Salvage and Sustain Bukit Persekutuan

ICOMOS MALAYSIA PRESS RELEASE, 19 DECEMBER 2022

Bukit Persekutuan, formerly known as Federal Hill, was originally established in 1896 as a residential area with bungalows to house high ranking government officers serving in the FMS administration. Since the early 1900s the road which led to these bungalows was known as Federal Road (now Jalan Persekutuan). In 1952 the government housing scheme was expanded and the whole area was officially named Federal Hill in commemoration of the Federation of Malaya (1948). The roads in this new government estate were named after seven Malayan States – Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor, and Perlis as there were already roads in Kuala Lumpur named after the remaining four states at the time. Jalan Pulau Pinang’s name was added on later (Penang Road in town was translated to Jalan Pinang in the 1960s).

Bukit Persekutuan or Federal Hill has long been associated with housing quarters built for government bureaucrats. The housing area closer to Jalan Travers was the earliest and the houses were referred to as Federal Quarters, in reference to housing units developed by the administration of Selangor and the Federated Malay States. In 2007, a survey of buildings in this area was carried out by Badan Warisan Malaysia. 113 single and double-storey government quarters were identified, the majority still in fair to good condition and some still housing presently serving government officers. There are three properties belonging to the royal households of Kedah, Negeri Sembilan and Perak. The remaining are some private enclaves and a few institutional buildings including the one which today houses Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).

Other early government housing estates in Kuala Lumpur that were in Jalan Imbi, Jalan Stonor and Jalan Tun Razak, also sat on green areas that have been taken over by new developments. The preservation of hillsides like Bukit Persekutuan, Bukit Petaling, Bukit Kiara and Bukit Nanas are very important as their early historical associations are slowly massaged with 'regeneration' projects. We must treasure the hills and appreciate Kuala Lumpur's natural geography.

Bukit Persekutuan has significant historical, architectural, cultural, natural and social values to Kuala Lumpur. Historically, this forgotten site is synonymous and complements with the nearby historical sites i.e. Tugu Negara and the Parliament building. Apart from the historical aspects, Bukit Persekutuan is the last remaining sizeable green lung in the Kuala Lumpur city centre which is an important point for conservation. It is very important to appreciate Bukit Persekutuan working in consonance with the nearby Taman Botani Perdana and Taman Tugu to reduce the carbon emission in a growing metropolis and ameliorate the effect of heat islands in the highly urbanised situation. The forest cover will help to absorb and reduce the torrential rainwater run-off and prevent flash floods. As Kuala Lumpur strives to attain the World Class City status and achieve a Low Carbon Society Blueprint by 2030, it is utmost important to ponder and appreciate the role of Bukit Persekutuan in the context of nation building and the Malaysian history.

As an NGO, we are sympathetic, and would like to emphasise the effort of Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) to sustain the well-being of our heritage, both natural and built. Our standing on the gazettement of Bukit Persekutuan as a heritage zone is similar with MNS, suggesting:

1. Freeze further developments in Bukit Persekutuan

2. Conduct an immediate review of the area as a heritage site

3. Look into ways and means of revitalising Federal Hill.

ICOMOS MALAYSIA's 'Kuala Lumpur Heritage Review Group' will be collaborating with MNS to study the physical linking at human level of Bukit Persekutuan to other green belts and old government housing areas in Kuala Lumpur i.e. canopy walks and light pedestrian bridges over major roads. Our preliminary overviews are outlined in our 'Kuala Lumpur Heritage Agenda' (download here).

Statement prepared by Kuala Lumpur Heritage Review Group, ICOMOS MALAYSIA.