History of Kuala Lumpur

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History of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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rubber plantations in Selangor. It became the capital of Selangor, later the Federated Malay States, and then Malayan Union, Malaya and finally Malaysia

.

Pre-independence era (1857–1957)

Kuala Lumpur was founded ca. 1857 at the confluence of the

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.^[2]

Sungei Besi

circa 1910

This naturally attracted merchants who traded basic provisions to the miners in exchange for some of the tin. Two traders from Lukut, Hiu Siew and Yap Ah Sze, then arrived in Kuala Lumpur where they set up shops to sell provisions to the miners.^[3][4] Kuala Lumpur was the furthest point up the Klang River to which supplies could conveniently be brought by boat; it therefore became a collection and dispersal point serving the tin mines.^[5] The town, spurred on by tin-mining, started to develop beside the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers with the Old Market Square (

Damansara (later part of Damansara Road).^[6]

Yap Ah Loy

The leaders of the Chinese community, who administer the Chinese settlement and ensure law and order, were conferred the title of Kapitan Cina (Chinese headman) by the Malay chief. Hiu Siew, the owner of a mine in Lukut and early shops in Kuala Lumpur, was chosen as the first Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur.^[7] It was however the third Kapitan Cina, Yap Ah Loy, who had the most impact on Kuala Lumpur in its early years. He set up Kuala Lumpur's first school and a shelter for the homeless. Yap also 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. Kapitan Yap was involved in all aspects of commercial activities of early Kuala Lumpur, including the main market, as well as licensing of brothels, casinos and drinking saloons. Yap's Kuala Lumpur was very much a rough frontier town as Yap himself was a member of the Hai San triad and gang warfare was common, in particular, the conflict between Hai San and the Ghee Hin (based in the Kanching and Rawang area). In 1870, Yap's friend Ah Sze (the early pioneer of Kuala Lumpur) was murdered, presumably by Chong Chong, a headman in Kanching who wanted the Kapitanship of Kuala Lumpur. Yap led his men to Kanching in retaliation, and 12 Chinese and 8 Malays were killed, an event that would become known as 'the Kanching massacre', and Chong Chong was driven out of Kanching.^[8]

Kuala Lumpur became embroiled in the

Selangor Civil War, which was a fight between Selangor princes for political power and the revenue of tin mines. Chong Chong sided with Raja Mahdi, while Kapitan Yap aligned himself with Tengku Kudin. Yap repelled a couple of attacks on Kuala Lumpur by Raja Mahdi and Chong Chong's forces. In 1872, Raja Asal and Sutan Puasa who were leaders of Mandailing settlers in Selangor switched side to Raja Mahdi, and besieged Tengku Kudin's stronghold at Bukit Nanas. Tengku Kudin's men including European mercenaries attempted to escape, but were caught in Petaling and were killed. Kuala Lumpur was taken and burnt to the ground. Yap managed to escape to Klang where he reassembled a fighting force. Yap and Tengku Kudin then regained Kuala Lumpur with the help of Pahang Malays in 1873.^[9] Despite the town's destruction during the Civil War, Yap rebuilt Kuala Lumpur and repopulated the town. Yap also kept the town going through a difficult period when the price of tin slumped mid 1870s, and although he suffered severe losses, a recovery of the price of tin in 1879 would secure the future of Kuala Lumpur.^[10]

British administration

In 1874, Sultan Abdul Samad of Selangor accepted a

Merdeka Square, which became the centre of the British colonial administration.^[13][14]

Resident in 1882, has been credited with its rapid growth and development and its transformation into a major urban center.^[15] Early Kuala Lumpur was a small town that suffered from many social and political problems – the buildings were made of wood and atap (thatching

) that were prone to fire, lack of proper sanitation plagued the town with diseases, and it suffered from a constant threat of flooding. A major outbreak of cholera in late 1870s caused many to flee the town. On 4 January 1881 the entire town was burnt down, and later the same year, the town was severely flooded.

Frank Swettenham, on becoming the British Resident, began improving the town by cleaning up the streets. He also stipulated that buildings should be constructed of brick and tile so that they would be less flammable.

shop house

architecture typical to this region.

Swettenham also initiated the construction of a railway line between Klang and Kuala Lumpur, opened in 1886, which increased accessibility to Kuala Lumpur and spurred the rapid growth of the town. The population grew from 4,500 in 1884 to 20,000 in 1890.[18] When the Federated Malay States were incorporated with Swettenham as the Resident-General in 1896, Kuala Lumpur was made the capital.

As most of central KL grew in an organic fashion originally without significant planning in the early years, so the streets in the older parts of town are narrow, winding and congested. The architecture in this section is a unique colonial type, a hybrid of European and

Selangor Club

, later rebuilt.

Expansion in the 20th century

Kuala Lumpur grew from a small settlement to become Malaysia's biggest city in the 20th century. Kuala Lumpur was only 0.65 km² in 1895, but it expanded to 20 km² in 1903, and by the time it became a municipality in 1948 it had expanded to 93 km², and then after independence to 243 km² in 1974 as a Federal Territory.^[20]

The development of the rubber industry in Selangor fueled by the demand for car tyres in the early 20th century led to a boom of the town, with the population of Kuala Lumpur increasing from 30,000 in 1900 to 80,000 in 1920,

A major flood hit Kuala Lumpur in 1926. In an attempt to reduce the risk of flooding, part of the Klang River below the Gombak-Klang confluence was shortened and straightened. A channel (part of which runs beside the present Jalan Syed Putra) with flood retention banks was dug to divert the river and it was completed in 1932.^[24]

Japanese occupation

Kuala Lumpur was occupied by Japanese from 11 January 1942 to 15 August 1945. The period, called "3 years and 8 months", almost halted the economy of Kuala Lumpur. The occupation of the city resulted in significant loss of lives; at least 5,000 Chinese were killed in Kuala Lumpur in just a few weeks of the occupation by Japanese forces, and thousands of Indians were sent as forced labour to work on the Burma Railway where a large number died.^[25]

During the Japanese Occupation, the military launched numerous policies such as the selective policy where the ethnic Chinese were treated poorly because they supported the Chinese Government during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 and the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. On the other hand, the ethnic Malays were treated well with promise of independence after the war so that they would co-operate in order for the Japanese to continue administering Kuala Lumpur.^[25] The Japanese Social Policy was implemented during the Japanese Military Administratives; in this policy, all English and Chinese schools were ordered to close down and every morning in schools, Kimigayo (the Japanese National Anthem) had to be sung to show loyalty to the Japanese Emperor.

While the Japanese Military occupies Kuala Lumpur, the Japanese Military Yen or commonly known as Banana notes were introduced. Due to currency without reserves issued by the Japanese Imperial Army administration and over printing of Japanese Military Yen, hyper-inflation occurred and food rationing became the norm of daily lives.

After the Japanese surrendered, the British Military Administration returned to Kuala Lumpur. On 1 April 1946, the British officially declared the Malayan Union in King's House (now known as Carcosa Seri Negara).

During the

Pre-independence elections

Kuala Lumpur was one of the first Malayan cities to hold an election. The first municipal election was held on 16 February 1952; the

On 1 February 1972, Kuala Lumpur was given city status.

On 1 February 1974 Kuala Lumpur seceded from Selangor and the city became a Federal Territory (

On 5 August 1975, The terrorist organisation named Japanese Red Army, took more than 50 hostages at the AIA building, which housed several embassies. The hostages included the United States consul and the Swedish chargé d'affaires. The gunmen won the release of five imprisoned comrades and flew with them to Libya. The organisation carried out many attacks and assassinations in the 1970s, including the Lod Airport massacre in Tel Aviv three years earlier.^[29]

Contemporary era (1990–present)

Starting from the early 1990s, Kuala Lumpur experience considerable development since the Asian Economic Boom of the early 1990s (when economic growth was averaging at 10%). Under the initiative the Prime Minister

The accelerated development of the city has seen older structures demolished or altered to make way for shopping centres, offices and residential developments. Efforts to conserve heritage buildings in the city exist but are limited. While preservation of landmarks such as the

Kuala Lumpur was voted as one of top ten cities in Asia by a leading Asia magazine Asiaweek.^[37]

References

Bibliography

• Gullick, J.M. (1955). "Kuala Lumpur 1880–1895" (PDF). Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 24 (4): 10–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2015.
• Gullick, J.M. (1983). The Story of Kuala Lumpur, 1857–1939. Eastern Universities Press (M).
  ISBN 978-967-908-028-5
  .
• Gullick, J.M. (2000). A History of Kuala Lumpur 1856–1939. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
  ISBN 9789679948158
  .

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