Background Since the 1930s, the
Football Association of Selangor, commonly referred to as
Selangor, had been urging the government for a professional football stadium to be built. The request had been ignored as there is in fact a MAHA Stadium, the first stadium of Selangor in collaboration with MAHA
(Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association), is still there located at
Jalan Ampang at that time. However, the MAHA Stadium was ruined by the
Japanese army in the
World War II. After the war, the FAS and the
Football Association of Malaya (FAM) stepped up their efforts to get a new stadium as the MAHA Stadium in Jalan Ampang is now unusable. After Tunku Abdul Rahman was elected as president of the two associations in 1951, both associations fought hard to have a first-class stadium built. In 1952, an
ad-hoc committee was formed by the Kuala Lumpur Municipal Commissioners to study the proposal, and a report was released three months later. Several proposals were also brought up to the
Federal Legislative Council on this matter, including Tunku himself, but was blocked by the council. After the winning of the
Alliance Party in the
first general election in Malaya, Tunku, who was now the Chief Minister, started an advisory committee led by E.M. McDonald to study the possibility of building a stadium. On 4 June 1956, a total of 160 proposal plan was submitted to the government. On 2 May 1956, Tunku and McDonald started looking for suitable sites for the stadium, one of the first places they visited was the Chin Woo stadium. While standing on the tower of the stadium, Tunku saw a few athletes practicing near the Coronation Park, and asked "Don't you think it would make an ideal spot for Stadium Merdeka?" Although McDonald was concerned about the traffic congestion that might arise in the future, Tunku insisted that it was the perfect spot for the country's first stadium. The site was a Chinese cemetery before it became the oldest golf course in Kuala Lumpur, which had been abandoned since 1921. The site was then later called "Coronation Park" when
George VI was crowned as the
King of United Kingdom. Before it was decided to build a stadium on that site, several quarters were planned to be built on the site by the
Royal Malaysia Police. The uneven ground of the site means that excavation work had to be carried out before it could be constructed. The construction of the stadium would also mean that a small part of the school ground of
Victoria Institution would be acquired. Despite McDonald's efforts to persuade Tunku to choose another site for the stadium, Tunku insisted on building the stadium there. On 11 July, Tunku bought this up to the Legislative Council and gained permission from it. Four days later, the project was transferred to the Malayan Public Works Department.
Construction The stadium was constructed from 25 September 1956 to 21 August 1957, and was designed by the then Director of
Public Works Department,
Stanley Edward Jewkes. Several engineers such as Lee Kwok Thye, Chan Sai Soo and Peter Low were also involved in the project. The
cornerstone of the stadium was laid by Tunku himself on 15 February 1957. Due to budget constraints, most of the construction materials were made locally, which meant that imported materials such as
structural steels had to be avoided. To ensure that the stadium would be finished in time, the designing was done by "
fast-track" method, which means that after each element of the design was finished, it was immediately constructed. The stadium was constructed as an earthed
amphitheatre, which means that a part of the stadium is below ground level. The excavated soil was then transferred to the site of
Masjid Negara which was originally a valley and was subjected to flooding issues. When the earthworks and excavation were completed, designs of the terrace seating had already been done, and the construction of it began immediately. At the same time, the designing of the covered stands, the upper terraces and the stairs were carried on by the architects. Two contractors were involved in the construction, Lim Quee for the construction of the main covered stands, while Boon & Cheah were responsible for the terrace and the tunnel entrances. Besides designing the stadium, Stanley Jewkes was also responsible for the traffic planning around the stadium. Other than Stanley, architect Edgar Green was also involved in the designing of the interior facilities such as the toilets and the canteen facilities of the restaurant. The stadium held two world records upon its completion: the tallest
prestressed floodlight towers at 120 feet and the biggest
cantilever shell roofs. The floodlight towers, constructed from Hume
culvert pipes, was also the first prestressed tower in the world which was made from
precast culvert pipe units. Another interesting feat accomplished at the time is that all four towers were erected without using a crane. The shell roof for the grandstand, made out of concrete, was chosen as it was both economically affordable and aesthetically beautiful. Although the strength of the cantilever roofs were tested before the ceremony, Stanley was concerned that the roof might be unable to withstand the vibrations caused by the firing of the cannons during the ceremony, but it did not happen and the event went well. The women were responsible for carrying concrete buckets from the ground up to the structures being constructed, where it was then poured into the framework. It was also Tunku himself who placed the foundation stone on 15 February 1957. The ceremony includes a mass drill performance by 1000 students. On 31 August 1957, power was transferred from the
British Empire to the newly independent
Malayan government. More than 20,000 people crowded into the stadium, which was built specifically for this occasion. The ceremony was attended by
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, representing the
Queen of the United Kingdom, the
Malay rulers of the nine states, the last
High Commissioner of Malaya Sir Donald MacGillivray, foreign dignitaries, members of the
federal cabinet and Tunku Abdul Rahman himself. Following the handover of the instrument of the independence from
Prince Henry to Tunku, the prime minister read out the
Declaration of Independence, followed by the iconic seven shouts of "
Merdeka" by Tunku. Following that, the
national anthem was sung for the first time by a multiracial choir led by Tony Fonseka, while the
national flag was raised by Oliver Cuthbert Samuel. The ceremony was continued with an
azan call and a thanksgiving prayer, as well as a
gun salute.
Declaration of Malaysia On 16 September 1963, the stadium was the site of the proclamation of the formation of the Malaysia Federation. The event was witnessed by more than 30,000 audience and it was attended by the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Malay rulers, the Governor of Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the cabinet members, foreign diplomats and invited guests. The Proclamation of Malaysia, which was handed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, was read out by the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. He then shouted "Merdeka" seven times, which was echoed by the crowd. This was followed by the playing of the
nobat orchestra and the national anthem played by the Royal Malaysia Police Band. It was then followed by a 101-gun salute by the first round of the Federation artillery. The event ended with the prayer by the
Mufti of Negeri Sembilan, Ahmad Mohammad Said.
Plans for demolition The role of the stadium as the principal venue for celebrations and sporting events in Kuala Lumpur was replaced by the
National Stadium built in the mid-1990s. The stadium and its land were given to
United Engineers Malaysia (UEM) which had intended to redevelop the land into a
RM1 billion entertainment and office complex. However, the company did not proceed with the redevelopment due to public outcry and the company's financial difficulties due to the late 1990s Asian economic crisis. The stadium was now owned by
Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). Several options were suggested following the acquirement of the site by PNB, such as redeveloping the stadium for smaller sporting activities, building a sport museum at the site, or relocate it to another site. Nonetheless, the stadium remained as a site for sporting events and concert until this day.
Renovations and restoration The stadium had been through several renovations. First in 1974 when the concrete upper tiers were added to increase the stadium capacity to 32,800 seats. The project costs about RM 4.5 million. The seating capacity of the stadium was further increased in early 1986 with the addition of upper tiers rising into the airspace on the north, east and south terraces. Prior to the 1989 SEA Games, the grandstand was changed and the game's torch platform was built, were involved a set of grand steps leading up to the torch. also includes the laying of new tracks, repairs to the roofs, enclosing sections of seating and repainting the seating terraces such that the stadium was ready for the Games. In 2007, the stadium underwent massive renovations to restore its 1957 look. With that, the 45,000-capacity stadium was reduced to 20,000, which meant that several of the upper terrace blocks built over the years were demolished. Besides that, the entire stadium was to be decorated as the state it was when Tunku proclaimed independence, which included the word "Merdeka" written in the stadium and the original seating arrangements of the Malay Rulers, the Queen's representatives and officers. The paintworks, main pavilion, two VIP rooms and the changing rooms were to be restored to its original state as well. The project, which costs RM2 million, was led by PNB.
Merdeka PNB 118 In December 2009, it was announced that PNB would be building a hundred-floored skyscraper on the site between Independence Stadium and
Nation Stadium. The project was officially launched by the then Prime Minister
Najib Razak in September 2016. Formerly named as the Warisan Merdeka, the project was estimated to be finished by 2021. The tower, when completed, would be the
second tallest building in the world and
tallest in Southeast Asia. The tower would include 83 levels of office space, 16 levels of luxury hotel, and the rest of the floors would be occupied observation deck, restaurants, sky lobby, podium and amenities. Besides that, the project would also include a shopping mall and residential areas. The tower was built on the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (also known as
Merdeka Park), which was built alongside the Independence Stadium. Such a move was criticized as the park was supposed to act as a heritage buffer zone. Plus, the park was also a recreation park for the residents in Kuala Lumpur for generations. The project might as well worsen the traffic congestion of that area. There was also concern that the schools nearby might be affected by the project and was forced to be relocated. ==Sporting events==