Planning for Merdeka

A man with vision: Reade was integral in getting the land Merdeka Stadium sits on reserved for public use.

Remembering a colonial town planner who left his mark on Kuala Lumpur and the country’s independence.

WHILE Malaysians of all walks of life prepare to celebrate National Day, I am compelled to tell a story of how a pioneer town planner during the British administration gave much thought and foresight in his planning work for Kuala Lumpur and Malaya as a whole.

Charles Reade, a New Zealander, left a number of significant contributions related to the Merdeka theme.

During his first year in Kuala Lumpur (1921), he reserved a site at the Petaling Golf links, approximately 55 acres called the “People’s Parks” for the public to use; rather then to lease the land to various business organisations, associations and private individuals.

As a result of his advice, the Selangor Advisory Town Planning Committee reserved a site which presently holds the Merdeka Stadium: the venue of the proclamation of independence, by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (then Prime Minister designate) in 1957.

The People’s Park was part of a planning scheme which included the relocation of Victoria Institution (VI) which otherwise would be located between the Gombak River and Batu Road; a site not favoured by Sir Hugh Clifford, then High Commissioner of the Federated Malay States.

Across the Klang River, Reade designed the Victory Avenue (presently Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin) which caters to the Merdeka procession annually.

The parade would usually start from the roundabout near the Railway Station, along Victory Avenue to the Merdeka Stadium.

The Victory Avenue comprised a central carriageway 40 feet in width, with an 18-foot slow traffic lane at either side, and two pavements.

Victory Avenue was designed in 1921 and approved in 1922. In 1925 a total of $192,500 was allocated for its construction and by 1928 it was almost complete.

Reade’s office then was in the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, and today, if he were to watch the Merdeka Day celebration, he would be proud to be a part of the country’s history.

Charles Reade’s contribution during his stay in Malaya (1921-1929) can be found in my new book (2015), “Charles Reade: Town Planning In British Malaya.”

They include among others the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Sungai Besi Airport, Police Depot at Riffle Range, Rasa Town, improvements at Ampang bend, part of Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Penang Hill Hotel, Kuala Lumpur Factory area, Sentul railway workers’ housing; and more significantly the Garden Township of Kuala Kubu Baru (Malaya’s first new town in 1925).

KAMALRUDDIN SHAMSUDIN

Kuala Lumpur