Siti Norlizaiha
Harun (PhD) & Rusamah Abdul Jalil
Department of Town and Regional Planning,
Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying,
University Technology MARA, Perak, Malaysia
Email: norliharun@gmail.com
Introduction
Old towns in
Malaysia have a treasure trove of unique heritages in terms of history,
architecture, identity, and culture including urban morphology. These old towns
have stories of events and folklore which are visible via physical evidences
that still stood the test of time. Old towns of the day still carry past
memories that tell their own tales of the history they have seen. These visual
evidences include buildings and architecture, monuments, old sites, roads,
plots and landscapes. For the purpose of this paper, old towns within the scope
of this study include those that existed during the Malay Sultanate in the
Malay Peninsula. The term ‘town’ during those days were more synonymous with ‘fort’.
The term ‘fort’ however, has various meanings depending on the sentence and the
context of use (Nasir, 1993). ‘Fort’ may be
taken to mean a city or a city state. It may also mean a fortification or a
stockade and was the administrative centre for the Malay rulers during the splendour
of the Malay Kingdom traditional rule. Evidence of town planning in the Malay
Peninsula started in Melaka in the 15th century. During this
century, Melaka was a thriving port of international trade. Early settlements
during those days were along land, riverine and coastal routes. Melaka was
renowned as a coastal city having a wide sea frontage to the Straits of Melaka.
The Melaka city landscape changed in the mid 15th century with the
construction of fortifications and forts by the Portuguese and Dutch colonialists.
Medieval era fortified cities built by the Portuguese in 1511 turned Melaka
into a colonial city replete with town planning characteristics. Melaka
continued to undergo series of cityscape changes during the Dutch colonial era
in 1641. The Dutch introduced urban forms through interesting architecture and
urban elements. The square and church square elements were constructed as city
centre elements characterised by cities in their motherland, the Netherlands.
A more
systematic town planning in the context of colonial urban administration was imported
by the British in the 18th century. The British brought with them
physical planning ideas and practices from Britain to the Malay States
specifically to the major towns and state capitals. Based on town planning
historical records, the earliest town in the Malay Peninsula built based on
planning principles was George Town, Penang.
During the British colonialisation, Penang and Melaka were known as the Straits
Settlements. Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Negri Sembilan were known as the
Federated Malay States while Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu and Johor were known as
the Unfederated Malay States. This categorisation indirectly became a
contributory factor towards the urban forms and morphology of Malay cities,
city states and states during this era. Malay Early Towns were towns that
emerged or existed during the British occupation. In contrast with colonial towns, these towns
were built in the cities or city states of the Malay States. Kota Bharu, Kuala
Trengganu, Alor Star and Johor Baharu were among these Malay Early Towns.
Besides Malay towns that functioned more as city states, the British also
opened towns such as Taiping, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Batu Gajah and Kuala Lipis.
These towns still stand as major towns and cities in Peninsular Malaysia today;
in fact contributing their unique characters in terms of urban forms through
building architecture styles and urban morphology with colonial characteristics
to the interesting urban form today.
Melaka
Sultanate
In the early 14th century, Melaka emerged as a great Malay kingdom. According
to the Malay Annals, Melaka was founded by Parameswara, a Palembang prince. He was
a member of the royal family of the Sailendra Kings which once ruled the
Srivijaya Kingdom. Parameswara came to Melaka in 1400 when it was just a small
fishing village. Ezrin Arbi (1986) theorised that among the factors that may
have influenced Parameswara to choose that particular location to set up the
seat of his kingdom was because Melaka possessed various advantages being
located at the river estuary, thus a good location in terms of trade
possibilities from the Straits of Melaka. In fact this location has very good
potential for centralised residence, defence and agriculture due to it having
adequate water resources, sited close to strategic hilly areas and surrounded
by wide expanses of fertile plains. Under Parameswara’s rule, Melaka swiftly
became renowned as an entreport city and centre for trading of goods. To ensure
Melaka’s security, Parameswara built his palace on a hill overlooking the
Bertam River estuary. This made it easier for him to monitor trade activities
on the Straits of Melaka. Melaka also established alliance with foreign ties such
as the Kingdom of Siam. To ensure good relations, the Sultan of Melaka sent tributes
(ufti) in the form of gold leaves,
among others; to the Kingdom of Siam. At the same time, Melaka also became
allies with the Emperor of China, cementing Melaka’s position as a thriving
trade centre not only in Asia but attracting traders from the Middle East and
as far away as Europe. Besides being a prosperous and important trade centre, Melaka
was also an important centre for Islamic propagation in the 15th century.
For the more
than a century of the Malay Sultanate of Melaka’s sovereign rule in Melaka,
there was never a single account in any record recounting the activities of the
Melaka sultans in the traditions of fort or settlement construction. This could
be because the Melaka rulers never moved away but continued using the Melaka Palace
on the Melaka Hill as the seat of their kingdom. There were too little accurate
accounts on the Melaka urban morphology during the Sultan’s’ rule. In the Malay
Annals written by Tun Sri Lanang (1612), there was an eulogy ‘And from below
the wind to above the wind, such was the fame of Melaka the great city, the
kings of which had sprung from the lineage of Sultan Iskandar Dzul-Karnain’;
but nothing had been written about urban layout. The Malay Annals also
recounted that the city of Melaka was divided by the Melaka River into two
sections joined by a timber bridge. The river functioned as a ‘major
highway’ plied by boats and sampans which, on the one hand connected the city
with the inner areas; and on the other hand with the large ships and vessels
berthed on the sea coast not far from the river estuary. This account of the Melaka urban form relied
heavily on records by the Portuguese and by Chinese traders from China such as
Ma Huang who was on Cheng Ho’s voyage in 1413 – 1415 and 1421 which narrated on
an administrative centre built on hill slopes at the Melaka River bank. Ma
Huang wrote that the Melaka River flowed in front of the palace before flowing
on to the sea. He also emphasised the importance of Melaka Port as a Chinese
sea port, depot for trading goods and shipyard. During Ma Huang’s visit to
Melaka, there were more than twenty ships plying Melaka River bearing various
trading goods. Tomȇ Pires, the first ambassador to the Imperial Court of China,
wrote in Suma Orientalist (1512-16) that
Melaka “was at the end of the monsoon and the beginning of others”. Melaka has
always been depicted as a busy port of call for traders from all over the
world. The various trade records identified that the Melaka built form and
urban morphology during the Sultanate was more coastal type city/port where
settlements were centred on port areas and along the river banks.
In 1511, the Portuguese
conquered Melaka which dynamically impacted the Melaka city landscape. Alfonso
d’Alburqueque then built a defence fort known as A Famosa. The construction of
this fort was completed in 1512, making Melaka a city resembling the medieval
era walled cities of Europe. A Famosa was
constructed stretching from a location at the foothills down to the river and
sea side, making Melaka a walled coastal city.
The Portuguese conquest ended when Melaka was overcome by the Dutch in
1641. The Dutch administration (1641-1795) moved the urban structure from the
walled section to the north-western suburb, now known as Melaka City. The Dutch
introduced a systematic urban development plan for the city of Melaka, which
included roads and transport facilities. The Dutch spent most of their efforts
rebuilding the city of Melaka and strengthening it as a military base. The most
impressive relic of the Dutch period is the creation of a fragment of a Netherland
town in the form of an architectural and urban element. The first building to
be built was the Stadthuys in 1650s. The Stadthuys served as the administrative
centre and home of the Governor of Melaka. Other components of the city which were
built later was Christ Church (1753) and the clock tower which was placed in
the town square. In 1806, under William Farquhar,
the British demolished the Portuguese fortress which included the bastions of
Middelburg. During the British era, physical town planning flourished
specifically in the states of Melaka, Penang and Singapore which were then
known as the Straits Settlement.
The fall of the city of Melaka in 1511 led to the emergence of two Malay
Sultanates; the Johor Sultanate and the Perak Sultanate. Both sultanates
strived to reclaim Melaka from the Portuguese. Sultan Mahmud Shah, who was the
last Sultan of Melaka and was based in Johor, fought against the Portuguese in
two failed uprisings (1535-1536). The glorious era of the Malay Sultanate of
Melaka ended with Portuguese rule for 130 years (1511-1641). Archeological
findings of fort remains throughout the Malay Peninsula revealed that in
comparison with the other Malay states, Melaka did not have any fort apart from
the palace grounds built on the hilltop. Moreover, since the Portuguese
conquest, the entire city of Melaka became the defence territories for the
Portuguese. Geographically, the Portuguese conquest did not expand to the
entire peninsula as at the time, Melaka was a relatively large state. During
the Portuguese conquest, other Malay states such as Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu,
Pahang and Selangor were also undergoing political upheavals of their own. The
Malay kings and states went to war amongst themselves which indirectly led to
the founding of new forts and cities.
In
terms of written materials and historical records, not much can be gleaned
about the Malay cities before the advent of Melaka. Historical accounts on the
Malay kings touched heavily on government systems and socio cultural aspects. Early
physical design or urban construction were more tailored towards the royal
institution and were known as forts or fortifications. The difference between
these two terms is in terms of construction functions. Fortifications are used
only for defence purposes while forts are seats of administration and royal
residence, but may also be concurrently used for defence.
Fort
construction by the Malay kings began since the 7th century and
ended in early 19th century when the British colonials subdued the
states in the Malay colonies. The construction of the Malay forts was closely
related to various issues in the traditional rule of the Malay rulers and
ministers. Fort construction whether as a defence centre, administrative centre
or in the traditional style reflect the hierarchy of the Malay genealogy and
greatness. Fort construction may be seen as a tradition of the rulers of the
Malay states which evolved with changes in governments and rulers and the
opening of new regions or new states. When a Malay Ruler opens a state, His
Majesty will instruct his subjects to construct a fort palace complete with
Audience Hall, Main Hall, Assembly Hall and an assortment of royal buildings
sited within a fenced compound known as palace with fort such as the Istana Balai Besar (Palace of the Large
Audience Hall) in Kelantan. Besides the
royal traditions, the tradition of fort construction was also undertaken by the
state’s ministers or prominent figures such as the Ngah Ibrahim Fort and the
Long Jaafar Fort in Taiping, Perak.
The design and
construction of Malay forts underwent changes in terms of building materials concurrent
with the Malay rulers’ era. Malay forts were usually fenced with wooden or
bamboo stakes, earth walls, rocks and rocky walls (Nasir, 1993). Forts in the Old Malay kingdoms such as in Kedah
and Perak were in the shape of forts formed by high earth bunds while Malay
forts in the 15th century were built using hard rock arranged
carefully. The pinnacle of Malay fort construction greatness was the
construction of fort walls using red bonded bricks and plastered with an
adhesive material akin to cement. The architecture of Malay forts was very
simple with square shapes surrounded by moats. The sites and locations of the
Malay forts were close to rivers with some being located on high grounds. Forts
built near rivers (river estuaries) were usually due to the river being the
main communication and transportation routes as well as entry points for trade.
Meanwhile, forts located on the hills such as Kota Lukut, Kota Raja Mahadi and Kota Malawati had vantage positions
enabling sentries and ministers to have unobstructed views of shipping traffic
plying the nearby sea besides guaranteeing the city’s security. Malay forts and
fortifications built throughout the 15th century until the end of the 17th century mostly had defence characteristics because during this period,
Malay kingdoms were under serious enemy threats specifically from Siam and
Portuguese. Besides being moated, fort walls were also built double layered and
cannons were installed all around the fort walls.
Malay Towns
The growth of Malay cities originated from the kampungs or villages but locational factors of being close to the
rivers make them strategic for transportation routes and water resources supply
including increased port and trading activities; hence augmenting the position
of these riverine cities as city centres. Among cities that grew from river
estuary locations are Kota Bharu, Kuala Trengganu, Alor Setar, Johor Lama,
Pekan, Kuala Dungun, Bandar Maharani, Kelang and Kuala Selangor. These towns
and cities are also known as ’Bandar
Kuala’ (estuaries town) due to their locations at the river estuaries.
These towns and cities were founded by the Malay rulers and some of these
estuary towns are also esteemed as Royal towns such as Kuala Kangsar and Pekan. The urban morphology
and figure-ground of estuary towns in the Malay states have almost identical
characteristics. Urban elements such as buildings and space were arranged as if
according to town planning principles. Almost all these estuary towns were
built circa 17th and 18th centuries and town planning influences brought in by the colonialists may
have influenced the building site layouts. Islamic influences were also
discernible for example in the East Coast states such as Kelantan and Trengganu which had accepted
Islam since the 13th century. This Islamic influence can be clearly seen in
the construction of mosques as important landmarks in the city centres. Mosques
were used not only for solah
(prayers) but also for religious study classes and discussions on
administrative matters.
As compared to Malay forts and the city of Melaka whereby their urban forms
were more contained with walled characteristics, estuary towns relected urban
forms and morphology with planning characteristics. The morphology of estuary
towns has geographical similarities in terms of being located at the river
estuaries, and significance as communication and transport routes. Besides
being located on riverine areas, the existence of wide expanses of fertile
plains further encouraged urban growth starting with the construction of a
royal palace for the ruling king. The royal institution during the Malay
Sultanate no doubt had a great influence on the urban planning and urban
morphology. The royal institution may be seen as an agent of urban morphology
and this was proven with the construction of buildings and settlements around
the palace grounds as well as from other urban elements that were planned and
laid out in such meaningful patterns. Palaces as centres of governance were
built overlooking wide open spaces or squares. Located close to the palaces were
mosques, buildings for ministerial use, buildings for the ruling institution
(government buildings) such as court houses and district offices, market and
commercial stores and public dwellings.
Estuary towns went through more interesting evolution during the British
occupation specifically towns that were Unfederated Malay States’ city states.
Estuary towns such as Kota Bharu, Alor Star, Kuala Trengganu and Johor Baharu had
already expanded and formed the early urbanisation of the Malay Peninsula and
were referred to as Early Malay Towns in Malaysia (Rajoo,S.,1998). Their status
now remain as city states and conserved as heritage cities in Malaysia. These
cities are valuable historically, culturally, socio economically and also in
terms of unique building architecture and morphology for buildings such as
palaces, mosques and traditional Malay houses.
Colonial Towns
Western colonialisation left an indelible impact and remains a big
influence on the urban formation of cities in the Malay Peninsula in the early 15th century. The Portuguese, the Dutch and the British
played important roles in terms of historical continuity, physical evolution
and urban geography. Buildings which were western legacies or known as colonial
buildings have unique building architectural styles besides building layouts
that formed early urban design. During four centuries of western occupation of
the Malay Peninsula, the Portuguese, Dutch and British had planned and
implemented town planning basis and principles according to their own ways. The
British was the most influential western colonialists and left the highest
number of historical relics throughout
Malaysia. British occupation began in 1786 until Malaysia achieved independence
in 1957. The earliest British settlement was in Penang which quickly became the
base for the British to expand their colony. British colonialisation instilled
more systematic planning activities on towns opened to fulfill the locals’ and
the colonists’ needs. Early physical town planning activities have commenced
since 1801 with the setting up of a Commitee of
Assessors in Penang and George Town which was the first city to have
proper planning including the construction of roads and drains throughout the
city; and having well planned administrative institutional buildings.
Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Negri Sembilan formed the Federated Malay
States which were each administered by a British Resident under full authority
of the British Empire. These Federated Malay States were rich with the natural
resources of tin and iron ore. The mining activities indirectly led to the
opening of more lands and towns in the Federated Malay States such as Kuala
Lumpur in Selangor; Ipoh, Taiping and Batu Gajah in Perak and Sungai Lembing and Kuala Lipis in Pahang. All
these towns and cities were known as tin towns. Besides tin, large scale rubber
planting was also a factor leading to the mass opening of land in the Malay
Peninsula. Increased economic status
through tin and rubber trading helped pave the way for infrastructural
development. In the early days of tin discovery, trade routes to transport tin
was via the rivers. The first railway track built in the Malay Peninsula in
1885 was from Taiping to Port Weld or now known as Kuala Sepetang. The
second railway track was built in 1886 from Kuala Lumpur to Klang. Infrastructure
development became more brisk in the early 19th century when road constructions were undertaken to connect
city centres with mining areas specifically along the west coast of the
Peninsula. This ongoing scenario was a factor in the encouraging physical
development of these towns. Towns and cities during the British colonial era
were colourful with beautiful buildings. Main buildings such as administrative
offices, court houses, mosques, schools, railway stations, police stations and
commercial stores were built in colonial architectural styles.
The urbanisation and settlement characteristics of the Unfederated Malay States
of Kelantan, Trengganu, Kedah and Johor were governed by the kings’ or Sultans’
decree. Even though these states were placed under the British Empire
patronage, matters pertaining to the
Islamic religion and Malay customs were still governed by the Sultan. The urban
form and urban elements of these towns and cities are as detailed out under the
chapter Malay Towns. The city states (state capitals) of the Unfederated Malay
States were the first towns to have proper planning and became the identity of
the states ruled by the Malay Rulers. The two main features of these early
towns were the royal courts and the trading centres of merchants. As compared
to other Early Malay Towns like Kuala Kangsar, Kuala Selangor, Pekan and Kuala
Dungun, Malay Towns in the Unfederated
Malay States remain as state capitals and main city centres until today; namely
Kota Bharu in Kelantan, Alor Setar in Kedah, Kuala Trengganu in Trengganu and
Johor Baharu in Johor.
In reference to the discussion on urban forms during British rule, the
characteristics of urban forms developed by the British may be presented as
follows: main centres are government buildings consisting of large buildings
with awe-inspiring architectural style emphasising the ruler’s power. Some of
the buildings built during colonial times are the Sultan Abdul Samad building (1897),
Penang City Council building (1879) and the Taiping City Council building (1879). In front of the government buildings,
there is a grassy area or usually called the padang (field). The padang
is the venue for official events involving crowds such as army parades, government sponsored festivals and
sporting events specifically cricket and football. A short distance away from
the padang will be constructed the
club house; an example is the Selangor Club House which is still in use today.
The club house was used by the British nobility and officers to rest after
taking part in sports events. At the third part of the padang there will be a
chapel and at the fourth part there was a commercial area. The main buildings
of this area were banks and large commercial stores. From the visualisation of
the urban morphology during the British rule, it may be summarised that urban
formation happened through building layouts and not through land use
classification. Whelty and Sandu (1983) postulated that colonial era urban
design was aimed at creating a political power environment for the ruling
colonial masters through British administrative rules, building construction
prowess and community social
organisation; all of which were amalgamated via urban architectural
presentation. Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Ipoh, Taiping, Johor Bharu, Seremban and
Kuching are among cities that still have relics of the British colonial era
urban form characteristics and architecture.
Conclusion
Geographical location, settlement formations and the
natural resources of Early Malay Towns and Estuary Towns in the Malay Peninsula
have attracted outside influences which left significant impact on early
urbanisation process in Malaysia. Throughout the glorious Malay Sultanate era
up to the fall to western powers, the peoples of the Malay Peninsula were
exposed to various urban forms and architectural influences. As a result of
these assaults on the Malay Peninsula history and culture, Malaysia today is
enriched with historical heritages that still remain for posterity and have
become sources of reference for the current and future generations. Old towns that are still standing today are
proofs of the phases of the evolution of the rich Malaysian history, besides
showing forth differing and varied identities of urban form through morphology
history. The materials documented in this paper are historical heritages that
deserve to be conserved and disseminated for the use of the current and future
generations.
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