|
Kuala Lumpur - HISTORY
From a sleepy mining village to the nation's capital
In the 1850's, Raja Abdullah, a member of the Selangor royal family,
opened up the Klang Valley to tin prospectors. Then a jungle, the
Ampang area in Kuala Lumpur became a thriving tin mine. As a result,
merchants and tin prospectors established a trading post at the
confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, hence its name which
means 'muddy estuary' in Malay.
Rival factions and royalty disputing over tin led to bloody feuds
and wars. However, under the able leadership of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy,
the third leader of the Chinese community appointed by the British,
the sleepy mining town boomed into an important commercial hub.
The town's success led the British Resident Sir Frank Sweettenham
to elevate it to be the state capital of Selangor in 1880. The following
year, Kuala Lumpur was burnt down in yet
another feud and rebuilt using brick and tile to replace the hazardous
attap or wooden houses. The completion of a railway connecting the
town to Port Klang in 1886 further fuelled Kuala Lumpur's growth.
In 1896, when the Federated Malay States were incorporated, Kuala
Lumpur was made the capital. On 1 February 1972, it was conferred
city status. Two years after that, in 1974, it was declared a Federal
Territory.
|
