Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur’s Independence Square is an open civic field framed by major colonial-era landmarks and the site associated with Malaya’s first flag raising.

Few places make Kuala Lumpur’s civic history so legible in one view. The former Padang faces the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and Royal Selangor Club, while the flagpole marks the square’s connection to independence in 1957 and later national ceremonies.

• The flagpole marks the field where the Malayan flag was first raised in 1957.
• The Sultan Abdul Samad Building creates the square’s defining eastern facade.
• The Royal Selangor Club recalls the field’s earlier life as a colonial cricket ground.

Walk the perimeter to compare the square’s civic, religious and club buildings from several angles.

Pair the square with the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and nearby St Mary’s Cathedral.