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Architect: Built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II,
the 19th Sultan of Kedah
Location: Alor Setar, Medan Bandar, Kedah, 05400 Alor Setar,
Malaysia
Figure 3.1 The front door of Kota Setar Palace
(mybiebie, 2009)
Building Facts:
The Kota Setar Palace was originally built as a wooden building by
Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II. It has undergone several
destructions by the invaders from the Buggies and Siamese. During
the reign of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah the structure of
the building was reconstructed with concrete. The sultan, his royal
highness had once resided in this palace with his queen which was
known as Wan Hajar Wan Ismail and later name this palace as “Mak
Wan Besar Palace”.
Our first prime minister YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra was born in
this palace and grew up together with his father the late HRH Sultan
Abdul Hamid and his mother Mak Che Manjalara. The palace was
also known as Pelamin Palace when the five sons of HRH Sultan
Abdul Hamid Halim Shah reach the marriageable age. The royal
wedding lasted for 3 months in 1904.
After 1941, the palace was used as a school and an office for the St.
John Ambulance and Scout movements. The palace was converted
into a museum later, and was named as “Kedah Royal Museum”. The
museum contains the exhibits of the Royal regalia of the sultan of
Kedah as well as displays of traditional Kedah cultural wedding.
Kedah Royal Museum3.2
historicalbackground
38.
MEASURED DRAWING 2017 (ARC60305) | KEDAH ROYAL MUSEUM

40.
3.2.2 evolution of building's function
3.2.2.1 Kedah Royal Museum as a royal palace
The Kedah royal museum was originally known as Kota Setar
Palace which act as a dwelling place for the Sultan and the royal
family. The Palace was built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal fair
Muazzam Shah in 1735 when Alor Setar became the administrative
center for the state of Kedah.
The Palace consist of three major parts which are The Dais, Middle
Hall and Astaka Hall. Position of these spaces are placed
accordingly to the hierarchy of importance. Rooms located at the
lower levels were used by the females while the male inhabits the
rooms at higher level. For the maid, they stay at even lower levels
than the female royalties. A small room located at the north end of
the building was allocated for the Sultan’s use when he is sick as
this eases the entry of the minister to meet the king.
The widest and highest door is the only entrance allowed for the
sultan to access.
Figure 3.4 Sultan’s Entrance Gateway
(Chia, 2017)
Figure 3.5 Entrance dedicated for the
sultan at the Astaka Hall
(Wong, 2017)
Figure 3.3 North Room for the Sick
Sultan
(Wong, 2017)

41.
3.2.2.2 Kedah Royal Museum as Rumah Pelamin
In ancient times, the Palace of Thrones is a place for wedding
feasts, weddings and several royal ceremonies. The palace got its
name as Pelamin Palace after a large scale of Royal wedding
ceremony takes place in 1904 when the Sultan’s five oldest children
reach their marriageable age. In conjunction to this, the palace was
extended accordingly to allow space for the “Sitting-in-state” of the
royal couples. The royal weddings were celebrated in the Rumah
Pelamin for 3 months. This marked the most important event that
happened in this building. Figure 3.7 Interior of Rumah Pelamin
(Lim, 2017)
Figure 3.8 “Sitting-in-state” of the Royal Couples
(How, 2017)
Figure 3.6 Exterior Facade of Istana Pelamin
(How, 2017)

42.
3.2.2.3 Kedah Royal Museum as a venue for
associations
After some years, the building was left to use for the Women’s
Training School by the Sultanate. Then, it was further used as an
office by the St John’s Ambulance, The Scouting Movement and the
headquarters of the State’s ex-soldiers’ association. These
organizations further changed the interior of the building according
to their needs.
Figure 3.9 St John Ambulance logo
(Kiantong, 2012)

43.
3.2.2.4 Kedah Royal Museum as a state museum
Kota Setar Palace is declared by Tuanku Sultan Haji Abdul Halim
Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah as the Kedah
Darul Aman Royal Museum in conjunction with the Silver Jubilee
Celebration of his reign as Kedah’s Sultan (1958-1983). Since then,
visitors were allowed into the premises to study about the history of
the state as well as the events that happened to the historical
building. The museum is also further repaired and efforts have been
made to preserve the building. With the addition of the tools and
findings in the old palace, more materials and replicas were added
to be displayed in the museum. This also increases the number of
visitors into the building.
Figure 3.10 Displays of the Royal Collection
(Lim, 2017)
Figure 3.11 Personal Collection of the Sultan
(How, 2017)

45.
3.3 changes to the building
3.3.1 Invasion of Buggies, Siamese, Japanese
The Kota Setar Palace was once invaded by the Buggies (1771),
the Siamese (1821-1842) and the Japanese (1941). The building
was totally burnt down during the Buggies invasion until it was left
with only a few columns in 1771. After causing a mass destruction to
the sultanate of Kedah, the palace was rebuilt to its original design.
The building was also badly damaged during the invasion of the
Siamese in 1821. After badly damaging the building, the Siamese
occupied and renovated the building according their style and
purposes. For 21 years, the building was occupied by the Siamese
until they finally abandoned the building in 1842. The Palace was
later rebuilt with stone by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah.
Figure 3.12 Siamese Invasion
(Science pole, 2017)

46.
In 1851, Kota Setar Palace and the Balai Besar was restored by
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah. His wife, Paduka Wan
Hajar binti Wan Ismail (Mak Wan Besar) was left to live in the palace
until she died in 1907. During this period, the palace was known as
Mak Wan Besar Palace. After the death of Wan Mak Besar, the
palace was occupied by Paduka Mak Cik Manjalara, the wife of
Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah.
The Japanese invasion occurs in 1941 during the second world war,
where Kedah became one of the earliest parts of Malaysia to be
occupied by the Japanese army. During the invasion, the building
did not suffer from any destruction and it was used by different
organizations with the permission of the sultanate after the
Japanese left.
Figure 3.13 Japanese Invasion
(St. Rosemary Educational Institution, 2017)

47.
3.3.2 Extension of building
Over the years, Kota Setar Palace has been occupied by many
people, whether it is by the foreign invaders or the reign of different
sultans. These events caused modifications and extension to the
original building in terms of interior and exterior.
After the Siamese invaded and destroyed some parts of the palace,
they incorporated their style and motifs of design into the building.
With the elements of Thai in the balustrades, the palace’s
architecture became a mixture of colonial, Malay style and some
hint of the Thai as well.
Figure 3.14 Balustrade at the staircase with Thai fusion
(Brian, 2017)

48.
Besides, the restoration of building by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin
caused slight changes in the palace according to his needs. Thus,
the palace was no longer in its original state.
The most significant changes among the palace was the extension
of Rumah Pelamin itself. It was inclusive of a pavilion and additional
rooms for the wedded royalties. The extension was built using
cement, bricks and marble, with the roofs being tiled. This marks the
distinction between the old palace, made up of timber, with the
extension. Due to much exposure to the British colonial style during
the period, the Rumah Pelamin also housed colonial mouldings
through the door and window frames.
Figure 3.16 Kedah Royal Museum Before Restoration Works
(Kedah Royal Museum)
Figure 3.17 Kedah Royal Museum around 1904
(Kedah Royal Museum)
Figure 3.15 Side View of Rumah Pelamin with British Moldings on the Window
Frame
(Brian, 2017)

39.
3.2.1 geography
The Kedah Royal Museum was situated at the heart of Alor Setar. It
was located at Medan Bandar, Kedah, 05400 Alor Setar, Malaysia.
The strategic location of this Museum was once a resident for the
Kedah Sultanate. The museum was facing west towards the Qiblat
and at the rear lies a man-made canal (Sungai Raja) that flows
directly into Sungai Kedah. During those days, the river act as a
passage for the Sultan and he can receive tribute from his people
easily.
Figure 3.2 The map of centre Alor Setar
(de Koninck, 1988)
KEDAH ROYAL
MUSEUM

44.
3.2.3 Summary of historical timeline
1726-1735 The palace was completed and was built entirely of
timber material.
1771 Bugis invaded and burned down the palace but later
was rebuilt to its original design.
1821 Siamese invasion, palace is badly damaged.
1856 Palace underwent a major renovation where most of the
building materials were changed to brick, cement and
marble
1903 Extension was built to provide a hall for the Sitting-
In-State of bridegrooms and brides in preparation of the
Royal Weddings of the Sultan’s five children in 1904.
1943 Second World War, the Japanese army occupied the
palace but was abandoned after several years.
1983 The palace was restored to its original architecture then
re-opened as Royal Museum.
1990 The construction of new public toilets and roofed
platform for a replica of vessel and royal hearses.
2000 The Royal Museum was temporarily closed to the public
for major building restorations including interior
refurbishment
2008 Kedah Royal Museum was re-opened to the public with
its new interior layout and more collections.

49.
3.3.3 Conservation Works
The conservation of the Kedah Royal Museum involved many
procedures. The main priority of conservation was to preserve the
original evidence about the historical building to be kept for the
future. A vast scale of identification and investigation had been
carried out by the Kedah state culture authority. It was taken into
account to measure all aspects of the building which included
examining all historical indications and relevant information about
the site. Assessments had been made by the authorities based on
the evidence surrounding the site which also requires the historical
records and inspection on site of the current condition. The site was
then officially declared as a protected structure and classification
was done by the Malaysian government.
Figure 3.18 Steel structure to support the roof
(Wong, 2017)

50.
Figure 3.19 Timber flooring underneath the carpet
(Jiuan, 2017)
Conservation efforts are evident in the Kedah Royal Museum. Due
to its long history and dated structure, paint was used to coat the
timber structures to prevent termite attacks and the walls were
painted. Besides that, the main structure, the eroded timber post
was replaced with new materials such as steel to support the roof.
Despite that the fact of Kedah Royal Museum was once the house
of Kedah Sultanate, the originality of the palace doesn’t consist of
lower part spaces. Hence, during the conservation acts the ground
floor was partitioned with glass to create a functional space for
different programmes such as a briefing room and office. The
museum limits the amount of visitor entering as the timber flooring
can no longer sustain a large amount of load. Large pieces of carpet
in the interior of the museum are used to covered the timber flooring
for the purpose of maintaining the flooring and lessen the impact on
the dated timber flooring.
Figure 3.20 Extended spaces at the ground floor
(Zanyu, 2017)

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