Mall to liven up Batu Gajah

Batu Gajah is one of the more well-known small cities in the state of Perak.

Like most urban centres in the state, it grew on the back of the tin mining industry which thrived during most of the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

With the demise of the tin industry in the country, some would call Batu Gajah “sleepy” these days but it may well “wake up” a bit with plans to build an outlet shopping mall there — enter Silverlakes Brand Village.  

Developed by Silverland Capital Sdn Bhd, chairman Datuk Azizan Abd Rahman and managing director Shaik Rizal Sulaiman want to “bring something new” to the city.

Silverlakes Brand Village will have 150 shops on 300,000 sq ft of net lettable area. The rental rates of the shops have not been decided but are estimated to be at between RM10 and RM15 psf.

The shops will sell products such as apparel and household items. There will also be a food court and food bazaar section.

Azizan is planning to soft launch the mall by the end of next year.

“I am targeting a soft opening in December 2018 to catch the Christmas and New Year shopping season, followed by Chinese New Year and Hari Raya,” he told City&Country.   

The developer of the mall also hopes to attract tourists visiting Perak.

“We qualified for the tourism fund, therefore we will become an official destination under the Ministry of Tourism… we are also working with Perak Tourism,” said Shaik Rizal.

There are plans to organise watersports, concerts and cultural festivals to draw people to the mall.

Food and beverage will also be a major attraction of Silverlakes Brand Village.

“Our F&B content is very high compared with other malls, because we want people to come here and enjoy themselves even if they don’t want to shop,” said Shaik Rizal.

“We will invite [vendors of] popular foods of Perak to be located here, like the Teluk Intan chee cheong fun and the famous pulut chendol.”