in the heart of Klang lies a grand white building which has stood strong from the time it was built in 1909.
Initially named the Sultan Suleiman Building, it served as the land administration office during the British colonial rule and later, as the war headquarters by the Japanese during their occupation of Malaya.
Following the declaration of Merdeka in 1957, the building became the Klang District office.
Today, it houses the Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery, which was originally called Muzium Kenangan (Memorial Museum) and was the brainchild of the eighth Selangor Ruler, the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.
In 2007, his son and current Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah launched it as the Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery to commemorate the memory of his late father.
The royal gallery houses countless artefacts belonging to Sultan Salahuddin and exhibits tracing the history of the Selangor Sultanate and its royal family from the time of their inception.
It is overseen by the Sultan’s cousin, Tengku Datuk Setia Putra Alhaj Tengku Azman Shah, who serves as gallery chairman, and managed by its general manager, Datuk Munasor Aliyasak.
Munasor described how the late Sultan Salahuddin had first set up Muzium Kenangan, which was situated at the then palace grounds in the nearby Kampung Jawa.
“It was like a private museum where his friends could come and view his collection.
“After Sultan Salahuddin became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 1999, the Ruler converted it from a private museum to a public one.
“When Sultan Salahuddin passed away, his son Sultan Sharafuddin relocated the museum to its current location to make it more accessible to the public.
“Sultan Sharafuddin also created the museum as an establishment to honour his late father’s legacy,” said Munasor.
The displays include items collected by Sultan Salahuddin, as well as his forefathers from the time of the fourth Selangor Ruler, Sultan Sir Abdul Samad Shah.
“The ground floor of the museum highlights the history of the Selangor Sultanate, while the upper floor is almost fully dedicated to Sultan Salahuddin,” said Munasor.
He added that the oldest artefacts in the gallery, inherited from Sultan Sir Abdul Samad, are a royal seal as well as gifts from Queen Victoria and the British resident to Selangor.
“The latest would be the collection belonging to Sultan Sharafuddin, which are artefacts from the Mah Meri tribe on Carey Island,” he said.
Munasor also noted that Sultan Sharafuddin had played an active role in the gallery’s establishment from day one.
“Tuanku went through the blueprint, gave his input and opinions on the gallery’s layout, and would visit three to four times a week when the place was being set up,” said Munasor.
He said Sultan Sharafuddin was also very hands on when it came to curating the gallery’s content, as the Ruler went through the items that were being put up for exhibition and provided useful background information as well as historical data.
“Tuanku would also go into the storage room with the staff to look for specific items and if they were not there, Tuanku would know where they were kept at the various palaces,” said Munasor.
