Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DON'T MISS...
»
KL City Gallery
»
National Textiles Museum
»
Sultan Abdul Samad Building
»
St Mary's Anglican Cathedral
PRACTICALITIES
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Dataran Merdeka
»
MAP
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Masjid Jamek
History of the Square
Back at KL's founding in the mid-19th century, this patch of land was used to grow fruit
and vegetables by the tin prospectors and other settlers. In 1884, after the founding of the
Selangor Club, the land was transformed into a games pitch and was called the Padang
(meaning 'field').
For the next 70-odd years the Padang remained the green nucleus of colonial power on
the Malay peninsula, a place for cricket, parades and civic celebrations. It became cemen-
ted in the national consciousness at midnight on 31 August 1957 when the Union flag was
lowered and the Malayan States' flag hoisted on the Padang's 95m flagpole.
In 1989, a year after the city took over the Pandang from the Royal Selangor Club, the
square was renamed Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), although it's commonly
called Merdeka Square. It was during this era that a giant underground car park and shop-
ping complex was built beneath the square. However a flood in 2003 (similar to cata-
strophic ones that had submerged the area in 1926 and 1971) put paid to the project.
