Jank Man Blog

Earlier this year, whilst on a personal trip I found myself in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. I had heard of the famous electronics mall plaza Low Yat and thought I’d check it out. I expected this mall would be a little too high end for my tastes. Having cut my teeth on the famously labyrinthine Hua Qiang Bei markets in Shenzhen, China, I sought a similar grittier menagerie of small components, tool vendors and electronic curios.

However, seeing the mall wasn’t my only mission for the day. I contacted an old acquaintance Shee Tze Jin – AI and ML Specialist at Taylor’s University who was kind enough to give me some recommendations for electronics markets and 3D printing workshop.

Since my accommodation was a stone’s throw from the Low Yat plaza, I decided to at least kick the day off here and give the famous mall a once over. To my dismay on arrival, I was informed by a security guard that the plaza did not open until 10 am. Wi-fi hotspots were plentiful in the area so I used the time to catch up on email.

On entering the mall, I was struck by the amount of PC gaming stores with rigs for every taste. I’m not really a pc gamer so my attention turned to the handhelds set up for demo. I was able to try out a demo of the latest Tekken on the Legion Go S.

Although these modern gaming handhelds are a bit too beefy for my liking, I can’t help but marvel at the performance that can be squeezed out of a comparatively compact device. I’d also heard that the relatively new phone brand Nothing had opened a flagship store in the mall. As I was considering the CMF phone pro 2 as my next phone, I thought I’d go and check it out.

Nothings stripped back aesthetic, and more budget offerings might not be for everybody, but I admire what they have managed to achieve after not long in the market and my main interest in their phones is the repairability aspect. A few of Nothings newer phones have scored quite highly on the repairability index.

Most of the malls lower floors are filled with the latest and greatest consumer tech e.g. laptops, phones, smart home devices etc. That wasn’t what I was really here for though. In my opinion any electronics mall worth its salt should have a range of high-tech gadgets big and small all the way down to the individual components that go into them, so that those so inclined can repair or modify their devices.

I found what I was looking for on the 4th floor. All manner of soldering equipment, phone and laptop repair components and tools. I was like a kid in a candy store eyeing up all the tools of the trade and watching the master repair techs at work. Unfortunately for me though, Malaysia wasn’t my only destination on this trip and so I feared that if I were to pick up some new soldering iron tips, tweezers or other such pointy objects that I’d end up getting them swiftly confiscated when passing through the airport.

Plaza Low Yat’s floor or 2 of tech tools couldn’t hold a candle to Shenzhen’s mighty electronic malls but I can definitely say it’s a lot more organised. I hope to pass through here again when I’m more prepped for shopping but for now it was on to my next destination 3D Forger.

3D forgers cool concept store and workshop is located right next door to Plaza Low Yat in the Sungei Wang Plaza mall. Walking through the mall I noticed various giant objects and cartoon characters. I’d later discover that these were all the works of the talented folks at the 3D forger studio. On arrival the store wasn’t open, second time unlucky. I should have remembered things move a bit slower here. So off for lunch or Makan Makan as the locals say.

On returning, I had a good look at all the impressive 3D models on display. Over the last decade 3D forger have carved a name out for themselves as the best 3D model maker in Malaysia, working with famous brands such as Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

I was lucky enough to get an audience with the CEO of 3D forger Bruce Mui and had a good long chat with him about the 3D printing industry, improvements in the tech over the last decade and the trials of growing a 3D printing business. Having run a 3D printing business, myself and as I’m still working in the 3D printing industry, we found a lot of common ground and had a laugh about managing the unrealistic expectations of clients who think 3D printers can do everything.

After parting ways, I was ready to head off to my last port of call, the handful of electronics shops in the once bustling Pudu district. Two specific shops were recommended to me by Shee Tze Jin, Nixie Electronics and Online Components, both of which were nestled deep in the heart of Pudu. After a long walk in the sweltering Malaysian heat, I finally arrived.

First, I headed into Online Components, the shop has a lot on offer but isn’t really set up for browsing. A large glass cabinet forms a U shape in the centre of the shop with drawers upon drawers of components lining the walls. The sole proprietor stood to attention as I entered, and I felt like I ought to give the man a quest. I remembered I had a blown varistor in my wallet I’d removed from an OG XBOX power supply (I keep a lot of random stuff in my wallet.)

Producing the mangled varistor didn’t give the gentleman a cause for surprise. He carefully eyed it over and was soon off searching amongst the drawers for a substitution. Within no time he came back with a bright blue varistor to replace my dull and dishevelled yellow one. I couldn’t think of anything else I needed and gestured with my wallet. The fellow seemed unphased by the fact I’d come to his store merely to buy one tiny component which came to the grand total of 0.60 ringgit (a mere 15 US cents). I produced the small coins, and the man proceeded to write me up an invoice. Despite trying to signal that it probably wasn’t even worth the cost of the paper he methodically continued and handed it over.

Awkwardly collecting the paper, I thanked him and headed next door to Nixie. Upon entering I glanced around and noticed this store was much bigger. The layout of the store was much more conducive to perusing with floor to ceiling cabinets of equipment and long glass cases of components.

I greeted the staff which comprised of an elderly couple and a handful of women busily restocking trays. Atop the cabinets at the back, I spied what appeared to be a brand-new sheath of Zilog Z80 chips. Since I’d been covering Z80 assembler in my studies recently I figured these might come in handy. I’d overheard the ladies chatting in Mandarin and so I felt emboldened to dust off mine and see if I could purchase these parts. It took a while for a price to be established as no price tag was to be seen, and it appeared these parts may not have been added to inventory.

The price of 23.30 ringgit (Just under $6 USD) was finally established. Even though this was still a cheap purchase I felt like I was contributing a little more this time. Noticing I spoke Mandarin the elderly lady struck up a friendly conversation with me. I learned that she, Madame Goh has been running this store for over 40 years along with her husband. She recounted tales of busier times when the aisles of the store were filled with young engineering students. Now business has gradually declined over the years, partly due to the rise of online shopping and cheap Chinese e-commerce sites.

I continued chatting with Mrs Goh between browsing the components and tools. Various staff stopped by to have a chat as well, always helpful and never pushy. They seemed glad to see someone interested and curious to know why a sweaty Englishman would be spending his time exploring dusty electronics shops whilst on Holiday.

I finally paid for my chips and bid Mr and Mrs Goh goodbye. This particular exchange was a highlight of my holiday and stuck with me, not simply for the interesting wares in the shop but the pleasant exchange with the friendly owners and the insight into a long running family business cared for by humble people with dedication to their trade. When I’m back in Malaysia next I’ll be sure to drop in on the Gohs and see how they’re doing.