Who could imagine 7 years ago, this lorong located next to Jalan Penjara Lama, the first road in the history of Alor Setar and behind Caffe Diem at Pekan Cina, Alor Setar, which was full of rubbish, dark at night, haunted due to the surrounding abandoned buildings, a drug addict haven and definitely not safe to be there at night, has been revitalized into a community space.

Under our Project CSR, with the assistance from Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar, especially our mayor, Dato Mohd Zohdi Bin Saad, who encourage us to transform the space into something that is beneficial to the local community. So we have cleaned up the space, laid the interlocking,  installed LED lighting and CCTV, put on the landscape, getting local artist Lee Choon Kooi to paint some mural and so on. Worth mention here is the lighting metal covers was fabricated by a young talented, third generation tinsmith in Pekan Cina, Lim Zhan Haw. Many thanks to MCI Paint who sponsor all the paints for the project. Credits have to give to Architect Azimin and team, who gave us the idea and inspiration and also to the staffs from Caffe Diem who help clean and maintain the space. Many thanks to those who involve in the place making project.

Today, Lorong Penjara Lama aka Lorong Caffe Diem is a clean and safe space and welcomes everyone to the community. Many events and social activities were held in the lorong. From last year’s Keat Hwa Secondary School Chinese Orchestra Concert to this year’s Merdeka Eve Mini Concert, JCI Lantern Festival and so on. This coming December, we will hold a major International Art Festival in the lorong, where many artists, local and oversea, will gather at the lorong and Caffe Diem for a major art exhibition in town and many more events to come. It is always our intention to promote local art and culture but more importantly to promote a harmonious community in where we live and this indirectly promote our local tourism, local business, local employment and our heritage.