The Carcosa Seri Negara is a residence located on two adjacent hills inside the
Perdana Botanical Gardens,
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Originally built as the official residence and guest house of the
British High Commissioner in Malaya, it is now owned by the
Government of Malaysia
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territories of Malaysia, Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in ...
. The name is a composite of the two colonial mansions located on the compound: the residence, named ''Carcosa'' (completed in 1898), and the guest house, now named ''Seri Negara'' (1913).
The buildings figured prominently in the
Malaysian independence movement, with several meetings held there. Since Independence in 1957, it has been used as residences for visiting dignitaries (1957–1989), and as a luxury hotel (1989–2015). Since 2017, it has been used as a museum.
Design
Carcosa Seri Negara refers to two buildings, the larger Carcosa and the smaller (and newer) Seri Negara (or King's House).
Carcosa
The Carcosa mansion was built in 1896–1897 as the official residence of
Sir Frank Swettenham, the first British High Commissioner of the then
Resident-General of the Federated Malay States. It was designed by
Arthur Benison Hubback under instruction from the State Engineer of
Selangor's Public Work Department,
Charles Edwin Spooner, and sometimes also credited to
Arthur Charles Alfred Norman.
According to a letter he wrote in 1936, Swettenham chose the name ''Carcosa'' from the name of a mythical city in the horror short story collection
The King in Yellow. Swettenham assumed the word was a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of two Italian words, ''cara'' and ''casa'', intended to mean "desirable dwelling".
Seri Negara
Seri Negara ('Beautiful Country' in Malay), was originally known as the ''Governor's Residence'' when it was opened in 1913 as the official guest house of Governor of the Straits Settlement. It was later known as the ''King's House''.
History
Colonial Malaya
Swettenham moved into Carcosa during construction, and the official housewarming party was not held until August 28, 1898.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the headquarters of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
occupation government of Malaya were at Carcosa Seri Negara.
The
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia (), which came into force in 1957 as the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and was amended in 1963 to form the Constitution of Malaysia, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 art ...
was drafted in Seri Negara between 1955 and 1957.
The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on August 8, 1957, at King's House,
and the property was then vacated by the British High Commissioner on August 31, 1957, when it was returned to the Malayan Government. It was then opened as the ''Istana Tetamu'' (Guest's Palace), hosting many visiting dignitaries, including
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
in 1986.
Post-independence
With
Malayan independence imminent in September 1956, the Chief Minister of Malaya,
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...
, presented the deeds of Carcosa and its of land to the British Government as a gift, a token of goodwill.
He moved a resolution in the Federal Legislative Council which read, "That this Council approve of the proposal to make a free gift of the house and buildings known as "Carcosa", together with the gardens and land attached, as a token of the goodwill of the Malayan people to Her Majesty's Government, for use as the residence and office of the future representative of that government in an Independent Federation." Carcosa then became residence to a succession of
post-independence diplomatic British High Commissioners.
The Carcosa "issue" was taken up by young radical politicians, in particular
Anwar Ibrahim and
Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
, his mentor. Tun
Daim Zainuddin successfully led the campaign for the Malaysian government to own it, yet again. In 1987, possession of the Carcosa estate was returned to the
Government of Malaysia
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territories of Malaysia, Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in ...
.
Hotel
Soon after the acquisition of the estate, the Malaysian government proceeded to repurpose the estate into a hotel, which opened in 1989, by leasing the estate to hospitality companies: first to Malaysia-based Landmark Hotels and Realty from 1989 to 2010 and then to Saujana Hotels & Resorts from 2010 to 2016. From 2004 to 2010, a Singapore-based company managed the day-to-day operations.
The lease was set for a renewable 10-year term.
Carcosa and the Guest's Palace both served as hotels, with the latter rebranded as Seri Negara. Marketed as a luxurious heritage boutique hotel, much of the mansions' colonial architecture and interior designs were preserved, carefully adapted, and complemented with colonial-themed hotel service. In its inaugural year as a hotel, Carcosa Seri Negara served as the temporary official residence for
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and
Prince Philip when the
1989 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur.
By 2000, Carcosa was subdivided into seven suites, and Seri Negara held six more, each with a personal butler.
After the lease for the estate was officially transferred from Landmark to Saujana in December 2010, only Seri Negara resumed operation as a hotel, carrying the Carcosa Seri Negara brand on its own. Carcosa was largely vacated, confined to limited uses, and had been reported to receive only basic maintenance.
After the expiry of Saujana's lease on December 31, 2015, the hotel was entirely closed for business and the estate was placed under the safekeeping of the property and land management division of the
Prime Minister's Department. Plans have been made to assign management of the buildings to the
Kuala Lumpur City Hall, with a currently undetermined hospitality company conducting day-to-day operations.
Logo
The Carcosa Seri Negara Logo was designed b
Johan Design Associates(JDA) in 1989.
The Logo was derived from metaphors (involving natural elements, environment, humanity, charm and beauty etc.), in this case a swan, are quite common, especially in the hospitality-related outlets, exotic resorts, nature's goodness, romance and gender-enhanced branding, where specific nuances are drawn into play. It exude perceptions of warm hospitality, sense of wellbeing, nature's exuberance, high society living and dining.
Afternoon Tea
One of Carcosa Seri Negara's trademarks was the English afternoon tea, served in the drawing room, or on the wrap-around verandah, overlooking the gardens. It was served daily.
Museum
In April 2017, the Asian Heritage Museum (AMH) signed a 3-year lease to rent Carcosa Seri Negara until 2020 where all its repairs will be solely taken responsible by the museum body itself.
However, within 1 year before the slated handover in March 2019, the AHM was kicked out from the premises by the Federal Land Commissioner without any explanation with a note of seizure sent to them 1 month later.
Popular culture
* Scenes from the 1964 film ''
The 7th Dawn'' were filmed at Carcosa Seri Negara.
* The residence appeared in an episode of ''
The Amazing Race: All-Stars'', in which competing teams checked into a "Pit Stop" on the property.
* The 2018 film
''Crazy Rich Asians'' filmed scenes set at the ancestral Young mansion, named Tyersall Park, based on the former estate in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
of the
same name, at the then-abandoned Carcosa Seri Negara.
* Carcosa Seri Negara serves as the residences of the Blacketts and Mr Webb in the 2020 television production of ''
The Singapore Grip''.
See also
*
The Istana, Singapore
*
Governor's residence, Malacca
*
Suffolk House and
The Residency both in Penang
*
Hotel Majestic (Kuala Lumpur)
References
Bibliography
:
Journal of Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, June 1997, Dr. A. Ghafar Ahmad
:2.
External links
{{commons category
Official Carcosa Seri Negara websiteAn early photo of Carcosa
Houses in Malaysia
Buildings and structures in Kuala Lumpur
Houses completed in 1898
Houses completed in 1913
1898 establishments in British Malaya