The Former Supreme Court Building is the former court house of the Supreme Court of the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It was opened in 1915 when the Supreme Court was relocated from Court Hill.

History

Work commenced on the Supreme Court Building in June 1912 after the old courts situated on Court Hill became inadequate due to the rapid increase in the business of the Court, and took two years and nine months to complete. It was designed by Government architect,

Arthur Benison Hubback Arthur Benison Hubback (13 April 1871 – 8 May 1948) was a British Army officer and architect who designed several important buildings in British Malaya, in both Indo-Saracenic architecture and European "Wrenaissance" styles. Major works cr ...

, and built at a cost of $208,500 Straits Dollars. The contractor was Ang Seng who was the contractor for the nearby Government Offices, now the

Sultan Abdul Samad Building The Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Malaysian Malay, Malay: ''Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a late-19th century building located along Jalan Raja in front of Independence Square (Kuala Lumpur), Dataran Merdeka and the Roya ...

. The building was opened by High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States,

Sir Arthur Young Colonel (British Army), Colonel Sir Arthur Edwin Young (15 February 1907 – 20 January 1979) was a British police officer. He was City of London Police, Commissioner of Police of the City of London from 1950 to 1971 and was also the first head ...

at a ceremony held on 1 May 1915, in the presence of the Chief Judicial Commissioner Thomas Braddell, judges, court officials and members of the Bar. Later, courts were relocated to the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, but in 2003 were moved to the

Palace of Justice, Putrajaya The Palace of Justice (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) houses the Malaysia, Malaysian Court of Appeal of Malaysia, Court of Appeal and Federal Court of Malaysia, Federal Court, which moved to Putrajaya from the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala Lumpur i ...

following a fire. In 2020, the Former Supreme Court Building was occupied by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, while a spokesperson for Kuala Lumpur City Hall ( DBKL) said that it had assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the building which, after much neglect, was in need of urgent maintenance.

Description

The Former Supreme Court Building situated in Jalan Raja, next to Independence Square, was constructed in the

Indo-Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal) was a Revivalism (architecture), revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and gov ...

style similar to the Sultan Abdul Samad Building opened in 1897. The two-storey building has four towers at each corner surmounted by domes which are linked by a double arcade of columns and arches which surround the building. The public entrance on the

Gombak River The Gombak River () is a river which flows through Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It is a tributary of the Klang River. The point where it meets the Klang River is the origin of Kuala Lumpur's name. Gombak River used to be called the Su ...

side leads to an open courtyard in the centre of the building which has a double staircase to the courts situated on the upper floor. The ground floor consisted of four offices, each 92 feet by 32 feet, the Registrar's Office, with a counter and two strongrooms. At the back of the ground floor were placed the cells which had access to the courts by a private staircase so prisoners could be brought to the dock without being seen by the public. The upper floor had a library, and two courtrooms, each 70 feet by 32 feet, with a gallery to accommodate the public and the press. Leading from each court were the judges' chambers, robing rooms and witnesses' waiting rooms. The judges had their own entrance, and the towers were used as private tiffin rooms.

References

{{coord, 3.14977, 101.69525, format=dms, type:landmark_region:MY, display=title Buildings and structures in Kuala Lumpur British colonial architecture in Malaysia Government buildings completed in 1915