Merdeka Stadium (Kuala Lumpur)

Merdeka Stadium, also known as Independence Stadium, was opened in August 1957, close to the centre of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The stadium was the largest in Southeast Asia at the time of completion.

Merdeka was the principal venue in Kuala Lumpur for celebrations and sporting events until 1998, when the Bukit Jalil National Stadium was built for the 16th Commonwealth Games. It was also the home of the Malaysian national football team. 

The venue has staged three Southeast Asian Games, as well as the iconic game which saw Malaysia qualify for the 1980 Olympics, until they boycotted the games because of the political actions of the Soviet Union. However, it is boxing for which Merdeka is probably best known.

The stadium hosted the fight between the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali and British boxer Joe Bugner in 1975, before Ali fought Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila”. In 1975, it also hosted the Hockey World Cup final between Pakistan and India. 

My visit

Tuesday 24th March 2009

I’d arrived in KL the previous evening, with the opportunity to explore the city over a couple of days and nights before heading on to Bangkok and then Chiang Mai for my annual cricket tournament.

Air Asia had started flying direct to Kuala Lumpur at a very reasonable price. It was certainly a large saving on the fare to Thailand. However, I was soon to learn that the deal wasn’t quite as good as I’d envisaged.

The Malaysian capital had two airports. The budget one where we landed was not the best, and didn’t have a rail link into the city, requiring a ride on an old smoke-belching bus, which wasn’t ideal after sitting on a plane for over half a day. At least the journey took us past Bukit Jalil National Stadium, where the floodlights were on. 

Alcohol was expensive, as were the hotels. The flight times to Bangkok meant that there weren’t any easy connections, meaning there was no option but to take a stopover. For all of that, I didn’t mind the city. It was a bit like Thailand without the booze and laughs being so prevalent.

Waking, I wandered around a large mall, which I think was Berjaya Times Square. It was then time to discover Merdeka Stadium. There was a security guard at the game who insisted on accompanying me inside the cantilever stand and insisted that there was to be no photography.

No matter how much I tried to persuade him, he was not to be shifted. I believe I took some outside of the limited view available, but I will never know, as my visit to Bukit Jalil reveals.

The images on this page have been taken from online sources.