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niece, YTMDato TunkuMukminah Tunku
Mohd Jiwa.
Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial
We know him as Bapa Kemerdekaan,
Bapa Malaysia or simply and fondly as
the Tunku. For an in-depth look into the
life, achievements and contributions that
Tunku Abdul Rahman made during his
time as the country’s first Prime Minister,
head to his eponymous memorial in
Jalan Dato Onn, Kuala Lumpur. Housed
in his former residence cum office, the
gallery displays a large volume of Tunku’s
archived materials, collectibles, books,
letters and some personal mementos. His
official car, a Cadillac Fleetwood 1959, is
also on exhibit here.
Opening Hours
10a.m. to 5.30p.m. (Tuesdays to
Sundays)
12.15p.m. to 2.45p.m. (Fridays)
Closed onMondays, except school and
public holidays
Admission is free
31, 1957. An estimated 20,000 people filled
up the seats to witness the ceremony,
which began at 9.30a.m. and saw the
attendance of Sultans, Cabinet Ministers,
as well as foreign dignitaries. In a playback
of the night before, Tunku Abdul Rahman
led the crowd in chanting ‘Merdeka’,
followed by the raising of the flag while a
military band played the national anthem.
Stadium Merdeka went on to host
a number of other high-profile events
including the 1975 match between Mu-
hammad Ali and Joe Bugner, andMichael
Jackson’s sell-out History World Tour
concert in 1996. Declared a national
heritage building in 2003, the stadium is
still a popular concert venue.
Federal Hotel
Like Stadium Merdeka, the Federal Hotel
was also built specifically for the Merdeka
celebrations in 1957 as an international
class hotel was needed to accommodate
foreign dignitaries attending the official
ceremonies. Tunku Abdul Rahman offici-
ated the opening of the nine-storey hotel
on August 28, 1957 and for a long time
afterwards, it was ‘the’ hotel for VIPs and
government functions.
Every year, the hotel relives the glory
of 1957 by creating special Merdeka Day
menus at their restaurants. The hotel
has also produced a coffee table cook-
book, Favourite Dishes from the Tunku’s
Kitchen, containing about 70 recipes that
were Tunku Abdul Rahman’s favourites
and compiled in collaboration with his
Dataran Merdeka
Federal Hotel back in 1957