so, can you look at the bridge? can you look at the house? how, they are standing?
The houses are standing on a stilt. As I mentioned before Kuala Lumpur gets a lot of rainfall and when the rain comes the flood comes so people learn to co-exist with the river. The river is very important because without the river Tin cannot be transported out. Till the British started to build
other transportation like the railway.
The beginning of Kuala Lumpur in 1857, Klang river flowing on your right side in the video. I’m bringing you the old Kuala Lumpur to life by telling what happens then and now as the visual changes according to current development.
Jawa Street Bridge
This bridge is known as the Jawa street bridge because the name of the street was Jawa, later the name of the road changed to Mountbatten ie. Lord Mountbatten. Today is known as Tun Perak road or Jalan tun Perak.
Jamek LRT station
Look at this bridge in the youtube video, it is made of what? yes, it’s made of wood or bamboo, that’s how in the early days of this Java street bridge. Today you can see this is where the Jamek LRT station is located. There is an underground tube built. The place where the man is squatting in the video is the land where it was a cemetery. Today this land is where Jamek mosque is located.
The beginning of Kuala Lumpur in 1857, Klang river flowing on your right side, in the video. I’m bringing you virtually to the old Kuala Lumpur to life, by telling what happened then and now as the visual changes according to current development.
1857 riverboats in Kuala Lumpur
Can you see the riverboat? these riverboats are interesting, you can see the boats has roofs. That is because to travel from the mouth of the Klang River, which is the straits of Malacca to come to Kuala Lumpur which is upriver was not an easy job. They had to row their boat, not one day not two days but it might even take up to seven days for them to row their boats. No choice, because had to transport the Tin out.
Kuala Lumpur point
Why did they end up here? because if they go further into the Klang river, the river was even more shallow, so they said let’s bring the Tin around Kuala Lumpur to a collection area which is the Kuala Lumpur area, and then they put their Tin into the boat and transported to other parts where they are needed.
First Chinese Sundry Shop in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur became the collection center for Tin. Hiew Siew the earliest Chinese men was invited by Sutan Puasa. He was known to be an honest man in those days because it doesn’t cheat in weighing Tin. The tax for Tin somewhere around 10 percent This is how they made collections of money, using the money for the well-being of the people who come and trade there. The Chinese people when came to Sutan Puasa, he was not able to supply their needs because Chinese people have their own needs especially because Sutan Puasa was a Muslim whereby the Chinese people have various other deities and because of that Sutan Puasa said why don’t you Chinese people come and open a sundry or shop which can supply the needed for of Chinese people.
so that’s why one of the earliest sundry, I belief was open just where today you can see Jalan Leboh Ampang HSBC bank Just across the river can you see that house somewhere around that area of perimeters about 50 meters that could be the first Chinese sundry shop was started and then Kuala Lumpur started to become more prosperous starting from 1859.
The beginning of Kuala Lumpur in 1857, Klang river flowing on your right side, in the video. I’m bringing you virtually to the old Kuala Lumpur to life, by telling what happened then and now as the visual changes according to current development.
Kampung Rawa Mosque
Today the Jawa street bridge is completely different transformed into something else now what you can see is the same Klang river that flows today has a lot of things done. The river has been dug deeper because of the flood problem. Where I am standing in the video is where the current mosque to be built. The British replaced a small mosque that was located across the river. This particular mosque was made in pyramidical style. the mosque that you see today in Kuala Lumpur which is representing Mughal architecture is from India, this influence brought by the British into this country. The tall building that you see over the other side it’s known as the Lee rubber building. https://virtualtourcreator.my/2021/01/19/national-museum-of-malaysia-free-virtual-tour/
