Please come and support this special Merdeka Festival. The schedule is as follows:
Programme: 31 Aug & 1 Sept
All activities start or end at (unless stated otherwise)
Venue: 51, Jalan Sultan.
7:30am or at your own time
Cycling tour around historical and cultural sites.
• Cyclist groups can start anywhere, touring around historical and cultural spots and taking pictures along the way before finally congregating at, 51 Jalan Sultan (at your own time)
9:30 am – 1:30pm
Urban sketch artists/artists/photographers documenting around the old city streets.
• Well-known artist Long Thien Shih and Victor Chin will brief and conduct this session. All the artworks and photographs will later be exhibited and followed by a group discussion.
9:30am – 12:00pm
History & Heritage Tour:
• A guided walking tour around the heart of Kuala Lumpur,
a rare occasion to explore and learn about its historical and
cultural sites, buildings and fragments.
Language: Chinese(Fri & Sat), English (Sat)
Heritage Sites Open House:
• An interactive sharing through photos and guided walking tour around the century-old historical and cultural sites and buildings.
Language: Chinese & English
-(Friday & Saturday) Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association－Founded in 1920. One of the oldest art and cultural centres in Kuala Lumpur. Formed as a charitable organisation to raise money for charity through Chinese opera and choral singing.
-(Friday & Saturday) KL Gospel Hall －A Brethren church founded in 1889. As a pivotal education centre initiated by Mr. Too Nan, the teacher of Dr Sun Yat-Sen since 1890. Today, it continues to provide service to 20 various education and charitable bodies.
-(Saturday) Chen Shi Shu Yuan Clan Association – Founded in 1896. Served as a community base for families with the Chan, Chen, Chin, Tan ancestry. The building is one of the fine examples of Chinese temple architecture, decorated with vigorously carved figurines and wall panels depicting Chinese mythology and history.
31 Aug
12:00 – 1:00pm
A gastronomic farewell to Yook Woo Hin Restaurant.
• This well known establishment, almost 100 years old, will close for good after 31 Aug. Venue: 100A, Jalan Petaling
1:15pm – 1:45pm
Past, present & what's ahead of the community?
• Talk & Dialogue with YB Fong (MP of Bukit Bintang).
2:00pm –3:00pm
How does the local government actually work in approving development projects?
•Talk & dialogue with Mak Khuin Weng (Ex-MBPJ councillor,
Ex-Journalist with The Star newspaper and now with the on-line newspaper, The Nut Graph)
Moderator: Ngeow Chow Ying
3:00pm – 4.15pm
"A Forgotten Public History of Petaling Hill: Stadiums, Parks and Communities"
• A talk (Chinese) and tour by Lai Chee Kien PhD. (Lai is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore. Author of Building Merdeka: Independence Architecture in Kuala Lumpur, 1957-1966 (2007) among others.)
Moderator: Ngeow Chow Ying
4:30pm – 6:30pm
Film screening: Ibu Ayam (1962).
•Introduction and discussion by Amir Muhammad, author of 120 Malay Movies, an independent filmmaker, writer and a publisher of Malaysian and regional historical and cultural interest.
4:30pm – 6:30 pm
Open mic with artists, photographers, and visitors
to exchange ideas about their experiences and memories
of the city.
• Conducted by artists Long Thien Shih and Victor Chin.
8:00pm – 10:00 pm
Arts & cultural performances.
• Coordinated by Yeoh. Artists includes Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association Choir Group, Rahmat Haron, Long Thien Shih, The Vanilla Boys & Girls, Drum Circle, Hassan Peter & Markiza, etc.
1 Sept
2:00pm – 3:15pm
"A Forgotten Public History of Petaling Hill: Stadiums, Parks and Communities".
• A talk (English) and tour by Lai Chee Kien PhD.
3:30pm – 4:30pm
"Land Acquisition and Development in KL".
• A talk and dialogue (English) by Ong Kian Meng PhD, Lecturer and Political Analyst, UCSI University.
4:30pm – 6:30pm
Film screening: The Big Durian (2003).
• Introduced by the director Amir Muhammad.
4:30pm – 6:30pm
Open mic with artists, photographers, and visitors
to exchange ideas about their experiences and
memories of the city.
• Conducted by Long Thien Shih and Victor Chin.
6:30pm – 7:00pm
Closing remarks with all participants and organizers .
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Notes about the talk by Lai Chee Kien:
*Petaling Hill is located just east of the confluence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers where early Kuala Lumpur was founded. It is also the site of three stadiums that witnessed the series of historical events that led to Independence (Merdeka) and which served to galvanise local and national communities after World War II.
These are the Chin Woo Stadium (1953), the Merdeka Stadium (1957) and the Stadium Negara (1962). Perched on top of the hill and over the last fifty over years, they have become prominent landmarks in the capital city and where countless social, cultural, institutional, recreational, and sporting events were convened. Besides these three stadiums, the Merdeka Park (1958, also Tunku Abdul Rahman Park) was located among the three stadiums to serve as a green lung and a recreational park to the city, and had been a public space since 1937. A Merdeka Clock, built to track the progress of the nation after Independence, was also located in the park until it was moved to the Lake Gardens. Collectively, the hilll with its park and stadiums had enhanced the civic and institutional nature of Petaling Hill, to the extent that it was considered the “acropolis” of Kuala Lumpur.
This talk provides a historical perspective to these developments through architectural drawings, photographs, slides and other material, and suggests the continuing importance of maintaining its civic nature.
Notes about the films:
** Ibu Ayam (1962) A rare screening of one of the first full-length movies shot entirely in Kuala Lumpur. A girl tries to escape the clutches of a brothel that she grew up in, but will she succeed? Directed by Salleh Ghani and starring Salmah Ahmad, Mustapha Maarof & Mak Dara.
*** The Big Durian (2003) A playful, probing docu-drama that takes us back to the tensions of 1987 in Kuala Lumpur and asks various Malaysians: "Do you remember the time Prebet Adam ran amok?" Directed by Amir Muhammad and starring Farish A. Noor, Jo Kukathas, Rashid Salleh, Low Ngai Yuen and many more.
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