| UKRC is 50 and going strong
By FAZLEENA AZIZ
Photos by ONG SOON HIN
IT IS 50 years since the Ulu Kelang Recreational Club (UKRC) was established in Ulu Kelang New Village (now known as Kuala Ampang) to promote unity among its residents.
The brainchild of club founder K. Suppiah, the UKRC has since grown and now boasts about 2,000 members.
The club is also known for organising such activities as football tournaments with participation from as far as Hong Kong and Indonesia.
This is a long way from September 1957 when the UKRC was founded. All Suppiah and a few friends wanted then was a centre where residents could meet up.
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Proud of their club: The UKRC is 50 years old this year. Seen here are (from left) UKRC first assistant secretary P.K. Yehgamparam, 74, Gopal, Suppiah and Lee.
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It took a few years for the community hall to be built, with the project being funded by contributions from the residents.
“There used to be a mine and it took several bulldozers and a lot of soil to fill it up. We went around to collect donations from residents to build the club and on July 9, 1960, the club was officially opened by the then Minister of Health and Social Welfare Datuk Ong Yoke Lin,” Suppiah recalled.
“Over the years, we have encouraged healthy activities like football and table tennis. The community hall was used for various social events like concerts, plays and small functions,” Suppiah said.
“Once the club was in place, we had many people utilising the facilities and neighbours gathering to have a relaxing time while their children played games.”
Through the years, the club has played host to several prominent guests, including Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, his then deputy Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and former MIC president Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam.
“We feel happy to be around and to have grown with Malaysia. I feel very proud to see Malaysia progressing well towards becoming a developed country,” the 87-year-old Suppiah said.
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Flashback: The club was officially opened by Ong (second from right); in the background are Suppiah (second from left) and other club members in 1960.
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Current UKRC president Andrew Gopal is proud that the club is a self-funded community club.
“Our club is all about promoting healthy activities and integration among people on a social level. Our membership fee is only RM20 because we don’t want to burden people and club membership is not confined to residents around the club area ... Ampang Jaya residents are also welcome,” he said.
The club started collecting membership fees in 1962 to help maintain the club, its community hall and field. The fee then was RM1.
Lee Paw Koi, 57, a retired air-conditioning technician, helps maintain the club in his free time.
“I shifted here at the age of five and I like this area very much. I like to play football and I enjoy spending time with my friends here. Many people like to come here because they can relax and have a good time,” Lee said.
The UKRC is also known for actively promoting sports, especially football.
“We have a very active UKRC Junior and Veteran football team,” Gopal said. “We will be hosting the 7th UKRC-Astro International Soccer 9’s this year with teams from Hong Kong and Indonesia.
“We look forward to such tournaments not only because soccer is a healthy sport; we like to have the community involved in our events. We held a Charity Football Match in 2002 for the late Ong Yu Tiang, a former international goalkeeper, who had acute lymphocytic leukaemia. We helped raise about RM100,000.
The club plans to commemorate its anniversary next month with a small dinner celebration for its members.
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