Monday, May 16, 2016

1940 Around the World: Malaysia


Malaysia

Continuing on with the series exploring the year 1940 across the globe, we stop in Malaysia...where I was very lucky to visit last week on a business trip....

The year 1940 was really the calm before the storm in Malaysia.  The following year, 1941, would see the invasion of the Japanese--literally an hour before the Pearl Harbour bombings.  This occupation would last for over a year, until 1942.

The Beautiful Sultan Abdul Samad Building in the heart of Kuala Lumpur
Photo credit: skyscrapercity.com

The buildings in the photo above, designed in a Mughal architecture style, sit on one side of the Merdeka Square (Independence Square) and were designed in the late 1800's to house government administration buildings.  During 1940, they housed the Federal Secretariat of the government.  Now, they house the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture of Malaysia.  But the neat thing is that across the street from this impressive building, is an equally beautiful site that now houses the National Textiles Museum!

A view of the amazing textiles in the museum: 

Photo credit: mybatik.org.my

Here's a great group of postcards from the early 1940s:


I think, but I'm not positive, that the impressive building in the second and third photos down on the left side are of the railroad station--which still look equally impressive today.

There are very few photographs of women from 1940 that I could find.  But I came across this amazing blog, which detailed the life history of a woman that turned 100 in 2012 (she is seated below with her family).  I just love the slightly colour tinted photo of her family:

Photo credit and blog story: http://ppunlimited.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/real-champion.html

Here's a photo from the early 1940's of the railway station which was completed in 1910:

It is still this beautiful white colour and looks almost exactly the same (just with a bit more traffic)!

Such a beautiful city.  Have you been to Kuala Lumpur or anywhere else in Malaysia?
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