Without Merdeka Stadium, there would be no history of where and how Malaysia began, according to Hajeedar bin Abdul Majid. He was 12 when he first came to that historic place on 31 August 1957 to witness the birth of the new state. On that day, the independence of his country was proclaimed, and he, along with thousands of others, shouted out, ‘Merdeka!’ Freedom.
‘When you restore and conserve a building, the philosophy is to return to the period of its highest significance,’ explains Laurence Loh, the architect for Merdeka Stadium’s conservation. He was the one to suggest restoring the historic site back to its original form. The project was completed in 2007 to mark Malaysia’s 50th anniversary of independence. Hear memories of locals who witnessed history in the making in ‘Small Story – Big Impact: Malaysia’.
