THE mysterious envelope sent from Klang to Sussex has been in my possession for several years. Devoid of content, it bears the sentence “About the death of the Sultan of Selangor” scribbled in green ink across its side. Based on its Klang postmark date, the sender was most probably referring to the demise of Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Raja Musa, as the monarch passed away on Mar 31, 1938, mere days before the letter was written.
The sender must have given a very vivid description of the funeral ceremony as the cover bears a quartet of 4 cent stamps, double the required 8 cents airmail rate to England at that time. It is, however, quite disheartening that the letter was already missing when I bought the envelope from the multinational e-commerce website eBay in 2012. The sender must have been someone important and privy to the entire historic event. I can only imagine what wonderful stories the letter would divulge if it were still around today.
Ever since the acquisition, I’ve always harboured the hope of learning more about Sultan Alaeddin and jumped for joy when the opportunity to visit his former palace in historic Kampung Bandar presented itself during a recent visit to Malaysia's most populous and prosperous state.
SHORTEST ROUTE, LEAST TRAFFIC
Although there are many routes leading to Kampung Bandar, the one via Kesas highway offers the shortest way with the least congestion. Turning left towards Banting after getting off the highway allows motorists to completely bypass Klang town and its persistent chock-a-block traffic. Then on, it’s an enjoyable south-westerly drive along Jalan Klang Banting. Ample signages pointing towards Kampung Bandar start appearing after the road passes through the sleepy hamlets of Jenjarom and Banting.
After more than an hour's drive along busy trunk roads, the scenery changes rather abruptly. The dusty thoroughfares are replaced by lush greenery along the final 8 kilometre stretch of isolated country roads deep in the heart of Kuala Langat district. The old palace comes within shouting distance once the arch welcoming visitors to historic Kampung Bandar comes into view.
A quick survey of the laidback surrounding area belies the fact that this place was once part of the administrative centre of Selangor more than a century ago. The conspicuous Bukit Jugra can be seen quite clearly, sticking out from the rather flattish rural landscape. Back in antiquity, this distant hill served as a natural guiding beacon for Indian dhows navigating the Melaka Straits as they headed southwards to the thriving city that lends its name to this narrow body of water that separates Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
Bukit Jugra today is home to two lighthouses and a radar station. The older and much taller of the two was built during the colonial era to guide ships approaching Jugra, which was then the royal capital of Selangor. Boats and Chinese junks laden with tin mined from the interior traversed Sungai Langat to reach the coast. In those days, all trading vessels had to stop at Jugra to pay taxes before continuing their journey.
Back then, Bukit Jugra was known as Parcelar Hill, derived from the Arabic word balasar which literally means above the head. Its second lighthouse, built fairly recently in 1976 and equipped with state-of-the-art navigational equipment, serves to direct vessels on the southern approach towards Port Klang.
LEGEND OF BUKIT JUGRA
Like many places in Malaysia, Bukit Jugra has its fair share of legends. A popular one starts with Puteri Gunung Ledang's eventual marriage to Nakhoda Ragam after Melaka's Sultan Mahmud Shah failed in his quest to win her hand. Story has it that Nakhoda Ragam was fond of tickling his wife's ribs, a habit that the princess strongly disliked.
One day, in an uncontrollable burst of anger, the princess stabbed her husband to death in the chest with a needle while they were on a boat off the coast of Kuala Langat. She brought his body ashore and buried it at the foot of Bukit Jugra. The two cats which accompanied the couple turned into “ghost tigers” to guard over the grave. Soon after, the princess returned to her abode in Gunung Ledang and vowed never to set eyes on another man.
The arrival of a car-load of visitors catches my attention just when I’m about to scan the slopes of Bukit Jugra hoping against all odds to locate Nakhoda Ragam's grave. The sight of the occupants gleefully making a beeline for the stately Istana Bandar takes my mind off the myth and I start to concentrate on the sprawling complex in front of me.
Although the place comes under the purview of the Selangor Malay Culture and Heritage Corporation (Padat), there doesn’t seem to be any indication of an administrative office or ticketing counter apart from a small guardhouse manned by a solitary security personnel beside the main gate.
Judging from the vehicles numbering in the single digit in the car park, it seems that even free entrance from 8am to 6pm still can’t entice sizeable number of visitors to this isolated part of the state. Clearly much needs to be done to highlight the importance of this historically significant place.
CULTURAL MELTING POT
At a glance, the architectural style of Istana Bandar appears to be a melting pot of various functional ideas from all over the world. Islamic influences from the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East are clearly seen on the intricate carvings and etchings on the windows and doors. At the same time, the jade green ceramic ventilators and carvings of playful carps on the walls are evidence enough that Chinese artisans also contributed significantly during the construction of the palace.
Looking up, the striking orange coloured Indian V-shaped roof tiles arranged in neat rows offer a pretty sight when admired from afar. These are most pronounced on the elevated gabled or pyramidal jack-roof segments that are decorated with pointed tunjuk langit (finials) and ornately carved eaves. The roof of the buildings making up the palace complex were purposely constructed with differing heights to remind its occupants as well as visitors of the intricate administrative hierarchy of the royal household.
After circumnavigating the entire palace complex and admiring its many unique external features, including the recognisable colonial styled archway and neo-classical Roman- and Gothic-inspired designs, it’s time to escape the late morning heat and seek shelter indoors. The interior is cool and airy thanks to the Achenese influenced limas roofing technique. Purpose built spaces in the roof and upper floor allow hot air to escape while convection currents bring in gentle breezes through the palace's many windows and their intricately carved wooden filigree panels.
Almost the entire building is constructed of bricks and covered with lime plaster while the staircases and doors are fashioned from the local cengal hardwood. The builders chose concrete for the ground level flooring in order to prevent damage from floods and termite attacks, which were prevalent scourges in the past. Away from inundation and insect infestation, large pieces of wooden planks form shiny and smooth floor boards on the upper floor.
After exploring all 40 rooms and surveying every nook and cranny for hidden passageways, I finally reach what was once the palace kitchen. Like the rest of the complex, it’s bare except for several huge circular concrete stoves. It’s quite disheartening to see the entire building devoid of furniture and fittings as their presence would definitely give visitors a better picture of how the Selangor royal family lived in the past.
HISTORY COMES TO LIGHT
Just when I think that all hope is lost, I suddenly notice several display boards partially hidden in an obscure corner of the room. Upon close inspection, they appear to be leftovers from an exhibition highlighting the history of Istana Bandar. Elated at the unexpected discovery, I begin to peruse the information with the hope that they’d shed more light on Sultan Alaeddin, the fifth monarch of Selangor.
Istana Bandar was built by Sultan Alaeddin using his own funds after he was made the ruler of Selangor upon the demise of his grandfather, Sultan Abdul Samad ibni Al-Marhum Raja Abdullah in 1898. Construction on the five hectare piece of land began a year later and when completed in 1905, became home to the royal family until Sultan Alaeddin's demise 33 years later.
In the years leading up to Sultan Abdul Samad's death, Raja Suleiman Shah, as Sultan Alaeddin was then known, shared a keen interest in agriculture with his grandfather. They worked tirelessly on more than 1,000 acres (404 hectares) of land that Raja Suleiman inherited after his father, Raja Muda Musa, passed away in 1884.
The Sultan and his heir apparent made a fortune planting sugar cane, coconut, areca and padi. Both of them then used $3,000 from their private purses to help local land owners start their own plantations. By 1894, most of the land surrounding Jugra was filled with fruit trees, coffee and padi fields.
During his rule, Sultan Alaeddin was a God-fearing man and made many contributions towards the advancement of the Islamic faith in Kuala Langat. He built the nearby Masjid Alaeddin in 1905 for the benefit of his people and was often seen giving sermons and leading Friday prayers there. Known also as Masjid Bandar, the mosque design was said to have originated from the Kingdom of Deli in Medan, Sumatra.
Istana Bandar eventually went into disuse when Sultan Aleddin's third son and successor, Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah, moved his seat of power from Jugra to Klang.
CONSERVATION EFFORTS
While on the way out, I cross paths with the security guard who’s on one of his scheduled rounds. He tells me that the former palace served first as the district handicraft centre after Malaya achieved Independence and was converted into an Islamic Maahad Tahfiz school at a much later date.
Plans to conserve Istana Bandar began surfacing after the last group of students left in the late 1980s. By 2007, the National Heritage Department and Padat conducted a survey of the complex and found that much was needed to be done to rehabilitate Istana Bandar. Work started a year later in December and the workmen first concentrated on the roof section which was in dire need of repairs. Accurate replicas of the Indian V-shaped roof tiles were used to replace the existing ones that were already cracked or damaged.
Then, the conservators moved on to the internal structures that had been badly affected by water leaking down from the roof. Rotten floor boards and peeling wall plaster were carefully scraped away while every effort was made to retain as much of the original sections as possible.
The final stage involved landscaping the palace grounds with the intention of returning it to its former glory. These included the revitalisation of several pools where Sultan Alaeddin and the royal family had their baths while being attended to by personal handmaidens. A public car park and a walkway leading to the palace complex were also added.
Just as I’m about to reach my car, I turn around to gaze upon Istana Bandar one last time before leaving. It cannot be denied that this palace complex is an integral part of Selangor’s history and it’d be such a pity if Istana Bandar is to forever remain in the shadow of its glorious past.
While plans are in the pipeline to turn Istana Bandar into a living museum or a Royal Gallery, it is certain that unwavering support from the powers that be is definitely needed to make sure that at least one these ambitious propositions comes to fruition.
Travel in comfort and rent a car with Socar to enjoy deals and discounts