This museum has existed in the present building for the last ten years. The building was built in 1888 and used by the Standard Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, the first bank to operate in Kuala Lumpur. The original building was demolished and rebuilt with its present Moorish and Islamic architecture around 1910 and continued as a bank until the Japanese Occupation. It returned to banking operations from 1945 to 1965. It then reverted to government use until 1991 when the Department of Museums and Antiquities was given this building for use as a history museum. Sadly we learned that the History Museum which has developed elaborate plans for expansion in Dataran Merdeka, is now being asked to move out and to incorporate its displays into the National Museum (Muzium Negara). This will be a great loss because it will mean an even bigger pinch for space for these exhibits and possibly portends the end of this beautiful building.

The museum's 20 galleries are arranged in chronological order so that our tour began on the ground floor with early maps, some of which had Malaya labeled 'Malacca' on earlier ones(16-17 C), much to our surprise. We moved into Prehistory archeological finds of the Stone Age and Bronze Age before spending some time looking at the many Megalithic Cultural artifacts and reproductions. Next was the Protohistoric section with Hindu and Buddhist relics and the introduction of Islam into Malaya. The first floor contained displays of the Malacca Sultanate, the Johore-Riau Empire, the Colonial Periods of the Portuguese, Dutch and British, then the Malay States period of 1824 to 1900, and the development of the Borneo Territories, Sabah and Sarawak.

The second floor displays concentrated on the most recent history beginning with the rise of Nationalism, the Second World War with the Japanese Occupation, the Malay States Administration and the Communist Emergency, finally coming to the Formation of Malaysia.

We had to say a quick good-bye at the History Museum in order to rush off to the Royal Selangor Club (RSC) where we had a date with Mr. Chris Syer, the Operations Manager for the club and local historian. He gave us a superb power-point presentation of the history of the club and building, tying it in beautifully with the history of its surroundings and much of what we had learned earlier at the museum. This club began in 1884 as a meeting place for recreation and relaxation especially for expatriates, but from the start always had a mixture of Chinese, Indian and Malay members as well.

Although this club has had a history of being very much male-oriented, it actually was also a place for ladies to gather after morning shopping or for afternoon tea. In fact, the RSC has always been known as 'The Dog' or originally 'The Spotted Dog' because the first president's wife had a pair of Dalmatians which she kept tied up by the front steps to be seen by all passers-by. The early clubhouse appeared to have been a very modest shack with a field in front, but soon was rebuilt with a nice padang for games. Eventually a golf course was added on Federal Hill in 1926 (this no longer exists). All major sports were played here for the next 100 years. The Padang had a hockey field, a rugby field, a cricket pitch and tennis courts. It was thus a focal point for much of KL's sporting population in those days. In 1988 the Federal Territory took over the Padang to build an underground car park; so in exchange, land in Bukit Kiara was given for the Club to hold its games; this is known as 'the Annex' and is very active nowadays.

The Club had 4000 members in 1963 but now has about 6000 members of which 1500 are active. Past presidents were famous names which we used to see on our road signs and still do for some: Stonor, Cochrane, Maxwell, Campbell, Rodgers, Venning, etc. We were given many historical highlights from the Club's annals; among them: the first disco in KL, the beginning of the 'Hash House Harriers, the '69 riots, the fire of '70, the floods of '09, '26, and '71. The club was in limbo for 8 years from 1980 to '88 with the threat of demolition by the government, but fortunately was rescued when the Sultan intervened. It achieved the status of 'Royal' in 1984 when the Sultan of Selangor gave it this designation for its centennial.

We ended our morning with a lovely Buffet Lunch in the Ballroom of the 'Dog' overlooking the Padang and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Will this building be allowed to stay: the lease is up in 2020? Mr Chris Syer has some wonderful ideas for its future, as does the History Museum Director, if only they were allowed a say in what happens to these important heritage sites.

Joanne Mahendran

We are most fortunate that the Deputy Director of ISTAC, Prof. Dr. Ajmal Al-Aidrus will take us on a tour including the library, plus the priceless collection of manuscripts dating 900-1000AD. There will be a talk and you will be able to ask questions of this very personable Professor. Here is a chance for you to experience Islam in quiet surroundings and with trained scholars, so I hope that you will join us for this very special morning. This event was cancelled in August and has been rescheduled to this date.

KL in short came about during 1857. It began when Raja Abdullah, a representative of the administrator at that time, came to Ampang and found tin which was greatly demanded by the Americans and British Empire. After which the British moved their administration from Klang to Kuala Lumpur situated at the Merdeka Square.

We left the Merdeka Square also known as Little Britain at 10.00 am and walked passed the busy roads of Kula Lumpur ignoring the walking signs of the traffic light. The fountain situated in front of the Malaysian Flag pole was said to be dismantled in England and assembled locally at Merdeka Square by Harpers as Kuala Lumpur's first outdoor entertainment in 1897.

The Selangor Club at the Merdeka Square where the expatriates meet to find entertainment, an incident had occurred. The wife of the Victorian Institution Headmaster Sir William Hood Treacher was said to have murdered her lover and caused a huge commotion to hide the tracks leading to her murder case. This was not mentioned in most of the history books. For further information please refer to the book titled 'Murder on the Veranda'.

The first bank to open a branch in Kuala Lumpur in 1888 was the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. Then it moved to the Merdeka Square for its proximity to the police headquarters. During the great floods in 1926, the banks vaults were flooded and millions of dollars of soggy bank notes had to be laid out on the field to dry, under the watchful eye of the police. It is now known as the National History Museum.

After the new Government Offices were completed, it was decided to build the Government Printing Offices in 1899.A rare feature for this building is it has no columns, which allowed for a large open interior. This was necessary to house the large printing press machines. Better known now as the Kuala Lumpur Memorial Library.

The Sultan Abdul Samad building was completed in 1897 using a Mahometan style also known as 'Neo-Saracenic' which originated from India. The architect for this lovely building was AC Norman and the State Engineer CE Spooner. This building was originally know as the new government Offices and housed the Public Works Department, the Survey Office, the Treasury, the Post and Telegraph Offices. Now where the old Post office (the Court) is located will be replaced with Textile Museum.

Behind the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, Masjid Jamek. It was build in 1907, architecture based on the Islamic Mogul/Indian design. The mosque was build at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang River. Jamek is derived from an Arabic word meaning a meeting place.

Next we moved on to the Loh Chow Kit Emporium which opened in 1905, where cigars were sold. It is better known as the Industrial court now. Next to the Emporium is the Loke Yew building, architecture is of Art Deco design. It is said that he printed his own money in Bentong.

After the walk from many places we decided to stop at the Seng Nam Restaurant to recharge. It is an old building a place where lawyers meet up to relax and drink 'teh tarik' literally translated as pulled tea or milk tea. This place is also known as the Vatican because of how the Hainanese people call out to each other in a singing voice.We were served with 'roti bakar' (toasted bread) and home made 'kaya' ( coconut jam).Delicious……finger licking good!!

Then we moved on to Little India, along the road a huge sign was noticed in front of the Mc Donald food outlet '168 tempat duduk' (seats). The number 168 regards the house number and available seats. It is said in the Chinese folklore it brings luck and prosperity. In the Little India town we were shown a building called Rasull Building with an Arabic numbering 786. Indian muslims and Pakistans use this number as a short form of Bismallah meaning In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Sin Sze Si Ya Temple, is indeed a difficult temple to find. It is so well hidden behind shop houses that showed windows but no rooms. A slight view of the roof of the temple can be seen through a small creak between the shop houses. It was build 140 years ago in the Feng Shui direction by Yap Ah Loy. He was a very powerful man and a member of the Fui Chu Association. The temple is unique for its many Gods, most famous are cosmetic, examination and the white tiger god as well as the goddess of mercy. On the left and right hand side of the wall red notes are glued, it is to request for fertility. When we arrived the temple was preparing for a big birthday celebration of one of the Gods the next day, a day to worship the main God Sin Sze Ye.

Our last stop was the Mariamman Temple. Along the path we stopped at the entrance of Penjaja Tun H.S.Lee. It used to be an open air market, famous among the Chinese people and still is today. Temple Sri Mariamman is connected to the Batu Caves. During Thaipussam festival one of their gods is carried all the way from Batu Caves to this temple. There are 3 golden cups placed on the roof of the temple. These acts as antennas say the devouts as energy from heaven gets distributed throughout the temple.

The tour ended with a walk through the temple at 12.45 p.m.

Azlind Mohamad