Oldest golf club in the city centre

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

Malaysia's oldest golf club lies in the heart of Kuala Lumpur with the city skyline as a backdrop.

Established in 1893, The Royal Selangor Golf Club ( RSGC ) is located off the ever busy Jalan Tun Razak, which is only about 10min drive from the Petronas Twin Towers!

How did it begin ?

Golfing was already a sport that was not new to Kuala Lumpur during those days. Already a 5-hole golf course was laid out in the Lake Gardens but there was no club formed then.

It all started when a group of coffee planters thought it was a good idea to have a golf club in Kuala Lumpur. On Jan13 1893, a meeting to the effect was published in the Selangor Journal, which was the only publication serving as a newspaper and official bulletin during those days.



The original site of the club was located at Petaling Hill, an 80acres of hilly land located around the present day Victoria Institution, the Methodist Boys School, Stadium Merderka and Stadium Negara.

Work on the course started almost immediately and five months later, the 1st annual general meeting was held. It was formally opened on Aug 21 1893,with 30 founding members. Entrance fee then was fixed at $5 with a monthly subsciption fee of .50ct per head. The 1st Resident General of the Federated Malay States, Sir Frank Swettenham, served as President of the club from 1897 to 1898. In 1918, the Club had to be moved to another location as Petaling Hill had to be reclaimed by the Government to be converted into a public park. A new site at Circular Road ( Present Jln Tun Razak) was identified. This new site was partly occupied by the Forestry Department and also some mining concerns. Tembusu trees and pond holes are some of the legacies left down by the previous tenants. Work began on the new site in 1920 and since then, RSGC grew by leaps and bounds in terms of memberships and facilities.

Golf tournament during the opening of the new club House at Circular Road in 1921.

1942- 2nd World War ...the clubhouse was used as an arms training school by the Japanese Occupation Forces. The courses were converted into vegeable , tapioca and banana patches, while part of it was used as an airstrip and barracks were built. By the time the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the club was left in a derelict state. Thanks to the effort of a Tom Verity, he was able to rehabilitate the golf course with the help of prisoners of war using primitive tools.

It was confered the Royal title in the year 1963.

Today, the Royal Selangor Golf Club is a premier golf club in the country and one of the best in the region. It has over 6.000 members, comprising Royalty, ministers, foreign diplomats, corporate leaders, captains of industry and professionals.

Old Chinese Shophouses

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

A shophouse, normally has two or more storeys, is a commercial and private structure. The tenants usually use the first floor for commercial purposes such as sundry shop, light industry or warehouse, and reside in the upper floors. The building is not free standing, rather, it is connected to several other shophousesss, which create a shophouse block. This shophouse is repeated to form streets and town squares. Building materials such as brick, plaster, concrete and timber are commonly found in shophouses.



Kuala Lumpur- shophouses..
Though the shophouse form was developed in Malacca, Penang and Singapore by the early 19th century, shophouses did not reach Kuala Lumpur until 1884. At that time Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, introduced building regulations that decreed that the original attap hut settlement was to be rebuilt in brick or wattle with tiled roofs and allowance for a five foot covered passageway by the road.

The early shophouses were purely transitional adaptations to the tropical climate. What emerged was a building form that minimized the effect of heat, rain and glare of a tropical climate by using thick, brick walls with high ceilings, a roof with ventilation, an interior with an air well and shop front with a verandah.

The early shophouses took on various Chinese characteristics such as curved gable ends of the roofs, glazed ornamental tiles and stucco decoration. Gradually these characteristics were replaced by European features, As land continued to be subdivided into long, narrow lots, the emphasis was on creating unique facades. Neo-Classical elements were adopted. These elements, derived from the classical architecture to Greece and rome, suited the climate of Malaysia, co colonnades, porticos and verandahs were utilised for sun and rain protection.

Quick rundown on shophouse architectural styles:

Pre -1884 - mainly attap huts built by Chinese merchants to service tin miners
Post-1884 - Concerned about fire hazards, Sir Frank Swettenham, the British Resident
Selangor, introduced building regulations that decreed that the original
attap hut settlement was to be rebuilt in brick or wattle with tiled
roofs, and allowance for a five-foot covered passageway by the road.
From then on, evolves the facade of the shophouses according to styles in
Europe but the basic plan did not alter. The variation in facade can be
roughly seen as follows:
Transitional (1880s - 1900s)
Simple wooden shutters with a minimum of decoration

Neo-Classical (1910s - 1930s)
Elaborate Greek and Roman columns, ornately decorated window frames details, pediments, parapets, comices

Dutch Patrician (c.1930s)
A Dutch-inspired gable was adopted for the front facade of the shophouse




This shophouse is found in Ipoh

Art Deco / Art Moderne (1930s - 1940s)
Simplified lines, geometrical patterns



Post W.W.2/ Modern (1950s - 1980s)
No ormamentation, totally transitional

Loke Yew

A little bird told me.....

JALAN LOKE YEW





such a familiar street name in KL! Jalan - in our local language refers to STREET.
Named after Mr Loke Yew who arrived in Malaya at the age of 13.
Who is this man and what were his contributions to Kuala Lumpur?
- Born in San Wui - Southern China in 1845 as Wong Loke Yew
Dropped his surname and became known just as LokeYew- coz he believed it brought
him luck !
- struck it rich when he discovered rich tin deposits in Kling Bahru.
Besides owning numerous tin mines, also owned rubber and coconut plantations, also
dappled in supplying provisions to British troops, monopolised liquor sales,
managed a pawn broker and held licenses to run gambling tables.held properties
investments in Singapore and Malaya.

- was one of the founders who established Victoria Institution.
- also help established Tan Tock Seng hospital in Singapore.
- was one of the leading man in establishing the Kwong Yik bank in 1915.

His family established Associated Theatres Ltd which was renamed Cathay Organisation..also helped built Singapore's first skyscraper Cathay Building in 1939.

He bought over the Loke Mansion in Jalan Medan Tuanku (currently abandoned)in 1892 from tin miner Chow Ah Yoke. He upgraded and renovated the mansion making it one of the most pretigious residences in Asia then.

Today, Jalan Loke Yew is known to KLites as the home to many low cost flats- namely LOKE YEW FLATS,and UE3 a shopping complex .

ref: Sat Metro-Jun02 2007

"WE HAVE TWO EARS AND ONE MOUTH ! THINK TWICE ! SPEAK ONCE ! "
-