Scene at Jalan Sultan 1970s
HSBC was kind enough to give me this photograph of the the scene around HSBC Building in the mid 1970s. HSBC was and is still at the corner of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Chevalier (now renamed Jalan Pemancha). If you look closely, the HSBC Building was still the old two storey HSBC Building compare to the 5 storey (is it 5?) building which they have at the moment.
The interesting thing I did not realise is just how near was this old HSBC Building was to the old Civil Building now currently the TAIB Building. I did not realise that the RBA Plaza now built in the middle between the two buildings is actually built on a small piece of land.
Someone who was around at that time would have to tell me what happened in this photograph? Something was happening and at the time of writing this, I am clueless.
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The other clue is the design of the Brunei State Crest on the old HSBC Building. That appear to be older version used during the reign of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III.
The building in between the bank and the "Civic Center" as my late father called it used to be the Examinations Board (Lembaga Peperiksaan). It is well-known for its stretch of wall facing Jalan Sultan where public examination results would be posted on paper soon as they appeared. One has to get there quick once the results appear because disgruntled candidates would often tear-down/vandalise the posting in no time! I remember going down to Bandar to check on my cousin's "O"-Level results in 1982, just right before the building was torn down.