Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad (BSAS) was opened to the public in February 2026 and was the venue chosen by the Minister of Federal Territories (YB Hannah Yeoh) for the Federal Territories Department's Aidilfitri video which you can read about and view HERE. My friends and I visited the majestic building in which history is re-told in one of the many gallery rooms. Stepping out of Masjid Jamek LRT/MRT station that Sunday morning, I waited at the (shaded) entrance to the Masjid Jamek for a while, observing a small flock of scaly-breasted munias which had nested on the palm trees in front of the mosque. Opposite the road (Jalan Tun Perak) was the OCBC building. The OCBC headquarters in Singapore was home to a pair of Peregrine Falcons which can be read and viewed HERE. Walking towards BSAS brought back nostalgic memories for me when I chambered in Kuala Lumpur back in the late-1990s, chasing after draft and "faired" orders from the courts at Jalan Tun Perak. In 2015, I worked on the second day of the weekend before Malaysia's National Day on 31st August, at an event titled Fiesta Blogshop organized by MYNIC which can be viewed HERE. I think that was the last time I walked past the Masjid Jamek area, in 2015. The galleries at BSAS are explained further HERE. The best gallery for me was the one showcasing the rainforest of Malaysia. The wise old Orangutan (a mechanical life-size version) was the narrator of the stories which included the Mousedeer, the Sun Bear, the Tiger, the Asian elephant, all of which were projected onto the walls of the gallery as the sounds of the forest and that of a gushing waterfall filled the room. We had a healthy lunch at one of the cafes within BSAS with a very mediocre cendol to cool off that hot day. The best cendol would probably be the ones served by the roadside stalls in towns such as Jementah (Johor) which you can read about HERE, Alor Gajah (Malacca) or the authentic nyonya restaurants. Some pictures of the Sunday outing are as below.
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| A screenshot from the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad website. |
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| View of the BSAS building from the second floor on a hot, sunny day. |
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| A very elaborate artwork painted on a teapot at the Royal Selangor Gallery - reminds me of paintings by Salvador Dali |
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| Wine Ewer made of pewter on display at Royal Selangor Gallery |
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| Scaly-breasted munias were nesting on some of these palm-like trees outside Jamek Mosque. The OCBC building is just across the street (Jalan Tun Perak). |
