Royal Klang Club turns 125 next year. — Photos: AZMAN GHANI/The Star
THE iconic Royal Klang Club (RKC) plans to invite sports personalities to its 125th anniversary celebrations next year, in a nod to its legacy of sporting excellence.
The invitees will include sportsmen who have represented Klang’s oldest club through the decades.
RKC president Kenny Lee Choo Hocks said the club was founded in 1901 and will mark a significant milestone next year.
It will celebrate its 125th anniversary on Oct 10, 2026 and a month-long grand celebration had been planned.
“We aim to create a festival-like atmosphere that will echo across the seven affiliate clubs,” Lee said.
(From left) Serjeet, Lee and Thavanesan looking through a commemorative book marking RKC’s centenary.
RKC is affiliated to Royal Selangor Club, Selangor Coast Club and Royal Lake Club Kuala Lumpur in the Klang Valley.
It also has ties with Royal Ipoh Club in Perak, Royal Sungei Ujong Club in Seremban, Negri Sembilan; The Malacca Club in Melaka and Penang Sports Club in George Town.
RKC, located on Jalan Istana, has 1,800 members.
Its royal patron is Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Lee shared that the 125th anniversary celebrations would see the club recommit to nurturing sporting excellence.
He said its 125-year journey embodied an important chapter in Klang district, Selangor state and the country’s sporting history.
A photograph on display showing the site of the club in the 1950s.
“We will announce the preparations on July 19, when we will also launch the official emblem for the celebration as well as its theme, Embracing a New Horizon.
“Our committee will unveil a calendar of activities designed to honour RKC’s heritage and contributions to communities in Klang district,” he said.
RKC’s vice-president Serjeet Singh, who had worked at the club and been a member since 1973, said the main aim of anniversary events would be to celebrate the club’s growth.
“We also want to honour members who had excelled in sports.
“Some of these members are Zulkifli Abbas, a former Malaysian field hockey player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and K. Thavanesan, who represented Selangor in the National Colts Under-20 hockey tournament in 1978 and 1979,” he shared.
Serjeet was a former Class 1 Federation International Hockey umpire in the European Cup in Hanover, Germany, as well as during the Asian Games in the 1980s.
He added that RKC had been instrumental in developing cricket and hockey talents in Klang schools.
Serjeet pointed out that RKC now had a fully equipped gymnasium alongside a wide range of sports facilities for swimming, badminton, squash and tennis, as well as three courts catering to growing interest in pickleball.
“We have found that more young people are joining the club as members for pickleball,” he said.
Thavanesan, a lawyer, said he was proud to have been an active hockey player for the club.
He has also been a member of the club for 35 years and served in the committee from 1999 to 2003.
