A brief history of Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur’s origins are relatively recent, going back to just 1857. It was then that a member of Selangor's royal family, Raja Abdullah, decided to open up an area in the Klang Valley for tin prospectors in the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, which ultimately became Kuala Lumpur. After a civil war erupted at the peak of gang warfare, Kuala Lumpur was rebuilt and repopulated. Farmers were brought in, schools were founded, and commercial activities popped up everywhere. After a brief period during World War II, the Japanese occupied the city but eventually surrendered to the British. However in 1957, Malaysia gained independence from the British and was made into a federal territory a few years later. Over time, Kuala Lumpur has progressed into becoming one of the Southeast Asia’s most prominent, modern and sophisticated cities, attracting visitors from across the world. 

What’s Kuala Lumpur like?

Kuala Lumpur is the Federal Capital for Malaysia. Being the major metropolitan city of the country, its skyscrapers are the tallest in South East Asia. KL is an inviting destination with a warm climate, wide ethnic diversity, shopping malls, space age towers and much more. It’s the city that never rests or sleeps. If an experience of life time and countless opportunities is what you are looking for, Kuala Lumpur has it all!

Being in the suburban capital, you will never run out of things to do and places to see. KL has countless shopping malls and markets to shop, although the Bukit Bintang is the major district of shopping and entertainment. Bukit Bintang is designed as an Arab City and has 12 levels in the building. There is no designer or brand missing in this massive shopping centre, which is also the 12^thlargest shopping mall in the world.

There are parks and museums including the Bird Park, Islamic Arts Museum, Aquarium KLCC, Lake Gardens Park and many more that are worth your time and effort. To experience the cultural side of Malaysia, there are mosques, caves and temples one can visit. Consider spoiling yourself on a day off, with a day at spa and an incredibly cheap Fish Pedicure at the Foot Master near City Center KL.

A great incentive for students to consider KL as their study destination is the reasonable cost of living and shopping in Malaysia. You would also have easy access to Halal food in a range of different cuisines. Plus studying in Malaysia will give you the opportunity to learn a new language as the local language in Malaysia is Malay. Although, one doesn't have to face difficulty in communicating as English is now spoken by most in the country.

While you make the most of your stay in Malaysia, keep yourself from getting stuck in the traffic and make use of the four line metro system called the KL Monorail that has been spread out in the whole of city, to make your journeys quicker and comfortable.

Where can you study in Kuala Lumpur?

Malaysia has some of the fastest growing academic institutes in the world. There are a wide range of subjects available to the students at over 50 universities, alone in Kuala Lumpur. With each passing year these universities appear higher and higher on the world rankings, depicting the incredible growth potential and fast growing academic institutions.

Some of the universities in KL include:

• Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology expanded right along with technological expansion. Now the university has campuses also in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Australia.  

• HELP University College is a private university that partners and works with organizations like UNICEF and also University of London and University of Cambridge.

• Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University College is strategically located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. KLMU offers a more diverse range of programs like Engineering and IT, Arts & Design, Business, Hospitality & Tourism, Health Sciences, Media Studies and Built Environment. 

• Universiti Kuala Lumpur has eleven campuses spread across the world with twelve institutes offering a wide range of options to study.

A whole list of universities in Kuala Lumpur can be found here. Also, to look up courses in Malaysia, click here.

You might also like to read:

’Getting around Malaysia’

’Why study in Malaysia?’

’Financing your studies in Malaysia’