The Sultan Sulaiman Club building which is located in Kampung Baru is the oldest and most prominent Malay

club in this country not long ago. Since its establishment in 1909 numerous important events have been carried out at this club which now have been jotted down in the historical annals of the Nation. BACKGROUND Until 1967 this building was known as Sultan Sulaiman Club in conjunction with the name of the ruling Sultan from 1898 to 1938 at that time i.e. Sultan Alaidin Sulaiman Shah ibni Almarhum Raja Muda Musa. In 1899, Kampung Baru was known as Malay Agricultural Settlement (MAS). The residents always had their meetings in a hut built through gotong royong. In 1901, the Sultan Sulaiman Club building was erected on a piece of land donated by the Selangor Sultan. It was built through the English Governments contribution of $500 and public donations as well as cultural performances conducted to increase the club fund. This club was fundamentally for the use and benefit of the Malays. Its construction was motivated by clubs built by other races in Malay Peninsular at that time such as the Jawa Peranakan Club and Penang Peranakan Club. The British officers too had started their own club in the 1890s known as the Selangor Club. As there was no specific club for the Malay officers, it motivated the residents of Kampung Baru to erect a club for the purpose of gatherings and meetings. Club members included the residents of Kampung Baru, the Malay officers working for the British, the Royalty and other public figures. At the early stage, the post of President was held by the British administrative officers. The first president was Tuan Stoney, followed by CJ Perkins and Watson. Later on, it was held by Malays such as Haji Hussein, Mohd Amin Pasar and Datuk Mahmud Ambak.

THE HISTORY OF THE BUILDING The first club building was put up in 1909 by the villagers of Kampung Baru. The design was based on Malay architecture, according to Minang structures, which used mainly cengal wood, planked wall and nipah roof. There were a few reading rooms and space for holding a meeting. In 1914, the villagers of Kampung Baru had applied for annexed building especially which involved a reading room as it received a lot of visitors. However, the building could not be used for long as in December 1930, it was destroyed in a fire which caused the club activities to halt for awhile. The

President of the club had made an effort to rebuild it in 1932 with wooden wall and tiled roof. After lasting for 35 years, its dilapidated condition caused it to be left without any activities and finally in 1967, the building was demolished.

The effort to rebuild this building was continued by The Selangor State government through a letter from the Selangor Chief Minister, Datuk Harun Idris in April 1967 to the Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Subsequently, the new building which was named the Sultan Sulaiman Hall became a reality due to the co-operation between the Federal Government and the Selangor State Government. It was officiated by the Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak on 30 April, 1969. The new building was divided into two, the public hall and the Sultan Sulaiman club. The public hall could accommodate 1000 people and had a stage as well. It was used for sports activities such as badminton, sepak raga and basketball. A library was also provided for the public and members of the club to use. As for the club section, there was a restaurant, canteen, billiard room, meeting room, bar and hostel for participants or visitors. THE FUNCTION OF THE CLUB The Sultan Sulaiman Club played a very important role in the history of the nation. Apart from being a place to spark the spirit of the Malays to oppose Malayan Union, its most historical event was none other than the First Malay Congress which in turn brought about the establishment of

United

Malays No Otak (UMNO). The congress which

was chaired by Datuk Onn bin Jaafar, was held from 1 to 4 March 1946 and attended by 107 representatives from 41 Malay organisations throughout the Malay Peninsular. Also present were 56 observers from each state in Tanah Melayu and thousands of people who flooded the Club field to listen to the discussions of the representatives about the plight of the Malays. Since its establishment, the club was often used as meeting place by various societies such as Sahabat Pena, Persatuan Penulis-Penulis Melayu Malaya, Persatuan Melayu Selangor and many others. It was also used to hold the Journalist Congress to set up Kesatuan Wartawan SeMalaya on 18 August 1940. It was used actively before and after the second world war. UMNO as well as its Youth wing often held their annual General Meeting in this club.

After the independence, the club was seldom used because most societies had their own clubs. In the 1960s and the 1970s, the club was no longer active. Its name was only mentioned when there were any important gatherings, mainly the UMNO gathering before the election. During the Japanese occupation of the Malay Peninsular, the club activities were also held up for a short while. The club building was used by the Japanese army to store goods and as living quarters for the Japanese army officers. The club field was used by the Japanese Army to plant sweet potatoes and tapiocas for their food supply. During the 13 May 1969 Tragedy, the club building was a place of shelter for the Malays escaping from nearby areas and around Chow Kit as it was used asthe army and field force headquarters. At the end of 1970 and early 1971, it was used as a shelter for flood victims of Kampong Baru during the major flood in Kuala Lumpur. The contribution of the club to the community of Kampong Baru could not be denied. When the country started its television broadcast in 1963, the Club set up a television outside its premises in 1964 for its members and the public. Indirectly it provided entertainment for the local community who could not afford to purchase a television set at the time. However, not long after a group of mischievous boys threw a rock and spoilt the television. After the incident the television was no longer provided. By then the people could afford to buy one themselves. CLUB ACTIVITIES Sports activities such as football, tennis, cricket, badminton and rugby were also played at the club. It created a number of football heroes such as Mokhtar Dahari, Zainal Abidin Hasan, Hanafiah Ali, Kang Hang Meng, Zulkifli Nobit and Ghani Minhat. The late Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Abu Bakars expertise in tennis too was discovered here. He was the first Malay to take part in the game of tennis. Other than that, cultural events such as bangsawan theatre and traditional musical shows such as ghazal as well as sewing and cooking classes and household organization courses were also held here. The clubs triumphant era was due to the effort of its leaders and members as well as the surrounding community. It was looked up to by other clubs in Kuala Lumpur. However, now it is no longer in its prime. The building is not used as it

should be. The club members and the community need to analyse the role of the Sultan Sulaiman Club in order for it to thrive with the times apart from giving awareness to the people especially the younger generation about its part in the Nations history.