Rumah Merdeka, Alor Setar

About Rumah Merdeka

Rumah Merdeka (2 August, 2015)


Rumah Merdeka (GPS: 6.12304, 100.36003) is the house that belonged to the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister of Malaysia. Also known as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial, the house is located along Jalan Putra, Alor Setar, Kedah, near Royale Hotel and Mobil petrol station. It houses the Tunku's collection and is being maintained by the National Archives as a historical building.

Tunku Abdul Rahman's house was built on a piece of land that was previously owned by his mother, Che Menjalara, who subsequently bequeathed it to him. The Tunku originally built a wooden house here during the Japanese Occupation, in 1942, called it Rumah Jalan Baru. He rebuilt the lower portion of that house with bricks in 1953, but retained the wooden top part.

The name Rumah Merdeka was given by the Tunku's friends such as Senu Abdul Rahman, Khir Johari and Tan Cheng Lock, who visited him here on a number of occasions. When he became prime minister of Malaysia, the Tunku continued to use the house whenever he was in Kedah, and after he went into retirement, the house continued to be used for meetings among leaders of UMNO.

It is said that the Tunku wrote the script of Mahsuri and Raja Bersiong, in Rumah Merdeka. These were eventually made into movies. The house was also the initial venue of a goodwill mission by an Indonesian delegation to meet Malaysian representatives, which paved the way to the end of Confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Behind the house is Sungai Anak Bukit, a tributary of Sungai Kedah. There is a pier from this house to the river. The Tunku has his own motorboat with which he could use to exit the house. He is said to love cruising the river in his motorboat as a form of relaxation. The boat is now on display in a pavilion within the compound of the house.

Front entrance of Rumah Merdeka (2 August, 2015)


Side view of Rumah Merdeka (2 August, 2015)


Another side view of Rumah Merdeka (2 August, 2015)


Rear portion of Rumah Merdeka (2 August, 2015)


Tunku Abdul Rahman's Motorboat (2 August, 2015)

Going to Rumah Merdeka

Rumah Merdeka is located off Jalan Putra is Alor Setar. It is not entirely visible from the road side. You turn off Jalan Putra and take the side road between Petron Jalan Putra and Hotel Royale. There is a signboard for "Rumah Merdeka". Go along the road and it leads you to the house. In front of the house is a spacious area for you to park.

360° View showing route to Rumah Merdeka on Google Maps Street View

Updates on Rumah Merdeka

On 20 November 2009, Rumah Merdeka had to be closed due to flood that hit Alor Setar. Its location near the banks of Sungai Kedah makes it prone to flash floods. The 2009 flood hit several states of Malaysia.

Rumh Merdeka is on the Map of Alor Setar

Back to Discover Alor Setar mainpage; list of Historic Buildings in Alor Setar, Historic Buildings in Kedah and Historic Buildings in Malaysia

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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