![Royal Selangor Club, Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Royal_Selangor_Club%2C_Merdeka_Square%2C_Kuala_Lumpur.jpg)
The Royal Selangor Club ( ms, Kelab Di-Raja Selangor) is a
social club
A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...
in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, founded in 1884 by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
who ruled
Malaya. The club is situated next to the ''
Dataran Merdeka
Independence Square ( ms, Dataran Merdeka) is a square located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was formerly known as the Selangor Club Padang or simply the ''Padang'' (meaning "field" ...
'', or Independence Square, ''padang'' (field), and is accessible from Jalan Raja (King Road). The Club will play host to certain matches from the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup.
History and overview
Establishment
The club was founded as the Selangor Club in 1884 as a meeting point for educated and high-ranking members of
British colonial society. Most of its early members were British, the founding members include H.C. Syers, the Superintendent of Selangor State; A.R. Venning, Treasurer of Selangor and head of the Sanitation Board (who also created the
Lake Gardens
Lake Gardens is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India.
It has Kalighat to the north, Jodhpur Park to the east, Prince Anwar Shah Road or Tollygunge to the south and Charu Market to the west.
The famous Golf ...
);
A. C. Norman who designed some early buildings of Kuala Lumpur; and H.F. Bellamy who headed the Selangor Public Works Department. Nevertheless, membership to the club was primarily determined by high educational standard or social standing, rather than race or citizenship; for example an original founding member was
Thamboosamy Pillay and its first Secretary was a German,
Count Bernstorff. Count Bernstorff however left the club with an unexplained deficit of $1,100, and later Henry Huttenbach steadied the club's finances as Secretary.
The club house was built with funds from the British colonial administration, and the
British Resident
A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indi ...
of Selangor was ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'' the President of the club – the first three Presidents were
John Pickersgill Rodger,
William Edward Maxwell
Sir William Edward Maxwell, (5 August 1846 – 14 December 1897) was a British colonial official who served as Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements and Governor of the Gold Coast, then a British colony.
Early days
Born on 5 August 18 ...
, and
Frank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham (28 March 1850 – 11 June 1946) was a British colonial administrator who became the first Resident general of the Federated Malay States, which brought the Malay states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and ...
.
The club was initially based in a small wooden building with an attap roof near the north eastern corner of the ''padang''. In 1890, this early building was replaced by a two-storey structure designed by the Government Architect
A.C. Norman at the current site of the club on the west side of the ''padang''. In 1910, the building was rebuilt using a design by architect
Arthur Benison Hubback (notably credited with the design of the
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
( Jawi) zh, 吉隆坡 ta, கோலாலம்பூர்
, address = Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50621 Kuala Lumpur
, borough =
, country = Malaysia
, coordinates =
, grid_name = ...
) in
Mock Tudor
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
styling, with two additional wings on either side of the main building.
The club was nicknamed "The Spotted Dog", one explanation is that it referred to its mixed community membership and began with a remark that "frequenters of The Spotted Dog pub must accept the company as they find it".
Another suggestion it refers to two
Dalmatians belonging to the wife of H. C. Syers, one of the club founders, that were left to guard the entrance of the club whenever they visited the club. Yet another suggestion is that the first emblem club was supposedly a spotted leopard that was so badly drawn that some mistook it for a dog. The club is also simply referred to as "The Dog".
Over the years, the club's membership increased and had also begun to include high-ranking Malaysian civil servants: judges, lawyers and important people in society. The club's proximity to the old
High Courts at the other side of ''Dataran Merdeka'' has also made the club a popular meeting place for the legal fraternity.
Flooding and fire
The Royal Selangor Club was not spared from frequent
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
ing in Kuala Lumpur. Between the start of the 1910s and the 1930s, the club was recorded to be hit by floods in 1911, 1917, December 1925 and December 1926.
On 20 December 1970, the main section of the club was razed in a fire which was believed to have started from its kitchen at around 10.30 p.m. and was contained within an hour by 50 fire fighters (including 20 who were off-duty). Property damage from the fire was estimated to cost more than
M$1.5 million, but there were no casualties. During the fire, guests of a children's Christmas party in the club were safely evacuated with "no panic". The then president of the club,
Khir Johari
Tan Sri Mohamed Khir bin Johari ( ms, محمد خير بن جوهري, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 29 January 1923 – 19 November 2006) was a Malaysian politician and the former Malaysian Minister of Education.
Born on 29 Januar ...
, stated that the club was insured for M$1 million. Shortly after,
another flood struck Kuala Lumpur and the club premises three days after the start of 1971.
While the club is more than 100 years old, much of its early records were lost during the three-year
Japanese occupation of Malaya
The then British colony of Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The ...
from 1942 to 1945, and the 1970 fire that damaged the club .
Rebuilding after the fire
After the fire, plans were made by the club to rebuild what was damaged. Proposals were made on a new wing and submitted to the
Kuala Lumpur City Hall
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall ( ms, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, abbreviated DBKL) is the city council which administers the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This council was established after the city was officially granted city status on 1 Feb ...
in 1972. However, City Hall was suggesting the construction of a civic center over the site of the club's field and club. The initial response by the club was to search for a new site in the surrounding area (including
Jalan Duta
Taman Duta refers to the area that Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (previously also named Jalan Duta) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia passes through. The area spans from the adjoining roundabout of Jalan Kuching, which the high flyover would take traffic str ...
, an area near the
Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
, an area near a
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
club in
Ampang, and
Damansara) with little success. Discussions were eventually made with City Hall to agree on the club's rebuilding. As a result, plans for a civic center in the area were abandoned, and City Hall granted the reconstruction of the club's new building in July 1978. The new wing, which was built in a similar
Mock Tudor
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
style as the rest of the club building, was constructed between 5 November 1978 to December 1980 at a cost of M$6 million.
Sports and recreation
The club has organised various sporting activities since its early years, including
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
(where it has been a key player in the history of
cricket in Malaysia). Rugby Union has been played at the Club since 1894.
Sporting events at the club can be viewed from the Long Bar, a portion of the club which has been off limits to women, purportedly because men "would drink and get very excited when they watched the games and they didn't want the ladies to see their exuberant behaviour, hence it was decided to ban women visitors from the Long Bar". Women are still prohibited from the bar area today, contrary to a 2007 report by ''The Star'', a local English daily.
Members of the club is said to have introduced
hash running in 1938. Legend has it that some members of the Selangor Club decided that it would be a good idea to run to work after heavy drinking the night before so they could rid themselves of their hangovers, which apparently they did. As the club was once also called Hash House (so named because some of its members thought its food unpalatable) the members therefore named themselves
Hash House Harriers
The Hash House Harriers (HHH or H3) is an international group of non-competitive running social clubs. An event organized by a club is known as a Hash or Run, or a Hash Run. A common denominal verb for this activity is Hashing, with participan ...
. During the World Interhash in 1998, an exception was made to allow women into the Long Bar.
''Dataran Merdeka'' field
The field or ''padang'' fronting the Royal Selangor Club, now known as ''
Dataran Merdeka
Independence Square ( ms, Dataran Merdeka) is a square located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was formerly known as the Selangor Club Padang or simply the ''Padang'' (meaning "field" ...
'', had long been used by the Club but was leased from the Government under a "Temporary Occupation License - TOL" before it was taken back by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall in 1987 to be used specifically for events organised by City Hall. Throughout the time the field was used by the club, sporting activities such as cricket, rugby, hockey and football matches were held there almost on a daily basis. The club's loss of the field was compensated with a piece of land in
Bukit Kiara, which is currently the site of the
Royal Selangor Club Bukit Kiara Annexe.
Recognition
![Royal Selangor Club](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Royal_Selangor_Club.JPG)
Effort has been made to accumulate support from various bodies to recognise the club as a national heritage building and institution, due to its intertwined link with the country's history.
The club is one of the oldest in the country, serving as a British institution, and is witness to the first hoisting of the
Malayan flag in place of the
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
on the night of 30 August 1957 and declaration of independence by
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...
(to which club members broke into cheers of happiness), signifying the country's independence from the British. In 1984, the club was awarded a royal status under the patronage of the
Sultan of Selangor
Sultan of Selangor (سلطان سلاڠور) is the title of the constitutional ruler of Selangor, Malaysia who is the head of state and head of the Islamic religion in Selangor. The current monarch, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ascended the t ...
,
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj ( Jawi: ; 8 March 1926 – 21 November 2001) was the 11th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and eighth Sultan of Selangor.
Early life
Born on at 3:30 pm. ...
, who has voiced his support for the club's preservation during its 100th anniversary celebration, stating that "This institution should remain forever."
Royal Selangor Club Kiara Sport Annexe
The Royal Selangor Club Kiara Sport Annexe is a branch of the Royal Selangor Club built over a piece of land in
Bukit Kiara 5.5 kilometres away from the original clubhouse, which was given as compensation after the original club's field was acquired by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall in 1987. The facility was officially opened on 7 June 1998 by then
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
Tuanku Jaafar
Tuanku Ja’afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman ( Jawi: ; 19 July 1922 – 27 December 2008) was the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia from 26 April 1994 until 25 April 1999 and the tenth Yang Di-Pertuan Besar (Ruler) of Negeri ...
. The annexe is laid out in a similar manner as the original club, with the main club building facing a large field and designed in a similar architectural style as the original club building. The annexe also includes a swimming pool at the rear of the building.
Cricket
In 1997, the ground held ten matches in the
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualifi ...
. The following year it held five
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
matches as part of the
cricket competition at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. These matches saw Malaysia play
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
play
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Malaysia play
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
play
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
play South Africa.
See also
*
Royal Selangor Golf Club
The Royal Selangor Golf Club ( ms, Kelab Golf di Raja Selangor) is a golf course in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Established in 1893, it is one of the oldest golf clubs in Asia. The club is open only to members. Its entrance is located at the intersect ...
*
Royal Selangor Flying Club
RMAF Kuala Lumpur was an air base in Kuala Lumpur. It is also known as Sungai Besi Air Base, Simpang Airport, Old Airport.
History
It served as the main airport for Kuala Lumpur from 1952 to 1965 under the name Kuala Lumpur International Airpo ...
References
*
*
External links
Official Royal Selangor Club websiteOfficial Royal Selangor Club Hash House Harriers website
{{coord, 3, 8, 57, N, 101, 41, 34, E, type:landmark, display=title
Buildings and structures in Kuala Lumpur
Gentlemen's clubs in Malaysia
1884 establishments in British Malaya
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
Cricket grounds in Malaysia
Rugby union stadiums in Malaysia