MALAYSIANS KINI | Jimmy Sidhu speaks with great pride when met outside his nearly 100-year-old house.

His face swells with pride as he recounts its history off the top of his head. It is as if he has told the story a hundred times before.

The house was one of the first in Malaysia to have electricity, he says.

History lovers will remember that Rawang, Selangor, then Ulu Selangor, was the first town in the country to have electricity in order to power local mining activities.

Built during the British colonial era, the house was first occupied by a British accountant working for Berjuntai Tin Dredging, a nearby tin ore mining company.

Sidhu's grandfather was a retired policeman who had taken care of security for the mining company.

Due to his good service, the house was sold to him in 1960 for 3,500 dollars, based on the currency at the time.

The building, with its Sino-Malay-Palladian design, was originally a two-storey house with two master bedrooms on the first floor. An extension has since been made on one side of the house, where an office for a palm oil transport company owned by Jimmy and his brother is now located...