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Spotlight on...Kuala Lumpur

Spotlight on Kuala Lumpur

kualaKuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia, with a population of 1.8million (7.2 in the wider metropolitan area). The city is situated in the Klang Valley, to the west of the Titiwangsa Mountains. Kuala Lumpur literally means ‘muddy confluence’, as the city is situated at the meeting point of the Klang and Gombak rivers.

The city began as a small frontier mining town in the 1850s, when the region was under the rule of the British Empire. In 1896, the city was selected to be the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States, and when the Federation of Malaya gained independence in 1957, followed by the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuala Lumpur remained the capital.

Bahasa Melaya (also known as Malay), the national language of Malaysia, is the most spoken language in Kuala Lumpur. Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese are also widely spoken, while English is seen as an important language in business and is compulsory in schools. Islam is the major religion of Kuala Lumpur, however the city has a widely multi-religious population. The second most popular religion is Hinduism, as practiced by many of the Indian residents of the city, who make up around 10% of the population.

petronasAs a result of the transitional political period from which it grew, the architecture of Kuala Lumpur is greatly varied, ranging from traditional Asian buildings to those with colonial influences to extravagant modern and post-modern structures. One example of the latter are the Petronas Twin Towers, which were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004. The towers reach almost 452 metres in height, and are home to a shopping mall, a concert hall, and offices for many large companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Reuters. Tourists can climb to the observation deck to get an impressive birds eye view over the city, or alternatively can choose to look out from the Menara Kuala Lumpur tower instead, providing the best view of the Petronas Towers available in the city.

Kuala Lumpur is home to many establishments dedicated to culture and the arts, such as the Muzium Negara (Malaysian National Museum), the Balai Seni Lukis Negara (National Art Gallery of Malaysia), and an Islamic Arts Museum, which contains thousands of rare artifacts and an Islamic library. The city also has extensive sports facilities after hosting the 1998 Commenwealth Games, and is one of the host cities of the Formula 1 World Championships.

There are 5 NCC Accredited Partner Centres in Kuala Lumpur: Brickfields Asia College, Charleston Management Centre , Fazley International College (FIC), Informatics College, and Regent School of Economics. You can find out more about each centre by clicking their name to visit their website.

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