Educational Video by our group : Azhana, Helmi & Adeq.

Easy way to learn Pronouns 

We're back again, and now...

Hey! Welcome back to my blog people.

So here today, we are going to see one of the main attraction in Kuala Lumpur, The Merdeka Square!

So, what is this Merdeka Square?

Dataran Merdeka, a must visit place for those who roams around the KL city.

•    The Merdeka Square (Independence Square or Dataran Merdeka) is situated in the centre of the city. It's close to the Gombak river, the Masjid Jamek, Central Market and China Town. It's the core of KL's history. Here you find buildings like the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the Royal Selangor Club, and the National History museum. 

• Some of them peppered with Arabic - Moorish flavour. A 100 metre-high flagpole marks the spot where the Malayan Flag was hoisted on August 31, 1957 signifying the independence of the country from British rule.

 The national flag located at the center of the field, Merdeka Square.

  The Selangor Club, located at the side of the field, Merdeka Square.

   We're starting at the Selangor Club. Seen from across the Padang, which was originally a cricket field.

In 1892 it had 140 members including some who were absent from Selangor. Before there was a club everybody met everybody at Maynards (it means a place where you sell liquors), which was the only European shop in Kuala Lumpur during that time, wow you can actually get a good drinks back then, if only you were a noble,hahaha... Now look at this picture... This is the main attraction located just across the street. The building of Sultan Abdul Samad.    The most beautiful building at the Merdeka Square is, without any doubt, the Abdul Samad Building.    The Sultan Abdul Samad building was constructed in 1897 and designed by a British architect, A.C. Norman, who worked for the Public Works Department at that time. He took into consideration some of the features of buildings in several Islamic countries.    The predominantly Arabic - Moorish appearance of the building suitably reflects the cultural background of Malaysia.    The unique Moorish-style building has a 41m clock tower, more like a Malaysian version of the Big Ben in London. Not really the same but yeah you get me right?    The current Dataran Merdeka has a lot of improvement so far,  here's the list that i know a bit about it. There's a new fountain architecture located at the end of the road around Merdeka Square. There's a new law and curfew which is, the public cannot park their vehicles after 9 p.m, the DBKL ( the law officers of KL city ) also chase out the road hooligans like Mat Rempit in order to keep the peaceful environment. There's actually a shopping mall located under the Merdeka Square, quite fascinating isn't it? The building at the beginning of the Dataran Merdeka used to be a high class royal restaurant by a popular local malay chef. The name of the Restaurant is Warisan. But now it is currently moved to another place, and the building remain to be part of the KL museum exhibits. So, before we end this post, here's an image you rarely see,  The panoramic view of The Dataran Merdeka.   And the location of Merdeka Square ( marked in a red line ) : Merdeka Square from the satellite image.  Source : https://www.google.com/maps/@3.1489803,101.699779,819a,35y,270h,39.22t/data=!3m1!1e3 That's all for now. Stay tuned and Thank You!

One of the hotspot area in Kuala Lumpur - Chow Kit Road..

We meet again people ! So today i'm going to tell you guys about Chow Kit road in Kuala Lumpur.

Ever wonder why the late Sudirman Haji Arshad sang a song about this place?

 " Chow kit road! chow kit road!

  Chow kit road! chow kit road!
  Chow kit road! chow kit road!
  Chow kit road! chow kit road!

  Di tengah bandaraya orang merata rata
  Dari segala bangsa tua atau muda
  Ada yang berkereta ada yang jalan saja
  Ada yang cuci mata ha ha ha ha ha ha

  Di tengah bandaraya
  Yang miskin dan yang kaya
  Bagai satu keluarga bersama gembira
  Ramai orang berniaga menjual apa saja
  Semuanya murah murah ha ha ha ha ha ha

  Indahnya petang di chow kit road
  Kuala lumpur
  Indahnya petang di chow kit road
  Kuala lumpur

  Di tengah bandaraya walau baik orangnya
  Perlu berhati hati di tipu pencuri
  Bila melintas jalan jangan sesuka hati
  Di tangkap mata mata baru padan muka... "

Shot of Chow Kit Road in KL

So what is Chow Kit road eh? What makes it one of the popular destination in KL?

   Basically, Chow Kit is part of a district in Kuala Lumpur. It is located around Jalan Chow Kit and is enclosed by the parallel streets such as the Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. The name Chow Kit came from the name of a tin miner and a municipal councilor, Loke Chow Kit. Check out this image below : 

   Chow Kit road is a busy place,every single day in KL. It is a place where you can buy everything from foods,clothes and even household items.Basically, Chow Kit road has been a reliable place to purchase fruits, spices, meat, vegetables, clothes, shoes and so on. 

   For generations, the Chow Kit is a wet market frequented by many to obtain the freshest ingredients for their household and also for some restaurant owners. This place may not be somewhere visitors may want to visit because it is in fact a wet market but this is the only place where you can try out local foods at a very affordable price, especially for students like us or even a foreigner on low budget... 

   The market here begins as early at 6am in the morning! Can you believe that? So early!
 And what's more is that you can expect to experience lively and culture rich scenes here. Such market is a rare scene in Kuala Lumpur because the development of the city itself. 

  

One of earliest development of pedestrians bridge in Chow Kit.

These images below shows the area around Jalan Chow Kit :

   Though there's a lot of supermarkets grown all over Kuala Lumpur like wild mushrooms, the Chow Kit market endured it all. You guys will be thrilled by the variety of fresh ingredients sold here. If you are a fan of photographing emotions of people and it culture, the Chow Kit market is a great place to start. ( I'm a big fan of KL photography too! )

   While you are here, remember to try the street foods here. All sold at a low price, remember to not overeat. The Chow Kit has gone through good and bad times. To tell you guys one of the worst incident here is that, Chow Kit was nearly demolished to make way to a eleven-storey multipurpose building but was luckily cancelled due to the economic crisis back then.

  It's good to have Chow Kit Road as one of the main attraction here in Kuala Lumpur! 

See you guys next time ! xoxo . :)

Powtoon Project with Helmi/Adeq.

The Brief Story of Kuala Lumpur, Part 2.

So the last part were only a list of time chronologies.

This time I will explain it in a further details..So here we go !

The year 1857 :

   The history of Kuala Lumpur began when Raja Abdullah, a member of the Selangor Royal Family started opening up parts of the Klang Valley to tin prospectors

    With the rise of the tin extraction industry, prospectors started pouring in to a new settlement on the banks of a “muddy confluence” between the Gombak and Klang rivers – creating the early foundation of the city (the city’s name comes from word Kuala meaning – ‘junction’ or ‘estuary’ and Lumpur meaning – ‘muddy’)

   Cleaning the land caused mosquitoes to breed – and only small number of the early tin miners survived to see the thriving tin mining town becomes established.

    With more laborers to replace them, traders and merchants began establishing their businesses in the settlement, and the town was born.

     As the new town kept growing, the fragile peace between many of the interested parties did not last.

   Bitter rivalry between the triads and civil war between the Selangor princes erupted over the tin, leading to bloody feuds and wars.

   When Kapitan Yap Ah Loy, the third leader of the Chinese community was appointed by British, peace was again restored and under his competent leadership the sleepy mining town boomed into a commercial trading hub of every high importance.

The Chinese Kapitan, Yap Ah Loy.

**Kapitan means the Headman.

The year 1880 - 1881 :

   Kuala Lumpur was made the capital of Selangor due in large part to Kapitan Yap Ah Loy’s success and efficiency in maintaining the peace and a system of law and order.

   During another furious feud – Kuala Lumpur was burnt down and Kapitan Yap decided this time to rebuild the town using bricks and tiles, replacing the older dangerous atap or wooden houses.

   Also at this time Sir Frank Swettenham was appointed the Resident – General of Selangor and after Kapitan Yap’s death in 1885, he oversaw the growth of Kuala Lumpur as the town continued to prosper.

   With the completion of the first railway connecting the town to Port Klang in 1886, Kuala Lumpur’s growth was further boosted.

The year 1896 :

   In 1896 the Federated Malay Sates (FMS) which at the time only consisted of four states was incorporated and with Swettenham as the Resident-General, Kuala Lumpur was chosen to be the capital.

      The town continued to evolve becoming the classic epitome of British colonialism, with sharply uniformed white officers administrating the FMS.

     Unsurprisingly with the oppression of British imperialism, local nationalists were burning with their own dreams of independence.

The year 1957 :

          At the stroke of midnight on 31August 1957, amidst tens of thousands of people, the British Union Jack which had stood waving in front of the Selangor Club, was finally lowered on Malaysian soil for the last time and Malaysia’s independence was ushered in.

     Malaysia’s independence was declared by the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, in Stadium Merdeka, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Merdeka Square on morning 1957.

The Merdeka Declaration.

The uproars of Merdeka in newspaper.

The Union Jack lowered for the last time at Royal Selangor Club.

The year 1969 :

   With the nation’s newfound independence, Kuala Lumpur began moving towards greatest transformation...

   But, once again –as in the troubled past things came to halt when violent and bloody civil unrest exploded across the city as a result of racial tensions.. the tragedy of 13th May 1969.

" The 13 May 1969 incident refers to the Sino-Malay sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur (then part of the state of Selangor), Malaysia. The riot occurred in the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election when opposition parties made gains at the expense of the ruling coalition, the Alliance Party. Official reports put the number of deaths due to the riots at 196, although Western diplomatic sources at the time suggested a toll of close to 600, with most of the victims Chinese. "

                

                

  The unrest sparked a state of emergency which continued for the next two years.

 These tensions finally subsided again after negotiations were made to bring the nation’s people together as one.

The year 1972 - 1974 :

    Kuala Lumpur was conferred city status on February 1st 1972,

     and two years after that,

  In 1974 Kuala Lumpur was declared a Federal Territory. 

    Yeayy that's our KL day !

Present day :

   During the last few decades, Kuala Lumpur has been witness to incredible social and economic growth – with significant increases to the population and major development throughout the city.

   Today, Kuala Lumpur‘s progress is perhaps best measured by the PETRONAS Twin Towers – one of the world’s tallest buildings standing admirably among the Kuala Lumpur skyline.

The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, night view.

Kuala Lumpur Current Map - Around the city.

So, there you have it, Kuala Lumpur's background short brief for today's update!

Stay tuned,xoxo. 

The brief story of Kuala Lumpur. Part 1

For everything, there is beginning... 

• It’s hard to believe Kuala Lumpur didn’t even exist 200 years ago. 

• What is the secret and origin of this big city?

Kuala Lumpur's history is surprisingly short – it only came into existence in the late 1850s, when a group of Chinese tin prospectors settled where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet in what was then deep mosquito-ridden jungle. The mines developed into a trading post which evolved into a frontier town.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building located at Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur during the 1900's

Merdeka Square, present day. 

To be more precise, let us go back in time for a bit... Time chronology of our beloved 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.


That's it for now.. We will continue on part 2. Stay tuned ! xoxo

My KL Infographic