The Kuala Lumpur between (1857-1957)
Kuala Lumpur was founded in
1857 at the confluence of the
Gombak and
Klang rivers. In
Malay, the name literally means "muddy confluence". The settlement started when a member of the
Selangor royal family, Raja Abdullah, opened up the
Klang Valley for tin prospectors. 87
Chinese prospectors went up the river Klang and began prospecting in the Ampang area, which was then jungle. Despite 69 of them dying due to the pestilential conditions, a thriving tin mine was established. This naturally attracted merchants who traded basic provisions to the miners in return for some of the tin. The traders set up shop at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. Thus, a city was born.
As the town grew, the
British, who ruled Malaya at the time, felt they needed to appoint a headman (Chinese
Kapitan, or Captain of the Chinese) to administer the settlement and ensure law and order. The first Kapitan Cina was Hiu Siew. It was the third Kapitan Cina,
Yap Ah Loy, who oversaw the rise of Kuala Lumpur from a sleepy little mining town to become the foremost city of Selangor. In the early years, Kuala Lumpur was the centre of the
Selangor Civil War, in which two conflicts could be discerned; a fight between Selangor princes over the revenue of tin mines, and the other one a vendetta between Kapitan Yap and Chong Chong, who wanted the Kapitanship. Kapitan Yap and his backer, Tengku Kudin, were successful and it was from then,Kuala Lumpur became Selangor's biggest city. He rebuilt Kuala Lumpur, which was devastated by the Civil War and repopulated it with Chinese miners from elsewhere in Selangor. He also encouraged Malay farmers to settle near Kuala Lumpur in order to have a steady and accessible source of food.
It was made capital of
Selangor in
1880 due to Kapitan Yap's success. He gave Kuala Lumpur a system of frontier justice which effectively maintained law and order, and ensured that Kuala Lumpur became the centre of commerce in Selangor.
Sir Frank Swettenham was at this time appointed Resident of Selangor and he was the person responsible for making Kuala Lumpur the seat of administration of Selangor. It was under his rule that after Kapitan Yap's death the city continued to prosper. When the
Federated Malay States were incorporated with Swettenham in charge in
1896, Kuala Lumpur was made the capital.
Most of central KL has grown without any central planning whatsoever, so the streets in the older parts of town are extremely narrow, winding and congested. The architecture in this section is a unique colonial type, a hybrid of
European and
Chinese forms.
During
World War II Japanese forces captured Kuala Lumpur on
January 11, 1942 and occupied the city for 44 months.
The Kuala Lumpur between (1957-1990)
After independence in
1957, Kuala Lumpur became the capital of the
Federation of Malaya and continued to be the capital of the greater
Federation of Malaysia in
1963. For the occasion of independence, a large stadium,
Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), was built, where Malaysia's first prime Minister,
Tunku Abdul Rahman, declared Malaya's independence in front of a massive crowd. The
Union Jack was lowered from the flagpole at
Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) and the
Malayan flag was raised. The site symbolized British sovereignty as it was a cricket ground for the colonial administrators and fronted the
Royal Selangor Club, Malaya's most exclusive whites-only club.
On
1 February 1974 Kuala Lumpur seceded from Selangor and the city became a Federal Territory (
Wilayah Persekutuan).
The today's Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur advanced by leaps and bounds ever since the Asian Economic Boom of the early 1990s (when economic growth was averaging at 10%). Skyscrapers have shot up and Kuala Lumpur, formerly a languid colonial outpost, has become one of the most lively, advanced and vibrant cities in South East Asia. Traffic jams are a scourge commuters endure daily, despite the numerous 6-lane highways constructed all over the city (including two elevated highways).
Bus services are notoriously irregular and inadequate.
The stretch of road facing Dataran Merdeka is perhaps the most famous road in Kuala Lumpur. The Sultan Abdul Samad building with its signature copper domes and
Moorish architecture stands here, as does one of the tallest flagpoles in the world, which stands in the Dataran Merdeka itself. Up until 2004, the superior courts of the federation (the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court) were housed in the
Sultan Abdul Samad Building, since then the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court have moved to the Palace of Justice in
Putrajaya. The
Dayabumi building is visible, being down the road. This area used to be the focal point of Malaysia's
Independence Day parade, which was televised all over Malaysia. In
2003 however, the parade was moved to the boulevard in Putrajaya, keeping with Putrajaya's status as the new administrative capital of Malaysia. Interestingly, the white Police Headquarters located atop Bukit Aman (literally "Peace Hill") also faces the Dataran.
The rest of the city has mostly developed in the standard way, similar with other capital cities in other countries. Aware of this, architects have been urged to incorporate traditional design elements into their work. Notable examples of this fusion are the Dayabumi building, Kuala Lumpur's first skyscraper, the Tabung Haji Building and
Menara Telekom, both designed by local architect Hijjas Kasturi, and the
Petronas Twin Towers.
