Masjid Negara

A little bird told me ..........

The Architect behind our National Mosque- Datuk Baharudin Abu Kassim recently received the Gold Medal Award - highest Malaysian accolade an architect can ever achieve from PAM (Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia). Among some of his most outstanding Malaysian iconic buildings are the Komtar Tower in Penang,

the UBN Tower-Shangri-La Hotel complex in Kuala Lumpur,

the Shah Alam state mosque in Selangor

and of course our National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

Upon his return from UK in 1958, Datuk Baharudin was attached to the Federal Town Planning Department and subsequently the Public Works Deepartment (PWD). He and his team were tasked with building a mosque that was to be uniquely Malaysian and without the onion-shaped domes that characterize mosques in the Middle East.

MASJID NEGARA

Built for RM10million in the early 1960s, the mosque located in the capital of Kuala Lumpur is one of the Public Works Department’s most important projects after the country’s independence. When the 13.5 acre site was opened in 1960, earth by the thousand-loads was moved there by lorries from the Selangor Club Padang, now known as Dataran Merdeka.

Meant to be a National Heritage monument, construction was funded by donations from citizens of new Malaysia. The first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman declined to have the mosque named after him, instead opting for “Masjid Negara” instead.
It was also his directive to have the mosque located near the KL Railway station so that it’d be within comfortable walking distance for worshippers and visitors. Describing the mosque as a modern tropical building in the country, its most striking feature is its unique umbrella-shaped roof: Intended as a place of prayer for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the roof serves as a very identifiable representation of the umbrella that is always held over the King’s head.
Originally planned to accommodate 8,000 worshippers at any one time, the verandah was expanded in the 1980s to enable the mosque to house up to 14,000 worshippers.

Ref:NST 15May 2009- Property section