Two years after it was ordered to vacate its premises to make way for development in Jalan Pudu, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the Selangor and Federal Territory Eurasian Association (Saftea) is now in the midst of planning a new clubhouse in the Bangsar suburb.
The association is currently seeking a joint-venture partner to develop 9,000 sq m of land in front of the UOA building in Bangsar Utama.
Saftea president Sheila De Costa said the association had acquired the land after winning a court case in 2013. However, she declined to elaborate on the court case.
"We are very excited to develop the land, which is worth up to RM5 million. We have had some enquiries but nothing concrete yet," she said.
The association is planning to build a five-storey building, which will have a community hall, offices and rooms for visiting Eurasians to rent when they are in the city.
There are also plans to build a museum for people to learn about the Eurasian heritage and a cafe that will serve Eurasian food.
Currently, a nasi kandar operator is renting part of the land from the association.
Sheila said that the members were supportive of the move to build the clubhouse.
"During our last annual general meeting, we had discussed a few options, which were to sell the land and build the clubhouse elsewhere or go into a joint venture and develop the land. The members had opted for a clubhouse," she said.
Sheila said that the new clubhouse would be a good way to attract and revive the Eurasian Youth Club that had not been active for many years.
"The old clubhouse was dilapidated and it did not appeal to the youths.
"We want to make this place more accessible to them. We would like to invite the youths to come and help build up the youth community and participate in our activities," she said.
Despite not having its own place, the association had continued with its activities at various locations.
For the past one year, the association had been having their activities at the Royal Commonwealth Club in Bukit Damansara.
Sheila said she did not want members to miss out on the club's programmes just because it did not have a clubhouse.
"We are still organising our monthly curry lunch and other programmes. We are also planning to have Portuguese dances to cater to the younger generation. It is a lot more difficult to organise the activities when you don't have your own place," she said, adding that the association has 800 over members in the Klang Valley.
The association is also planning to do a fundraiser by June to raise money for the building of the clubhouse.
