3.2 3.3 (2)

Architect: Built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II, the 19th Sultan of Kedah

Location: Alor Setar, Medan Bandar, Kedah, 05400 Alor Setar, Malaysia

Figure 3.1 The front door of Kota Setar Palace (mybiebie, 2009)

Building Facts:

The Kota Setar Palace was originally built as a wooden building by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II. It has undergone several destructions by the invaders from the Buggies and Siamese. During the reign of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah the structure of the building was reconstructed with concrete. The sultan, his royal highness had once resided in this palace with his queen which was known as Wan Hajar Wan Ismail and later name this palace as “Mak Wan Besar Palace”.

Our first prime minister YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra was born in this palace and grew up together with his father the late HRH Sultan Abdul Hamid and his mother Mak Che Manjalara. The palace was also known as Pelamin Palace when the five sons of HRH Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah reach the marriageable age. The royal wedding lasted for 3 months in 1904.

After 1941, the palace was used as a school and an office for the St. John Ambulance and Scout movements. The palace was converted into a museum later, and was named as “Kedah Royal Museum”. The museum contains the exhibits of the Royal regalia of the sultan of Kedah as well as displays of traditional Kedah cultural wedding.

Kedah Royal Museum3.2 historical background

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MEASURED DRAWING 2017 (ARC60305) | KEDAH ROYAL MUSEUM

historical background

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3.2.2 evolution of building's function3.2.2.1 Kedah Royal Museum as a royal palace

The Kedah royal museum was originally known as Kota Setar Palace which act as a dwelling place for the Sultan and the royal family. The Palace was built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal fair Muazzam Shah in 1735 when Alor Setar became the administrative center for the state of Kedah.

The Palace consist of three major parts which are The Dais, Middle Hall and Astaka Hall. Position of these spaces are placed accordingly to the hierarchy of importance. Rooms located at the lower levels were used by the females while the male inhabits the rooms at higher level. For the maid, they stay at even lower levels than the female royalties. A small room located at the north end of the building was allocated for the Sultan’s use when he is sick as this eases the entry of the minister to meet the king.

The widest and highest door is the only entrance allowed for the sultan to access.

Figure 3.4 Sultan’s Entrance Gateway(Chia, 2017)

Figure 3.5 Entrance dedicated for the sultan at the Astaka Hall

(Wong, 2017)

Figure 3.3 North Room for the Sick Sultan

(Wong, 2017)


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3.2.2.2 Kedah Royal Museum as Rumah Pelamin

In ancient times, the Palace of Thrones is a place for wedding feasts, weddings and several royal ceremonies. The palace got its name as Pelamin Palace after a large scale of Royal wedding ceremony takes place in 1904 when the Sultan’s five oldest children reach their marriageable age. In conjunction to this, the palace was extended accordingly to allow space for the “Sitting-in-state” of the royal couples. The royal weddings were celebrated in the Rumah Pelamin for 3 months. This marked the most important event that happened in this building. Figure 3.7 Interior of Rumah Pelamin

(Lim, 2017)

Figure 3.8 “Sitting-in-state” of the Royal Couples (How, 2017)

Figure 3.6 Exterior Facade of Istana Pelamin (How, 2017)


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3.2.2.3 Kedah Royal Museum as a venue for associations

After some years, the building was left to use for the Women’s Training School by the Sultanate. Then, it was further used as an office by the St John’s Ambulance, The Scouting Movement and the headquarters of the State’s ex-soldiers’ association. These organizations further changed the interior of the building according to their needs.

Figure 3.9 St John Ambulance logo(Kiantong, 2012)


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3.2.2.4 Kedah Royal Museum as a state museum

Kota Setar Palace is declared by Tuanku Sultan Haji Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah as the Kedah Darul Aman Royal Museum in conjunction with the Silver Jubilee Celebration of his reign as Kedah’s Sultan (1958-1983). Since then, visitors were allowed into the premises to study about the history of the state as well as the events that happened to the historical building. The museum is also further repaired and efforts have been made to preserve the building. With the addition of the tools and findings in the old palace, more materials and replicas were added to be displayed in the museum. This also increases the number of visitors into the building.

Figure 3.10 Displays of the Royal Collection(Lim, 2017)

Figure 3.11 Personal Collection of the Sultan(How, 2017)


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3.3 changes to the building

3.3.1 Invasion of Buggies, Siamese, Japanese

The Kota Setar Palace was once invaded by the Buggies (1771), the Siamese (1821-1842) and the Japanese (1941). The building was totally burnt down during the Buggies invasion until it was left with only a few columns in 1771. After causing a mass destruction to the sultanate of Kedah, the palace was rebuilt to its original design.

The building was also badly damaged during the invasion of the Siamese in 1821. After badly damaging the building, the Siamese occupied and renovated the building according their style and purposes. For 21 years, the building was occupied by the Siamese until they finally abandoned the building in 1842. The Palace was later rebuilt with stone by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah.

Figure 3.12 Siamese Invasion(Science pole, 2017)


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In 1851, Kota Setar Palace and the Balai Besar was restored by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah. His wife, Paduka Wan Hajar binti Wan Ismail (Mak Wan Besar) was left to live in the palace until she died in 1907. During this period, the palace was known as Mak Wan Besar Palace. After the death of Wan Mak Besar, the palace was occupied by Paduka Mak Cik Manjalara, the wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah.

The Japanese invasion occurs in 1941 during the second world war, where Kedah became one of the earliest parts of Malaysia to be occupied by the Japanese army. During the invasion, the building did not suffer from any destruction and it was used by different organizations with the permission of the sultanate after the Japanese left.

Figure 3.13 Japanese Invasion(St. Rosemary Educational Institution, 2017)


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3.3.2 Extension of building

Over the years, Kota Setar Palace has been occupied by many people, whether it is by the foreign invaders or the reign of different sultans. These events caused modifications and extension to the original building in terms of interior and exterior.

After the Siamese invaded and destroyed some parts of the palace, they incorporated their style and motifs of design into the building. With the elements of Thai in the balustrades, the palace’s architecture became a mixture of colonial, Malay style and some hint of the Thai as well.

Figure 3.14 Balustrade at the staircase with Thai fusion (Brian, 2017)


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Besides, the restoration of building by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin caused slight changes in the palace according to his needs. Thus, the palace was no longer in its original state.

The most significant changes among the palace was the extension of Rumah Pelamin itself. It was inclusive of a pavilion and additional rooms for the wedded royalties. The extension was built using cement, bricks and marble, with the roofs being tiled. This marks the distinction between the old palace, made up of timber, with the extension. Due to much exposure to the British colonial style during the period, the Rumah Pelamin also housed colonial mouldings through the door and window frames.

Figure 3.16 Kedah Royal Museum Before Restoration Works(Kedah Royal Museum)

Figure 3.17 Kedah Royal Museum around 1904(Kedah Royal Museum)

Figure 3.15 Side View of Rumah Pelamin with British Moldings on the Window Frame

(Brian, 2017)


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3.2.1 geography

The Kedah Royal Museum was situated at the heart of Alor Setar. It was located at Medan Bandar, Kedah, 05400 Alor Setar, Malaysia. The strategic location of this Museum was once a resident for the Kedah Sultanate. The museum was facing west towards the Qiblat and at the rear lies a man-made canal (Sungai Raja) that flows directly into Sungai Kedah. During those days, the river act as a passage for the Sultan and he can receive tribute from his people easily.

Figure 3.2 The map of centre Alor Setar(de Koninck, 1988)

KEDAH ROYAL MUSEUM


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3.2.3 Summary of historical timeline

1726-1735 The palace was completed and was built entirely of timber material.

1771 Bugis invaded and burned down the palace but later was rebuilt to its original design.

1821 Siamese invasion, palace is badly damaged.

1856 Palace underwent a major renovation where most of the building materials were changed to brick, cement and marble

1903 Extension was built to provide a hall for the Sitting- In-State of bridegrooms and brides in preparation of the Royal Weddings of the Sultan’s five children in 1904.

1943 Second World War, the Japanese army occupied the palace but was abandoned after several years.

1983 The palace was restored to its original architecture then re-opened as Royal Museum.

1990 The construction of new public toilets and roofed platform for a replica of vessel and royal hearses.

2000 The Royal Museum was temporarily closed to the public for major building restorations including interior refurbishment

2008 Kedah Royal Museum was re-opened to the public with its new interior layout and more collections.


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3.3.3 Conservation Works

The conservation of the Kedah Royal Museum involved many procedures. The main priority of conservation was to preserve the original evidence about the historical building to be kept for the future. A vast scale of identification and investigation had been carried out by the Kedah state culture authority. It was taken into account to measure all aspects of the building which included examining all historical indications and relevant information about the site. Assessments had been made by the authorities based on the evidence surrounding the site which also requires the historical records and inspection on site of the current condition. The site was then officially declared as a protected structure and classification was done by the Malaysian government.

Figure 3.18 Steel structure to support the roof (Wong, 2017)


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Figure 3.19 Timber flooring underneath the carpet (Jiuan, 2017)

Conservation efforts are evident in the Kedah Royal Museum. Due to its long history and dated structure, paint was used to coat the timber structures to prevent termite attacks and the walls were painted. Besides that, the main structure, the eroded timber post was replaced with new materials such as steel to support the roof. Despite that the fact of Kedah Royal Museum was once the house of Kedah Sultanate, the originality of the palace doesn’t consist of lower part spaces. Hence, during the conservation acts the ground floor was partitioned with glass to create a functional space for different programmes such as a briefing room and office. The museum limits the amount of visitor entering as the timber flooring can no longer sustain a large amount of load. Large pieces of carpet in the interior of the museum are used to covered the timber flooring for the purpose of maintaining the flooring and lessen the impact on the dated timber flooring.

Figure 3.20 Extended spaces at the ground floor (Zanyu, 2017)