Our family moved from Parit Buntar to Petaling Jaya in 1961. My father placed me in a school in Kuala
Lumpur. I had to take a bus from
Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur to go to school, a journey which took about half
an hour to 45 minutes. After arriving in Kuala Lumpur I had to take a walk which took 15 minutes. I still remember I thoroughly enjoyed the 15
minute-walk from the bus stop to my new school every morning. Coming from a small rural town, everything was so different and exciting for me.
The bus would stop at a station opposite the Sulaiman Building, which was then the headquarters of the National Registration Department and later housed
the Federal Territory Syariah Court. The
Sulaiman Building was constructed in the early 1920s and has now been declared
a heritage building. I understand that
it is now being renovated and will soon be the new premise for the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA).
As I walked towards my school, Sulaiman Building would be on my right.
The Sulaiman Building as it looked then |
The Sulaiman Building as it looks now |
After a very short distance I would pass the Majestic Hotel
on my left. Built on the site of the
German Consul General's house during World War I, the Majestic Hotel was completed in
1935 in a luxury art-deco style. The original building was designed by a Dutch
architectural firm Keyes and Dowdeswell for the Trustees of the Estate of Loke
Wan Tho, the youngest son of the businessman and philanthropist Loke Yew. The
hotel was the place for glamorous social events, government receptions and was the favourite hotel
for prominent international visitors. It
seems that in its heyday, Majestic Hotel was the largest and grandest hotel in
Kuala Lumpur, favoured by the colonial elite and prominent visitors and was the
venue for extravagant parties, Sunday curry tiffin lunches as well as the most
European of traditions, the tea dance. It
witnessed many important events in the nation's history before it closed down
in 1984, following which it housed the National Art Gallery for a time. The Majestic Hotel has since been declared a
heritage building.
The Majestic Hotel then |
The frontage view of the Majestic Hotel then |
Now the old Majestic Hotel has been renovated and restored
as a luxury classic hotel with a modern 15 storey extension by conglomerate YTL.
The Majestic Hotel now |
Just after walking past the Majestic Hotel I would see the
Railway Station to my right. The station was completed in 1910 and designed by a talented
British colonial architect, Arthur Benison Hubback. The Kuala Lumpur Railway
Station has a Moorish and Edwardian architectural style and Mughal
features, such as the elegant dome-capped pavilions of Indian origin along its roof line. The station served as the city's main rail
hub until the modern KL Sentral station took over in 2001. The station building used to house the
Heritage Station Hotel which closed down in 2010.
The Railway Station with its elegant dome-capped pavilions. The Railway Administration Building can be seen on the left |
Just opposite the Railway station on my left hand side on my walk to
school, was the Railway Administration Building, another Moorish and Edwardian-inspired
masterpiece by British architect Hubback. It was completed in 1917 as an administration
building for the railway company and it still serves that purpose today.
The Railway Administration Building |
Both the Railway Station and the Railway Administration Building still look largely the same today. Both had been declared heritage buildings.
As I continued on my walk, after passing the Railway Administration Building I would come to the
site of the Venning Road Brethren Gospel
Hall, which had been there since 1922 but was acquired by the Malaysian
government for the construction of the National Mosque. The Mosque was completed in 1965. I can say that
having to walk pass the site 5 days a week, I actually witnessed the construction of the Kuala Lumpur National Mosque.
The site of the Kuala Lumpur National Mosque before its construction. On the extreme left is part of the Railway Administration Building. |
This is the splendid Kuala Lumpur National Mosque as it looks today |
The original structure of the mosque was designed by a three-person
team from the Public Works Department,namely,UK architect Howard Ashley, and
Malaysians Hisham Albakri and Baharuddin Kassim. Its key features are a 73-metre-high minaret
and a 16-pointed star concrete main roof.
My school, the Methodist Girls’ School, is just next to the
mosque.
Methodist Girls School Kuala Lumpur |
All along the stretch of road from the Sulaiman
Building to my school were big angsana trees.
Every morning, the trees looked so glorious with their bright yellow flowers
and the road was carpeted with the flowers in a sea of yellow.
That was my 15 minute - walk to school. How much more splendid can it be!
That was my 15 minute - walk to school. How much more splendid can it be!