Month: September 2022

Kuala Lumpur’s Heritage: More Than Skyscrapers

A capital city such as Kuala Lumpur isn’t all steel and glass. With a history that stretches back well over a century, the city preserves architecture from different eras—Malay timber houses, Mughal-inspired facades, Art Deco towers, and colonial civic buildings.

While many imagine modern cities as concrete jungles, Kuala Lumpur has a generous share of historical architecture that still stands, allowing us to relive the past. Although some structures have weathered time, authorities and heritage organisations are working to conserve these buildings and the stories they tell.

If you’re a history or architecture buff, start with these must-see historic buildings and landmarks in Kuala Lumpur.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building

One of the earliest Moorish-style buildings in Kuala Lumpur and officially opened in 1897, it was originally used as the secretariat for the British colonial administration and was simply known as Government Offices in its early years. 

In 1974, it was renamed after Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning Sultan of Selangor at the time of construction from 1894 to 1897.

Subsequently after the nation’s independence, it was used to house the superior courts of Malaysia — the Federal Court of Malaysia, the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Malaya. It is also the office to the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture.

Location: Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, Jalan Raja, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Carcosa Seri Negara

If you have seen the movie, Crazy Rich Asians, you might probably recognise this building in one of the scenes. Other than being a movie set, Carcosa Seri Negara has been a historical site as it played an important part in Malaysia’s independence movement, as it is where the country’s constitution was drafted. The Federation of Malaya agreement was signed here too in 1957.

Carcosa Seri Negara comprises two mansions – Carcosa and Seri Negara. The first mansion, Carcosa, was built in 1896 as the residence of the first British High Commissioner, Sir Frank Swettenham. Seri Negara was added to the grounds in 1913 as a guest house.

The mansion was used as the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. After the war, it was briefly the residence of visiting dignitaries, hosting prominent individuals such as Queen Elizabeth and the late Prince Phillip of England, who stayed here during their visit to Malaysia for the 1989 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. 

Location: Carcosa Seri Negara, Persiaran Tuanku Ja’afar, Tasik Perdana, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Loke Mansion

The Loke Mansion is a residence of a tin tycoon, Loke Yew and it was built in 1892 by Cheow Ah Yeok.

Over the course of its century-long history, the mansion was occupied by several entities following Loke Yew, who remained there until his death in 1917. This includes occupation by Japanese soldiers during World War II. It was also later used by Sam Min Chu Yi Youth Corps as a school, and converted into a police training centre during the 1948 Communist Emergency. 

From 1958 to 1970, it was left abandoned, but brought back to life as an art gallery, Samad Art Gallery and Artiquarium, and Lim Kok Wing art school up till 2000 when it was unoccupied once again. Since 2014, the mansion has been leased by Cheang & Ariff law firm and undergone several refurbishments. 

The mansion remains standing today, unique to surrounding buildings due to its white facade and hybrid of several different architectural styles – including influences from the Chinese, Dutch, and Moorish seen in various doorways and buttresses around the mansion.

Location: 39 Court @ Loke Mansion, No. 273A, Jalan Medan Tuanku, 50300 Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station

Before Kuala Lumpur Sentral was developed, Kuala Lumpur Railway Station played the role as the main transportation hub in Kuala Lumpur. Completed in 1917,  the station was Kuala Lumpur’s railway hub in the city for the Federated Malay States Railways and its successor Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railways).

The architecture of the railway station adopts a blend of Eastern and Western designs.

Location: Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin 50621 Kuala Lumpur.

Rumah Pusaka Chow Kit

If you were in Chow Kit before 2015, you might recall seeing a traditional Malay wooden house sandwiched between newer buildings compared to it. It is no longer there as the wooden house, known as Rumah Pusaka Chow Kit has been relocated to the National Art Gallery.

It was also nicknamed as ‘Rumah Degil’ as the owner of the house has refused millions of ringgit to move out to make way for new building projects. However in 2013, the owner have to sell it off as she no longer can afford the upkeep of the building. The house was originally owned by her grandfather, Haji Jaafar Sutan Mengatas, who is believed to be a descendent of Sutan Puasa who settled in Kuala Lumpur back in the 1830s.

The house has now been completely relocated and reconstructed at the National Art Gallery, with 90% of materials retained from its original structure.

Location: Balai Seni Negara, 2, Jalan Temerloh, Titiwangsa, 53200 Kuala Lumpur.

National Textile Museum

Situated within Merdeka Square along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, the National Textile Museum is housed in the century-old Federated Malay States Central Railways Offices. The building in Mughal-Islamic architectural style, completed in 1905, was designed by the English architect and soldier Arthur Benison Hubback.

Comprising four distinctive galleries — Pohon Budi Gallery, Pelangi Gallery, Teluk Berantai Gallery and Ratna Sari Gallery — on two floors, it showcases the process and technology involving textiles and houses exquisite collections of traditional apparel, accessories and textiles in Malaysia.

Location: 26, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur.

Rubber Research Institute

Built in the 1930s, the red-brick building of the Rubber Research Institute was designed by British architect Arthur Oakley Coltman, who is also behind other recognisable buildings in Kuala Lumpur such as Odeon Cinema and OCBC Building.

Location: 260, Jalan Ampang, Kampung Datuk Keramat, 55000 Kuala Lumpur.

City Theatre (Panggung Bandaraya)

Completed in 1904, Panggung Bandaraya is a historical theatre hall located opposite Dataran Merdeka. It was built during the British colonial era by English architect and soldier Arthur Benison Hubback.

The building was the former headquarters of Kuala Lumpur Municipal Council and the office of Tan Sri Yaacob Latiff, the second mayor of KL. The theatre is the oldest in KL and has been gazetted as a heritage building under the Antiquities Act, whereby its Moorish façade has been preserved. The venue is used to host theatrical productions, including operas, musicals and plays.

Location: Panggung Bandaraya, Jalan Raja, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Chow Kit Mansion

The beautiful mansion was originally built as the residence of Loke Chow Kit, one of Kuala Lumpur’s prominent entrepreneurial figures in the early 20th century.

The name Rumah Tangsi is given due to the building which is located at Jalan Tangsi, which literally means barracks, in reference to the old name of the road, Barrack Road. It is because there are a number of police barracks and armory buildings located around the area in the colonial days.

The construction of the mansion, or also known as Loke Hall, started in 1907, at a time when Kuala Lumpur was still a growing tin mining town. The building was designed by A.K. Moosdeen, the same architect that designs many other outstanding buildings in the early development period of Kuala Lumpur, including the Industrial Court Building (formerly Chow Kit & Co. emporium) and the row of shoplots in Medan Pasar (formerly Old Market Square).

Location: Rumah Tangsi, 10, Jalan Tangsi, Tasik Perdana, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur City Library

Formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Memorial Library, the Kuala Lumpur City Library was built in 1989 and was housed in the former Selangor Government Printing Office.

The library changed its name to Kuala Lumpur City Library in 2000. It is now the main library in Kuala Lumpur, comprising a variety of books and resources in printed, digital and audio-visual format that are compiled for the benefit of the city. The library is managed by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and located next to the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery.

Location: Perpustakaan Peringatan Kuala Lumpur, 1, Jalan Raja, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Oriental Building

When the building was built in 1931, it was a lively and a modern addition to Kuala Lumpur’s city centre especially during the era of the Great Depression.

The curved building was also once the tallest building in KL during the 1930s, standing at 82ft tall, or five storeys high. Initially The Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Co is the occupant of the building and then later was used by Radio Malaya. Subsequently the High Commissioner of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India housed the building.

Location: Oriental Building, Jalan Tun Perak, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Royal Selangor Club

The Royal Selangor Club, one of Asia’s oldest sporting institutions was established in 1884. It started out as a tiny wooden building with an attap roof and was a meeting point for the educated and high-ranking members of privileged British colonial society. Membership to the club, however, was primarily determined by high educational and social standards and not by race or citizenship.

The club was granted a royal charter by the Sultan of Selangor in 1984 and thereafter came to be known as Kelab Diraja Selangor or Royal Selangor Club. 

Location: Royal Selangor Club, Jalan Raja, City Centre, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.

Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman

Take a short walk from the Bukit Bintang shopping district, and you’ll find one of the oldest surviving traditional Malay houses that is constructed from woods and built on stilts.

Despite being located in Kuala Lumpur now, the house is originally from Bandar Baharu, Kedah, where it is owned by a village head in 1916. Badan Warisan Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation that seeks to preserve Malaysia’s heritage relocated the wooden house to the city in 1996.

Location: Badan Warisan Malaysia, 2, Jalan Stonor, Kuala Lumpur, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

Vivekananda Ashrama

Vivekananda Ashrama was built in 1904 by Jaffna Tamil immigrants, with a bronze statue erected in front of the building to honour Swami Vivekanada – an Indian Hindu monk who is considered a patriotic saint in India.

The ashram was an important site for Sri Lankan Jaffna in Brickfields, KL, as their first settlement was said to have relocated here. The building served as a reading room by the Tamil community in Brickfields in its early days, where followers of Vivekanada would congregate to study his works. 

In 1914, it branched out into Vivekananda Tamil School Brickfields, which is just a 3-minute walk from the ashram, to educate children.

Location: 220, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur.

Bangunan Sulaiman

Bangunan Sulaiman was completed in 1930 and takes on familiar features of the art deco movement. The building was named after Sultan Sulaiman of Selangor, Sultan Sir Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah, the fifth Sultan of Selangor who reigned from 1898 to 1938.

Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) is occupying the building today.

Location: 220, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur.

You Might Be Interested In This Too: Old Buildings In Kuala Lumpur Given A New Breath of Life

Is this your first time in Kuala Lumpur city? While traveling can be exciting and fun; but usually it is a little challenging for first-time travellers to a city like Kuala Lumpur. There are way too many things to do, and it is almost impossible to do everything in just a trip unless you are staying here for months.

To make things easier, here’s a list of basic things to do when you come to visit the capital city of Malaysia.

Visit the skyscrapers

Skyscraper is one of the main highlights in Kuala Lumpur city, being a city which boasts some of the tallest buildings in the world. Whether you enjoy the view from the top of the skyscraper or you love the details of architecture, you can choose to visit some of them.

Once completed, the Merdeka 118 and the Exchange 106 will be the two tallest buildings in Malaysia, with Merdeka 118 being the second tallest in the world. There will be a number of exciting spaces for you to visit at those towers.

While waiting for the completion of those two, you can visit Petronas Twin Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower which is already a well-known attraction globally.

Walk around downtown Kuala Lumpur

As the City Hall with the collaboration of private and public stakeholders, the downtown Kuala Lumpur is in the process of rejuvenated into a creative and cultural district.

Most of the streets and buildings in downtown Kuala Lumpur has been built since the British colonial eras, and if you are a heritage lover, you’ll definitely love it. Furthermore, with new local businesses injected into the spaces, many of the old spots were revived but at the same time preserving the heritage elements.

The Petaling Street and Kwai Chai Hong are some of the spaces that have been revived into attractive spots to visit. You might also find some beautiful street arts around downtown KL to add into your social media content.

Take a stroll along the River of Life

As part of the urban restoration project, that river which nobody ever thought of even taking a glance at, is now a beautiful public space to spend a good time for a stroll.

The River of Life is the convergence of two major rivers in Klang Valley; the Klang River and the Gombak River. There are biking paths, riverside cafes and dancing fountains along the river banks. At night, the extravagant LED light transforms the place into a mesmerising indigo blue, making it very distinctive. 

Go on a date to the museum and art galleries

If you’re a lover of art and culture, then you’ve got to include museums and art galleries into your itinerary of Kuala Lumpur. Recently reopened after the pandemic, the National Art Gallery has three storeys, no entrance fees, and free parking. There will be different art collections from time to time, depending on the curation and collaboration with different organisations.

The National Museum (Muzium Negara) is also a spot that is worth visiting to understand more about Malaysia and its culture. The museum houses four exhibition galleries, namely the Prehistory Gallery, Malay Kingdoms Gallery, Colonial Era Gallery and Malaysia Today — all of which feature Malaysia’s history and rich cultural diversity. 

Read more about the art galleries in Kuala Lumpur.

Shopping at the malls

Kuala Lumpur is never short of shopping malls for the people to visit and spur the economy. After all, it is a major city and the capital of Malaysia. You can easily find luxury and local brands for you to choose from at the malls.

Some of the popular malls are Midvalley Megamall, The Gardens Mall, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Suria KLCC, One Utama with the new ones Lalaport Bukit Bintang and Pavilion Bukit Jalil.

Get on the outdoor adventure in the city

If you think the city is just all about buildings, then you are wrong. There are a number of different outdoor activities that you can experience in the city.

For fresh outdoors and to have some fun, you can spend your day at Sunway Lagoon, Escape Petaling Jaya, Gamuda Cove or if you want to walk along a glass platform at 100 feet above the ground, you might want to go over to Kuala Lumpur Tower for the Tower Walk 100.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you might want to try out some thrilling theme park experience at Berjaya Times Square Theme Park, Superpark Malaysia, District 21, and Jump Street Asia Trampoline Park.

Check out the list of adventurous activities that you might be interested.

Snap beautiful photos for your social media content

Instagrammable spots is all around the city, you’ve just got to find it and use your vision to capture some amazing content for your social media.

You can consider going over to the Bukit Bintang alleys for some street art, Batu Caves for the colourful steps to the top of the Hindu shrine, the most beautiful pedestrian bridge with lightings at the Saloma Link, Kwai Chai Hong and many more.

Find out more of the instagrammable spots of the city in this link.

Go cafe hopping!

Since the third wave coffee is introduced in Malaysia, there are plenty of high-quality baristas trained and winning multiple international awards and competitions.

From there, lots of cafes have been opened locally with different styles, themes, ambience, type of food & beverages. Hunt for your favourite ones and enjoy a good cuppa while taking a break after a long walk in the city.

You might even find some Instagrammable ones to add into your social media feeds.

Religious Places

Being a nation with diverse community, Malaysia has a lot of buildings of different religion. Even if the buildings are from the same religion, the design and architecture might be inspired from different influences.

For example, the Federal Territory Mosque’s design is a blend of Ottoman and Malay architectural styles, heavily influenced by the Blue Mosque of Istanbul. The design of the Masjid Jamek, on the other hand has been described as a Moorish, Indo-Saracenic or Mughal architecture.

Of course, there are also religious architectures from the Buddhist, Taoist and the Hindu community with some of the significant ones like the Batu Caves Temple and the Thean Hou Temple.

Here’s some of the beautiful religious places that you should visit.

Enjoy the good foods of Kuala Lumpur

With the diverse culture in Malaysia, the city never lacks of good food, whether it is from the streets or those that have won the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

There is a long list of different cuisines that you can taste in Kuala Lumpur, but since you are here, you have to try some local foods like the Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Banana Leaf Rice, Nasi Kandar, Local Kopitiam Breakfast, Nyonya Food or maybe Durians when the season is here. If you’d want to explore more, you can check our food list for more inspirations.

That’s the list of things to do if you’re a first timer in Kuala Lumpur and we hope this is good enough for you to have a splendid time in the city.