Shah Alam
Shah Alam was the name of two Mughal emperors, Shah Alam I and Shah Alam II.Shah Alam (population 356,066) is a city in
Malaysia, about 25 km west of the country's capital,
Kuala Lumpur. In
1978, it replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of
Selangor due to Kuala Lumpur's incorporation into a
Federal Territory.
Long ago, Shah Alam was known as
Sungai Renggam and is known only as an
oil palm estate. Later, the same area was identified as
Batu Tiga prior to Malaysian independence, and has been a centre of
palm oil trade for centuries. Its current name was chosen by the then state
Sultan of Selangor,
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, after his late father
Sultan Alam Shah.Many other monuments, buildings and even a street are named after the late Sultan.
|
The state mosque in Shah Alam. |
Shah Alam has a similar urban layout as
Petaling Jaya with housing areas occupying most of the city areas (55.2 km²) and commercial centres scattered around the different 'Seksyen' (sections). The city has a number of shopping malls (
SACC Mall,
Plaza Shah Alam and
Kompleks PKNS) and it has many schools, shops, banks, eateries, cafes, hotels, medical centres, clinics, large hypermarkets (notably
Tesco,
Giant and
Makro) and recreational areas. Vibrant commercial areas are situated mostly at the city centre (Seksyen 14), Seksyen 13 and Seksyen 9.
All main roads and streets in the city have signs with their names shown in both
Roman and
Jawi scripts.
The main plant of the Malaysian car manufacturer
Proton is located in Shah Alam. There are many companies who have their main plants in the industrial areas, both local and foreign.
Shah Alam flourished as a growing settlement after the Proton car manufacturing plant was set up, which marked the beginning of the city as an industrial city. The city was granted city status on
10 October 2000 with Dato' Haji Abu Sujak Haji Mahmud as the first City mayor.
The
Universiti Teknologi MARA (
UiTM and formerly known as
Institut Teknologi MARA or
ITM) which is known as Malaysia's
affirmative action symbol is located in the state capital. The whole university area covers a whole section at the western hills of the city known as Seksyen 1. At Seksyen 17, there is also a campus of UiTM, named
INTEC, where its students undergo preparation programmes for overseas studies.
Other institutions of higher learning in Shah Alam include
Universiti Industri Selangor and
PTPL College.
Shah Alam is also served by many primary and secondary schools. This is a list of schools in Shah Alam.
* Section 9 Secondary (SMK Seksyen 9) and Primary (SK Seksyen 9) School
* Section 11 Secondary School
* Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Secondary School
* Tengku Ampuan Jemaah Religious Secondary School
*
Section 4 Primary School*
Section 2 Secondary School* Section 18 Secondary School
* Section 19 Secondary and Primary Schools
* Section 24 Secondary School
* Section 24(2) Secondary School
* Section 7 Secondary and Primary Schools
* Section 6 Primary School
* Bandar Anggerik Primary School
* Section 17 Vocational School
* Sekolah Sri Cahaya
The city also boasts the huge and modern
Shah Alam Stadium with a capacity of 81, 000 and 5,500 parking lots where many fairs were held and the stadium is where the Selangor state team plays its football. A smaller indoor stadium, Stadium Melawati, and the Selangor Aquatic Centre are located nearby.
Its main KTM Commuter Station is the 'Shah Alam' station which is situated at the southern part of the city in Seksyen 19. Shah Alam is well connected to other main cities in Klang Valley by highways, mainly by the
Federal Highway,
North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE),
Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS),
Guthrie Corridor Expressway and the
North-South Expressway (PLUS). Shah Alam is well connected to main transportation hubs such as the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (30 km south of the city) and KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur. Buses and taxis are easy to find at commercial areas in the city.
In the future (2007), Shah Alam may have
light rail transit and
monorail systems.
Shah Alam is most famous for its
mosque, the
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque. It is the largest mosque in Malaysia and one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Its most salient feature is its large blue and white dome, which measures 170 feet in diameter and reaches 350 feet above ground level. The dome is one of the biggest domes covering a mosque in the world. The mosque also has four minarets erected at the corners, with each minaret 460 feet tall. The mosque was commissioned by the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz, when he declared Shah Alam as the new capital of
Selangor on
February 14,
1974. Construction of the mosque was completed on
March 11,
1988. The mosque can accommodate up to 24,000 worshippers.
Shah Alam also houses the
Selangor State Museum (
Muzium Alam Shah) which displays many treasures and artifacts connected to the history of Selangor. Adjacent to the museum is the
Selangor State Library (
Perpustakaan Raja Tun Uda). The Selangor Islamic Arts Complex (
Kompleks Kesenian Islam Selangor or
Riyadh Fannil Islam) is situated nearby, housing many Islamic masterpieces and creativities such as a variety of Islamic calligraphy, known as
khat, and a number of precious treasures. One of them is an old Qur'an obtained from an
Acehnese months before the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck. At the banks of the Lake Gardens, an art gallery and performance centre called
Laman Budaya is located. Exhibitions and shows regularly take place here.
The city is surrounded by many beautiful parks and gardens, such as Shah Alam Lake Gardens and Bukit Cahaya Sri Alam Agricultural Park (soon to be
National Botanical Gardens).
Other places of interest are:
* Wet World waterpark
* SACC Mall
*
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Building* Section 9
*
Istana Bukit Kayangan* Shah Alam Square (adjacent to Plaza Alam Sentral)
* Independence Square (where the 43rd national-level National Day Parade was held)
* Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah
Shah Alam has a few hotels but not as many as Kuala Lumpur. These include
Carlton Holiday Hotel, Concorde Hotel (Seksyen 9), Grand Blue Wave Hotel (Seksyen 13), UiTM Hotel (Seksyen 1), Intekma Resort (Section 7), Quality Hotel (Seksyen 13), De Palma Inn Hotel (Seksyen 19).
*
*
University Technology Mara
