History & Formation of Klang, Selangor

There has been lots of ancient artifacts found in Klang, which provides evidence of pre-historic human settlement. These include axes, bronze drums, and iron tools called ‘tulang mawas’ or ape bones. In fact, displayed in the British museum, is a bronze Klang bell (200 BC to 200 AD). Klang was also written in Nagakretagama, a 14th century Javanese palm-leaf manuscript, and marked on Chinese general Cheng Ho’s maritime charts when he travelled to Malacca in 1409 to 1433.

The Malacca Sultanate ruled Klang in the 15th century. One of the most famous Bendahara of Malacca, Tun Perak, came from Klang. In 1456, he was appointed Bendahara (an administrative position similar to chief minister) as an award: the Malaccan Army obtained victory and defeated Siamese invaders under his lead. As well as this, Klang was significantly important to the other states as it was rich with tin. When the Portuguese took over Malacca in 1511, Klang has been said to annually produce one hundred bares of tin. Despite this, Klang was still under Malay rule and controlled by Johor-Riau’s Sultan before the emergence of the Selangor sultanate.

Klang’s importance significantly increased during the 19th century. This was due to the increase of tin demand from the west. Klang’s tin resources increased its desirability which led to the Klang War, or the Selangor Civil War, that took place in 1867 to 1874. During the war, Rajah Mahdi fought against Raja Abdullah, and power was moved to Bandar Temasya, Kuala Langat, then to Jugra, which became the royal capital of Selangor. However, this did not lessen Klang’s importance.

In 1901, Klang became the chief outlet for Selangor’s tin as a result of the construction of Port Klang (formerly called port Swettenham) and the Klang Valley Railway (Wikipedia, 2020). In fact, Port Klang is now the 12th busiest transshipment and container port in the world (WikiMili, 2021). Klang also developed into the state’s leading coffee and rubber producer, and Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah moved the royal seat back to Klang in 1903.

Klang’s official local authority, Klang Health Board, was established in May 1890 (Wikipedia, 2020). A road bridge was then made to connect the two parts of the town, which was separated by the Klang river, together. This allowed the health boards of Klang and Port Swettenham to merge In 1926 (Syarikat Wah Sang Brothers, 2018). In 1945, the local authority was renamed Klang Town Board. The Town Board then became the Klang Town Council after a local election in 1954. In 1971, nearby towns such as Kapar and Meru joined Klang and Port Klang to form the Klang District Council. Klang District Council then went through further reorganization, and on the 1st of January 1977, upgraded to become the Klang Municipal Council (KMC).

Klang used to be the civil capital of the state of Selangor (1974 to 1977) before the development of Kuala Lumpur and the current capital: Shah Alam (Wikipedia, 2020). In fact, when Kuala Lumpur became capital city, Klang became the capital of British colonial administration for Selangor (KidsKonnect, 2019). To this day, Klang is still the District headquarters.

Klang bell (200 BC to 200 AD)

Nagakretagama

Mao Kun Map Klang River

References

KidsKonnect. (2019, November 5). Kuala Lumpur Facts & Worksheets. Retrieved from KidsKonnect: https://kidskonnect.com/places/kuala-lumpur/

Syarikat Wah Sang Brothers. (2018, March 25). Methods of Documentation and Measured Drawings. Retrieved from slideshare: https://rb.gy/wnbdtm

WikiMili. (2021, May 28). Port Klang. Retrieved from WikiMili: https://wikimili.com/en/Port_Klang

Wikipedia. (2020, June 27). Klang (city). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klang_(city)

By Gaby Manurung 0341118