Kuala Lumpur is the largest city in Malaysia and the economic capital of the country. The administrative capital is now Putrajaya.
Kuala Lumpur is one of the three Federal Territories, and is physically located within the state of Selangor, on the west coast roughly halfway up in West Malaysia.
The Petronas Twin Towers, currently the world's tallest buildings are found here.
History
Kuala Lumpur was founded in 1857 at the confluence of the Gombak and Kelang rivers. In Malay, the name means "muddy confluence".
It was made capital of Selangor in 1880 and in 1896 it became the capital of the British-protected Federated Malay States.
During the Second World War Japanese forces briefly occupied the city.
After independence in 1957, Kuala Lumpur was the capital of the Federation of Malaya and continued to be the capital of the renamed Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
In 1974 Kuala Lumpur ceded from Selangor and the city became a Federal Territory.
Statistics
(As of 2000)
Area: 243.65 km²
Population: 1,479,388
Tourist Information
Some of the most popular tourist locations in Kuala Lumpur are:
- The Chinese Night market area,
- Petronas Twin Towers, which also houses a large shopping mall.
- Batu Caves, a short distance north of Kuala Lumpur. This is a tall limestone cave, and home of a Hindu temple.