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.