r/malayanarchitecture

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This beautiful Straits Eclectic mansion once stood proudly on 70,000 sq ft of prime land opposite Bok House along Kuala Lumpur's Millionaire's Row, Jalan Ampang. The mansion, built in 1909, was bought by Chan Chim Mooi (1875 - 1944) in 1938 for his family. This double storey mansion had about 30 rooms with 4 generations of the Chan family (most were alumni of MBSKL) staying there.

The historic building was reduced to rubble in early May 1991 by the owners. The only remains on the site are the rear portion of the building and the staff quarters for the family's driver, gardener and servants. With regard to the destruction, a member of the family let it be known that the building could not be saved because of termite attack; and also all the necessary approvals to demolish the building had been obtained from the City Hall a month prior to the incident. Today, the same plot of land houses Maya Hotel, Plaza 138 and Menara Chan.

Source: https://iamyourguru.blogspot.com/2012/08/mooi-mansion.html, https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/14730/1/252500.pdf

The 175m tall tower, designed by GDP Architects, houses the Public Works Department of Malaysia (Jabatan Kerja Raya) with 53,000 square meters of building floor area spread over 37 levels. You can read more about the building here and here. Pic is from Wikimedia Commons.

This beautiful traditional Malay house, built in 1936, is one of few remaining Malay architecture that survives to this day. It is located on the left side of the road in Kampung Haji Ali, not far from the Temerloh Highway. This house, was originally built by Datuk Taib Bin Abdullah, who was born in Sepunggouk, Salo, Kampar, Sumatra, and he lived with his wife, named Nayan. According to the story, Tok Taib personally cut down trees in the forest in Kampung Tualang for the house pillars. He then used buffaloes to transport them to the house site. The use of animals to transport logs were commonplace in the past, especially buffaloes and elephants. However, the use of elephants was exclusive only for the royal family, as elephants were rarely found in Temerloh.

After Tok Taib died during the Japanese occupation, Nayan continued to live in this house until her death in the early 1980s. During the Emergency, Nayan was ordered by the government to move to Kampung Batu Satu, for her safety. She lived alone after her husband's death, as her only son, Ramli, was taken to a detention camp between 1951 and 1955, for anti-British activities. Ramli, who was involved with left-leaning parties in Malaya spent his jail time along with other leftist figures Pak Sako, Ahmad Boestamam, Jaapar Hussein and others. In fact, Ahmad Boestamam even came all the way from Kuala Lumpur to visit Ramli after his release to persuade him not to leave the Socialist Party, as he was one of the founders of the movement. Ramli married Halijah Tasir after his release and was blessed with two children, Awalludin and Baisudin, who lived with their mother in this house from 1958 to 1959, before moving to Simpang Paya Kecik, at Bukit Kepayang, Jalan Mentakab, for business purposes.

Fortunately, the house survived from being demolished during the construction and expansion of Jalan Temerloh - Mentakab in the 70s, as well as the great flood of 1971 that also affected Pahang. The roof of this house was also repaired in 1965. From the 1970s to the 1990s, many students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), came to study and research the design of this house. They created sketches for their thesis work. Furthermore, this house was used as a training ground for the Kesuma Entertainment Orchestra, where female singers such as Datin Rudiah and Cikgu Hamidah also practiced.

The house showcases a unique architecture in Temerloh, Pahang. It was built using chengal and merbau wood and uses pegs rather than nails in its construction. As you pass by Jalan Temerloh, Mentakab, this house stands majestically on a small hill, next to the main road, acting as a landmark to locals. Although, it is old and in dire need for a restoration (last repair was made in 1996), there are still descendants of its original owners who call this building home. It is a symbol of the Kampar Malay community in Pahang, to represent their identity, and should be preserved and preserved for the sake of national heritage.

Adapted from this Facebook post

I'm a bit busy so imma just paste Wikipedia's entry on the building

In the early 20th century, the township of Sungai Petani had emerged as the commercial centre of the Kuala Muda District. Eyeing the prospects for the town, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in 1920 decided to open a new premise there.

The building housing the branch was completed and opened on 13 February 1922 by the Regent of Kedah Tunku Ibrahim and the British advisor to Kedah M.S.H. McArthur. It became the second bank established in the state, after the Chartered Bank in Alor Setar. In the beginning, the bank was patronized mainly by European estate managers in the Kuala Muda District and also those from Baling and Kulim. Later, the bank's facilities were extended to Chinese towkays and other businessmen.

When the European theater of World War II began, the branch contributed to war efforts by participating in the "Beat Hitler With Your Odd Cents" campaign. During Japanese advancements in the Malayan campaign, the manager of the branch, Henry Willan, took his records and most of the cash, locked up the bank, left the keys with his compradore and evacuated after several unsuccessful attempts to call the head HSBC office in Singapore. After the Sungai Petani branch was forced to close on 8 December 1941, affairs of the branch were handled by the Singapore office until the state also fell into Japanese hands. During the Japanese occupation, all operations of HSBC were suspended. The building was used as headquarters by the local Japanese military administration, while the old Rest House beside it became the headquarters of the Kempeitai.

HSBC reopened the Sungai Petani branch in mid-1946 after the war. It was also used as a meeting ground by the Freemasons of Lodge Kedah between 1946 and 1947. During the Konfrontasi, the bank was tightly guarded by police forces in fears of bombing attacks. At around 2019, the HSBC branch relocated to a new premise at Lagenda Heights. The building was vacated and later put up for sale by tender in 2024. Now, the building was repainted, possibly for a new tenant that is still unknown as of May 2026.

The building was designed in the Indo-Saracenic style by David McLeod Craik of Swan & MacLaren. The ground floor, about 80 square feet (7.43 square metres), consists of the banking hall, two strong rooms, a large muniment room, and the sub-agent's office. The upper floor has quarters for the sub-agent and assistant drawing room, dining rooms, four bedrooms and bathrooms, verandahs with a central court and two staircases and entrance halls from the street. The building also have an annex for outhouses and servants' quarters. The main feature of the building is the Mughal cupola and dome at the corner over the main entrance to the bank, engraved with the date of the building and the coat of arms of Kedah.

The building structure consists of brick and reinforced concrete, with teak used for the staircases, floors, doors and louvred windows and the floor covered in "Malkin" floor tiles. Construction was commenced by the contractor Tang Chong Cheang, of Penang and Sungai Petani and supervised by the engineering firm Hubert Courtney of Penang. The building's electric lighting was provided by Huttenbach, Lazarus and Sons. The interior was furnished with Jacobean style teak counter and furniture by Pritchard & Co. Ltd.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBC_Building_(Sungai_Petani)

The history of firefighting in Melaka started all the way in 1825, where it was manned by volunteers from the police force (source). It was only until 1916 where the fire fighting department had a building of their own along Banda Kaba Road. The building was later handed over to the police force in 1933 and the department was renamed into Civil Defense, but the fire fighting function remained unchanged (source). At that time, the Civil Defense only had 16 police members and they operated a Dennis fire engine and a motorcycle. It wasn’t until 1950, that the building was taken over by the newly formed Malacca Fire Brigade (source). 

By the 1960s however, due to greater demand and larger fire engines, the building found itself running out of space so the fire station was forced to relocate to Kubu Road (source). The station they relocated to was the 1972 fire station in Melaka Tengah district and was one of the first new fire stations built after independence (source). The old building, which was abandoned for many years after its relocation, was upgraded in 1985 to serve as an office building for the Civil Defense Department (Jabatan Pertahanan Awam) in Melaka (source). Later, in 2012, a golf gallery owned by the Perbadanan Muzium Melaka (PERZIM) was opened, which showcased the private golf collection owned by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob (source). However, it seems like the gallery has been closed since May 2025, and as of August 2025, PERZIM is trying to find a new location for the Golf Gallery, and the fire station building is currently closed (source). 

The building itself looks very similar to the Beach Street Central Fire Station built in 1908, albeit one storey shorter. It also shares identical architectural elements, with both being Neoclassical, with Straits Eclectic details such as the urn and garland stucco motifs. It sports a tower to spot fires over the town as well as for fire fighters to train climbing skills, though it does not have the Indo-Saracenic style top with domes like its Penang counterpart. It also has three large bay doors to accommodate the fire engines.

The bloody event of 13th May 1969 has left a deep scar in Malaysian history, with many people still remembering the day. With chaos spreading across Kuala Lumpur at the time, cinemas specifically played an integral part in the story, being sites which saw Malaysian blood being spilled by their fellow countrymen. The most prominent cinemas that saw the most violence were REX, Capitol and Federal cinemas, though several others like Cathay and Alhambra were also involved. Here I have compiled several accounts of attacks and the fear that was experienced at these cinema complexes.

"Thus, at about the time that violence broke out in Kampong Bharu. Secret society agents were ready for action, leading forays into Malay kampongs and attacking Malays in China town areas. The first show at the Rex Cinema, Jalan Sultan was stopped when secret society agents broke into the hall. They singled out Malays trapped among the audience and attacked them. At the Federal Cinema near Jalan Chow Kit. secret society members waited for Malays at the exits of the hall at the end of the first show. At about 8.23 p.m. A.S.P. Tham Kong Weng and Troop 5C of the FRU encountered and dispersed about one thousand armed Chinese rioters in the vicinity of the Capitol Theatre in Jalan Raja Laut. They also rescued and sent to hospital several injured Malays in the area."

(https://peristiwa13mei.blogspot.com/2013/07/may-13-may-13-tragedy.html)

"Mom heard from one of the neighbours that a massive bloodshed had broken out at Tai Wa cinema (the old Cathay cinema along Jalan Pudu, now an empty lot with a bus station). There were scores of people inside the cinema, watching a just up-on-the-screen new movie. Suddenly, they were ambushed and attacked. They couldn’t escape. Scores were dead.

Some of the Chinese gangsters who were around managed to gather some people, and tried to save as many people as possible. There were also some Malays locals around who helped out, trying to pull away people and hide them — in drains, inside shops, anywhere. Anywhere they could. The slashing group soon backed off and moved back towards Puduraya. Mom also heard that many Malays were also hurt."

(https://www.loyarburok.com/2011/05/13/may-13-a-recollection/)

An eyewitness account on the event at Capitol Theatre

(https://youtu.be/rHrd4t9Rze0?si=IT2bB1l00bE2BB36)

"Three teenagers’ plot to sneak out past curfew on 13 May, and they arrived at REX CINEMA regardless of the gossip in the neighbourhood after the election. Heated racial riots broke out in the city while the movie was playing. Chinese gangsters broke into the cinema as the screen flashed “DARURAT”, emergency. 

Pulled back into reality, with terrifying screams followed by a gunshot. Threatened by machetes, victims would helplessly use their arms to protect vital organs. Adjacent to others, climbing over those blood stained cinema seats like terrified animals being massacred in a dark cave. They were very fortunate to be alive indeed.

Unfortunately, this very experience left one of them with a lifelong mental illness. Such traumatization cost his ability to communicate. To the family, his condition was the reminder of that very gloomy day."

(https://www.naibnb.com/blog/the-13-may-incident-at-rexkl-kuala-lumpur)

"On 13 May 1969, Johan Fernandez went to the cinema after work. It was a Tuesday afternoon and Rachel, Rachel, directed by Paul Newman and starring Joanne Woodward, was playing at the Rex in the centre of Kuala Lumpur. 

Not long after it started, the movie suddenly stopped and the word ‘Darurat’ (‘Emergency’) flashed up on screen. Cinema patrons tried to leave but couldn’t—the doors had been closed by the staff. On the other side, a mob was gathering. Eventually, they broke through and some 100 Chinese men flooded into the hall. Their target? The cinema’s Malay patrons. 

Caught up in the confusion, all Fernandez knew was that something bad was happening. He followed the crowd as they retreated to the toilets. Then, not wanting to risk getting trapped there he decided to chance his way out. He was Indian, and this confused the men he ran into; they couldn’t decide what to do with him. The confusion bought him enough time and he slipped out. He spent the next few days at a police station waiting out the conflict that had erupted around him."

(https://www.liminalmag.com/haunt/movies) 

The interview of which can be found here:

(https://youtu.be/oc3hyRDM08U?si=S_wmRLb_5qVWj2ah)

I also highly recommend reading Malaysiakini's article on the May 13th riots.

(https://pages.malaysiakini.com/may13/en/)

If you have any similar stories you would like to share, feel free to do so in a respectful manner.

The Fui Chiu (Hakka) Association of Negeri Sembilan has a history of over 100 years (according to Sin Chew, the building was built sometime in 1875). Before the First World War, the building was once owned by a company called Kong Sang. It was the private mansion of Wong Yik Tong before Second World War. On the ground floor, there was a signboard that says "Chop Kong Sang", and this is where Wong would recieve his visitors. The living quarters was on the first floor whereas the second floor was used as a storeroom.

In 1957, the building was used as the Xun Min National Kindergarten founded by the association. When Chung Hua High School was established by the Hokkien Association of Negeri Sembilan, this building was also used as temporary classrooms and dormitory for the principal and teachers. Currently it is unoccupied and leased for rent for RM11,000/month.

(Source)