KL - Where It Begun
Jul 27th, 2008 by Steven
As we all know, Kuala Lumpur got its name from the meeting of the Klang and Gombak Rivers at the confluence of what is now the site of the Masjid Jamek on Jalan Tun Perak. History has it that in the mid-1850s, two Chinese traders, Hiu Siew and Ahn Sze, travelled from the tin-mining town of Lukut (in modern-day Negeri Sembilan) to set up a trading post at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers. Hiu was later appointed by Chieftain Raja Abdullah as KL’s first Kapitan China (Chinese community leader).
Early day KL is unlike what what we see today. Forests, bushes and mining landscape plus the two muddy rivers. Today, the rivers are still as murky and muddy.
Oddly, it was Yap Ah Loy – the third Kapitan (1868-1885) – who’s accredited as the founder of KL; probably because he was the one who developed the place into a flourishing trading post and economic centre.
<Lumix FZ20: ISO-80; F/3.7; 1/125 sec>
Normally, we see photos of the confluence of Sungai Klang and Sungai Gombak taken at ground level. Took this shot from the 26th floor of Wisma Lee Rubber. With the concrete embankment, the rivers look like big drains. During a heavy downpour, or when it rains heavily upstream, the ‘drains’ will swell up and burst their banks. If I’m not wrong, the river in the foreground is the Gombak River. The Masjid Jamek looks different from up above. In the background is the Dataran Merdeka, where our national day parade is held. Can you make out the building which used to house the Federal Court and Court of Appeal before their shift to Putrajaya? Part of the Tudor-style Royal Selangor Club Complex can also be seen in the top right corner.