Michael Batson

In the 1850s Malaysia’s future capital, Kuala Lumpur, was a mining settlement fought over by rival Chinese gangs. The conflict often resulted in open warfare, prompting the British who then ruled the Federation of Malaya to step in, least the lucrative work at the mines ceased altogether.

During its early times, Kuala Lumpur had many other problems including a civil war to contend with, and it was also plagued by diseases, constant fires and floods.

Kuala Lumpur thrived through the Second World War and Japanese occupancy. During this time, ethnic tensions were raised and nationalism grew. Kuala Lumpur survived the rubber and tin crashes and the Malayan Emergency, during which Malaya was preoccupied with a communist insurgency.

During the 1960s, the city was a simmering powder keg of racial tension, largely the result of local resentment at the economic monopoly held by the Chinese. At the end of the decade those tensions erupted into open hostility with dozens killed.

Architecturally during British rule, Kuala Lumpur adopted the distinctive “shop houses” which mirrored those of southern China, and were made of brick and tile.

Demographically, the city filled up with Indian Hindus and Muslims, ethnic Malays and Chinese. The latter came to the Nanyang or the South Seas, as artisans and traders. The train service of Malaya was known as the “Jaffna Railway” because of the monopoly of Tamils from Ceylon on the post of ticket collector.

Many of the houses have gone but the ethnic melting pot remains.

Kuala Lumpur is three hours by bus from Melaka. The bus station is modern but looks like it was designed by shortsighted architects. On the upper floors the ceilings are too low, barely two metres, even Malays can put their hands on them.

Everywhere are signs “Mind your head”. Downstairs the buses come and go from all over the country but getting in and out of the station can present problems. For a start the buildings pillars limit manoeuverability, placed as they are so that vehicles cannot turn easily into the various platforms without having to perform delicate three-point turns, leading to queues of vehicles forming.

Then there’s the air-conditioning ducting. As the ceiling’s are too low the ducting hangs in the buses way, leading to collisions. One driver found his vehicle stuck unable to go forward or back without further damaging his vehicle or the building’s utilities.

The city’s budget hotel district is next door to the bus station, literally a stone’s throw. Little wonder then that the capital’s taxi drivers declined to take me.

Jalan Petaling, or Petaling Street and those running off it, are the home to an assortment of accommodation, hawkers and street peddlers selling all manner of merchandise. There were watches, shoes, wallets, perfume, clothes, replica sports gear and a multitude of other items.

“You want Steven Gerrard?” I hovered over a Liverpool replica shirt and now the hawker was on me. “What for?” I meant what do I need it for but there was a sale to be had. “For you, this much” he said, taking out his calculator. But I wasn’t really interested and moved on, there’s too much to see.

Malays stay out late and are late risers. Shops open later and being equatorial, even the sun’s late. Consequently, local guests return late, but are little inclined to consider others, happy to talk until well past midnight. My room was clean but small and windowless, so fine if you were used to life in submarines.

The word Melayu is thought to derive from the Sanskrit term Malaiur or Malayadvipa which can be translated as "land of mountains", the word used by ancient traders from the subcontinent when referring to the Malaysia.

Evidence of human habitation dates back 40,000 years but it seems it’s the last 40 years is all that matters to Malaysia.

Today Malaysia has created mountains of its own, skyscrapers in the capital, a sign of the country’s rapid development since independence in 1963 under the former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad.

Mahathir’s political career spanned 40 years and for 22 years he was Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, from 1981 until 2003. What Lee Kuan Yew did for Singapore, Mahathir attempted for Malaysia, but it came at some cost. In winning five consecutive general elections and seeing off all of his rivals, his accumulation of power came at the expense of the independence of the judiciary, and of civil and political liberties with the controversial Internal Security Act, which allowed him to detain at will activists, non-mainstream religious figures, and political opponents including his own deputy.

Today, like Lee, he is still much influential behind the political scenes.

Under Mahathir there was a period of rapid economic growth and urbanization beginning in the 1980s. This period saw a shift from an agriculture-based economy to one based on manufacturing and industry. The physical landscape of the country changed with the emergence of numerous mega-projects such as the twin towers and the various national highway infrastructure projects.

Kuala Lumpur is his legacy and Malaysia’s window to the world.

The city is home to the Petronas Towers, named for the country’s oil company. They are the city’s very own twin towers. There are tours to the air bridge at 170 metres and higher still, the observation deck, but such are the popularity with visitors tickets run out early. Only 800 timed tickets (you’re only allowed 10 minutes on the air bridge) are given out daily and the queues lead to a backlog of would-be sightseers, so it pays to arrive early.

More than a profile on the cityscape the buildings are a statement of Malaysia’s arrival as an economic power. They are a massive undertaking of engineering competence and planning. Laying the foundations was at the time, the largest single concrete pour in history, and had to be carefully managed so the concrete was poured correctly so as to not dry too fast or too slow in the tropical temperatures. Each tower has 80,000 cubic tonne of concrete, almost 11,000 tonnes of reinforcing, and 7,500 tonnes of structural steel beams and trusses. Given the towers have a combined 1 million square metres of floor space and 32,000 windows then all the reinforcing is reassuring.

The towers are themselves were designed to symbolise strength and grace using geometric principles typified in Islamic architecture. Without the spherical pinnacle at their crest each stands 378 metres tall.

It’s a pity then that the air pollution in the capital is so bad at times, that these icons of Malaysia’s development cannot always be viewed clearly. No problem seeing them from the park below as the stainless steel colour is outlined even against the overcast sky.

The Menara Tower is Kuala Lumpur’s “other” tower. A trip to the observation deck doesn’t attract nearly the same curiosity as a visit to the twin towers, and you’re free to roam upstairs for as long as you like. I was greeted by a man dressed as a clown. For 45 ringgit (about NZ$18) you can take the elevator to the 276 metre high viewing deck, a trip informs you, will take only 58 seconds. The tickets come in a variety of packages costing up to 70 ringgits. I was offered the choice of one extra, a pony ride, a visit to some animals, or a Formula One simulator which I liked the sound of until I was informed this was weight-capped for people under 100 kilos.

I was intrigued by the fire regulations posted inside the elevator informing you to follow all procedures in the advent of such an occurrence. Presumably, this involves not using the elevator, and I quickly though about how long it would take to negotiate the stairs back to the ground floor.

Once you overcome any vertigo the views are impressive provided the sun is shining which it was towards the bus station but not over the Petronas Towers. Barely a kilometer away, I had walked from one to the other, they were barely visible. According to the staff this would clear up later. Devoid of wind, a combination of fumes and heat haze meant that things were barely visible on a good day more than 3-4 kilometres distant, and in some cases, considerably less than that.

Building one of these towers is bit like getting a tattoo, once you’ve got one you’re more or less stuck with it. If someone comes along, as they invariably do, and builds one better, bigger, taller, there’s really not much you can do to change it.

Malaysia’s effort now sits fourth in the world of tall towers at 421 metres, surrounded either side by Chinese efforts, one in Tianjin, and the taller in Shanghai, at 468 metres. Examples of Asian tiger economies all trying to outdo each other with statements of their success. Unfortunately, the Canadians and Russians got there first occupying first and second spots respectively, if you’re counting.

That’s what Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it’s known, is all about, it’s Malaysia’s statement to the world “here we are.” We too can host sporting events, and to prove it there was the Commonwealth Games, the first non-Anglophile country to host the event, various motor racing events including their very own Formula One grand prix.

Unfortunately, it also means they can have all the same problems associated with a massive urban sprawl as the city is now home to over seven million souls; congestion and pollution, and rapid urbanization, which has meant concrete and lots of it.