilization of core space and an efficient passenger transportation system. Although the Petronas Towers are the tallest in the world, the Sears Tower in Chicago, USA still has the highest occupied building floor, more than 200 feet higher than the highest occupied floor of the Petronas Towers. The Sears Tower as well as the World Trade Centre of New York each had 110 storeys. However, the Petronas Towers are considered the tallest due to the architectural spires on top, which have added to their height. ************** The man with the hammer
Have you seen the statue of a man, with a hammer in his hand, in Pettah? This is at the northern end of Pettah at the junction of three roads, leading to Hulftsdorp, Maradana, and Goonesinha Pura. Regular bus travellers cannot miss this statue, as it is very close to the Pettah bus stand. Who is this man and why is he depicted with a hammer in his hand, about to strike some stones at his feet? He is A. E. Goonesinha, the first leader of the labour movement in Sri Lanka and the man who held the first May Day rally, way back in 1933- that is 62 years ago. The present May Day rallies go back to the mid-fifties, less than 40 years. Alexander Ekanayake Goonesinha was born in Kandy, exactly 114 years ago, on May 1, 1891. He had his education at Dharmaraja College, Kandy. Born on a May Day, the day set apart in honour of workers, A. E. Goonasinha worked for the welfare of the working class in our society. Goonesinha started the labour movement on September 3, 1922 and held the first rally of workers in Colombo, on May Day or Labour Day, 11 years later in 1933. He was elected to the State Council in 1931, as the member for Colombo Central, at the first election held after universal franchise was granted, and again in 1936. He was elected to the first Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1947, once again as the member for Colombo Central. He lost this seat at the next election in 1952 and the Government appointed him Ambassador to Indonesia. Goonesinha was President R. Premadasa's "political guru". It was through Goonesinha's Labour Party that Premadasa began his political career and became a member of the Colombo Municipal Council. Goonesinha was also for many years a member of the Municipal Council and was elected Mayor in January 1940. He was the first Sinhala Buddhist Mayor of Colombo. The British, who ruled Sri Lanka from 1815 upto 1948, imposed a poll tax (one meaning of poll is head). Every male in the country above a certain age had to pay this tax. In Sinhala, this tax was called 'anga badda' (body tax). A man had to pay the tax, or work on the road - building or repairing them, or go to jail. Goonesinha and Victor Corea of Chilaw, another national leader, refused to pay the tax. Corea opted to go to jail, while Goonesinha worked on the road, to show he disapproved of the poll tax.Long afterwards, in 1965, when he was living in retirement, Goonesinha told a Sunday Observer staffer, "I broke stones with a hammer from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm with an interval of half an hour for lunch. Within about one hour, my hands began to bleed. The people around me and the overseer told me not to go on. I told them that it would be dishonest to stop, so I did my full eight hours work." At the start, only Goonesinha worked. Gradually his followers joined him in ones and twos, until there were about 100 on the road. Now you see the significance of the posture of this statue-to let future generations of Sri Lanka remember him as the labour leader who stood up for his people in protest against the orders of the British rulers.This statue was unveiled by President J. R. Jayawardene on April 28, 1978. A. E. Goonesinha had one son and two daughters. He passed away on August 1, 1967, aged 76. - Sumana Saparamadu |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Most of you probably know that the tallest building in the modern world
is situated right here in Asia. Yes, it is the Petronas Towers in
Malaysia. 
