Photo : Sultan Abdul Samad Building

History

Kuala Lumpur, literally means 'muddy estuary' in Malay, is situated at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. The great city one sees now started out as a tin-mining camp by a group of 87 Chinese settlers, led by Bugis Chief Raja Abdullah, in 1857.

At that time, tin was greatly demanded by the Americans and the British Empire, which needed the durable, lightweight metal to help fuel their industrial revolutions. The prospectors headed for Ampang, located a few kilometres to the east of Kuala Lumpur, as huge reserves of tin ores are found there.

Within a few years, the village thrived. Like all mining boom-towns, it was a raucous place with its own secret societies. Without a centralised Chinese authority to keep peace, order in the town and mining areas was almost impossible.

In 1868, the headmen of the local clans elected a man named Yap Ah Loy as Kapitan China or leader of the Chinese community as a solution to the fights and chaos. With the support of the local sultan, Kapitan Loy built prisons and quelled revolts, quickly establishing an infamous reign over the entire Kuala Lumpur mining area.

Then, the Malay Civil War broke out as Kapitan Loy was in the midst of establishing control over the area. Local sultans were fighting for the throne of Perak State and Kuala Lumpur, swept up in the conflict, was burned to the ground.

Concerned that the war might ruin their prosperity, the merchants of the Straits Settlements asked Britain to intervene. Initially, Britain was reluctant to get involved in internal politics. But, upon hearing rumours that the merchants would turn to Germany instead, the British changed their mind as they feared that they would lose the tin interests in Malaya (the Peninsula's then name).

London sent in a new territorial governor, Adrew Clarke, to apprise the situation. Clarke gathered the feuding princes aboard his ship off Pulau Pangkor (Pangkor Island) and convinced them to sign a document known as the Pangkor Agreement to end the war.

Based on the Agreement, a new Perak Sultan was established and the Sultans have to accept a British Resident who must be asked and acted upon on all questions other than those touching Malay religion and custom. The British residential system quickly spread.

Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, chose Kuala Lumpur as his administrative centre 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.

As the seat of British administration in the Malay States, Kuala Lumpur inherited from this period in its history, a system of roads and the fine examples of gracious colonial architecture which are still evident today.

At midnight on August 30, 1957, the British soldiers finally lowered the Union Jack for the last time in front of the Selangor Club. As the Federation of Malaya gained its independence, Kuala Lumpur was declared the Federal capital.

Although Kuala Lumpur was poised to become a great metropolitan, 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 lasts about two years. However, encouraged by a growing economy and a sincere desire for co-operation between Malaysia's ethnic groups, the tensions subsided.

In 1972, Kuala Lumpur achieved city status. At the same time, it also remained as Selangor's state capital, a status it attained in 1887. On February 1, 1974, Kuala Lumpur was officially declared a Federal Territory. It also also marked the end of Selangor's jurisdiction over Kuala Lumpur.

The last 20 years have seen Kuala Lumpur undergo phenomenal growth, not to mention development on a monumental scale. The world's tallest buildings, the Petronas Twin Towers, now rise above the city with a two million population.