Merdeka Precinct

Pre-Merdeka Day

The earliest recorded use of the area of the Merdeka Precinct was by the Cantonese Chinese community who moved to Kuala Lumpur around the 19th century, and built a cemetery in the area. Around 900 bodies were buried in the cemetery, which was found in 1938 when excavation works were being done for the construction of the Coronation Park, which would later be opened in 1940. The park was built as a gift to the people of Kuala Lumpur by British Resident in Selangor, S. W. Jones, in conjunction with the coronation of King George VI in 1936. The park would be equipped with recreational facilities suited for the youth and children such as a badminton court and a playground. It was initially planned for the park to also include seven football fields, a cricket field, 18 tennis courts, 18 badminton courts, seven basketball and netball courts, a bowling alley, a swimming pool and many more, however, the project was discontinued due to the Second World War.

In 1956, the administration has ordered for a stadium to be built in the old city centre in conjunction with the formation of Malaya in the following year. The area was picked to be used for such purpose under the suggestion of Tunku Abdul Rahman considering how it has been used for recreational and sports activities. The construction was handled by the Department of Works with architect Stanley Edward Jewkes as its design and construction planner. The stadium was built to be the venue for the ceremony of the declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957, and was named the Stadium Merdeka ("Independence Stadium") to commemorate the event.

Early federation days

In 1958, the area surrounding the Merdeka Stadium was made into an open park named the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, which would later be renamed to the Merdeka Park. The park, similar to its predecessor, would include recreational facilities for the youth and children, with a playground and sports facilities for football, hockey, tennis, and rubgy.

Initially, the area continued to grow as a recreational and sports district, with the opening of the National Stadium in 1962 as the country's first indoor stadium, and later the office complex for the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) opened in 1991 by Sultan Azlan Shah.

Decline in the modernation era

During the 1980s, Kuala Lumpur underwent extensive modernisation works under the administration of Mahathir Mohamad. His plans have moved the centre point of the city north of its original area. As a result, many of its mega projects have moved the functions held by Kuala Lumpur to other regions, wuch as the administration to Putrajaya in 1999, and sports to Bukit Jalil in 1998.

Following the construction of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, the area was neglected and facilities such as the Merdeka Park, Merdeka Stadium and the National Stadium were slowly abandoned due to the shift from the old city centre to the newly built KLCC.

The Merdeka Park was later shut down in 1998 to make way for further development, and both stadiums were considered for closure due to a lack of usage.

The area was further neglected following the 1997 Asian financial crisis which put more financial and operational burden on the government due to its persistence to proceed with major expenditures for its mega projects including the moving of the nation's sports centre and the hosting of the 1998 Commonwealth Games. This has also resulted in the development projects in the area being cancelled, thus saving the stadiums from demolition as a result.

Redevelopment

In 2003, the government has given the responsibility to Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) for the area's redevelopment, and works to repair both stadiums began in 2007. At the same time, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also announced the construction of the Warisan Merdeka tower, marking the beginning of the precinct's development.

In 2014, the government announced the list of stations for the Kajang Mass Rail Transit line, where its 17th station was named Merdeka and located right at the Warisan Merdeka tower. The development of the tower was launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Najib Razak, and the tower was later renamed to KL118, then later PNB118, before being finalised as Merdeka 118.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023, Merdeka 118 completed its construction and was officiated in 2024 by Al-Sultan Abdullah. Meanwhile, in the same year, OCM has requested to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for its headquarters to be moved to the KL Sports City in Bukit Jalil, near the headquarters of the National Sports Council and the new national stadium.

Public transport