Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur

Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur (8 July, 2016)


Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (GPS: 3.13936, 101.69792) is a historic building in Kuala Lumpur. It is located on Jalan Maharajalela. The two-storey structure was designed in the Neoclassical style. There are three entrances at the forefront signifying the relationship between man, the earth and the sky. The hall bore witness to the meeting between UMNO (the United Malays National Organisation) and MCA (then Malayan Chinese Association, now Malaysian Chinese Association) that led to the forming of Parti Perikatan (Alliance Party), the precursor of Barisan Nasional.

The idea to build the Chinese Assembly Hall was spearheaded by local magnate Loke Yew, along with other local pillars of the early 20th society, among them Yap Kwan Seng, Choo Kia Peng and Cheon Yoke Choy. Loke Yew contributed M$50,000 to the building fund, while his son contributed a further M$20,000¹.

The idea to set up a Chinese Assembly Hall began much earlier, between 1889 and 1902, to bring together the Chinese from the various language groups, such as the Cantonese, the Hokkiens, the Hainanese and the Teochews, who up to then belonged to their respective clan associations. In 1910 a committee was formed to act as a governing body to put into action the setting up of the assembly hall.

Yap Kwan Seng was instrumental in securing a piece of land from the British administrators for this purpose. Sadly he passed away before construction even began. Many years would pass, but eventually the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall was completed in 1934, and Cheong Yoke Choy was elected to be its first president.

The Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall was gazetted as a heritage building by the National Heritage Department in July 2007, being one of 50 National Heritage properties in the country. The hall received a RM500,000 grant from the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage (now called the Ministry of Tourism & Culture) for refurbishment. The total cost of refurbishment and restoration came up to RM1.86 million.

Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (2 January, 2010)

360° View of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Google Maps Street View

Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall

Address

The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
1, Jalan Maharajalela
50150 Kuala Lumpur.
Phone: +60-3-2272 5104, 03 2274 6645

Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall is on the map of Jalan Maharajalela

References

Back to Discover Kuala Lumpur; list of Historic Buildings of Kuala Lumpur and Historic Buildings of Malaysia

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