Property Malaysia

Long, long time ago, before Formula 1 landed in Malaysia in the form of the multi-million ringgit Sepang F1 circuit, there was the Shah Alam Motorsport Paradise (SAMP) in Section 13, or more commonly known as Batu Tiga. In its heyday, it was mainly used for the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix and the frequent kapchai championships that Malaysian bikers love so much. If we remember correctly, international movie star Jackie Chan shot his drag racing scenes at the tracks for the movie Thunderbolt back in 1995 (we remember seeing the Shah Alam Stadium in the background).

With the advent of the age of Formula One, the modest SAMP slowly died away, and now it has become part of the development of D’Kayangan, leased to the Lebar Daun Group. The site is large, 163 acres in all, situated beside the Federal Highway and Elite Highway, and surrounded by landmarks such as the aforementioned Shah Alam Stadium, the Aquatic center, the Shah Alam club, the state mosque, the brand new Tesco, Makro and Giant.

D’Kayangan is undoubtedly upmarket, with large landed units in the form of superlink homes, semi-D villas and cluster homes and bungalows. Three earlier phases that have sold out (or almost sold out) are Azulea, which are 2 ½ storey 40’ x 80’ semi-D villa (3,541sq.ft), Athalia and Arcelia, which are both double storey semi-D cluster homes, on a 35’ x 70’ plot, build up at 2,689sq.ft and 2,128sq.ft respectively.

They have 4 types of units for sale at the moment, 2 varieties of superlink homes and 2 of the semi-D kind.

Alicia – This is a double storey superlink home, on a 26’ x 80’ plot. The build-up is 2,408sq.ft which is leaves plenty of yard and front lawn space. There is a small garden enclave next to the entrance foyer. We like the spacious living room and kitchen design, there are in total 4 bedrooms. Prices start at RM525,346.

Amanda – A slight variation to the above type, but with a bigger 2771sq.ft build up. It has a second guest room downstairs in place of the entrance foyer and garden enclave. The master bedroom has a large walk-in closet. Starts at RM575,566.

Amalur – A step up, this is named a ‘semi-D villa’. It is actually a 2 ½ storey semi-D home on an ample 50’ x 80’ plot, build up is 4,062sq.ft. In all there are 7 bedrooms and 7 baths. All rooms have attached bahs except maid’s downstairs. Kitchen is super big. It will set you back slightly over a cool million to own one… (starting at RM1,001,506 actually). Suits large 3-generation families, with rooms on all three floors.

Aurelia – A larger version of Amalur, this one has 4,334sq.ft of floor space. Priced from RM1,056,376. But in terms of façade, we prefer Amalur. Here, the top floor juts out awkwardly.

On the whole, the overall architectural feel is quite different from other development, they have opted for a East meets West fusion Andalusian touch. Whether or not its really Andalusian, we can’t really tell, but we were quite impressed with the look and feel (together with the landscaping), a lot better than some the hodge podge architectural melting pot we’ve seen in other places. But then again, it’s all personal tastes, different people like different things.

Staying in Shah Alam kinds of need a leap of faith for most people we know. While it may not be a hot as other areas like Subang, Puchong or Damansara, it has its own appeal. The city is generally a peaceful one, with its low density homes and wide roads. On the downside, these homes are on leasehold land. The project is very near the flood-prone area of Batu Tiga / Taman Mesra, but we expect the developer has taken this into account in the design.

Lebar Daun is going great guns in the city of Shah Alam at the moment. They have another project nearby, Bukit Bandaraya.

Another Lebar Daun project reviewed by us before is Taman Dato Demang:
Taman Dato Demang Phase 2
Taman Dato Demang Phase 3