Malaysia Landmarks : Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Construction of this hard-to-miss landmark began in 1894. It was completed in 1897 at a cost of 152,000 Straits Dollars.

The Building, which faces Dataran Merdeka and the Royal Selangor Club was designed by British Architect AC Norman. Its frontage measures 450 ft (137.2 metres) in length.

Apart from a shiny copper dome it has a 40-metre high clock tower popularly known as Big Ben.

The Building is named after Sultan Abdul Samad, the Selangor ruler at the time of its coinstruction.

Construction Materials
Materials that went into the construction of the Building:

• 4 million bricks
  
• 2500 barrels of cement
• 18000 piculs of lime
• 50 tonnes of steel and iron
• 5000 pounds of copper
• 30000 cubic feet of timber

Sultan Abdul Samad used to house the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. These courts have since been moved to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. It now houses only the Commercial Division of the High Court of Malaysia.