National Monument (Malaysia)
| National Monument (Tugu Negara) |
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|---|---|
| Malaysia | |
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| For Malaysian military sacrifices during the struggle for freedom. | |
| Unveiled | 1966 |
| Location |
3°8′55.9″N 101°41′1.8″E / 3.148861°N 101.683833°ECoordinates: 3°8′55.9″N 101°41′1.8″E / 3.148861°N 101.683833°E near Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory |
| Designed by | Felix de Weldon |
The National Monument is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency, which lasted from 1948 until 1960. It is located in the Federal capital, Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Houses of Parliament are situated near the monument.
It is the world's tallest bronze freestanding sculpture grouping. Every year on 31 July on Warriors' Day, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister, heads of military, and the police pay their respects to the fallen heroes by laying garlands at the monument.
The predecessor of the National Monument is an interwar-era cenotaph originally erected by the colonial British administration on a 10m flat grass-covered ground on a roundabout adjoining Victory Avenue (now part of Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin) and Raja Road, close to the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and Railway Administration Building. Originally intended to commemorate the Great War (1914–1918) and honour those from the British Malayan colonies who were killed in the war, the cenotaph's inscription would later include fallen British Malayan soldiers of World War II (1939–1945) after the conclusion of World War II and resumption of British rule. Names of the fallen are engraved on the plaques of the cenotaph as a token of tribute to their sacrifices.
In 1964, the cenotaph was moved from its original location to the site of the National Monument in Lake Gardens before a planned flyover connecting Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin and the Parliament roundabout was constructed over the original site. Transfer of the cenotaph was made possible by dismantling the structure into catalogued parts, allowing the structure to be transported in pieces and reassembled in its original form at the National Monument. Following its move, inscriptions were added to include fallen soldiers from the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and an archaic Malay translation of "To Our Glorious Dead", "Untok Mengingati Jasa Pahlawan-pahlawan Yang Gugor" ("To Remember the Service of Warriors Who Have Fallen").
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