Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Government building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is a two-storey government building on Jalan Raja, facing Dataran Merdeka. Its facade runs 137.2 metres along the street, with red brick and white plaster banding, open pointed arches on the upper level and deeper arched openings below. A 41-metre clock tower with two round faces and a copper-clad onion dome rises at one end.

The British colonial administration commissioned architect Arthur Charles Alfred Norman to design the structure, which was finished in 1897. In 1957, the independence ceremony took place here when the British flag was lowered and the new national flag was raised for the first time.

The building is named after Sultan Abdul Samad, who ruled Selangor from 1857 to 1898 and agreed to make Kuala Lumpur the state capital. On 31 August 1957 the Union Jack was lowered here and the Jalur Gemilang raised. Since a 2026 restoration it holds galleries, exhibition spaces and cafés.

The structure stands opposite Independence Square and the Royal Selangor Club, allowing visitors to combine several nearby sites in a single walk. A stroll along Jalan Raja offers different views of the facade and the clock tower, especially in the early morning or late afternoon when the light is softer.

Construction required around 4 million bricks and roughly 850 cubic meters (30,000 cubic feet) of timber, illustrating the scale and technical challenge of the project in the late 19th century. The combination of Moorish elements with Victorian foundation techniques demonstrates how European construction methods adapted to tropical conditions and local aesthetic preferences.