3403 MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) - Old Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur

This building located along Jalan Istana in Kuala Lumpur was the former residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme King) of Malaysia. It was replaced by the new national palace as the official residence of the King in 2011, and in 2013 was converted into The Royal Museum and referred as Old Istana Negara. The palace was originally a double-storey mansion called The Big House built in 1928 by a local Chinese millionaire, Chan Wing. During the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, it was used as the residence of the Japanese Governor.

3387 MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) - Jamek Mosque

Located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak River, Jamek Mosque, officially Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque, is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur. Designed by Arthur Benison Hubback in Indian Muslim Mughal architectural style, it was built in 1909, on the location of an old Malay burial place. It has 3 domes, the largest of which reached 21.3 m in height. One of them collapsed in 1993 due to heavy rain, but has since been repaired. It has also 2 main minarets among other smaller ones; the pattern of pink and white, formed of brick and plaster, has been described as "blood and bandage".

0028, 0568, 3346 MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) - Petronas Twin Towers

0028 Night image of the Petronas Towers

Posted on 06.11.2011, 22.03.2013, 10.01.2020

Petronas Twin Towers from Kuala Lumpur, erected between 1995 and 1998, were the tallest world’s building from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101 and has remained until today the tallest twin buildings. The towers have 88 floors each, of which 78 served by elevators, a maximum height of 452 m (up to the roof top antenna), and the top floor height is 375 m. Taken together, the two buildings have office area of 1 million square meters, 93,000 square meters are for those 270 stores, cinemas and fast-foods, and in addition was arranged a concert hall with 840 seats and an art gallery.

0568 Petronas Towers, with Kuala Lumpur Tower and Vista Tower

As regards the costs, I found several amounts, from 0.5 billion to 1.6 billion USD. The initiators of the project were a consortium of private investors in association with the Malaysian government and Petronas, the national oil company. The main problem met by the Argentine architect Cesar Pelli and his team was unstable ground (not rightly in Malay Kuala Lumpur literally means "muddy confluence"), so towers are also the building with the deepest foundation from the world, which dealt Bachy Soletanche, a large geotechnical company from England. Somewhat strangely, the two towers were built by two different companies, both from South Korea, creating a competition between them.

3346 Petronas Towers at Titiwangsa Lake Garden

Petronas Towers were designed to symbolize strength and grace and principles are based on typical Islamic architecture, first the cross section based on a Rub el Hizb - a star with eight arms, but also steel and glass facade that imitate the Malay traditional motifs with curved arches reminding of temple towers. The towers can be visited up to floor 41, where is the Sky Bridge that links it, and the curious can cross the bridge, but can’t linger on it longer than 10 minutes. The famous French urban climber Alain "Spiderman" Robert wasn’t satisfied with an ordinary visit and escalated the towers in 2009, using only his bare hands and feet, after two other failed attempts due to police intervention in 1997 and 2007 .

3337 MALAYSIA - A roadside hut selling durians and rambutans

Named in some regions as the king of fruits, the durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio. There are 9 recognised Durio species which produce edible fruit, with over 300 named varieties in Indonesia, 100 in Thailand and 100 in Malaysia. It is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and thorn-covered rind. The fruit can grow as large as 30 cm long and 15 cm in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kg. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.

3303 MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) - National Monument (Tugu Negara)

The National Monument is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during WWII and the Malayan Emergency, which lasted from 1948 until 1960. Located in Perdana Botanical Gardens (formerly Perdana Lake Gardens, Lake Gardens and Public Gardens), in the Federal capital, Kuala Lumpur, near the Malaysian Houses of Parliament, is the world's tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping, with 15 meters tall.

3222 MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur) - Planetarium Negara

Planetarium Negara is the National Planetarium of Malaysia, a blue-domed structure situated on top of a hill in the Lake Gardens at Jalan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. The construction of the complex began in 1990 and was officially opened in 1994. Today, this planetarium is managed by the Malaysian National Space Agency (ANGKASA). One of the major attractions of this planetarium includes a space theatre which screens space shows and large format film. In the main hall are permanent exhibits related to space science. A 14-inch (360 mm) telescope is located in the observatory.

3120, 3187 MALAYSIA (Malacca / Penang) - Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca (UNESCO WHS)

3120 Saint Paul's Church in Melaka

Posted on 12.08.2017, 02.11.2017
Melaka and George Town have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. Both towns bear testimony to a living multi-cultural heritage and tradition of Asia, where the many religions and cultures met and coexisted, creating a unique architecture, culture and townscape.

3187 Christ Church in Melaka

With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

3142 MALAYSIA (Johor) - Sultan Ismail Building in Johor Bahru

Located in Kota Iskandar, Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru District, in the Malayan state of Johor, Sultan Ismail Building is the meeting places for the Johor State Legislative Assembly. The architecture is a distinctive blend of Moorish-Andalusian and Johor-Malay design. There are two distinctive skylights: one shaped like a diamond and another like a pineapple, a symbol of Johor's economic prosperity. Integrated within the Hall are symbolisms of Johor's past and bright future, such as black pepper motifs. There are also many lush gardens, such as the Musk Lime Garden and Potpourri Garden.

3111 MALAYSIA (Johor) - Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque in Johor Bahru

Erected between 1892 and 1900 in Johor Bahru, the capital of the state of Johor, Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque sits on top of a prominent hill, overlooking the Straits of Johor. The architect Tuan Haji Mohamed Arif bin Punak intentionally based much of its appearance on colonial English Victorian architecture as noted by the minarets that take the form of British 19th century clocktowers. The architecture additionally includes some Moorish architecture elements, along with some minor Malay influence.

3024 MALAYSIA (Sabah) - Tun Sakaran Marine Park

3024 Tun Sakaran Marine Park - Aerial view of Bodgaya
and Boheydulang islands

Located off the east coast of Sabah, at the entrance of Darvel Bay, Tun Sakaran Marine Park, also known as Semporna Islands Park, consists of the islands of Bodgaya, Boheydulang, Sabangkat, and Salakan, the sand cays of Maiga, Sibuan, and Mantabuan, and the patch reefs of Church and Kapikan. There are approximately 2,000 people living within the park, most of whom consist of the nomadic Bajau Laut (Sea Gypsies) people, who live in stilt houses and houseboats in and around the marine park.

2919 MALAYSIA (Kedah) - A craftsman making a rattan chair

Rattan is the name for roughly 600 species of climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae, also known as manila, or malacca, named after the ports of shipment Manila and Malacca City, and as manau (from the Malay rotan manau, the trade name for Calamus manan canes in Southeast Asia). The climbing habit is associated with the characteristics of its woody stem, soft and flexible comparing to true wood derived from a typical secondary growth. They are not trees but are vine-like lianas, scrambling through and over other vegetation.

2909 MALAYSIA - KTM Komuter Class 92 EMU

KTM Komuter is a commuter rail service brand operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. It was introduced in 1995 to provide local rail services in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley suburban areas, and in 2015 in the states of Kedah, Perak and Pulau Pinang, but also between Seremban and Gemas in Negeri Sembilan. The trains used are air-conditioned electric multiple units. The original Komuter rolling stock consists of three versions of three-car EMUs added over the course of three years, beginning in 1994.

2897 MALAYSIA (Sabah) - Vulcan Steam Locomotive in Sabah

The 1880's had brought about a great change in Borneo under the British Government. With the establishment of the British North Borneo Company, the so-called 'White Rajahs' as known by locals, were enabled to obtain parts of North Borneo from the Sultan of Sulu. Soon, experimental land cultivation for coffee, coconuts, tobacco, ramin and cocoa received full support from the Company and this prompted the development of better infrastructure facilities.

2462 MALAYSIA (Penang) - The Malayan Railway Building in George Town

Wisma Kastam, originally known as the Federated Malay States Railway Station, and later the Malayan Railway Building, is one of the most prominent heritage buildings along the Weld Quay waterfront of George Town. It was built at the turn of the 20th century following land reclamation that extended the shoreline outward. Before it was built, the shoreline was somewhere between Beach Street and what is today Victoria Street. There would be piers going out into the sea, and steps (called ghauts) extending down into the water. China Street makes a straight line from the Kuan Yin Teng Temple, allowing for an uninterrupted view of the sea from the temple.

2426 MALAYSIA (Malacca) - Saint Peter's Church in Malacca City

The Portuguese occupation of Malacca ended after 130 years, when Malacca felt into the Dutch in 1641. This combined Dutch-Johor effort effectively destroyed the last bastion of Portuguese power, removing their influence in the Malay archipelago. This was followed by period of prosecutions of the Catholics. Churches were destroyed and Catholics were not permitted to have their own cemeteries or even pray in their homes. Priests were also forbidden to administer their flocks.

2416 MALAYSIA (Penang) - The statue of Captain Francis Light

In 1771, the british Francis Light, the then a private country trader, aged 31 years, proposed the idea of a British settlement in the neighbourhood of the Malay Peninsular to Warren Hastings, the East India Company's Governor of the Presidency of Fort William. He suggested that the island of Penang might serve as a "convenient magazine for the Eastern trade" but at that time his idea gained no ground. For about ten years he had his headquarters in Salang, where he revived a failed French trading post.

2122 MALAYSIA (Kelantan) - Siti Khadijah Market in Kota Bharu

Located in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia, near the border with Thailand, Kota Bharu (Malay for New Castle) has colorful traditions and culture and its markets reflects this. Siti Khadijah Market (Pasar besar Siti Khadijah), as its name implies, is a local wet market. Its name after Prophet Muhammad's wife, whom is known for her entrepreneurial skill, as this market is mostly run by women.

0061, 1510, 1666 MALAYSIA (Sarawak) - Iban people

0061 - Ibans performing ngajat dance in a longhouse

Posted on 05.12.2011, 04.04.2015, 14.06.2015
The population of Borneo (the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia,  Malaysia, and  Brunei), totaling 20 million, mainly consists of Dayak ethnic groups, Malay, Banjar, Orang Ulu, Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun. Dayak is actually a generic term that designate six native clusters subdivided into approximately 450 sub-clusters, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture. One of the most important branch of the Dayak are the Ibans, or Sea Dayak, located in Sarawak, Brunei, a small portion in Sabah and West Kalimantan.

1501 - An Iban with his grandson

In the past, the Dayak practiced the headhunting, and the Ibans were pioneers of this custom, but after conversion to Christianity the practice was banned and disappeared, only to resurface in WWII (against the Japanese) and in the late 90s, when Dayak attacked Madurese emigrants. The Ibans live in longhouses (rumah panjai), a massive communal structures usually located along a terraced river bank (there are over 4,500 longhouses only in Sarawak).

1666 - Iban people in tradition clothes

They might reach up to 12m in height and to hundreds of metres in lenght, at times bringing more than 100 families under one roof, and affording safety from attacks during times of warfare. A traditional longhouse is built of axe-hewn timber, tied with creeper fibre, roofed with leaf thatch. Inside, the families live in separate apartments arranged along a central corridor (ruai), which serves as a communal area. Lack of class distinction favors this way of life. Or maybe vice versa? Anyway, in nowadays many have abandoned this system in favour of individual houses.

1277 MALAYSIA (Penang) - Kapitan Keling Mosque in George Town

Founded in 1786 on the north-east corner of Penang Island, by Captain Francis Light, a trader for the British East India Company, as base for the company in the Malay States, George Town is a living testimony to the multi-cultural heritage and tradition of Asia, and European colonial influences. Kapitan Keling Mosque, built in the 19th century by Indian Muslim traders, is arguably the best known mosque in Penang. Keling is a Malay term for people of Indian origin, nowadays considered offensive but not so considered at the time when the mosque was built.

0927 MALAYSIA - A fishing village

There is a long and rich maritime heritage in the culture of almost every coastal village and town of the Peninsular Malaysia, known also as West Malaysia. Besides, seafaring has been an integral part of the coastal peoples of South East Asia for hundreds of years as evident by the still enduring traditional craft of boat building in several parts of Malaysia. The mangrove lined protected coastline and warm tropical currents in the blue offshore waters offer a rich variety of harvest which include shellfish such as clams and snails, crustaceans such as prawns and lobsters, and fish from snappers and groupers to large pelagics which are caught offshore.