Malaysia is building malls like crazy – but shoppers aren’t coming
Al Jazeera
Dozens of new malls are under construction in the country even as existing complexes struggle to attract customers.
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia – Looking from behind his counter on a recent Saturday afternoon, computer shop owner Goh Sook Lam surveyed the empty corridors of 3 Damansara shopping mall.
Two levels down, shouts rang out from a taekwondo event on the ground floor of the once-popular shopping centre located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
“You have a taekwondo competition downstairs, but who is coming up here?” Goh, 48, told Al Jazeera, standing beside longtime customer Rudi Sim, 48, his only spending patron so far for the day.
“My regulars are my business. Walk-ins are less … Sometimes I can’t break even.”
Goh’s experience is far from isolated in mall-crazy Malaysia, where numerous shopping centres are under construction even as many existing complexes struggle to attract crowds.
