Old Kuala Lumpur High Court, Kuala Lumpur

Old Kuala Lumpur High Court (8 February, 2006)


The Old High Court Building (GPS: 3.14973, 101.69513) (Mahkamah Tinggi Jenayah dan Mahkamah Sesyen Sivil), is one of the heritage buildings in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.

The Kuala Lumpur High Courts were originally located on Weld's Hill, on the site where Menara Maybank now stands. After years of debating whether the Kuala Lumpur Supreme Court needs a new building, and where it ought to be, the 2-storey High Court was finally constructed in 1912, and completed in 1915.

Old Kuala Lumpur High Court (8 February, 2006)


The architect is once again AB Hubback, the person instrumental in designing a great number of heritage buildings in Kuala Lumpur as well as other major cities in Malaysia. A distinctive feature of the High Court building are the towers topped with cupolas with decorative buttresses around the base. Linking these towers are passageways with two different types of arches, horseshoe and painted horseshoe. The towers were origanally dining chambers with private tiffin rooms.

The public entrance of the High Court at the Sungai Gombak side leads to an innder courtyard with a concrete staircase to the upper floor. When the Sultan Abdul Samad Building was renovated in 1984, the Supreme Courts and some of the High Court's hearing rooms were moved there. A major fire in 1992 required the building to be rebuilt. Today it houses the Sessions and Magistrates Court, even though it is still popularly known simply as the Old High Court.

Old Kuala Lumpur High Court (8 February, 2006)

The Old High Court is on the map of the Historic Buildings of Kuala Lumpur

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