(The History Of) Kuala Lumpur - Rewind a 100 Years

Kuala Lumpur Circa 1900

Kuala Lumpur Circa 1880

Ready for some history lesson? All rights class, today's lesson is about Kuala Lumpur. Founded in 1857 at the convergence of the Gombak and Klang rivers. In English, 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. The tin they discovered in Ampang attracted more miners and KL quickly became a brawling, noisy, violent boomtown, ruled over by so-called ‘secret societies’, a network of criminal gangs. 

The local sultan appointed a proxy (known as Kapitan China) to bring the unruly Chinese fortune-seekers and their secret societies into line. The successful candidate, Yap Ah Loy (Kapitan China from 1868 to ’85), took on the task with such ruthless relish that he’s now credited as the founder of KL. According to legend, Yap Ah Loy was able to keep the peace with just six policemen, such was the respect for his authority in the community.

Yap Ah Loy - The Man

Loy had only just established control when local sultans went to war over the throne of Perak and its tin mines, marking the start of the Malay Civil War. KL was swept up in the conflict and burnt to the ground in 1881. This allowed the British government representative, Frank Swettenham, to push through a radical new town plan which transferred the central government from Klang to KL. By 1886 a railway line linked KL to Klang. A year later a new city was constructed in fire-resistant brick, and in 1896 KL became the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States. From that moment on the city developed quickly. The new capital attracted people of many different cultures and the city soon became a melting pot of Asian cultures. Special areas were erected in the city, and in every area a different culture group lived. For instance, even in that time, you had a Chinese district, and Indian district, a district in which primarily Europeans (especially the English) lived and a district in which the local 'Malay' lived.

When the Malay Civil War broke out a few years later. Local sultans were fighting for the throne of Perak, and KL, swept up in the conflict, burned to the ground. The merchants of the Straits Settlements, concerned that the war would ruin their prosperity, asked Britain to intervene. Britain was initially reluctant to get involved with internal politics, but rumors that the merchants would turn to Germany instead sparked a fear in London that Britain could lose its tin interests in Malaya. London sent in a new territorial governor, Andrew Clarke, to apprise the situation. Clarke gathered the feuding princes aboard his ship off the island of Pangkor, and convinced them to sign a document known as the Pangkor Agreement. The Agreement ended the war, established a new Sultan of Perak, and -- most significantly -- called for the presence of a British Resident "who must be asked and acted upon on all questions other than those touching Malay religion and custom." This was the beginning of a dramatically increased British involvement in Malaya, one that would eventually place Kuala Lumpur at center of history.

The British residential system quickly spread. Frank Swettenham, the Resident of Selangor, chose Kuala Lumpur as his administrative center and oversaw the rebirth of the city, ordering the construction of new buildings using brick. In 1896, Swettenham convinced the Sultans of four states to unite under the umbrella of the Federated Malay States (FMS), and Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the capital. The city became a classic center of British colonialism. Sharply uniformed officers and bureaucrats administered the FMS from beneath the distinctive copper domes of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. In the off-hours, they played cricket on the field of the Padang and sought liquid comfort in the Selangor Club, where only whites were allowed. Unsurprisingly, the club became a symbol of British imperialism and oppression and fueled the ever-growing dreams of independence. At midnight on August 30, 1957, amidst a crowd of tens of thousands, British soldiers finally lowered the Union Jack for the last time in front of the Selangor Club. Interestingly, the old British watering hole would become the meeting place of the new Malaysian elite. 

Royal Selangor Club / Then known as Spotted Dogs Club Circa 1920

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building (The Govt Offices Then) Circa 1920

With independence, KL was poised for its greatest transformation ever. One of the city's darkest days came in 1969, when civil unrest - spawned by racial tensions -- swept through the city, sparking a state of emergency that would last for two years. Bolstered by a growing economy and a sincere desire for cooperation between Malaysia's ethnic groups, the tensions subsided, and in 1974 the city was given the status of Federal Territory. The last 20 years have seen Kuala Lumpur undergo phenomenal growth, with a population explosion of almost 50 percent, not to mention development on a monumental scale. One of the world's tallest buildings, the Petronas Towers, now rise above the city of 1.4 million. If those 87 Chinese miners could have poled their way 140 years up the river of time, they probably wouldn't recognize the legacy that began where the two muddy rivers met.

Central Market / Pasar Seni Circa 1920

Market Street/Clarke Road Bridge c. 1910

Java Bridge (Java Street/Mountbatten Road/Jalan Tun Perak) under construction over Klang River, Kuala Lumpur Circa 1888

Kandar (pole) rojak seller at fountain (Merdeka Square) Circa 1900

Steam train at Kuala Lumpur railway station Circa 1915 

Ice water vendor, Kuala Lumpur Circa 1900

Kuala Lumpur Circa 1920

Madjid Jamek 1909

Timeline history Kuala Lumpur 

• 1857: 87 tin miners find rich sources of tin around the area. 

• 1862: Kuala Lumpur grows rapidly. New miners from over the world settle here, with many conflicts and gang wars as a result. 

• 1869: Yap Ah Loy becomes Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur and succeeds to establish law and order in Kuala Lumpur in just a few years. 

• 1880: Kuala Lumpur becomes a modern town when the British representative Frank Swettenham develops the first city plan. 

• 1887: Kuala Lumpur becomes the capital of the state of Selangor. 1896: The Federated Malay States is formed by uniting the Sultans of four states. Kuala Lumpur becomes capital of the Federated Malay States. 

• 1946: Kuala Lumpur becomes capital in the Federation of Malaya. 

• 1957: Malaysia celebrates its independence on August 31 after 151 years of British rule. Kuala Lumpur becomes capital of the Independent Federation of Malaya. 

• 1963: Kuala Lumpur becomes capital of Malaysia. 

• 1974: Kuala Lumpur becomes a Federal Territory (Wilayah Persekutuan) with its own administration. 1999: The federal administrative capital of Malaysia moves to Putrajaya. 

• 2007: Kuala Lumpur celebrates its 50th year as capital of Malaysia and Malaysia its 50th year of independence.

Sources : Farah Laida / RSMurthi / Lonely Planet / WonderfulMalaysia / Geographia