KUALA LUMPUR (PORT KELANG) -

MALAYSIA

Sunday, March 2, 2025, 6 AM, Temperature 79 Degrees, 84% Humidity, W – NE 3.4 mph

We were lucky; we arrived in Port Kelang on a Sunday and the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holiday. That meant traffic was light. Our bus was able to get us to Kuala Lumpur in a little over an hour, rather than the predicted 1 ½ to 2 hours! The bus was new and comfortable, with spacious seats for ample American butts (some buses have been pretty tight), and the air conditioning worked great – life was good! Some of the tour buses had fancy Moorish style swag draperies over the top half of their windows – I was jealous! Our morning temperature is misleading, it got very hot. The tour supplied bottled water and reminded us to hydrate when we were off the bus. Our tour was called Kuala Lumpur Highlights, and we saw them all, including the King’s Palace, Independence Square, and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

Kuala Lumpur (officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) is the capital of Malaysia. It’s the largest city with a population of over 2 million, but the Klang Valley (Greater Kuala Lumpur) has a combined population of 8.8 million. It is among the fastest-growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia.

“It’s always great to be King!” Malaysia has a parliamentary political system like Britain. The King is the ceremonial head of state and the Muslim faith leader in Malaysia, but there is an elected parliament and Prime Minister. Unique to Malaysia, the kingship is a “rotating position”. August 31, 1957, is considered Malaysian Independence Day. When the new government was being organized, nine sultans of the Malay states were vying to be “King.” As a compromise, each King serves for a 5-year term rotating between the states. Initially, the rotation was set by seniority. Now, it follows the original order which means it comes around every 45 years – a whole generation could miss out on being King. The public is not allowed in the gated palace grounds, but tourism is encouraged; there’s even a gift shop and an enormous parking lot with room for many buses (unfortunately that photo didn’t make the cut)! Like Buckingham Palace, the King’s Palace has ceremonial guards (he’s on horseback). Due to the heat, there is a change in the guards every two hours.

We visited Independence Square and saw the flagpole where the British Flag came down, and the Malaysian Flag was raised on August 31, 1957. There are many great examples of British government buildings and the Moorish influence. The Old Train Station was inspired by Mughlai architecture. The Sultan Abdu Samad Building, constructed in 1897, was designed as the British colonial administration office. The clock in the tower was built by the company that created London’s Big Ben. The cricket field was directly across the street from the administrative office building, the residences were on the hill behind the field where it was cooler. So, in British Colonial times, the British administrators would finish work, meet up in the beautiful white “Club” next to the field for drinks and socializing, then head up the hill to their homes for a delicious meal prepared by their household staff. Weekends were devoted to cricket matches on the lawn (only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!)

Any trip to Kuala Lumpur would not be complete without a visit to the Petronas Towers. Although they are no longer the tallest buildings in the world (they were from 1998 to 2004), they are still the world’s tallest twin towers. Each tower has 88 floors and is connected by a sky bridge between the 41st and 42nd floors. Our tour guide said the Prime Minister of Malaysia wanted a building that would put Kuala Lumpur on the “map” and establish it as a city equal to Singapore and Hong Kong. The original time frame for the construction was 6 years, but he wanted faster results. Two building consortiums were hired, one Southern Korean and one Japanese. Each was responsible for the construction of one tower. The one who completed their tower first would be awarded the contract for the bridge between the buildings. The South Korean crew finished first and won the additional agreement. Most of us are familiar with these twin towers from the Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta Jones movie “Entrapment”.

At the base of the towers is a fantastic 5-level, 5-star shopping mall – most stores were way out of our price range! We had an hour plus at the mall, so we decided to visit the “food court.” Although there was a McDonald’s and an Annie Pretzels, we opted for the local curry. It was $14.35 US Dollars for both (John had an enormous prawn, as big as a lobster, and I had chicken marsala) – the two bottles of water were a third of the cost).

OUR GUIDE’S MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS:

BRITISH IMPERIALISM – Our guide is a second-generation Malaysian; his parents migrated from India. He has a college degree and owns his own home (although he says his children probably won’t be able to afford to buy a house). He thinks the Colonial British unfairly have a bad reputation. He said the British were responsible for the legal system and government they still enjoy today. The British built the infrastructure (roads and trains) that allowed Malaysia to grow and develop. He felt the country would not be the success it is today without the British influence.

There are tall residential towers everywhere you look. The guide said this is part of their solution for the homeless issue—no homeless people exist. Everyone is given a place to live (probably only 2 rooms to start), but they have the opportunity and obligation to work themselves into larger living spaces. As we drove in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, we saw a few older, 2 story-attached homes similar to what we would see in the States. The guides owns this type of 2 story home about halfway between Port Kelang and Kuala Lumpur. He hopes to sell and build a one-story retirement home with some land further out in the country (it seems like people everywhere are a lot alike).

CARS IN MAYLAYSIA –

The government does not restrict car purchases here like they do in Singapore – no “Certificates on Entitlement”! You can purchase a car with a down payment and finance the balance with monthly payments just like in the States. You also can purchase a home/apartment the same way. He said electric vehicles will never be big in Malaysia because gasoline is so cheap. Malaysia has its own gas and oil reserves. Gasoline is approx. $.65 US for a liter of gas. ($2.46 for a Gallon)

ECONOMY –

I commented that Malaysia seems to have a stronger economy (and higher cost of living, than Indonesia). He agreed. He said Malaysia has much gas and oil reserves; Indonesia has depleted most of their resources.

CRIME –

Little crime in Kuala Lumpur. He also said they have capital punishment—convicted murderers and drug dealers are hung!

THOUGHTS –

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are modern, clean, gleaming cities. They have been able to build the new while preserving their history. The have high speed monorails and amazing clean subway systems – just tap your credit card when you board and depart, no tickets required. Unfortunately, I don’t think we have any cities which would compare. Evidently you have to travel the world to appreciate what else is out there, but home is always best!